By sports editor Russell Bennett
“We all know what pain is – we know it on different levels, but it’s all valid.
“Vulnerability is the birthplace of strength.”
Matt Runnalls’ purpose – and the greater cause driving his non-profit registered mental health charity, Mindfull Aus, since its inception in early 2016 – is to encourage people to come out of the shadows of stigma through self-acceptance, greater education, and a greater understanding of mental health issues.
And it’s the same message spurring on four west Gippsland locals in their quest to shine a light on the mental health battles so many of their brothers and sisters throughout the community are suffering through in silence.
Paul Pratt, Jack Symes, Troy Hemming, and Jason Rantall are well-known throughout west Gippsland’s sporting, business, and broader community circles.
And they’re all coming together for one mission – to spark proactive mental health conversations amongst their connections, and to raise as much money as possible to go towards mental health initiatives involving sporting clubs, schools, and workplaces throughout the Gippsland region.
They’ve been handpicked to take part in the ground-breaking Charity TV Global project ‘Adventure All Stars’ – an international TV travel show with a real difference set to air on the Seven Network next year.
All cast members raise funds for a nominated philanthropic cause – in this case, Mindfull Aus.
On Saturday, Symes and Pratt are spearheading a ‘Mindful Kilometres’ challenge at the Geoff Watt Track in Warragul.
Their challenge is to run 100 kilometres – or a staggering 250 laps – of the track, starting from 6am and running all day.
The more money they raise, the more they’ll run.
They’re doing it to help Mindfull Aus provide workshops and training in the high-risk areas of mental health and suicide.
Warragul and the surrounding community has lost a number of beloved figures in the most tragic of circumstances in recent times – people including John-Paul D’Amico and Tyson Bale.
And, in part, their loss has sparked Pratt, Symes, Hemming, and Rantall into action behind the Mindfull cause.
“It’s about raising awareness, and with these guys you’ve got four different crowds and networks of people who are going to be touched by the message and know that another resource is out there and exists for them in their time of need,” Runnalls said.
“Hopefully we start to build a community like this well beyond Adventure All-Stars and the TV show where we can encourage more people to do things like this and get involved with Mindfull Aus where they can, and hopefully we can keep rewarding people for it.”
Pratt and Symes are involved at the Buln Buln footy club, and Hemming at the Warragul Industrials.
Each of them knows just how important it is to have proactive, honest discussions around mental health, rather than just paying lip service to the issue.
“Going from losing a really close mate (Bale) to then also having no outlet – through Covid – that’s what drove me to do something more,” Hemming said.
“I’d seen what was happening and I knew this was going to get me going again.
“There was just too much time sitting around and thinking about things. I just wanted to find something that was going to help others.”
Pratt said no one was immune from experiencing their own mental health struggles – regardless of their background or walk of life.
“The awareness is the number one thing for me,” he said.
“I’ve become more and more aware of Mindfull, myself, over the past few years. I lead a team of 15 people and work with clients in the accounting and advisory field and you get touched by it every day.
“We chat to our clients about so much more than business, and yet we are qualified accountants and advisers, not psychologists.
“My profession gets touched by it as well, and this year in the space of three weeks we had one of our colleagues pass away due to suicide, and then we lost Tyson (Bale) as well.
“I saw this come up on Facebook and it was the night of Tyson’s funeral. We’d been talking about it at work, because we’d lost JP as well, and I knew this just made sense for me. I’d been talking about it more and more amongst friends, and this was a chance to put myself out there.
“I see myself as a leader amongst my peers and I think encouraging people to speak out is just so important.
“I also did a mental health first aid course, and I sit there and think I’ve become a better person over the past 12 months with everything we’ve been through.
“A lot of other people have been in a different headspace coming into this, so if we can do anything to make them realise there really is help out there, it’s worth it.”
Pre-Covid, Pratt’s plan in 2020 was to run 10 marathons across the 10 states and territories in Australia, and New Zealand’s north and sound islands combined.
Those plans had to be scrapped, but in their place is Saturday’s staggering 100-kilometre effort.
“I think what’s really important in that is that they’re not only doing a great thing by raising money for Mindfull Aus and the mental health cause within their own community, but by making it an event that’s relative to what we’re talking about they’re not only doing it themselves, they’re welcoming other community members to join the team and be a part of it, and that’s what it’s about,” Runnalls said.
“After eight months of sitting inside our own confines and not being able to do team things, to create a community involvement event that involves people getting up and moving, it’s going to make a massive difference in the lives of many people.”
And it starts with a conversation – a meaningful conversation – that could potentially save a life.
“Just reach out to anyone you think may be struggling,” Hemming said.
“If you can’t donate, that’s fine, but if you want to help raise awareness and ask how to get involved, one of us could always use help – even here on the Saturday, if you just want to come down and jump on the barbecue. Just come down and get involved.”
That simple, proactive conversation is where it starts.
“These blokes probably wouldn’t have related as strongly to this conversation 18 months ago as they do now,” Runnalls said.
“Unfortunately it’s happening all around us, so hopefully by starting these things and getting yourself involved and making yourself available like Troy said, hopefully we can prevent a lot of those from happening just by starting important conversations across all demographics and cultures.”
Pratt and Symes both spoke about how people all over the community, from all demographics, are being impacted.
“It’s across every age group, male or female, every race – it’s there and it’s still not spoken about enough,” Pratt said.
“I’m a massive believer that it really is ok not to be ok. Reach out and be vulnerable, and share your story.
“There is help out there, and there are solutions. For me, that’s keeping fit and helping others. I’m really loving what I’m getting to do – both from a fitness perspective and helping other people. We need to change the perception – it is ok to cry, especially for blokes. It’s ok to be upset.”
Symes added: “It’s about opening yourself up to be vulnerable. The amount of people who approach you and just feel like they’re able to talk to you once you allow yourself to be vulnerable – that’s huge, and there’s a lot of strength that comes from that.”
But, crucially, as Hemming explained, there needs to be more people within the community better educated on mental health issues.
“Some people think they’re turning to the right people (for help), but those people may not have the knowledge about it. That’s what I’m seeing – we need to educate everyone,” he said.
“Some people feel comfortable talking to someone but all they’ll get in return is a ‘you’ll be right, mate’ – instead of having someone they can have a hard conversation with.”
Runnalls said it’s about helping to identify where the answers might come from, and to be able to help point people in the right direction.
“We shouldn’t be so expectant of people to scream from the rafters that they’re unwell, when we’re the well ones who can reach in proactively. It’s about checking on people all the time, and being willing to have those tough conversations. They’ve got to have some weight behind them.”
There’s an open call for anyone who’d like to come down to the track at the Burke Street Park in Warragul on Saturday.
Those who would like to donate to Jack and Paul’s fundraising effort can do so through https://mindfullausfundraiser.raisely.com/jackpaul
Those seeking help should contact: Lifeline on 13 11 14 or by visiting www.lifeline.org.au; Beyond Blue at 1300 22 46 36 or www.beyondblue.org.au; Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or www.kidshelpline.com.au; or MensLine Australia on 1300 78 99 78.
