Leave A Light On Podcast
Welcome to "Leave A Light On Podcast," the podcast that brings you inspiring stories of ordinary people overcoming extraordinary challenges in their lives. Join us as we delve into the lives of individuals from all walks of life, exploring the adversities they face and the resilience they demonstrate in overcoming them.
In each episode, we'll introduce you to a new guest—a parent, a teacher, a healthcare worker, a student, a veteran, or perhaps your neighbor next door. Through heartfelt interviews and candid conversations, we'll uncover the personal battles they've fought, whether it's overcoming illness, navigating through loss, breaking free from addiction, or facing societal barriers.
From tales of triumph over adversity to stories of perseverance in the face of hardship, "Leave a Light On Podcast" celebrates the human spirit and the strength found within each of us. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and most importantly, you'll be inspired by the resilience and determination of these everyday people who refuse to be defined by their struggles.
So, tune in and join us on this journey of hope, empowerment, and the celebration of the human spirit. Because in the end, it's the stories of everyday people that remind us all that we are capable of overcoming anything life throws our way.
Leave A Light On Podcast
S2 Ep5 - Spoke to a Bloke: Uniting Men Through Shared Stories
Heartfelt stories and critical conversations take center stage as we shine a light on men's mental health. Our special guests, Paul and Matt, co-founders of the impactful organization Spoke to a Bloke, join us to explore an issue that is often shrouded in silence. Inspired by the tragic loss of Paul’s brother, Nick, in 2021, they turned a simple idea conceived amongst friends into a movement that provides a safe haven for men to share their journeys. The initiative started with communal walks that have become a testament to the power of community and empathy in addressing mental health struggles.
As we delve into the inspiring story behind Spoke to a Bloke, Paul and Matt share how a conversation in a pub evolved into an opportunity for men to honor their own 'Nicks' and connect over shared experiences. We recount touching stories that highlight the profound impact this movement has had, from participants walking in memory of someone they barely knew to others finding solace and support in unexpected places. Beyond the walks, the organization champions various initiatives, including financial assistance projects and digital platforms like "MINDS," aimed at delivering messages of mental well-being and support.
Breaking down barriers and smashing stigma, we discuss the importance of open dialogue and effective communication in addressing mental health. With efforts like free Mental Health First Aid training and upcoming events like a 25-kilometer walk, Spoke to a Bloke is committed to fostering community engagement and empowering men to seek the help they deserve. Join us for this enlightening discussion to uncover how you can better support the men in your life and contribute to a world where mental health conversations are as normal as talking about the weather.
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Hello and welcome to Leave a Light On Podcast, a show that looks to tackle the everyday struggles in our everyday lives. It's time to shed some light on it. Leave a light on podcasts not a licensed mental health service. It shouldn't be substituted for professional advice or treatment. Things discussed in this podcast are general in nature and may be of a sensitive nature. If you're struggling, please seek professional help or contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Speaker 3:Here's your hosts Shane and Shiv.
Speaker 1:Hey, welcome to Leave a Lot on Podcast.
Speaker 3:Hey, hey, welcome to Leave a Lot on Podcast. We've got a special episode for you listeners today.
Speaker 4:Well, yeah, great organization. If you haven't heard by now, I'm Shane.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, Shane's here, he's always here. Thanks very here. He's always here. Thanks very much.
Speaker 4:He is always here.
Speaker 3:And you are.
Speaker 4:I'm Chev oh Chevrolet.
Speaker 3:The listeners should know by now. You would think so, but hey, isn't it?
Speaker 4:I mean I don't mind introducing myself again. That's all right. What have we got for? I would say very similar to us, but I suppose they just roll in the same kind of crowds as we roll in, you know. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:So what they do is awesome. It strings all over men's mental health, yeah. The organization we're speaking about is Spoke to a bloke.
Speaker 5:Spoke to a bloke. Spoke to a bloke. Very, very cool yeah very cool.
Speaker 3:They concentrate on men's mental health and all the dramas around men's mental health which is great. I think it's awesome.
Speaker 4:And to any of the females listening to this, they might go. Oh well, this is not for me. Can I encourage you, as much as maybe this podcast is not necessarily going to be something that might benefit you, what it might do is give you a good understanding into someone that you do care about.
