Young Blood - Men’s Mental Health

Sydni grew up on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu, in a tight-knit community with a culture she says expects men to be tough and keep their emotions to themselves.

Her father was one of those men. Loving and strong, but never one to share what he was going through.

When her younger sister went missing in late 2023, Sydni and her family were thrust into the national spotlight overnight, facing huge stress and the brutal commentary of countless strangers online.

Sydni’s dad flew to Los Angeles to search, and tragically never returned home, the immense distress of the situation contributing to his suicide.

It pushed Sydni into the darkest period of her life, grieving her father and questioning everything while trying to protect her son.

Now, a year on, she’s slowly rebuilding herself, launching her own mental health brand to create change and raising her son to be able to share his feelings.

This is Sydni Kobayashi...

Five years ago, Flynn was on this podcast as a teenager living with cystic fibrosis. CF is a genetic condition that affects one in 2,500 Australians, causing mucus to clog the lungs and digestive system, requiring constant physio, medication and hospital check-ins to stay well.

Thanks to modern medicine, many people with CF now live into their 40s and beyond, but it means staying ever vigilant and factoring the disease into their future.

Now in his early twenties, Flynn’s back to share the journey he’s been on since we first met. He’s had setbacks, success and the pressure of managing a condition that never quits, all while trying to mature into the man he wants to be.

This is Flynn Gill...

No guest this week. Instead, here's my rambling about life and the podcast in the following order:

- Australian of the Year Awards

- Getting married

- Contemplating fatherhood

- Getting in the best shape of my life

- Showing up as the best version of me

- The future of the podcast

- Protecting piece of mind

Around 70% of Aussie men are overweight or obese, and most of us would say we’d like to lose some fat and drop a pants size or two.

Maintaining a lean, healthy body we feel happy in, is relatively simple, but it's far from easy. We generally know the importance of exercise and the basics of nutrition, but the way our emotions drive our eating habits is much less talked about.

When life gets stressful, food becomes an easy form of comfort, a socially acceptable, readily available coping mechanism to distract ourselves from having to feel uncomfortable emotions. Whether we’re sad, bored, tired or frustrated, the promise of a quick dopamine hit from junk food can be too good to resist. And if we're in the habit of pairing it with alcohol, it creates the perfect storm for an expanding waistline.

As life gets busier, it only gets harder. With work, bills, kids and relationships to manage, looking after your body can quickly fall down the list of priorities, left unchecked it can lead to hardly recognising yourself in the mirror.

This is Zac's bread and butter.

He’s a personal trainer and fitness coach who's helped hundreds of men in their 30s, 40s and 50s lose fat, gain muscle and build a sustainable healthy lifestyle, without needing to live in the gym and sacrifice everything they enjoy.

This is Zac Mason...

Corporal James Overall served as an Australian Army medic for a decade, deploying overseas on multiple occasions, including to Afghanistan in 2015. He was instrumental in 6 mass casualty events, as a highly skilled trauma care provider and auxiliary security force member, awarded the United States Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (NAM) for his outstanding service.

Frequently under immense pressure to perform in life or death situations, Jimmy didn't have the awareness to recognise the trauma he was internalising or the ability to process it.

Suppressing his emotions and soldiering on seemed to work, until it all caught up with him, manifesting in symptoms that couldn't be ignored.

On the cusp for a decade, but never quite making the big time in professional surfing, Cooper's life was destined to go down another path.

After seeing his sister lose multiple friends to suicide and facing his own challenges, he educated himself on mental health and founded The Good Human Factory to connect people with simple tools to improve their wellbeing.

It took off, and has since grown into countless nationwide workshops for schools and business, the popular podcast Good Humans, and an online community called The 1% Good Club that inspired Cooper’s recently published debut book.

This is Cooper Chapman...

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The Good Human Factory:

https://linktr.ee/thegoodhumanfactory?utm_source=linktree_profile_share

Matty signed up to serve in the Australian Army and deployed to Afghanistan as a young soldier.

On his 22nd birthday he was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and soon discharged from defence.

For the past 7 years he's shared the unfiltered ups and downs of his journey through Instagram, and was recognised with an OAM for his contribution to brain cancer awareness.

He’s since travelled to some of the most dangerous parts of the world as a citizen journalist, risking his life to report from the frontline of warzones, Including in Ukraine and the Middle East.

At the core of him is an iron will, an evolving sense of purpose, love, and the ability to find the positives while enduring immense suffering.

This is Matt "Willy" Williams...

Masculinity is one of the hottest debates in our culture right now. Boys are growing up in a world that never switches off, where social media, peer pressure and online figures shape how they see themselves and each other.

Daniel is right in the thick of it. He spends his days in schools across Australia, speaking to tens of thousands of young men about identity, relationships and mental health. His work is about giving boys the space to be honest and the encouragement to be themselves, instead of hiding behind the masks they feel pressured to wear.

