New website to focus on health, wellness for African-American men

Two veterans of the Milwaukee media market have launched a website - Brain Brawn & Body - that focuses on health and wellness for African-American men.

Eric Von, a former television reporter and host of The Morning Magazine on WMCS (1290 AM), got the idea for the site about three years ago.

"The information is out there," Von said, "but no one has taken the time to present it to an audience that really does want it."

African-American men have higher rates of heart disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases than white men and are at a much higher risk of prostrate cancer, stroke and other conditions.

Faithe Colas, former sales manager and publisher of Milwaukee Courier and now community relations director for the Salvation Army of Greater Milwaukee, is co-founder of the website.

Brain Brawn & Body, which went live on Thursday, has sponsorship agreements with Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare and the American Cancer Society. It also has a partnership with the Milwaukee Health Department.

"We thought it was a great project to help launch," said Theresa Jones, vice president of diversity and inclusion strategies for Wheaton Franciscan.

In the past year, for instance, Wheaton Franciscan has treated four African American men under 30 for strokes. Each was unaware that they had high blood pressure.

"We know the need to get the message out to community," Jones said.

Wheaton Franciscan and the Milwaukee Health Department will provide content for the website, Von said. He also has recruited contributors who will write about fitness, nutrition, personal finance and other topics.

"There really are people who see a need for this information," he said, "and they want to contribute for this reason."

The Zilber School of Public Health at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has expressed interest in working with the website. Von hopes to recruit writers or contributors from other health systems as well as community health centers.

Work began in earnest about a year ago and gained momentum when Von and Colas found Cindy Wendland, the website's designer.

"We knew then that we could get this done," Von said.

Michelle Hinton, director of community partnerships for the American Cancer Society, said the website is a way to get information to African American men.

"It is so much needed in our community," Hinton said of the website. "Our African-American men are dying unnecessarily."