Speaker 4:That is a man, yeah, especially because… or maybe you might know a man that is struggling in a particular area, and this would be a wonderful thing that you could then provide them to be like hey, grab some help, get some resources.
Speaker 3:Especially because a lot of men don't speak up to ladies. Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 4:That's good. So, yeah, these guys are incredible. They're based in Sydney, yep, australia Northern beaches, In the northern beaches, and they run an organization called Spoke To Me, a Bloke. They offer resources but they do some really cool things, like one of the things that they do is they do a massive walk 25Ks 25Ks yeah.
Speaker 4:To promote, obviously, mental health and things like that, and anyone can join that, which is so, so cool. But I love the fact that they're just shining a light on this particular area of mental health and men specifically, because, as you said, the statistics is that word again Statistics, statistics, the statistics on men's mental health and the struggles and the suicide rates in men is huge, exactly, and so we really just want to shine a light on these guys and commend them for the incredible work they're doing, and so, for anyone who is listening, we really hope that you gain some insight into this and gain some maybe valuable knowledge or even just info in terms of what you can do and resources you can kind of access with these guys. They're doing incredible work and we really really want to commend them. So congratulations, uh, and without further ado, yep check this one out check this one out.
Speaker 4:Spoke to a bloke and we have matt and paul. I was really hoping to meet you, but your girlfriend gonna delete my number gone. I was wondering how your weekend's been. You waking up, are you sleeping and your girlfriend gonna be leaving soon or not. What could ever go wrong? Sing your favorite song. So joining us today. From Spoke to a Bloke, we have Paul and Matt, the co-founders, or some of the co-founders, should I say Welcome guys. Thank you for joining us on the podcast. Really great having you on.
Speaker 3:Really appreciate it, boys, thanks for your time.
Speaker 5:No problem, thank you. Thanks for having us.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so, as we've discussed for anyone listening you'll hear, it's a bit different. Actually, this is the first time that we've got this right. So thank you, you guys, for obviously being our we wouldn't say guinea pigs, but just the first. You always remember your first. That's what they say, you know.
Speaker 4:Mate, I'll tell you what it's been a debacle setting this up, yeah, but you are not in the studio with us today. You're actually joining us via a Zoom link, which is crazy. For us, it's first, which is good, so thank you very much for being patient and for giving us your time. You guys are in Sydney, like you said, and as we are recording this, we had a beautiful storm roll through here by us, so it's been great.
Speaker 5:Yeah, no worries, I'm glad we could help yeah thank you.
Speaker 4:So first of all, you guys obviously are involved in an organization called Spoke to a Bloke. Tell us a little bit about what Spoke to a Bloke is and what the organization does.
Speaker 6:So a charity focused around men's mental health. We're really here to raise awareness and ultimately, we want blokes to be able to talk right. So we're all about let's get men talking and the charity started in 2022.
Speaker 4:Okay, yeah, cool. So why blokes, or men in particular?
Speaker 5:Well, I guess it started for us when paul's brother, nick um, died by suicide back in 2021. Um, and with with that, I guess it all started because we were just so shocked when it happened. He was, he was like he wasn't the life of the party, but he's always a bubbly outgoing guy. He would be the first one to say, hey, you all right, you want to go for a walk, do you want to do this, do you want to do that? He was like that with all that, we sort of had a good group sort of going and he was always the first one to reach out to someone. Um, and then when, when he died, we um, it was during the covid period and when we couldn't have a proper funeral for him.
Speaker 5:Um, so we, we used to always do this walk with him, which was a 25 um kilometer walk Spitbridge, which is close to the Northern Beaches, and then going all the way around over to Watson's Bay Hotel.
Speaker 5:And then he sort of organised it one year and just said, hey, let's do this walk, and then. So we did it a few years running and then when he died, we got all his mates and that who couldn't come to the funeral once we were allowed out of the house and then we just went in that whole walk. So I guess that's where the antithesis, what's the word? The inception of it, I should say, or the genital period. It started with that walk there to get everyone involved and we just got loads of people coming and I think we were just shocked at how cathartic it was, walking with a bunch of guys and just everyone just talking and in a great mood, and it was a really good feeling. And then we had lunch at the end at Watson's Bay Hotel and we just got to the end of it and thought, wow, we need to do more, we need to be able to help more blokes out there so they're not going to be another Nick.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, that's awesome that it started for something so small as well and it's turned into such a great organization for what you guys do.