This conversation is not just about teenagers. Similar struggles with pressure, insecurity and false ideas of masculinity follow men well into adulthood. Daniel is challenging a generation to redefine what it means for a man to be tough and strong in our modern world.

This is Daniel Principe...

David migrated from Scotland to Australia as a teenager, worked his way into local government, and by his late thirties, had become South Australia’s youngest ever Opposition Leader. But the pressure of holding that position took a toll he eventually couldn’t hide...

In 2024, a video surfaced showing him using cocaine, sparking front page headlines, intense scrutiny, and the collapse of his career. Initially in denial out of shame and embarrassment, David then admitted the truth, pleading guilty to cocaine supply and telling the court he turned to drugs as a form of escapism. He was fined, ordered to complete community service, and has since apologised for his mistakes.

He’s recently returned from walking the Kokoda Trail for men’s mental health, symbolically turning the page on that difficult chapter in his life and beginning anew.

This is David Speirs...

There’s positive signs male suicide is finally trending down.For the first time since the Suicide Prevention Australia Community Tracker began quarterly reporting on suicide related behaviour in 2022, the stats have swung in the right direction...Suicidal thoughts, plans and attempts have all reduced.According to the latest national report for September:Serious thoughts of suicide: 19% → 13%Making a suicide plan: 6% → 3%Attempting suicide: 2% → 1%Overall suicidal behaviour: 27% → 17%Help-seeking is up...Almost a third of all Australians reached out to a support provider in the past 12 months, an increase of 10 percentage points since this time last year.Barriers remain:31% of men in high distress didn’t seek support because they thought it wasn’t serious enough (vs 25% of women)28% of men tried to manage it on their own (vs 37% of women)4% of men said they didn’t know what support was available (vs 13% of women)We’re taking action to look after ourselves.Seven out of ten Aussies report taking at least one action in the past year to support their health and wellbeing.40% worked out and ate better36% reached out to a friend28% practiced mindfulness When will suicide deaths start to drop?The decline in suicidality is yet to translate into a reduction of overall deaths. The latest available National ABS Provisional Mortality Statistics show there were 3,214 suicides in Australia in 2023 - 75% were male.

Updated statistics for 2024 are expected this October.Whether overall suicide deaths are going down yet or not, these latest figures show progress worth being optimistic about.

You can find the full report here: https://www.suicidepreventionaust.org/community-tracker

 Tom's worn a lot of different hats in his life. Tradie, AFL footballer, musician and model. On the surface, it looks like the dream run, but it doesn't tell the whole story.

Through it all, he's grappled with bouts of anxiety and depression, experiencing his most intense symptoms in a Richmond guernsey. Not understanding what he was dealing do with, he hid it for years, until telling the truth eventually started to set him free.

Now his footy days are behind him, Tom's on the tools, juggling work with his passion for making music and sharing his story as an R U Ok ambassador, showing true strength comes from being honest, not from pretending to be invincible.

This is Tom Derickx...

When JK was studying radiation therapy, he never imagined he’d one day become a cancer patient himself. At 33, he was diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma, one of the most aggressive blood cancers, after a lump suddenly appeared on his neck.

He went through months of gruelling chemo while raising two young kids, relying on his wife Pam and their support network to hold the family together. From his hospital bed, JK launched How Bloody Good, a campaign urging people to donate blood that he calls the "red liquid gold".

Blood cancers are the second most prevalent form of cancer in Australia, and with September being Blood Cancer Awareness Month, it’s the perfect time to talk about it.

This is Jaraad Kader...

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September marks Blood Cancer Month, the most significant month of the year for the Leukaemia Foundation and Australian blood cancer community in terms of raising awareness and educating people on the impacts, what it is, the signs and symptoms, and who to turn to for support if you or a loved one are diagnosed.

The theme for this year’s Blood Cancer Month is ‘Care Belongs Where You Do’ – which is at the heart of the Leukaemia Foundation’s ethos in that blood cancer care should meet people where they are. Reaching beyond hospitals and treatment, into our homes, communities and cultures. Care that’s personal, human, and built around life - not the other way around.

Blood cancer is on the rise. Latest data shows a shocking one in twelve Australians (or 8% of the population) are at risk of being diagnosed with blood cancer in their lifetime. It’s also the second most common cause of cancer related deaths in the country.

Sadly you only need to mention the words leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma and most people know someone impacted.

As the Leukaemia Foundation marks its 50th anniversary this Blood Cancer Month, we continue to bring care to where it belongs to those Australians impacted by blood cancer. To help us in our plight, visit donate.leukaemia.org.au

In a famous study, people were asked to sit quietly in a room for 15 minutes. They’d previously tested a mild electric shock and said they’d pay to avoid it. Yet when left alone, they were given access to a shock button.

Despite there being no reward, 67% of men and 25% of women chose to zap themselves during the experiment (Wilson et al, 2014).

Conclusion: Many participants found it so uncomfortable to be alone with their thoughts, that they preferred a painful distraction.

Bored much? You’re not alone.70% of people report feeling bored at least once a day (ZipDo, 2025).

