Ex-tradie on mental ‘fitness’ mission among Young Sydneysider of the Year nominees

Young Sydneysider of the Year nominee Hunter Karam wants to “make mental fitness the norm” which is why he set up a charity to help turn the tide on male suicide.

Hunter Karam, founder of the Mental Fitness Collective, is one of the early nominees for Young Sydneysider of the Year. Picture: Richard Dobson

Young Sydneysider of the Year nominee and champion of mental “fitness” Hunter Karam has pulled no punches in calling out the podcasters and Instagram influencers “misleading” young men, in his bid to turn the tide on male suicide.

The 25-year-old ex-tradie from Sydney’s inner west founded his charity, the Mental Fitness Collective, to promote a new way of thinking about mental health – simplifying neuroscientific concepts like neuroplasticity and applying them to everyday life by “training the brain the same way that we train the body”.

“I was working in construction, a male-dominated industry that has the highest suicide rates, the highest divorce rates, and an industry that is very traditional in how it handles mental health,” Mr Karam said.

The young tradie, who had already lost friends to suicide during his high school years, was horrified when a colleague took his own life, only for his boss to describe the death as “going out in an honourable way”.

“They put on a barbecue to raise money for his family but all I could think was that there has to be more – because we’re not stopping the next one from happening,” he said.

Hunter Karam founded the Mental Fitness Collective to “make mental fitness the norm” for men. Picture: Richard Dobson

“It’s every workplace, it’s every culture.

“Generations and generations of men have been told, you shut up, you don’t express.”

Mr Karam said his mission is not to “raise awareness”, or raise money – it’s to “make mental fitness the norm”, and to ensure young men who are seeking help amid a loneliness epidemic are finding it in reputable places, backed by science.

“Anyone can pop on a podcast and influence society with no education, no qualifications, and be false and misleading,” he said.

The charity founder is one of several trailblazing young Sydneysiders nominated for the Committee for Sydney’s 2025 Sydney Awards, supported by The Daily Telegraph.

Sharing the shortlist are Dr Jessica Teoh, RPA Hospital obstetrics and gynaecology registrar and domestic violence advocate, and transport aficionado and YouTuber Sharath Mahendran.

RPA Hospital registrar Dr Jessica Teoh is a domestic violence advocate and nominee for young Sydneysider of the year. Picture: Rohan Kelly

Dr Teoh has identified healthcare in early pregnancy as a vital opportunity to screen for domestic violence, and at just 29 years old is leading efforts to establish consistent nationwide screening guidelines.

Eighteen months into the project and Dr Teoh is “making progress” – all midwives at RPA’s Early Pregnancy Assessment Clinic have been trained up and given the OK by government to proceed with routine domestic violence screening, setting up the baseline for an effective model to use across NSW.

“One in three women above the age of 15 have been affected by intimate partner violence,” she said.

“It shouldn’t be a taboo thing to talk about.”

Civil engineering student Sharath Mahendran is the creator of Sydney urbanism and transport YouTube channel Building Beautifully. Picture: YouTube/Supplied

Fellow nominee and video creator Sharath Mahendran has spent three years covering Sydney’s transport infrastructure projects and urban planning dilemmas on popular educational YouTube channel Building Beautifully, while studying civil engineering to shape the city’s future himself.

“Getting people excited about public transport is very important, because in Australia – for better or for worse – everything is shaped by politics,” he said.

The deadline for submissions was extended until June 19, giving The Daily Telegraph readers one more day to nominate a person, project or both for the 2025 Sydney Awards.

To submit your nominations go to https://sydney.org.au/c/sydney-awards/

Originally published as Ex-tradie on mental ‘fitness’ mission among Young Sydneysider of the Year nominees