Speaker 4:I can imagine. Sorry, paul. It must have been quite tough, obviously, having to go through that experience with someone so close to you and then bringing something so personal into this organization. It can be quite tough in the initial stages. I can imagine.
Speaker 6:Yeah, no, totally. It's been really tough. Yeah, the first few times I had to speak up and speak, I just broke out in tears, right, and I still find it every now and then it will get me. But, yeah, it's you. You know, you can talk about goals, you can talk about ambitions, but we've always been so strong on if we can just save one bloke out there and avoid what group of mates and family go through what we have. Yeah, the whole thing's worth it.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah it's, so it's. I mean, I can't even begin to explain how many times you said this on this podcast and in one of our previous episodes we've used the analogy of the starfish. Have you heard that analogy where the boy is running along and he's throwing the starfish back into the ocean and the man asks him what's he doing? And he's like, oh, it's not going to make a difference, you're never going to be able to do all of them. And he's like, well, it'll make a difference to that one and it'll make a difference to that one. And I love the fact that that's kind of the message that you guys are going across, that even though you're trying to reach a broad spectrum of men in particular, that even if you do it for just one person, that's what matters.
Speaker 6:Yeah, 100% yeah.
Speaker 4:So that's such a beautiful message and I really want to commend you guys on that. So obviously we've now heard the origin story of Spoke to a Bloke. Matt, let me ask you obviously you've been friends with Paul for a while how did the concept of starting this organization start? Because it's all well and good to say I've lost someone, but now to actually get on the bandwagon and be like let's start something where people can kind of get behind us, that's quite a big leap for a lot of people.
Speaker 5:Yeah, I mean it was We've got Scott, which is our brother-in-law, and then our other mate, paul's brother 80, and then there's Kenny.
Speaker 5:So it was sort of the four of us, sort of five of us, got together and we were actually we'd done the walk and then we were at a pub and then we were just saying, well, we should do something about this, and it just literally started over a few beers and then we were trying to come up with names and all that sort of stuff and then we just sort of came up at the pub with the name Spoke to a Bloke and then we just grew up from there and it was very um, it was very slow at the beginning because we had no idea and we probably still have no idea, what we're actually doing.
Speaker 5:We're just sort of three blokes or four, five blokes that are just sort of flying by the seat of our pants trying to help as many other blokes out there and I think it's it's shows like this, it's other companies, it's other people that really, um, are helping us build it every single time, because they're throwing ideas or they're helping us get the word out there. So, yeah, literally just started at a pub, um, just thinking how we get after the first um walk. We did um and they're just thinking how can we help other blokes and how do we, how do we get this up and running? Yeah, for sure for sure.
Speaker 4:Um, yeah, what a cool. I mean it's so funny just hearing you guys speak, because I can actually or I look at Chev and that's the tree very similar, pretty much very similar to this yeah.
Speaker 4:The whole concept of why we started this is is to create awareness, obviously around a very sensitive topic, um, sensitive topic of mental health or everyday struggles that people are struggling with, but to create a space to share it in a very like, easygoing, like pub environment, where you're just sitting in a pub with a bunch of friends having a conversation. So, yeah, it was quite actually interesting to hear that.
Speaker 1:To hear you say that because that's what my concept behind that was.
Speaker 3:When we did it was to just totally pub vibe for mental health.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's awesome.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 6:Just on that, like when, as Matt said, the first year we did it more in memory of Nick Yep, we had 107 blokes turn up in Sydney and we and we had at this stage we hadn't even thought about spoke to a bloke. It wasn't on our radar. We just wanted to do something to remember nick by and we did the day and it was just awesome, like the feedback was so good. People were coming to us, going. You know, there's loads of walks out there, there's loads of fun runs, but there's nothing like this. That's you, you know, designed specifically for blokes, just to get out and just relax and just have that safe space to share.
