As we head into June, public interest & conversation on the topic of Men's mental health peaks with Men's Health Week starting on Monday, 13 June. This week provides an opportunity to spark important conversations, increase awareness and reduce stigma around Men's health and provide teams and individuals with strategies to cope with the ongoing impact of the pandemic on wellbeing.
We've selected a list of exceptional Australians who specialize in Men's Mental Health and well-being on a professional level, as well as some who have a lived experience overcoming adversity. These Speakers will ignite conversations and drive real positive change in your school, organization, and personal life.
Hunter Johnson is the Founder & CEO of two purpose-driven organizations.
Hunter leads The Man Cave, an emotional intelligence charity that has impacted the lives of 20,000 young men across Australia and is also the CEO of STUFF™, a men's personal care brand that champions healthy masculinity. He also works as an Advisor to The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust (QCT), a charity supporting young people throughout the Commonwealth alongside Prince Harry, the President of QCT.
Hunter's work has led him to present around the world and be recognized as a Finalist for the 2020 Young Australian of the Year Awards (VIC), listed as one of Harper's Bazaar's "Visionary Men of 2019", named a 2018 Queen's Young Leader by Her Majesty The Queen, and 2018 Winner of the EY Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Learn more about Hunter >
Luc Longley is a trailblazer whose inherent sense of curiosity led him to become the first-ever Australian to play in the NBA and a key component of one of the best teams of all time, the Chicago Bulls, who he won 3 back to back championships with from 1995 to 1998.
Luc presents In Conversation with a facilitator and this format allows him to candidly share insights into his background, his journey to the Chicago Bulls and what it was like to be part of such an iconic moment in time. Luc will also share the lessons he learnt along the way about leadership, high performance, building a diverse team, the importance of habits to maintaining good mental health and how striving for success and being a good human are not mutually exclusive ambitions. Luc is a disarmingly authentic and gifted storyteller, and audiences will leave this session with renewed insight into an iconic moment in history along with valuable lessons and takeaways that translate into their work and personal endeavours.
Nick Bracks has spent the last decade as a passionate advocate for mental health issues, speaking at some of Australia’s largest organizations.
In his presentation, Nick candidly recounts the mental health he's faced since childhood, including a particularly difficult period when injury forced an early end to his dream career as a professional athlete.
Nick’s message has been delivered to some of the world’s largest employers, government organizations, schools, and universities as well as many charitable organizations, such as Beyond Blue, Movember, and Headspace. Nick has helped to launch mental health-related programs and technology solutions in a tireless campaign for better mental health conditions in Australia and around the world.
Harry is the first Australian boxer to bring home an Olympic medal since 1988 and made headlines doing it.
Harry is committed to breaking stereotypes and sharing wisdom beyond his years as he does it. Every month Harry takes on a new challenge that pushes his boundaries and builds his resilience. He’s all about getting back up no matter what but also learning from every mistake along the way.
Joel Feren is a highly regarded dietitian and nutrition consultant who has led major projects for a variety of FMCG companies and regularly consults to the food industry and in private practice, helping clients to achieve improved health with good nutrition.
Joel believes that mental health can be strongly influenced by the quality of our diets and that dietitians play a pivotal role in the treatment of people living with poor mental health, yet the importance of dietary interventions remains under-recognized. Prioritizing measures to improve men’s mental health outcomes is critical and the encouraging news is we can do this one bite at a time.
Tarang Chawla is a writer, anti-violence campaigner, mental health and gender equality advocate.
He is a suicide survivor, storyteller and trainee lawyer using his voice to serve the community and champion human rights.
In 2015 Tarang Chawla’s sister, Nikita was just 23 when she was murdered by her partner while she slept. Ever since, Tarang has been campaigning to end violence against women and their children with a particular focus on ensuring that survivors’ stories are shared in a safe, sensitive and responsible way.
Mitch Wallis is quickly becoming one of the most recognizable faces in mental health with first-hand experiences of all aspects of this space.
He is the founder & CEO of Heart On My Sleeve, one of the fastest-growing mental health organizations and worldwide social movements, and has experienced a lifetime battling a multitude of mental health issues and has a deep first-hand understanding of suffering. Mitch also has a Master’s degree in Psychology from Columbia University in New York, and a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University of Sydney. He has studied under Harvard Psychologists, is an accredited Mental Health First Aid Officer & a volunteer at Lifeline.
In the early days of this crisis, Mitch delivered the webinar, Coping with COVID, to thousands of people online empowering them with practical tools and tips on how to support themselves and others through times of uncertainty.
