Partners who share our vision for connection

S2S Partnership & Brand Policy 

Who we work with, why, and how we decide.

The purpose of this document

Shoulder to Shoulder was built on trust and openness. Our members show up openly because they believe this is a space that has their interests at heart. Any brand or commercial relationship we enter into is a direct extension of that trust, and we take it seriously.

This document sets out who we will and won't work with, what we expect from partners, and how we make those decisions. It exists as much for us as it does for our community. If you're reading this as a member, we want you to know exactly what our standards are and hold us to them.

Our Position on Partnerships

We believe commercial partnerships, done right, can genuinely add value to our community. They allow us to bring in resources that fund events, content, and experiences for members, and when the right brand is involved, they can open conversations that matter.

Done wrong, they erode exactly what makes S2S worth being part of. So we will always prioritise fit over revenue. We would rather turn down a partnership than compromise what our members have built with us.

Who We'll Work With

Every potential partner is assessed against the following criteria. 

Values Alignment

The brand's purpose, public positioning, and conduct must be compatible with our five values: Ambition, Growth, Authenticity, Connection, and Respect. We look for brands that are building something meaningful, not just selling something.

We will not work with brands whose products, marketing, or public behaviour demean, objectify, or stereotype any group of people; exploit insecurity as a primary sales mechanism; contradict our commitment to respect across gender, race, sexuality, background, or belief; or promote harmful masculinity tropes or toxic social norms.

Genuine Value to Members

The partnership must offer something real to the men in our community, whether that's a product that genuinely helps, a discount that saves them money, or content that's worth their time. We ask ourselves: would we recommend this to a friend?

Sponsorship alone, where a brand simply pays to be visible, isn't enough. We look for partners who want to contribute something to the community, not just be seen by it.

Relevance

The brand's product or service should be relevant to the lives of our members. This doesn't mean it has to be niche or men-only - but there should be a clear reason why it makes sense for S2S specifically, not just any male-skewing audience.

Transparency and Honesty

We require partners to be honest in how they present their products, claims, and results. This matters especially in health, wellness, and personal development categories where misleading marketing is common.

Any content produced through a partnership will be clearly labelled as sponsored. We will never present a paid arrangement as organic. 

Genuine Relationships

The best partnerships are ones where the brand genuinely cares about our members and invests in understanding the community. We favour partners who approach this as a relationship, who want to show up consistently and add value over time, over brands looking for a one-off promotional hit.

What We Won't Do

Regardless of the commercial opportunity, we will not partner with brands whose core product causes harm; run content that we haven't approved, reviewed, and believe in; allow a partner's messaging to override our own values or community guidelines; promote products we haven't been satisfied are genuinely useful; or work with brands that have a pattern of misleading marketing or have acted in ways contrary to our values.

How We Make Decisions

Partnerships are discussed and agreed by both co-founders - Tom and Dan - before any agreement is entered into. Neither of us has unilateral authority to commit the community to a brand relationship.

For any potential partner, we review them against the five criteria above, have a conversation with the brand to understand their goals and how they see the relationship, review any proposed content before it goes near our community, agree mutually on what the partnership will look like in practice, and check in regularly to make sure the relationship is working for members, not just for us commercially.

Connector and Shoulder input

If you're a Connector or a Shoulder and you have a concern about a brand we're working with - whether it's the company's values, the way a product has been presented, or anything else - we want to hear from you. Reach out directly to Tom or Dan.

We're not going to get every decision right. But we are committed to listening when something doesn't sit right with the men we're building this for.

Tom Stroud & Dan Shrigley, Co-founders, Shoulder to Shoulder: May 2026