Speaker 6:And so then you know, we set up, spoke to a bloke. The following year we had four locations. Earlier, in 2024, we had seven locations and this year in March we've got 19 locations signed up across Australia London, brighton and Zurich. But it really has grown. And the thing that's nice for me is when we started it was for Nick and we actually called it Nick's Walk, and what we quickly realised was, even though Nick is very personal to me and Matt and Scott and Aidy and Kenny, he didn't mean anything to other people because they didn't know Nick.
Speaker 6:So we called it, spoke to a bloke, and when people actually do the walk they can write on their sleeve who they're actually walking for, because it's their own Nick story right.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I was going to say everyone's got a Nick in some way, shape or form. I guess it might not necessarily be like you say, Nick as in your brother, but they'll have a different Nick, I guess in some way.
Speaker 5:Yeah, and that was our concept when we changed it from Nick's walk to walk for a bloke is because we wanted everyone to have that opportunity to talk or to walk for someone, or to dedicate it to someone or to actually say, hey, dad, I know you're not doing well, come on, let's go for a walk. And so that was the whole concept around it. I don't really know a story that a mate of mine he was doing the walk and he didn't really have anyone to walk for and he was a landscaper and he was doing a job for an older lady and he explained to her what, what he was doing, and and she said, oh, that's, that's fantastic. You know, my son died from from suicide, and so it's a great, I'm glad you're doing that. And she donated a little bit of money to his, to his team and whatnot, and then the next he went, went home.
Speaker 5:The next day he came back and he goes look, I can dedicate the walk to someone. You know, I've got no one to dedicate it towards. Would you mind if I dedicated this towards your son and write his name there? And she just burst into tears and just, you know, thanked him so much and she was so happy and appreciative that he would walk for her. So it's just little things like that, where you get like little goosebumps and you feel like we're bringing out to people and we're helping people in some way, shape or form.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, that's amazing that. Yeah, that's a great story that he did that for her you know, like someone that he barely knew as well, which is what it's all about. Yeah, yeah, awesome.
Speaker 6:It's crazy to think that you guys started in 2022 from what you guys said, and the reach that you guys have got in such a short period of time shows it kind of shows the necessity of what you're doing, if that makes sense yeah, 100, when we, when we put it out, we put like an expression of interest out for people to host the walk, um, which is how we ended up with the 19 locations this year, um, but we had probably 40 to 50 people put their hand up to say they wanted to to do it, and just to hear the reason why and their story and the passion. This is all voluntary, you know, no one's getting paid to do it. It's just incredible, as you said, just how big the need is.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 6:And to be able to help communities you know that are suffering. It's pretty cool.
Speaker 4:Yeah, for sure, for sure.
Speaker 5:Once we actually started to put that call out there, we concentrated on a lot of the sort of small country towns. So we've got all the major cities sort of covered in Australia as well, but then really concentrated on getting those smaller towns. We had some really good feedback and we managed to put a good I'd say. Half of them now are actually smaller country towns like Geraldton, like Aubrey-Wodonga, shepparton, coolum Beach, all that sort of stuff. So it's nice getting the people out in the bush involved with stuff like this as well, because too often they're just forgotten about, whereas a lot of suicide out in the bush, there's a lot of need for it out there as well. So we're trying to do what we can out there.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, okay. So let's, let's get into, in terms of the, the, the crux of what spoke to a bloke. Does, um, obviously, you, you, your aim is to, um, you know, affect men in the mental health space? What, what are some of the unique ways we've spoken about these walks and and events and things like that? Tell us more about, about these walks, what they entail, how, uh, how it came about that you started these for guys, um, uh, and a little bit more of the events that you guys host, in order to kind of put this message across that you're trying to trying to portray.
Speaker 6:Yeah, and it's a. It's an evolving thing as well, like we're constantly thinking how we can do more, yeah, but where we understand right now, yeah, um, we, we know the walk works. It really has been successful. So that's definitely a major annual event that we're going to do and continue to do. But in addition, what we're trying to do now is find ways we can be more active in the communities, you know, outside of just that once-a-year walk. So, for example, the Northern Beaches, where we're from. We've probably conducted half a dozen community-based events now, which is all about raising funds and awareness to support the charity is all about raising funds and awareness to support the charity. In addition to that, and just taking a step back, we are not mental health professionals ourselves.
Speaker 4:Don't we know.