Boredom is linked to higher risks of depression and anxiety (APA, 2023), it reduces motivation and productivity (ZipDo, 2025), and is associated with greater impulsivity and risk-taking (Mercer & Eastwood, 2010).

How can you be bored in 2025?!We live in an era of endless entertainment. Every notification and piece of content delivers a dopamine hit that trains the brain to crave novelty.

The more stimulation we get, the less satisfied we feel. Slow, quiet activities are often uncomfortable, and the idea of sitting alone with your thoughts becomes unbearable. This cycle increases boredom, while making us feel more restless and anxious (Tam & Inzlicht, 2024; Lumende, 2025).

We don’t even last 1 minute!New research from Ohio State University (2025) monitored participants using computers at home and in the office, tracking how long they stayed focused on a screen-based task before switching to another.

The average was 47 seconds, down from 2.5 minutes in 2004.

📌 Important to note: This doesn’t mean people can’t focus for longer periods. It shows how our digital habits and susceptibility to distraction continually breaks our focus.

Can you handle doing nothing?Boredom tolerance is the ability to sit with stillness without rushing to distract yourself.

People with low boredom tolerance reach for their phone, snack or some other stimulus right away.

Those with higher tolerance can handle silence, use downtime to reflect, and stay more in control of their focus. It builds patience, strengthens focus, and creates space for creativity and reflection.

Build up your boredom tolerance.

Practice waiting in line or sitting quietly for a few minutes without reaching for your phone.

Focus on doing one thing at a time instead of multitasking.

Use quiet moments to notice your thoughts rather than escape them.

Keep practicing. Like a muscle, boredom tolerance strengthens with training (Robinson, 2019; Wilson et al., 2014).

40% of Australians feel lonely at any given time and loneliness is linked to higher risks of depression, cognitive decline, a weakened immune system, and even premature death.

If you’ve ever felt lonely, this episode will help you make sense of it. We break down what loneliness really is and practical ways to address it.

My guest, Nigel Polak, President of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia, talks through the differences between counsellors, psychotherapists, psychologists and psychiatrists, how they compare, and how to choose the right fit for you.

We also cover things to be wary when looking into online coaching.

This is Nigel Polak...

Connor was 16 when his life was turned upside down.

After his first relationship ended, he felt off, but didn’t know why. It came as a shock when a GP visit revealed he was living with severe depression.

It got worse before it got better, culminating in a suicide attempt that almost robbed him of an awesome future.

Like flicking a switch, waking up in hospital to a second chance fundamentally shifted his approach to life — but the road to becoming the man he is today hasn’t been a straight line.

Now a personal trainer, Connor lives to help people build themselves up, finding purpose in community.

This is Connor Tarrant...

A Stanford study recently found AI chatbots only responded safely to 50% of serious prompts, such as those related to suicidal ideation and psychosis.

About 1 in 5 replies were harmful, validating dangerous thoughts. (Stanford, 2024 via NY Post)

How many of us are using it?

A nationally representative sample survey of U.S adults found 60% have used AI for emotional support.

Nearly 50% believe it can be beneficial. (Zhou et al., 2024 & Benda et al., 2024 — JMIR Mental Health)

A 2024 Australian study found:

• 28% of people have used tools like ChatGPT for mental health support.

• 47% described it as ‘like a personal therapist’. (Orygen & JMIR Mental Health, 2024)

What’s the appeal?

✅AI is available 24/7

✅Doesn’t judge

✅Never interrupts

✅Feels private

✅No waitlists

✅Little or no cost

It feels like support.

But...

AI tells you what you want to hear.

Chatbots reflect your views, because we like it when we’re agreed with.

The more they validate you > the more you trust them > the more you use the program.

(Zhou et al., 2024 – JMIR Mental Health)

OpenAI admitted a recent update made ChatGPT:

More sycophantic

More agreeable

More likely to fuel anger & impulsivity

There’s potential — but protection must be a priority.AI tools can help:

Fill service gaps

Support underserved communities

Offer scalable, low-cost support

Reach people who might not seek help otherwise

But without...

⚠️ Clinical safeguards

⚠️ Human oversight

⚠️ Crisis protocols

⚠️ Ethical boundaries

…it can do more harm than good.

OpenAI’s CEO has stated confidentiality is a significant concern.

"Right now, if you talk to a therapist or a lawyer or a doctor about those problems, there's legal privilege for it. There's doctor-patient confidentiality, there's legal confidentiality, whatever. And we haven't figured that out yet for when you talk to ChatGPT.” - Sam Altman

Andy faced some significant mental health challenges and received multiple diagnoses before he was even 18.

Navigating those stormy seas early, he connected with therapy and was able to develop an understanding of himself that made it all make sense. That experience became the inspiration for his pursuit of becoming a clinical psychologist — a reality he's now on the precipice of.

