Interwoven Episode 20 - Turning Struggles Into Support: Vishal Narbheram’s Path from Construction to Mental Health Advocacy
Vishal Narbheram spent years on construction sites before founding Onward Shift, confronting both his own mental health struggles and the industry’s deep-rooted stigma. This episode follows his gradual, sometimes messy journey from electrician to founder, and the lessons he learned about self-compassion and taking imperfect action.
FULL EPISODE SUMMARY
Before founding Onward Shift, Vishal Narbheram spent sixteen years as an electrician immersed in the masculine culture of the construction industry. Working “Monday to Sunday,” he experienced firsthand the severe challenges—both personal and cultural—around mental health and wellbeing on site. For years, he struggled privately, searching for help across a fragmented landscape of podcasts, blogs, counselling, and coaching, yet never finding one place that felt welcoming or complete.
The seed for Onward Shift was sown less as a business plan and more as a nagging frustration: why wasn’t there a single, safe space covering all these needs? The transition didn’t happen overnight. Six years passed between Vishal Narbheram’s first personal crisis and the founding of his company. It was an accumulation of small experiments, research, and a growing conviction that change was needed—despite moments of uncertainty about what form that change should take, or whether he was “enough” to lead it. He carried deep knowledge of the industry, empathy for others’ struggles, and a capacity for resilient action—even if, as he notes candidly, the process often meant “just getting started with anything” and learning as he went.
The conversation, hosted by Sandrine Singleton-Perrin, explores the cost of stigma, the challenge of unlearning old definitions of strength, and the practical techniques founders can adopt to pause, reconnect, and manage the cycle of stress and burnout. Vishal Narbheram’s story is not about flawless reinvention but rather an ongoing transformation—where self-kindness and allyship matter as much as tenacity. For anyone considering their own shift, this episode is a reminder that the route to becoming a founder is navigated not with certainty, but through reflection, vulnerability and the willingness to “just be kind to yourself.”