Speaker 6:Yeah, so we have this dilemma what do we do? Do we bring people on board that are so that we can do that? And we kind of we've realised that there's lots of organisations out there that can do that, and if we're able to be the vehicle that can create the awareness and funds to kind of partner with those types of services, that's also a great outcome. So we have a number of key projects that we run at the moment. The first is one-to-one. That's about providing specific funds for people that are struggling financially to get the support that they need. That's obviously a huge gap for some people and we would hate finance to be a barrier for them getting the help that they need. So that's one.
Speaker 6:The second one is called MINDS, which stands for Men in Need of Digital Support. That's in its early stages, but the idea there is to develop a whole bunch of digital content that you know as people are scrolling through you know YouTube and Insta and all of that kind of stuff Some really sharp key messages that can kind of help people around, support ideas that they may need or how they can get help. And then the third one is we've partnered or we're formalising a partnership with Mental Health First Aid, where we can use the funds raised in these 19 locations where we're doing the walk to then provide specific training back into those communities so that people can become more aware and educated around how to have those conversations and support people and I guess, with that Mental Health First Aid as well is.
Speaker 5:What we're trying to do is, with the funds raised, we're going to try and be able to provide a certain number of free courses that go back into the community, so back into Broome, back into Shepparton, perth, and that way people aren't having to pay for it. It's just, if you want to do it, it's going to be. It's not a massive long course, but it's just going to be a real concise course on what you can do, just the basics of how you can help guys and have a chat.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's definitely a term that I've been hearing more and more lately is mental health first aid.
Speaker 4:Everyone, when you think of the term first aid, everyone thinks of, obviously, the physical side of it.
Speaker 4:You know how to do CPR if you have a broken bone, if you come across anything, this is what you do in order to help.
Speaker 4:But I think it's like in the age that we're living in, nowadays, as you said, a lot of the kind of struggles or illnesses that people are working with are kind of stemming from the mental side of things, and I think it's something that has kind of been lacking for so long is right. Let's address how to actually handle someone who is struggling with number one depression or anxiety or having these thoughts of suicide or financial struggles, whatever it is. What are the tools that people can use in order to then say right, let's try and get these people into a point of recovery? So I think that's such a beautiful space that you guys are working into and it's something that we are seeing a lot with people that we deal with in terms of how popular that term mental health, first aid is coming across. So that is such a key space and I want to commend you guys on that and really beautiful kind of concept that you guys are really getting on board there. So first congratulations.
Speaker 6:Thank you, and I think one other thing that's stuck in my head a little bit and this was from one of our guys that came on board in Perth actually that does a lot of work in the mining community as well and he was saying, you know, his feedback was maybe play down the term mental health, because to a lot of people they're like I don't have a health issue or a mental health issue, like that sounds crazy, what's wrong with that. And so we're kind of and other people have called it mental fitness or just coming up with something that resonates with people. Some people it will be mental health, other people it will be how can you support your mate? Other people it might just be let's get men talking. So it's kind of having these approaches that will hopefully be the right trigger to, you know, help different guys.
Speaker 5:Yeah, I think for us it's also we're trying to break. We're trying to how do you say we're trying to break the taboo of mental health issues. I think that's the biggest problem we face at the moment. As soon as you say, oh, I've got mental health issues, you're like, oh, there's something wrong with him, oh he's weak or this. So the more you can normalise the term mental health, first aid or mental health, then I think the easier it's going to be for guys to then go out there and try and improve their mental health. So I think there's some bounds have been made by other people and other companies or not-for-profits that are doing great work on that side of things, and I guess we're just going to try and add our voice to that. To normalise blokes talking that's our real thing. To just normalize guys having a chat and just saying what you feel.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I think you've pretty much hit the nail on the head there. It is such a taboo topic that people are like they're so scared when anyone says anything about mental health or mental fitness, like you're saying, it immediately just puts people on edge, and I think that's that's the stigmatism that we want to break. Is that, even when, like when someone says I have the flu, no one sits there and like you know no one, no one sits there and goes oh, you know you, you know this is not, I don't, you know, this is not, I don't. I feel uncomfortable about this topic.