Andy’s got a particular interest in advocating for men’s mental health, both through his Instagram page and his clinical work. He’s even created a free online tool called The Mental PitStop, designed to help men check in with how they’re really going.

We talk about men, the intersection of science and faith, and using AI as your therapist.

This is Andy Franz.------------

https://www.mentalpitstop.com.au/

Justin grew up idolising his father’s version of strength - gritting his teeth, pushing through pain to provide for his family, never speaking about his troubles.

He picked up the same pattern, often putting others first and ignoring what was going on inside. At school, he was bullied and insecure, desperate to be liked and terrified of being left out. He learned to use his sharp wit as a way to fight back - and over time, it even turned him into a bully himself.

The fear of missing out followed him into adulthood, fuelling years of partying, people-pleasing and doing whatever it took to stay in the mix. But as the highs evaporated and he watched some of his friends lose themselves to drugs, he realised something had to give. That's when he met his now wife and became a father.

These days he's working full time, doing stand-up comedy on the side and volunteering as a director of mental health charity The Next Step Australia — upskilling communities and helping men find a way forward.

This is Justin Sorre...

A 2025 survey of 2,565 Australians by Growth Distillery and Medibank, found that nearly 2 in 3 respondents use platforms like Instagram and TikTok as their main source of mental health and wellbeing information.

50% of the most viewed mental health videos on TikTok were shown to be misleading.

A recent investigation by The Guardian analysed the 100 most viewed videos on TikTok tagged #mentalhealthtips.

A panel of qualified mental health experts found that 52 out of them contained misleading or harmful advice.

Therapy-speak has gone viral.

Terms like:

• 👉 Trauma
• 👉 Gaslighting
• 👉 Narcissist
• 👉 Attachment style
• 👉 Triggered
• 👉 Dissociation

are everywhere now...

But they’re often taken out of context or wrongly defined.

We’re self-diagnosing.

• “If you do this one thing, you probably have ADHD.”

• “If they make you question yourself, it’s gaslighting.”

• “Don’t like conflict? That’s a trauma response.”

• “They don’t take accountability? Narcissist.”

Comments like this encourage people to take on clinical labels without consulting a professional.

Why are more people self-diagnosing online?

Platforms like TikTok and Instagram are:

✔️ Fast

✔️ Free

✔️ Relatable

✔️ Always available

When professional support feels out of reach, self-diagnosis seemingly offers a short-cut to an explanation, identity and a sense of control.

We're just trying to understand ourselves.

But without proper guidance, it’s easy to:

❌ Mislabel

❌ Mistake discomfort for disorder

❌ Miss the real issue

❌ Build your identity around a false diagnosis

Social media isn’t therapy.

It can help:

– Raise awareness

– Spark important conversations

– Show you're not alone

– Plant a seed

- Open your mind to possibilities.

But it can't give you everything you need.

What can you do?

• Be mindful who you choose to follow

• Don’t assume what people say is accurate

• Cross-check your sources

• Talk to your GP, seek out an accredited therapist, contact a credible mental health service

40% of men lose touch with close friends after major life changes.

Moving, having kids, starting a new job. We don’t fall out, we just stop showing up.

(UK Men’s Health Forum, 2022)

Why does it happen?

• Priorities change
• We stop making time
• We wait for them to make it happen
• We don’t want to make it awkward
• We assume our mates will just always be there — until they’re not

The truth is, friendships don’t survive on memories — they survive on effort.

This week’s challenge is...

Reconnect with a friend.

• Send a message
• Make a call
• Catch up

Footy was everything to Tim growing up, giving him something to strive for and a place to belong. But there was plenty he never shared with his teammates...

Living with OCD compulsions since childhood, and diagnosed with depression and anxiety at 19, the chaos in Tim's mind ruled everything from game-day to daily life.

Enduring multiple knee reconstructions, a gambling problem and more mistakes than he can count, Tim's finally found a way forward built on honesty and connection.

Now a presenter and mentor with Outside the Locker Room, he’s using his lived experience to help sporting clubs shape stronger mental health culture, paving the way of the future brick by brick. 

This is Tim Cook...

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More info on Outside The Locker Room here: https://otlr.org.au/

More men are asking for help — but they’re not getting what they need.44% of Australian men who start therapy drop out early, and a quarter never come back after the first session.(Movember, 2021)The most common reason for dropping out?A lack of connection with the therapist — over half of men who quit therapy said they couldn’t connect.Finding the right psychologist isn’t easy. A 2022 U.S. survey showed people see an average of three therapists before finding the right fit.(StudyFinds, 2022)What are we doing about it?Movember’s Men in Mind program is training mental health professionals to better engage and support male clients.While it mainly focuses on psychologists, counsellors, and social workers, its strategies are also relevant for GPs, who are often the first point of contact.There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to mental health.Research shows:

• Western psychological therapies like CBT, ACT, and IPT help around 50–70% of people with depression (Royal Australian & NZ College of Psychiatrists, 2020; Australian Psychological Society, 2022)

• Peer-led support groups (like AA) boost retention, especially for addiction (Stanford School of Medicine, 2020)

• Mindfulness cuts relapse risk by 31% (JAMA Psychiatry, 2023)

• Consistent breathwork can reduce stress by 20–30%(Frontiers in Psychology, 2023)

• Exercise can cut depressive symptoms by 20–30%(Harvard Health Publishing, 2023)

• Creative therapies (art/music) can ease anxiety by 15–25% (Frontiers in Psychology, 2021)

• Rehab programs see 30–50% completion rates(National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, 2023)

Bottom line, everyone’s different...Just because one thing you tried didn’t help doesn’t mean nothing will.Just because one psychologist wasn’t right for you doesn’t mean the next one won’t be.

