Young Geelong man Blake Hucker’s acts of kindness amid tragic downward spiral

A young Australian man who suffered a tragic downward spiral left his family with an incredible surprise before taking his own life.

The brother of a young man who took his own life after a heartbreaking downward spiral has spoken of his sibling’s incredible acts of kindness — even at his darkest moments — and shared an important message about male mental health.

Blake Hucker, 22, took his own life in Geelong, southwest of Melbourne, on March 22 as an internal battle overwhelmed him after he was allegedly groomed and sexually assaulted at the age of 15.

Because of the nature of what happened to Blake, his brother believes he felt “weak and powerless”. So he took up a new passion of becoming a devoted gym enthusiast.

His devastated family said Blake fell into the wrong crowd after the incident, saying he looked up to a group of men he met at the gym who led him down a path of recreational drug and steroid use.

Pictured from left to right. Blake, Mum Vanessa, Brother Jordan, Father Scott.

“And then while at the gym, he met some people who introduced him to enhancement drugs, and they also did recreational drugs,” Jordan said.

“So the relationship with them became what he thought was like a strong brotherly connection with this group of strong men, as if it sort of empowered him.”

Blake started taking steroids and powerful stimulants like ice, and Jordan said he noticed his brother adopting the same mannerisms as his new circle of friends.

“Even his speech changed a little bit,” he said. “I think he idolised these people, as they showed him something that he felt he was lacking.”

Mental health and suicide are not easy subjects to talk about, but news.com.au wants young Australians to know you’re Not Alone.

News.com.au’s Not Alone will raise awareness about these issues and provide people with the resources they need to reach out for help.

They were years that saw his mental health decline at a disturbing pace – as he battled PTSD from the alleged grooming as a teenager, and drug-induced schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder.

His brother Jordan – who is speaking out because he wants to emphasise the importance of young men and those in the LGBTQIA+ community seeking help, sticking with it and finding the right support circles – said that even in Blake’s darkest moments he was able to show his true nature.

Blake tragically took his life in March

He told news.com.au this was one of kindness and compassion.

From his early years, Jordan said his brother was a “compassionate and artistic kid”.

“He grew up very selfless,” he said. “He was always standing in to help people who have been bullied at school. That was one of his virtues.

“He was always sticking up for people. He got diagnosed with dyslexia during school, so he felt school was very difficult. And instead of being angry at school, he would sort of use energy to help the people around him.”

Blake managed to hold down another job while also volunteering at a wildlife sanctuary for as long as he could, but his brother said the “trauma and the pressure just got to him”.

It wasn’t long before Blake’s mental health issues became progressively worse.

Jordan said Blake’s schizophrenia made it seem as though his brother was living a dream that he wasn’t aware of.. However, he said his brother was “exceptionally good at hiding it”.

Blake – shown here when he was a teenager – struggled with mental health issues.

“He got better and better with time at being able to fully internalise things and then he’d just present as someone who was getting better,” he said.

“He was happy and he brought joy to everyone around him all the way through his darkest times.”

Only this week his family found out about one of Blake’s incredible final acts of kindness.

They received an email from a jeweller in Geelong saying that they had something for the family to pick up. When they arrived at the shop on Wednesday they were handed Blake’s mother’s engagement ring.

One of Blake’s passions in life was jewellery. And, on the morning of the day he took his life – totally unknown to his family – he had taken the ring to be repaired at the shop.

A diamond had fallen out of the ring, and despite everything that was going on his mind, he wanted it fixed for his mum. Blake and his mother shared a very special bond, which his brother said words cannot accurately describe.

His family have been left in shock.

Apart from having a green thumb, Blake also had an affinity with wildlife. One year he found a featherless bird in the family garage. Blake then hand raised and tamed the house sparrow, which became a fantastic family pet.

Blake knew that he needed help, but he had to wait close to 12 months before receiving mental health support from a local service due to overwhelming demand.

Jordan said that the support from Jigsaw (a local youth mental health service), and the staff was nothing short of exceptional, but ultimately it was too late.

After Blake’s death, the family was left with a large amount of debt and his parents have had to remortgage their home, to pay back loan sharks and other organisations that took advantage of his mental illness. Blake’s psychosis also led to further poor financial decisions, fuelled by the access to easy money, from questionable financial dealers.

“Blake didn’t want to get involved in all of this, he was just deeply searching for the connection of strength. He idolised those who he thought were strong people, but they just took advantage of him”

Blake’s family said he was kind and compassionate even at his lowest points.

In telling his brother’s story, Jordan said he wanted to emphasise the importance – particularly for young men who are often reluctant – to seek out help and find the right circle of support. And, to stick with it if it seems like it’s not working or it’s too overwhelming.

“As hard as it is for men and especially young men these days to reach out for support for the first time, it’s important that you persevere, to find the right support circle,” he said.

The family also want to encourage those in the LGBTQIA+ community to reach out for support as Blake also struggled with his sexual identity in his adolescent and adult years.

“We hope Blake’s story will encourage men to speak out and seek help and hopefully assist in changing the stigma around the topic,” said Jordan.

The family would like to emphasise and bring awareness to the lack of appropriate alternative holistic housing and treatment facilities in place for those battling mental health issues.

“These places were depressing for family members to enter, I could only imagine what it would be like for the patients,” said Blake’s mother.

Blake’s family is fighting for change.

They are looking at creating an organisation to help people in need.

“Blake received his long-fought NDIS plan in the mail just before his passing. This is something the family had battled with for a very long time,” he said. “Additional evidence, psychiatric reports delayed access to much needed support.

“As my auntie and I both have experience in the industry we’ve identified difficulties acquiring NDIS plans with numerous young people presenting with mental health as the primary diagnosis.”

Jordan set up a GoFundMe page to help ease the financial and emotional hardship of Blake’s death – and potentially create an organisation to help people in need.