Speaker 4:Or COVID, different story maybe, but even that is becoming less and less. But but I think that's what we're trying to say. Is that, like this is something that everyone struggles with, that everyone has some kind of formal shape that they're dealing with it. So what is the big thing in just acknowledging what it is for what it is and saying, all right, it holds no power in the terminology of what we call it, but let's deal with the fact that we need to get better in speaking about it in order to move past some of these issues and deal with the problems that actually lie beneath the surface.
Speaker 5:Yeah, yeah. I think I think part of the problem is people don't know how to talk about it. Like if someone comes to me and says, hey, I've got some issues, suddenly I'm like shit, shit, what if I say the wrong thing? Or what happens here? What happens? That's where what we're hoping with our courses or or talks, or we can, we can get organized with mental health, is that people that might become easier for them to then have that conversation.
Speaker 5:It's not just it's hard for the bloke that's that's opening up but it can also be very hard for the mate that it goes. I have no idea what to say to this. Like, how do I react? So if you can give people the tools that they can react and talk about that a little bit easier, then the conversation becomes a little bit more flowing back and forth instead of just a one-sided and the other guy's just nodding and nodding and nodding and then going I don't know what to say, sort of thing. So hopefully we can make help blokes from both sides of the spectrum, be able to talk to each other.
Speaker 4:Yeah, absolutely. One of the things that I just want to kind of go back on and what you're saying is the fact that you are providing finances for guys to seek the assistance that they need in order to get healthy and stuff like that. Can I ask you just to maybe just expand a little bit more on that? What do you mean you're providing finances for these guys? Is it to like, for instance, if they need to see a psychologist? Is that what the finance is going to be? Or is it going to be like if they need a place to stay, that you know? Can I ask you just to kind of give me a little bit more on that, if that's okay?
Speaker 6:Yeah, little bit more on that, if that's okay. Yeah, definitely, and it's it's more um the the first one where we're providing financial assistance for people to get professional um support and help. What we what we didn't want to be is we didn't want to be the people doing the triaging and making the call about whether someone needed that financial assistance or not, because it's not our background and it's not our area of expertise. So, again, similar to the mental health first aid for one-to-one, we've partnered with services that do that and they do the inbounding of calls, they do the triaging, they determine how many sessions someone needs where the gap is, and we basically provide a bucket of funding for them to allocate as they see fit and then provide us some pretty detailed kind of impact reports around the impact of the funding we've provided, that it's had, which has been really cool actually to, to, to read and to hear yeah, can, yeah, maybe can I ask you just to share a story with regards to that that.
Speaker 4:Maybe that you guys would be comfortable sharing. It doesn't have to be anyone specific per se like I don't want you to necessarily but maybe just someone who has maybe got this assistance that you're referring to and has gone through the one-to-one program and then come out with positive feedback.
Speaker 6:Yeah, and then there was a whole bunch and they you know they obviously don't provide names to us, also because of the privacy and stuff but one example for me was there was this, this guy that he had had one session of support.
Speaker 6:He knew that he needed more, but he had gone through a breakup with his wife and was really struggling financially. And he had this massive dilemma about I'm either going to put food on the table for my three kids or I'm going to get this help. And he knew that he needed the help, but he felt so guilty and useless because if he got the help he wouldn't be able to put food on the table, so it was in tears. When he found out that we could actually fund nine additional sessions for him over the course of the next six months and he could continue to provide as a dad for his three kids, he just broke down in tears. It meant so much to him. And you know it doesn't matter what we do, but hearing something like that, it's just. You know you've made a difference for that one guy and you've helped his mental health for sure.
Speaker 3:Especially in today's society as well, as you boys would know, as well as anyone else, with the cost of living rising and all that sort of stuff, man, it is hard. A lot of people have to sacrifice their mental health. Or, as you said yourself, paul, like what do I do? Put food on the table or do I go and get myself fixed up? Like it's a very hard decision. You've got to push one or the other to the side. I mean, I've got three kids myself, so you just tell them that story. I understand fully where and what you're coming from and where you're coming from.
Speaker 3:So yeah you've got to push one or the other to the side, which is a dead set shame, and it shouldn't be like that. Australians shouldn't have to go through that. I mean.
