Men’s health advocates team up to host fight night for mental illness

Some of Rockhampton’s best fighters are set to go head-to-head at a charity boxing event this November.

Walk ‘n’ Talk Collective are one of the beneficiaries of the event, and their mission is to help men of all ages deal with mental health issues.

A martial arts coach, men’s health group, barbershop and podcast channel have teamed up to fight mental health in an unconventional way - a charity boxing night.

The event will be hosted on November 30 at the Rockhampton Basketball stadium, or Bravus Arena, on Sir Raymond Huish Drive.

Tickets are selling fast for November 30.

A group that helps men address mental health issues, Walk ‘n’ Talk Collective, will receive some of the funds raised.
They plan to use any funds raised from the event to continue their work in the community which includes hosting walking groups, barbeques and other social events.

Walk ‘n’ Talk co-founder Jordan Meehan says there is a link between combat sports and the experience of battling mental illness.

“It’s just the resilience of actually stepping out into the ring and fighting for a cause,” he said.

“It just goes hand in hand.
“At the end of the day, to go and start doing some boxing training and fight on the main stage - that’s tough in and of itself. “And for people that may have never fought in their life in a ring, but have been battling mental health, why not make it a charity fight night and include boxing?”

A martial arts coach, men’s health group, barbershop and podcast channel have teamed up to fight mental health in an unconventional way - a charity boxing night.Â

Mr Meehan said he and his co-founder Chris Bennett saw a need in the community for to support men.

“Myself and Chris are ex-tradesmen... we reconnected through working in the child protection space,” Mr Meehan said.

“There’s a lot of families we worked with in the child protection space where men weren’t present and we saw the impact that had in the home.”

He also spoke about the vital importance of maintaining social connections for men in Rockhampton.
“The biggest thing we think is causing mental health issues in the community is isolation,” Mr Meehan said.
“There’s a lot of talk out there about what it’s like to be a man, you’ve got a lot of social media influencers who say ‘you’ve gotta toughen up, you’ve gotta harden up’, but really, men need to lean into vulnerability and understand that it’s okay to talk.
“Through times of struggle, we were lucky that we had positive friend circles.

“The biggest premise of Walk ‘n’ Talk is to educate the community to raise that awareness and be a voice for the people that struggle.”