Our Story

A Podcast That Became
a Movement.

We started with a microphone and a question nobody was asking: why do men have to pretend? Seven years later, that question is still driving everything we do.

2018

Where It Started

Rue Saint-Denis, Montréal.
A Borrowed Mic and No Plan.

Billy Bisson isn't just a name on a label. He's the working-class Montréal guy who did everything right — steady job, young family, rented apartment in the Plateau — and still felt like he was drowning. Not in catastrophe. In the quiet kind of drowning that men rarely talk about: the weight of expectations nobody told you were there until you were already under them.

In the fall of 2018, Billy and his closest friend Marc recorded the first episode of what they called The Billy Bisson Podcast in Marc's basement apartment on Rue Saint-Denis. They had one Blue Yeti microphone, a blanket over a bookshelf to kill the echo, and nothing to say except the truth. They talked about Billy's father not knowing how to say "I love you." About Marc's panic attacks during his wife's first pregnancy. About how neither of them had a single male friend they could actually call at 2 in the morning.

The episode went up on a Tuesday. By Thursday it had been shared three hundred times by strangers in Montréal, Toronto, Calgary, and Saskatoon. Men writing in to say: this is exactly what I've been feeling and I've never heard anyone say it out loud.

That was the beginning. Not a business plan. Not a brand strategy. Just two men refusing to pretend.

2020

From Podcast to Brand

Listeners Started Asking
for Something to Wear.

By 2020, the podcast had found an audience that extended well beyond Montréal. The community that had grown around it — largely through word of mouth and a very active online forum — kept asking the same question: is there anything we can actually buy? Something that signals membership in this without a chest-thumping logo?

The first apparel drop was four items: a navy hoodie, a cream t-shirt, a charcoal jogger pant, and a camp-collar shirt in olive. All made in Canada. All cut to fit real men who don't spend four hours at the gym every day. They sold out in 72 hours.

That response confirmed what Billy and Marc had suspected but been afraid to say: this wasn't a niche audience. It was a mainstream one that had been completely underserved. Men who wanted quality, who wanted to look put-together without performative branding, and who were hungry for a brand that actually respected their intelligence.

The supplements line followed in 2021. Again: clean ingredients, real formulations, packaging that doesn't look like it belongs in a high school locker room. Northern Blend Protein, Deep Sleep Formula, and Foundation Daily Multivitamin launched first. All three became best-sellers within their category on Canadian supplement platforms within six months.

2023

Taking the Track

Because Some Lessons
Can Only Be Learned at Speed.

The decision to sponsor a Formula GP team wasn't a marketing pivot. It was a logical extension of everything the brand already stood for. Racing, at its most honest, is one of the purest tests of human discipline: the margin for error is measured in thousandths of a second, the physical and mental demands are extreme, and the team dynamics required to win are the same ones we talk about every week on the podcast.

Billy Bisson GP entered the Formula GP championship in 2023 as a wildcard. Small budget, big conviction. The team placed in the points in their first season — which, for a brand-funded entry, was beyond what anyone had predicted.

The racing division lives at billybisson.com/sports/racing and full team information is available through the championship hub. The car runs in the brand's navy, amber, and cream livery. You'll spot it.

Meet Billy Bisson GP

What We Stand For

Five Things We Don't Compromise On

Every product, every episode, every post — filtered through these.

Honesty Over Bravado

We don't sell you the man you're supposed to be. We talk to the man you actually are. That means acknowledging struggle, not papering over it with empty motivation.

Brotherhood Is Real

Men need other men. Not to compete with — to lean on. We actively build spaces where that kind of friendship is modelled, normalized, and celebrated without irony.

The Body Is Part of It

Physical health and mental health are the same conversation. We make supplements and apparel that respect your body's real needs — not a fantasy physique that serves nobody.

Fatherhood Matters

A significant portion of our community are fathers or men who will be. We take that seriously. Being a present, emotionally available father is one of the most radical things a man can do.

Made to Last

Our products are built with the same long view as the values behind them. No trend-chasing. No disposable quality. Things that hold up, and people you can count on.

Mind & Wellbeing

Talking About It Isn't Weakness. Pretending Is.

Across Canada, men are significantly less likely than women to seek mental health support. Not because they need it less — but because the culture around men's mental health still carries a stigma that real men have to carry things alone.

Billy Bisson™ has been naming that stigma directly since episode one. We cover therapy without making it sound clinical or weak. We talk about grief, loneliness, anger, anxiety — the whole spectrum — with guests who have lived it and language that doesn't condescend.

Our resources section includes episode guides, articles written with input from Canadian mental health practitioners, and a community forum where members check in on each other. No advice from unqualified sources, no quick fixes. Just honest conversation and real support.

If you're in crisis: Contact the Canada Suicide Crisis Helpline at 9-8-8 (call or text, 24/7). You're not alone, and this is not the end of the conversation.

🧠

The BB Community

An online space where men in the Billy Bisson™ community connect, share, and show up for each other. No toxicity, no judgment, no front.

Weekly Threads

Monday check-ins, Friday wins, monthly "what are you working on" threads.

Moderated Space

Actively moderated by the BB team. Zero tolerance for dismissiveness or toxic language.

The Billy Bisson Podcast

84 Episodes In. Just Getting Started.

Every Tuesday, wherever you get your podcasts.

Latest Episode

When Being Strong Means Asking for Help

Episode 84 · 58 minutes · Mental Health. Billy and returning guest Dr. Sylvain Perreault talk about why men are still the demographic least likely to seek therapy — and what actually changes when they do.

The Fatherhood Nobody Prepares You For

Episode 82 · 64 minutes · Fatherhood. Three fathers — ranging from brand-new dad to empty-nester — sit down to map the territory of fatherhood honestly, from the first panic at the hospital to the last goodbye at university.

Episode 80

Grief Is Not a Phase

Episode 80 · 71 minutes · Loss & Grief. A deeply personal conversation about losing a parent, a job, a marriage, and a version of yourself you didn't know you were attached to. No timelines, no clichés.

Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you listen.

Back to Home

The People

The Team Behind the Brand

Small, deliberate, based in Montréal.

Billy Bisson

Founder & Host

The man who started a basement podcast because he needed a reason to be honest. Former tradesman, current father of two, relentless work in progress.

Marc Cloutier

Co-Founder, Community & Brand

The one who handed Billy the microphone that first night and said "just talk." Runs the community platforms and keeps the brand honest when it gets too comfortable.

Sandrine Vaillancourt

Head of Product

Formulation background in nutrition science. Joined in 2021 to build the supplements line from scratch. Holds the team to the standard: if you wouldn't give it to your father, don't sell it.

Dany Trépanier

Creative Director

Responsible for the visual identity of everything you see here. Trained in Montréal and London. Believes deeply that design that serves men doesn't have to be cold or aggressive.