Speaker 1:I'll go a step further and say no one should go through that.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 5:I mean the government does do it. You do get your 10 sessions free first up with the government. But another issue that is so disappointing is that you get the 10 sessions but sometimes you're waiting six to eight weeks to get your first visit to go see the professionals. Now, six to eight weeks is way too late for some people. You need to be able to get in there sooner and faster. So I don't know what the answer is for that or how to fix that, but we need to be able to get guys. I mean there is the helplines with Suicide Australia. I think you've got Lifeline and men's help and that sort of stuff. So there are definitely immediate lines.
Speaker 4:But it would be nice to be able to get guys in faster than two or three months before they get their first first visit yeah, of course, yeah, yeah, I mean that's a, that's an incredible thing that you guys are offering and I think it's um, it's so key, uh, so I commend you in that as well.
Speaker 4:Uh, there's just so much incredible stuff that you guys are working into in terms of like, I want to say like you're almost filling the gap because, like you say, there is these resources, like the government offer it, but you kind of come in between and just plug holes, um, if I can put it that way, which is so good, because how many times do we say so-and-so was lost through the cracks or so-and-so, you know, just slipped through, um in the, in the space where they just weren't um, got to in time, um, and we know in these particular instances that time is is probably the essence, um, especially when it gets to a point where men are are contemplating that, that thought of, of suicide at the end of it.
Speaker 4:You know we've said some of these stats on this podcast. You know men are more likely three times more likely to commit suicide than women. It's the leading cause of suicide or death in men under the age of 44 is suicide, you know. So these kind of stats are incredible. One of the stats we've seen, I think, is one in four men have taken their life by suicide. So you know these kind of things. Whether we like it or not, they're factual.
Speaker 1:And people need to.
Speaker 5:Yeah, you'd also have in the mining industry. I'm not 100% sure on the stats there, but I'm a builder so I'm in trades and I know that every two days we lose a tradesman to suicide. So that's a lot, that's a lot every day. I'm sure the mining might be even worse. To be honest, because you're five feet under that, that's a pretty tough gig, yeah.
Speaker 3:The shift work. I know I've been in the mining industry close to 16 years now and I know that the shift work does take a lot of toll on the body and the mind, especially for some of the other boys, you know. But we touched base with I think it was our first season with Mates in Mining and we had a big discussion with them, which was really good, and I know you guys, matt, were saying you're a builder, so you'd have mates in construction.
Speaker 4:Yeah which I think is a great organization as well, and what they do, yeah, very, very key and, like we say so, influential into this area of men's health specifically.
Speaker 6:You know, that's kind of the, I guess, the how our projects have evolved. You know, the one-to-one is helping guys that really need it right now. You know, financially, the minds is about raising more awareness and having, you know, digital content that people can absorb, yeah, in a way that may resonate for them. And then the mental health first aid is more, then, about how do we make community stronger, because, you know, it's not just blokes. It could be the mum or the grandmother or the daughter that can help recognise signs, maybe, where something's not quite right, and can also reach out for support.
Speaker 5:Again, that's one thing we didn't point out. With the mental health, first aid will be available for everyone.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 5:Like, whereas the war for blokes only the mental health first aid that's going to be available. We want to give that to whoever wants to take it, because a lot of the times you might have your support. It might be your daughter, it might be your wife, it might be your aunt, it could be anyone. It doesn't really have to be another bloke and yeah and sometimes I actually prefer to talk to a woman, um, over talking to men, maybe they might find it easier. So it'll be open to everyone. Whoever wants to take it will be able to take it, so they can then help their community.
Speaker 4:yeah, yeah, um, okay. So you guys have got an event coming up in March, which is your walk 22nd, if I'm not mistaken, of March.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Do you want to share a little bit about that?
Speaker 6:Yeah, so it's 25 kilometers. Yeah, easy man. We didn't want it to be 10 kilometers because that's too easy. Yeah, we didn't want to make it 10 kilometers because that's too easy. Yeah, we didn't want to make it 40 kilometers because no one would sign up. Yeah, so year 25, it is a bit of a challenge for a lot of guys to do 25.
Speaker 1:It's half a marathon. Yeah.
