Central QLD mates team up to tackle mental health and DV in gruelling adventure race

Four Central Queensland mates are taking part in a gruelling adventure race at Tannum Sands to raise money for men’s mental health and domestic violence awareness.

The Rogue Raiders team who will be participating in the 2025 Raid 100 event at Tannum Sands. Credit: Rogue Raiders

Four mates from Central Queensland are taking part in a gruelling adventure race at Tannum Sands to raise money for men’s mental health and domestic violence awareness.

The team has crowned itself the Rogue Raiders: they are made up of apprentice and touch football superstar Zayne Cox, builder and former police officer Des Loughlin, business owner and family man Jimmy McConachy and builder Ben Matheson.
The Raid 100 event is a 100-hour race that will include activities like trekking, mountain biking, kayaking and packrafting, taking place from May 4-9.

Teams must reach various checkpoints to accumulate points, with the highest-scoring group taking home tickets to the World Cup Final Raid event in France.

Tannum Sands is a coastal area, which means contestants will likely be paddling through creeks, hiking through muddy mangroves and trudging through the scrub in order to reach their goal.

The team is taking part in the event to raise money for two charities: Walk n Talk Collective, which provides men’s mental health services, and TBMM Be Kind, which spreads domestic violence awareness.

The TBMM Be Kind Foundation was formed after the devastating deaths of Tayla Black and her baby girl Murphy Margaret in 2023. Tayla’s husband Matthew Cox has been charged with their murders.

Tayla Black and Murphy Margaret.

The Foundation was formed to keep Tayla and Murphy’s memory alive, and to assist victims, survivors and families through donation and apparel sales.
Jordan Meehan from Walk and Talk said his organisation had teamed up with TBMM Be Kind in order to raise awareness for the two issues collaboratively.

He also spoke about the need for more awareness around mental health and domestic violence in Central Queensland.

Walk 'n' Talk Collective founders Jordan Meehan and Chris Bennett.

“Mental health and domestic violence go hand-in-hand … there needs to be more awareness in our community,” he said.
“In Rockhampton, we are the domestic violence capital of the state.”
He also spoke about some of the factors that he believed were contributing to mental health issues in the region.

“From what we see in the community, the biggest thing is that times are changing, times are tough, and financial situations play a huge role.

“As men, we’re not actually taught how to regulate our emotions.

“If men were more equipped with the skills to identify what their emotions are and being able to unpack these, we’re not gonna see these high rates.”

So far, Walk n Talk and TBMM Be Kind’s GoFundMe page has raised $6300 to help spread awareness of men’s mental health and domestic violence.

The Rogue Raiders have been working hard to prepare themselves for their gruelling, adventurous trial.

The Rogue Raiders team will participate in the 2025 Raid 100 event at Tannum Sands. Credit: Rogue Raiders

Ben Matheson said his team had received outstanding support from the community in the lead-up to the event.

“We have been properly blown away by the support from the community.”

“We were aiming to fetch a certain amount of money from the charities, and we’ve exceeded that by ten times.
Mr Matheson also highlighted some of the physical and mental challenges he expects to face alongside his team.

“We have to make our way through the checkpoints with a map and compass, which none of us have ever done before.

“I’ve reached out to some guys locally who have experience in the army and with orienteering - they’ve given us some one-on-one upskilling.
“It’s a continuous race, the clock doesn’t stop … it should be fairly full-on.

“The sleep deprivation might get us at some stage, but it’s all just about wanting to push ourselves.”

He also spoke about which activities he was most and least prepared for.

“[The easiest part is] trekking, I’d say.

“We’ve all done a little bit of mountain biking solo up at First Turkey over the years, but when it comes to the kayaking and packrafting, that’ll probably be our most underdone part of the event.”
Ben and his other Rogue Raiders teammates will be holding a charity auction after the event on May 9 to help raise further funds.