There’s no silver bullet — often it’s the right combination of therapies and practices that makes a difference.

Keep exploring. Don’t give up.My question for you this week is...What’s working for you? (Let me know in the comments)

Nick Mayhugh has a dead spot on his brain, but you wouldn't know it from looking at him.

Diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 14 after a seizure, Nick was told he'd never play sport again, but he didn't listen. Instead, he used as fuel to defy the odds, playing soccer through high school and college, then becoming a star for the US Para 7-a-side soccer team, before making the switch to track.

Nick burst onto the world stage at the Tokyo Paralympics, winning triple gold and breaking multiple world records, records he still holds today. But after reaching the pinnacle, Nick realised something most never do, that even achieving your wildest dreams won't give you everything you thought it would...

So much more than the sum of his achievements, Nick's become a symbol of hope and a true leader making invisible disabilities visible so the world can see there's so much more than meets the eye.

This is Nick Mayhugh...

Strong relationships act as a protective buffer against mental health struggles. When you feel safe, supported and valued, your brain and body is better equipped to handle stress.

People with emotionally supportive partners recover from stressful life events faster and with fewer long-term psychological scars (Journal of Traumatic Stress, 2021).

A toxic relationship is worse for your health than no relationship.

The opposite of healthy love, a toxic relationship can double your risk of depression (Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2022).

This puts you in a state of chronic stress, wearing down mental resilience and driving up feelings of hopelessness.

Over time, your risk of depression is dramatically increased — even more than if you were single and lonely.

Strong friendships matter just as much as romance.

Spanning over 85 years, the Harvard Study of Adult Development (2023), has consistently found that close relationships, whether with romantic partners, friends, or family—are the strongest predictors of long-term health.

Those with strong social ties live happier, longer lives regardless of whether they have a romantic partner — overall relationship quality is the key factor.

My question for you this week is...

Who in your life benefits your mental health, and how do they do it? 👇

Doing your best to show up every day and juggle everything you have to juggle, can feel like a lot.

And even if life’s on track, the urge to break free of routine and blow off steam can still hit.

In seeking freedom, we often choose things that keep us trapped.

Opting for the quickest, easiest dopamine hits can feel good in the moment, but they always over promise and under deliver.

It’s not the feeling you get from drinking, drugs, gambling, porn or any other vice, that you’re really chasing — it’s a yearning for connection.

Destructive habits can be appealing because they offer the illusion of what you think you want, but leave you drained rather than replenished.

Reach out for genuine connection instead.

Next time you get the urge to repeat a pattern you know you’ll probably regret, ask yourself what’s driving that impulse, and try calling a mate or a loved one to connect in that moment.

My question for you this week is...

How do you channel the urge to break free from your self-discipline in a way that's positive?

(Leave a comment and let me know)

Alex Kalliris is a clinical psychotherapist and Program Director at Foundation House, a residential rehab service in New South Wales supporting men from the construction industry to take back control from alcohol, drugs and gambling.

He’s spent the past eight years working with men at rock bottom — helping them break destructive cycles, rebuild trust and rediscover meaning.

In this episode, we talk about mental health in construction, how substance use spirals out of control, and what recovery really looks like. We unpack who rehab is for, how it works, and why change is always possible — no matter how far gone things seem.

This is Alex Kalliris...

I’ve stuck with this podcast for 301 weeks — 2,107 days and 230 episodes.

But outside of the interviews, I still hesitate to share my thoughts and feelings...

The show’s always been about the guests, and that’s the way it should be — but sometimes it feels like I fade into the background and hide behind the role of host.

I’m afraid of making it about me.

I’m so conscious of coming across as cringe and self-centred, that I avoid sharing my personal views.

I think that limits people who follow this page from actually connecting with me and vice versa.

So my question for you this week is...

Where in your life are you holding back?

(Leave a comment and let me know)

Brayden Ainsworth grew up chasing the footy dream and he caught it. From small town W.A, to the big stage of the AFL, he made it, but behind the scenes, the pressure to perform, the need for validation and the obsession with being in peak condition, were quietly eating away at him.

When Brayden was delisted by the West Coast Eagles, after a short rollercoaster career, the identity he'd built his life around was suddenly gone, and so was his sense of purpose with no structure and no direction, he quickly spiralled into a dark place.