Speaker 6:Yeah, yeah, it's over half a marathon and we've actually had a lot of runners do it and they've said that walking it for them was actually harder than running it because it takes longer than they're on their feet. Yeah, yeah. So 19 conditions 22nd of March, everyone that registers, they get a shirt. Spoke to a bloke's shirt. The course is all mapped out. There's, you know, halfway refreshments. Um, there'll be an end location where people can, you know, gather meet um in sydney on a, a lunch for people.
Speaker 5:Um, so yeah, it's yeah sydney's always been our original one. The sydney walk yep. Um, we've got a lunch at watson's bay hotel, so we one the Sydney Walk. Yep, we've always had a lunch at Watson's Bay Hotel, so we're keeping the walk and the lunch there. But our operations, lady, good old Bec, when we told her we want to do that at another location, she's like no, no, no, we're not doing that. So all the other locations, we're going to finish at a hotel, I think a couple of a surf club or wherever they finish, and so each person can actually get your own food or drink or beverage. Or we've got a little area that's going to be reserved for the walkers and then they can go and enjoy a beer or a soft drink or whatever they're after. Yeah, it's awesome.
Speaker 5:But it sounds like a long way 25Ks but you'd be surprised. Once you just get chatting, next thing you know you're halfway and you have a few drinks or whatever and get a bit of food into you, and then you're off again and walking and next thing you know you're finished. It's not because you're doing it at your pace, you don't have to do it at a fast pace. We've also said to everyone look, if you get three quarters of the way through and you can't do it anymore, just grab an Uber, get to the end and wait for your mates to join you or whatever.
Speaker 1:It's not a lot of work to do it all.
Speaker 4:Yeah, that's awesome. You've obviously got like you said. You've got your shirts that you guys have that promote your cause, which is fantastic. Maybe, just if anyone wants to get hold of you guys access any of your resources, how would they do this?
Speaker 6:resources. How would they do this Best way? Through the website spexwellblokeorg. All of our details about our projects and events is on there. You can also reach out and contact us through the website and obviously we're on all of the socials, like you know Insta, facebook, linkedin, et cetera.
Speaker 4:Yeah, cool yeah, that's amazing. Well, paul Matt, et cetera. Yeah cool, yeah, that's amazing. Well, paul Matt, we want to say thank you so much for joining us today and for sharing this incredible organization that you guys do. It's very close to our hearts. We will definitely be looking at enjoying or joining in these walks that you guys are participating in and showing our support because it's something that's obviously near and dear to our hearts.
Speaker 4:So you will be seeing the Leave a Light On podcast boys coming and joining to Spoke to a Bloke, how's that going, especially if there's a beer at the end of it, for me too, speak to a Bloke and Leave a Light On.
Speaker 5:We're always looking for walkers up in Newcastle, so if you ever want to start up, yeah, it's on the, it is on the agenda.
Speaker 4:That's something that we have discussed. So, um, it might be something that we definitely uh kick off here in newcastle for for some. Yeah, in 2026 um, I know it's a bit too soon for us, unfortunately, for this march but hey, doesn't mean that we can't come to sydney and join you guys.
Speaker 1:I mean, if you've got a feed? Yeah, I'm definitely going, yeah.
Speaker 6:That'd be great. And there's just probably just one other thing I'll just say with the walk is, I think, the you know the demographic of blokes between 40 and 60, that they get mental health, because it's very, very common in that thing. But I've got three kids you mentioned.
Speaker 3:you've got kids as well. Yeah, I've got three. What I?
Speaker 6:would love to see is getting more of that 15 to 22, 23-year-olds involved, because for me, if we can help influence their future and build a safer environment and awareness for them, to me I've got a real passion about that as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely, and I 100% agree with you, paul. If I can transfer that to my kids, yeah, I think it will be a better future for them. Not just them, but for other people as well. Growing up, yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, Well, thank you guys. Matt Paul, Thank you very much for joining us on Leave a Light on Podcast.
Speaker 1:Leave a Light on Podcast and for sharing. Thank you, really appreciate you guys.
Speaker 4:And we obviously wish you all the best in your journey moving forward in this particular area. So thank you and good luck from us. Yeah, thank you very much, appreciate it.
Speaker 2:Thanks guys, Enjoy the rest of the day. Hey, thanks for listening. We hope you've managed to gain some insight from today's episode. Jump onto our socials and reach out.