Cooper Chapman is inspiring people worldwide to improve their well-being by finding their purpose through connecting with their values. Cooper is fueled by happiness and kindness.
Travelling the world as a professional surfer for the last ten years has offered him countless opportunities, including representing Australia on multiple occasions and being rated in the top 100 surfers globally over the previous seven years. Cooper is still competing and chasing his dreams of being a world champion surfer. From his own experience of trying to achieve balance regarding his mental health, he realised that this was the same for many others. With the alarming rise in suicide rates, especially among youth, he decided he wanted to make a difference. He watched his sister lose two friends to suicide in a fortnight while in year 12 art high school, and at that moment, Cooper’s mental health organisation, The Good Human Factory (TGHF), was born.
Osher Günsberg is one of Australia’s most recognizable media personalities who has been a guest in the living rooms of Australian’s for nearly 2 decades.
Osher creates powerful conversations surrounding addiction, mental health, and wellbeing by sharing his personal story against the backdrop of his extensive and successful media career.
He shares details of how he navigated his own mental health and has impactful discussions that aim to make each day better than the last by promoting healthy conversations.
At 17, Isaiah Dawe was travelling back to boarding school after the holidays when his foster carer sent him a text saying he was no longer able to live with them.
This was the genesis for Isaiah to create ID. Know Yourself, the first Aboriginal-led organization delivering 1:1 mentoring and support coordination to Aboriginal children and young people in contact with the Out of Home Care and Juvenile Justice system in New South Wales. As Founder and CEO of ID. Know Yourself, Isaiah is determined to impact the lives of the 22,000 Aboriginal children in Out of Home Care, their purpose is to break the cycle of intergenerational trauma and disadvantage by establishing belonging, discovering purpose, and empowering positive choices.
Dr Norman Swan is Australia’s most respected health journalist, broadcaster and commentator and is in high demand as a facilitator and speaker.
Norman Swan hosts The Health Report on the ABC’s Radio National, a regular panellist on The Drum and a guest reporter on Four Corners on ABC Television. The Health Report is the world’s longest-running health programme in the English-speaking world and Norman has won many awards for his work including Australia’s top prize for journalism, the Gold Walkley.
Shane Jacobson's memorable and extraordinary life is told through his best-selling book ‘The Long Road to Overnight Success’.
A beloved actor, director, writer, and comedian, Shane's sense of humour is just as pertinent on and off-screen.
Jason Ball is the 2017 Young Australian of the Year for Victoria, best known as the pioneering LGBTQI+ advocate who in 2012 became the first male Aussie Rules footballer at any level of the game to publicly come out as gay in the national media.
Since taking that stand, Jason has become a national figurehead on combating homophobia in sport and highlighting the damaging impact of discrimination on the mental health and well-being of the LGBTQI+ community.
Few people have the drive and dedication of Mitch McPherson. When his younger brother Ty took his own life in 2013, Mitch, a glazier by trade, turned the devastating loss into the successful suicide prevention charity SPEAK UP! Stay ChatTY. It is this phenomenal work which lead to his being awarded Tasmania's Young Australian of the Year in 2017.
Since then, Mitch has spoken to over 600 events which include school groups, workplaces and sporting clubs and is dedicated to spreading the message that nothing is so bad that you can’t talk about it.
Wayne Schwass captured Australia’s attention as one of the most successful football players in AFL history before going on to make a name as a broadcaster and mental health advocate.
Since retiring from the AFL in 2002, Wayne has established himself as a passionate advocate for mental health awareness. In 2006, Wayne founded the ‘Sunrise Foundation’, an organisation focused on delivering preventative education programs to secondary school students, after becoming one of the first AFL players to speak openly about his experience with depression.
Wayne now runs Puka Up, a social enterprise focusing on mental health, emotional wellbeing and, importantly, suicide prevention.
As the founder of The Good Place, Ray teaches mental fitness, high performance, and mindfulness grounded in neuroscience and positive psychology to help individuals, teams, and organizations fight stress, think better, and perform at their peak.
Ray is on a mission to create a more mindful world and help fight the global mental health crisis by educating and empowering others to look after their most valuable resource - their minds
During the COVID-19 crisis, Ray has helped many of Australia’s biggest companies look after their team’s mental wellbeing and navigate the current work climate through his virtual workshops and keynotes.
Todd Liubinskas has been involved in fitness from the moment he could walk and talk.
Todd has been Men’s Health Magazines’ Fitness Director since 2018, He is an integral part of the health and fitness space in the media amongst the Australian community. As the fitness director for Men’s Health, which has more than 2 million touchpoints, Todd has led fitness initiatives that have broken down the barriers to health and fitness for the Men’s Health audience. Todd is the brand’s go-to fitness resource, spearheading fitness content across video, print, and digital, and will appear at Men’s Health events.
