Charles Mattocks has transformed the way how health stories should be told. He has given voice to the voiceless through addressing tough subjects. His latest groundbreaking effort, focused on menopause, is not merely a film series but rather a movement to break the silence, normalize stigma, and humanise the conversation when it comes to health care.
A personal mission that becomes universal
Charles’s storytelling springs from the heart. His chronicles cover health struggles personally close to him (from diabetes and rare diseases to cancer) and now menopause, one of the most overlooked yet deeply impactful health journeys. By focusing on real people sharing their lives over several days with top medical and holistic experts, Charles creates a space where vulnerability leads to understanding and healing.
“These programmes are about connection,” he says. “People open up. They feel seen. They find hope.” It’s a rare and transformative experience that goes beyond information. It reclaims empathy in healthcare narratives.
Shining light on overlooked health issues
The challenges one faces, make him stronger and motivated. Charles is motivated by the hardships of his loved ones and exasperated by the obvious shortcomings in our healthcare system, so he will not remain silent on health issues that disproportionately affect Black and brown communities. He points out, “We pour billions into healthcare advertising, yet important issues like colon cancer, sickle cell, and menopause remain hidden in the shadows.”
His work confronts this imbalance not just to raise awareness, but to push systemic change and humanize healthcare storytelling. “I do this for others because, honestly, I hope that one day someone might do it for me,” he shares with raw honesty.
Menopause: breaking taboos, inviting men in
Charles’s newest project, the docuseries Four Days, dives into menopause: a health journey predicted to affect over a billion women by 2025, with 75% experiencing life-altering symptoms. Despite this, support and education remain scarce. When a close friend confided in him about her struggles and medical neglect, Charles pledged to shine light on this silent battle. Importantly, he insists men must join the conversation: “These are our wives, sisters, mothers, partners; even daughters who will face hormonal shifts. Men need to walk alongside women, not as observers, but as supporters.” By inviting men in, Four Days transforms menopause from a private struggle into a shared human experience.
Making change against the odds
Charles has made his way into another domain which does not belong to his own. He broke the stereotype and has been accepted by the other side. Breaking into this traditionally female-dominated space wasn’t easy. Despite limited funding and initial industry hesitation, Charles forged ahead, collaborating with women’s health advocate Jill Chmielewski, RN, to create an intimate, eye-opening series filmed in Costa Rica.
Featuring raw stories from five extraordinary women (including doctors and CEOs) alongside world-class experts, each episode reveals the pain, confusion, and strength behind menopause, exposing how even highly empowered women often felt lost regarding their own bodies. “That’s unacceptable; and that’s why this work matters,” Charles impassionedly states.
Carrying a legacy of purpose and healing
Charles is the nephew of legendary Bob Marley and evokes that family tradition not with music but with storytelling as medicine. Taking from Marley’s ethos, “If my life is just for me, I don’t want it,” Charles is relentlessly impacted over famous, legitimized by an award-winning film showcasing his mother’s journey with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) which initiated necessary conversations regarding chronic pain, utilizing honesty to take a stand against medical gas lighting.
After naturally reversing his own type 2 diabetes, he became a national and international education and advocate leveraging representation, recognized by the American Diabetes Association and major networks such as CNN and The Today Show.
Taking up the issues globally
Charles’s latest and perhaps most revolutionary work is Four Days, a docuseries filmed in Costa Rica that follows five diverse women navigating menopause with honesty and resilience. Inspired when a close friend confided her debilitating symptoms and frustration with medical invisibility, Charles vowed to bring light to this critical life stage that affects over a billion women by 2025; and for which 75% experience impactful symptoms. What makes Four Days unique is its inclusive philosophy. Charles believes men must be part of the menopause conversation; not as bystanders but allies.
Storytelling as a healing force
Across conditions from diabetes to menopause, Charles Mattocks is transforming pain into purpose. He’s filling the silence the system often leaves behind with voice, clarity, and compassion.
Some people are born with a burden to something special, Charles is one of those people who take their art as a calling and handling revoke to spread the awareness about health. For his storytelling is not just an art but a way to inner satisfaction by helping the voiceless.
As Bob Marley sang, “One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.” Charles’s work may not be music, but it hits just as deeply; healing hearts and changing lives along the way.
Adam Mulligan, a psychology graduate from the University of Hertfordshire, has a keen interest in the fields of mental health, wellness, and lifestyle.