Constantly justifying starving himself and exercising to extreme excess, Brayden became very sick while being unable to fully accept the reality of his eating disorder. Anorexia was the end result of clinging to an identity that had turned against him and a desperate need for control.

For a long time, he didn't have the awareness, the words, or the courage to face his demons and speak his truth, but he sure does now.

A few years on from rock bottom, Brayden's working with young people to promote mental health in schools and using his experience to break the stigma around anorexia in men.

This is a story of what happens when the dream doesn't work out, and how falling apart can open space to build back up stronger than ever.

This is Brayden Ainsworth...

Some moments are so impactful they can split your life in two — there's before it happens, and everything that comes after...

For skydivers Lucch and Ben, that moment came in mid-air over Byron Bay, when a routine jump went catastrophically wrong. A shocking collision in freefall obliterated Ben's leg, and knocked Lucch unconscious, sending him cartwheeling thousands of feet toward the ground and almost certain death...

Miraculously, Lucch survived, but what followed was the hardest chapter of Ben's life, as he reckoned not only with the brutal road to physical recovery, but also the trauma, guilt and identity loss that came with it.

They've emerged from this life altering event with a remarkable story to tell and important mental health message to share with the world.

It's all captured in their documentary called Impact — which is yet to be publicly released.

This is Mark Lucchiari and Ben Lucock...

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Give + Get is a charity born out of this accident and the desire to help others. It's a platform designed to connect businesses and individuals with charities, fostering a culture of giving and community engagement. Go to www.givenget.org for more info.

Teenage boys are growing up in a world where manhood is being put under the microscope and redefined in real time.

The mixed messages are everywhere — be strong, but vulnerable; speak up, but don’t say the wrong thing; just be yourself, but only if you fit the mould...

And while adult voices dominate the conversation on how young men should behave, very few are actually asking boys what they think and feel.

18-year-old Jesse has been doing just that...As a member of White Ribbon Australia's youth advisory group, he's spent the past few years helping shape how issues like respect, masculinity and consent are spoken about with young people.

We explore the quiet conflict young men face — the pressure to live up to an image that's not who you are: and the mass appeal of the ‘alpha male’ narrative'.

From everything labelled 'toxic', to missing the point entirely, from peer dynamics to the search for meaning, this is a perspective on what it’s actually like to grow up as a teenage boy today — and what to do when the world’s telling you who to be.

This is Jesse Rothgrew...

In Australia, around 1.5 million men report lifting weights regularly, with countless young guys in their teens, twenties and beyond structuring their lifestyle around building their body in the gym.

For many, the gym is a safe haven providing structure, growth and community providing huge physical and mental health benefits. But there is a dark side… with research showing one in ten gym-going men may experience muscle dysmorphia, a body image disorder based on an obsession with not being muscular enough.

The dramatic rise of young fitness influencers, and constant exposure to extreme, often steroid-enhanced physiques on social media, has raised the standard of what’s now considered impressive to heights that would’ve been unthinkable a few decades ago. Making it harder and harder for young men to separate their expectations from what’s realistically attainable.

For gym rats, bodybuilders, and teenagers just starting their fitness journeys, the drive to get bigger and leaner can easily become all consuming if not tempered with a healthy perspective.

Oli and Rayan are 21-year-old natural bodybuilders prepping to compete for the first time. Their journey started like many others — as overweight school boys chasing confidence and control. Years later, they’ve built the bodies they used to wish they had, but it’s hard to love the way you are when the goal posts keep moving.

This is Oli Wright and Rayan Abou-Hamdan.

Research shows around 30% of male suicides are linked to separation, and men who are separated or divorced are up to 3 times more likely to die by suicide compared to those in stable relationships.

Scott knows this pain all too well. Enduring a brutal six-year divorce, he was dragged through the family court, given limited access to his children, and found himself stuck in a storm of depression and pressure that threatened to consume him.

Exhausted, with suicidal thoughts running rampant, Scott was at the end of his tether when he made a commitment to rebuild — starting by finally opening up. It’s the reason he’s alive today, and a big part of why he founded Kokoda Centurions — a community-driven project that’s much more than a trek through the jungle.

This August, Scott will lead a group of 100 on a transformative journey along the Kokoda Trail, building resilience, fostering emotional strength, and taking a stand for men’s mental health. At its core is a movement promoting healthy masculinity and putting the responsibility on men to speak up and call out disrespect toward women.

This is Scott Matthews...

Before his chest was cracked open on the operating table, Nick Hudson was already battling something less visible — depression.

He refused to talk about it, pushed people away who tried to be there for him, and wouldn't admit the truth to himself...

Then came the life-saving open-heart surgery that forced everything to stop. Recovery was brutal. The silence got louder. And the darkness got darker before it got better.

Years earlier, Nick had kicked off a casual push-up challenge with his mates — just a fun way to stay active. But now, faced with his own mental health spiral, he realised it could be something much more.