Todd has worked at an elite level training the likes of The Wallabies, NZ Rugby League team, Aussie 7s, and a number of high-profile personalities. He has an innate ability to connect with people from all levels of fitness and mindset traversing age and background. He’s formulated programs for a number of corporates including Westpac, Unmind (UK), Toyota, and Porsche.
Tom Boyd grew up with the weight of expectation that he would one day be the best junior footballer in the country and taken with the first pick in the AFL National Draft.
This is something he had dreamed of as a kid and his peers aspired to be. However, after reaching this milestone when he was selected by the GWS Giants in the 2013 Draft at the tender age of 18, Tom realized in the very early days of his time in Sydney, that this career may not be what it had seemed.
Tom shares his inspirational journey, highlighting his mental health battles and how he identifies and manages them on a daily basis. Still, at the age of 25, Tom speaks with wisdom beyond his years and translates to listeners across all demographics.
Andrew May is recognised as one of the world’s leading strategists on workplace performance and wellbeing.
As a high-performance coach, researcher and keynote speaker he is focused on helping people unlock their full potential, sustain performance, and providing people with the skills and mindset to flourish in the new world of work (NWW).
Andrew is a high energy and effective speaker – his wisdom in health and lifestyle combined with his skills in business mentoring, make him a most invaluable conference speaker.
Kirk Pengilly is one of the founding members of INXS, which started back in 1977, and they have sold in excess of 50 million records worldwide.
Kirk has quietly been involved in a number of charities over the years - Greenpeace, the Starlight Foundation, Mirabel, World Vision and Amnesty International to name a few. He was actively involved with the Eye Foundation in Australia as their Key Ambassador for 12 years, a role close to his heart after nearly losing his sight to Glaucoma in the mid-’80s. More recently, after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in early 2015, he became a Key Ambassador for Movember and the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Kirk is also the Key Ambassador for Glaucoma Australia.
Gus Worland is an Australian television and radio personality and director and founder of mental health foundation, Gotcha4Life.
He is well known for his series of reality television programs for Foxtel (An Aussie Goes Barmy, An Aussie Goes Bolly and An Aussie Goes Calypso) and A&E (Marathon Man). He has also covered Commonwealth and Olympic Games for Foxtel.
A carpenter by trade and a popular media personality, Tom Williams has earned a reputation as both a thrill-seeker and all-around ‘nice guy’.
Having worked with the Seven Network across a variety of programs, including The Great Outdoors and Dancing With The Stars, Tom is currently on-air each weekday co-hosting the popular lifestyle show, The Daily Edition.
Tom Williams is an outstanding and experienced MC, host, and keynote speaker, he is available to MC and or speak at events/functions Australia-wide.
Scott Henderson has always lived in pursuit of a healthy and active lifestyle by combining passion and career.
He has worked in the sport, health, and fitness industries in Australia, the USA, Spain, and the UK, with a focus on content production, education, and marketing.
Now as the editor and content director of Men’s Health Australia, Scott is able to share his passion for the industry with the wider international community through education, creative content, events, and photography.
Scott has produced content for the global Men’s Health Network, whilst also making regular appearances as a health and men’s lifestyle expert on Sunrise, hosting events and panels, and contributing to digital and print publications including nine.com.au, WHO, and Women's Health among others.
DREW'S DAILY DOSE Drew Harrisberg is an exercise physiologist, sports scientist, diabetes educator, and most importantly - a happy and healthy guy thriving with type 1 diabetes.
After being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 21, Drew made it his mission to regain control of his health by making positive changes to the way that he lives, eats, moves, and the mindset in which he approaches life. Drew has not only accepted living with diabetes but has also learned to love it and manage it so that it doesn’t manage him.
Known all over Australia as ‘Commando Steve’, Steve Willis is one of the country’s most recognized and respected fitness experts.
He’s been working in the fitness industry since 2005, enriching people’s lives through fitness, mindset, and nutrition. In recent years Steve has actively pursued a path of self-awareness. Through a great deal of self-education, listening, learning, and practicing, Steve now readily admits he used exercise as a means of escaping reality.
Years later, leaving behind the ‘hard man of fitness’ character depicted on The Biggest Loser, Steve has removed his ‘body armor’, learned to enjoy life, and embraces mindfulness in everything he does. Whilst fitness and movement will always remain at the core of everything he does, Steve’s focus is now to utilise everything he has learnt from such a varied and contrasting life to others realize the importance of self-awareness in all aspects.