He reimagined the challenge as a national movement to raise awareness and funding for mental health — tying each push-up to a powerful statistic, breaking down stigma one rep at a time.

Today, The Push-Up Challenge has raised over $50 million, engaged hundreds of thousands of Australians, and helped spark honest conversations in homes, schools and gyms across the country.

The Push-Up Challenge's success is rooted in it being a fun way to spark mental health conversations and foster a positive culture of looking after yourself and others - turning a physical challenge into a shared mission.

This is Nick Hudson...

In his early twenties Brodie felt invincible, approaching life like the world revolved around him as he chased one high to the next.

It wasn’t long till Brodie had his first child unplanned, at a time he was far from ready to accept responsibility, refusing to change his party lifestyle.

His recklessness carried on, and before long he fathered a second child with another woman, and then a third.

Still, it wasn’t the wake up call he needed to grow up and settle down and the tumultuous relationship ended with him walking out - much to his regret. 

Brodie had never given his mental health the time of day, thinking it was a waste of time and living by the traditional Aussie throwaway line, “you’ll be right", but eventually he wasn’t… 

When the party finally ended, the lights came on and Brodie was left with nothing but his mistakes, and the realisation that he had only himself to blame. 

Living back with his parents, alone at 29 after another break up Brodie, was in such a hole he didn’t think he’d see 30, that’s when he finally reached out and started climbing.

This is Brodie Toomey...

He was labelled the best in the world at 12 years old — a tennis prodigy bound for greatness, striving alongside a father who was obsessed with his success. 

Todd describes his younger years as Groundhog Day, an endless 24 hour cycle hell bent on high performance, in which every tiny detail was put under constant scrutiny. 

After many years of knowing no other way to live, Todd hit a wall and had the realisation he was done with the sport that had made him a machine.

He soon spiralled into self destruction, trying to annihilate the identity he couldn’t stand. 

Todd’s twenties were a blur dominated by alcoholism, with drinking becoming a foundation of the next chapter of his complicated relationship with his father.

Eventually Todd got sober and has managed to stay that way for 5 years, thanks in part to the environment provided by Alcoholics Anonymous.

He doesn’t have the answers and he hates the idea of telling anyone else how to fix their problems. What he does have to share is a real experience and he’ll give it to you straight. 

This is Todd Ley...

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Find more info about Todd and order his book 'Smashed' here: https://toddley.com.au/

Zach Green was going to be a dad, Three times...
Each time, he imagined life as a father and each time his hopes were shattered.
In just 18 months, he and his ex-partner lost three babies during pregnancy.

The world around him kept moving, but inside, he was stuck— grieving in silence, burying himself in work, and trying to pretend he was all good.

In reality, he was living in a cycle of manic depressive episodes he couldn't escape, causing him to push people away and isolate himself, very nearly costing him his life.
Alongside therapy, the kitchen became his lifeline to recovery. Cooking was often the only thing that made sense, giving him an outlet that's become a career.

Now a stepfather to four boys, Zach is navigating fatherhood in a way he never imagined and advocating for mental health support in remote communities.

This is Zach Green...

Life has thrown everything at Adam—crippling financial hardship, devastating loss, and more than his fair share of personal demons; heartbreakingly losing both his mum AND his brother to suicide.

Adam's struggles began in childhood, living on the poverty line after his mum lost her house and never got it back, leading to her death. That tragedy was repeated by his brother years later when the stress of divorce overwhelmed him.

Through grief, legal trouble and immense pressure, Adam's found a way to persist and a method of working towards the financial stability that his family's always wanted. 

This is Adam Gaunt...

Sammy wanted to be a comedian ever since he saw the greats on TV; but the journey so far hasn't been all laughs...

Born with facial palsy, he stood out for his crooked smile and had a hard time learning to love himself. 

Growing up around a drug addicted brother, Sammy learned early on how unpredictable life can be. And although he's never fallen prey to addiction himself, it's still loomed around him, with multiple friends and mentors swept up in its grip. 

After seven years in the game, it all came to a crashing halt in 2018, when Sammy had a heart mid-show. He walked away, unsure if he’d ever come back. But the stage was never far from his mind. Now he’s stepping back into the spotlight on a national tour, not to prove he can, but because it's who he is.

This is Sammy Petersen…

Jasper spent years throwing punches in the cage, but his toughest fight has always been against himself.

Through a childhood marked by instability. Jasper was constantly moving and having to start over, causing frustration and anger that had nowhere to go until he found martial arts.

MMA gave him identity and purpose, so much so that he's struggled to define himself as more than a fighter.

Now, he’s building a life around his personal training business, teaching others how to defend themselves and showing that there's more to being a man than winning.

This is Jasper Buck...

The suicide rate for people living with bipolar is between 10 and 30 times higher than the general population, accounting for up to a quarter of all suicides in Australia.

Research shows up to 60% of those with the condition will make at least one attempt on their life. Father of three, Chris Fraser is one of them.

He experienced multiple extended bi-polar episodes in his early and mid-thirties, when months of mania were followed by even longer periods of severe depression – throwing his life into chaos.

With therapy, the right mix of medication and the support of his family, Chris has clawed his way out of a seemingly bottomless abyss; emerging with his own blueprint of how to manage bi-polar and make life worth living.

This is Chris Fraser…

Mark suspected he was gay from the time he was a young boy and had it confirmed by the time he made it to high school.

Raised in a conservative, religious household, he was conditioned to believe that being gay was wrong and that belief, coupled with fear of his parents’ reaction kept him in the closet till he was 28.

When he did come out, those fears were realised. His parents weren’t supportive and the most difficult time in his life followed; but he was finally free to be himself.

A successful entrepreneur, business owner and car enthusiast, Mark’s proudly not defined by his sexuality, which he says is just part of who he is, not his whole world.

He’s got what some may say are controversial opinions about being part of the LGBTQIA+ community and he’s not afraid to call it how he sees it.

This is Mark Cawdron-White...

Imagine if your psychologist was that rough looking bloke you met down the pub who gave surprisingly solid advice - that's the kind of vibe you get from Simon Tyler.

Simo's a clinical psych and a mentally healthy workplace consultant, he also cuts his own hair and does an awful job of it... 

His therapy style's shaped by his early career in construction and a lifetime of his own mental health struggles.

He's straight up, pragmatic and stands right alongside his clients as someone who's been there and sometimes still is. 

We talk about how to reframe your thinking and celebrate the little wins in life amongst all the financial pressure and global instability, to avoid hopelessness.

We also get into how he's making therapy work for men, mental health culture in the workplace, and where we need to go from here as a society to really see some progress. 

This is Dr Simon Tyler...

When we think of a typical drug addict, we think of someone who turned to drugs in an attempt to cope with trauma and often childhood abuse. That wasn't the case for Culley.

He describes having the perfect childhood, growing up with great parents who gave him all the love he could've asked for; but that didn't stop him getting on the ice and every other drug you can think of - choosing a life of chaos.

Dealing to feed his addiction and his ego, believing himself untouchable, Culley lived that life for a decade, before it all caught up with him.

Jail was the wakeup call that finally snapped him out of his toxic mindset, starting the long overdue process of self-discovery with a sober mind. 

Now 8 years clean, Culley's living an honest life as his authentic self, working for everything he has in a real job, building himself up and doing his best to stay on top of his mental health with the help of therapy and tools gained from the hard lessons he's learned. 

This is James Culley...

Over the Christmas holiday period we're taking you back to some of our most memorable moments from our most popular episodes.

Kian Rafie is a junior lawyer who got what he thought was the dream start to the career he'd always wanted, when a mental health crisis threatened to derail it.

Scroll back in our podcast library for the full episode:

Legal Battle: A Junior Lawyer's Mental Health Recovery | Kian Rafie

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We’re grateful to be producing our latest series in partnership with Credit Union SA – a proudly local team who love supporting the community and helping South Australians thrive through banking. Their support is critical in helping us shed light on men’s mental health.

Over the Christmas holiday period we're taking you back to some of our most memorable moments from our most popular episodes. For many years, Nathan hated the man staring back at him in the mirror. Deeply sad and angry, with no clue what was at the core of his distress, it took doing the hardest thing he'd ever done to start making progress - asking for help.

Scroll back in our podcast library for the full episode: The Tornado Within | Nathan Schulz

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We’re grateful to be producing our latest series in partnership with Credit Union SA – a proudly local team who love supporting the community and helping South Australians thrive through banking. Their support is critical in helping us shed light on men’s mental health.

Over the Christmas holiday period we're taking you back to some of our most memorable moments from our most popular episodes. Addicted to drugs and gambling in his late teens and early twenties, Angus eventually came to a fork in the road that was life or death...

Scroll back in our podcast library for the full episode: The Trifecta: Quitting Drinking, Cocaine & the Punt | Angus Wood

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We’re grateful to be producing our latest series in partnership with Credit Union SA – a proudly local team who love supporting the community and helping South Australians thrive through banking. Their support is critical in helping us shed light on men’s mental health.

It’s an unstable time to be a young man right now…

The world is rapidly evolving around us, job markets are changing, traditional gender roles are shifting; polarising content served by our algorithms is pushing us ever deeper into echo chambers of opinion and the social discourse that men are the problem looms in the background. 

With me today to chat about various trending topics that intersect with men’s mental health are not one but two clinical psychologists, Dr Ian Zajac and Dr Michael Billows. 

Raised by a mother with Borderline Personality Disorder, Brad was always walking on eggshells, living in fear of the next violent outburst and unable to count on anything except the future being unpredictable…

Growing up with all that instability and unmet need had a major impact on Brad’s emotional development: permeating his adult relationships and looming in the background of his own marriage breakdown. 

Just 28, Brad speaks like a man who’s been around a lot longer, the result of a tough life and hard lessons learned. 

This is Brad Ordway...