Jake Edwards spent 4 years at the Carlton Football Club, following in the footsteps of both his father and grandfather who also played Australian Rules Football.

Yet in a twist of events he went from a young man on six figures a year with the world at his feet, to having just 45 cents to his name and a drug addiction.

This was a guy came from a supportive, loving family, he had great menotrs in his older brothers, a relationship, he had landed his dream career and had lots of support… So what happened?

Jake had been diagnosed with depression as a young man and this mental illness on top of the pressure of his career all became too much.

Jake’s life took a dangerous path due to a lack of understanding and treatment for his mental illness, one that as a young man he admits he “couldn’t comprehend”.

Jake found it difficult to understand why he was experiencing such emotional turmoil when on the outside his life was going so well.

As you will hear throughout the podcast Jake’s attempts to manage his stress and just get on with things made his sympotms much much worse.

He found him self in a very dark place when he eventually attempted suicide in 2014. He felt was the only way out of his depression. The failed attempt and the second chance at life saw him begin to turn his life around beginning with rehab.

Today, Jake is a leading mental health advocate who uses his personal experiences to deliver his message.

Jake founded the nation wide successful welfare and education organisation “Outside The Locker Room”, which is dedicated to working alongside local sporting clubs, offering mentoring support and education on topics such as drug and alcohol addiction, domestic violence, depression and suicide.

Outside The Locker Room (http://www.outsidethelockerroom.com.au) supports over 3,000 young adults and their families today in our communities.

It has rolled out in more than 60 sporting clubs Australia wide and they have the vision to be Australia’s number one Welfare and Educational platform for community sport. They are also an evidence based program and I am so impressed by the quality of this work.

Local sporting clubs become more than just a place of training – they beome a place of community and family. Outside the locker room mentors, educates and supports players away from the sporting club.

Jake is an example that anyone of us can have our mental health affected at some point. Investing in our emotoional, spiritual and physical health, like Jake and I discuss are all a part of the big picture and something we can make part of our weekly routine so that we can foster resilience.

So without any further ado, I bring you the incredible Jake Edwards.

-Jake's recommended book was The Chimp Paradox by Steve Peters

Layne Beachley is regarded as the most successful female surfer in history. The only surfer, male or female, to claim six consecutive world titles Layne then went on to win a 7th world title in 2006 before retiring from the World Tour in 2008.

She was inducted into both the Australian and US surfing halls of fame in 2006, and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2011.

At the 2015 Australia Day Honours, Layne was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the community through support for a range of charitable organisations, as a mentor for women in sport, and to surfing as a world champion competitor.

Yet there’s more to Layne’s story than just surfing.

Layne Beachley was born Tania Gardner on 24 May 1972. Her mother was only 17 years old and unmarried so she was soon adopted by Neil and Valerie Beachley, who lived in nearby Manly.

When Layne was only six years old, Valerie suffered a post-operative brain hemorrhage and died, leaving Layne and her brother to be raised by Neil.

Layne met her biological mother for the first time in 1999. She sadly passed away in recent years,

She has spoken openly about her struggles from the traumatic events of her childhood, the grief she went through and the effect this had on her has an adult.

Throughout the podcast we chat about how she healed this unresolved pain and suffering.

We also talk about how what practices she uses now to be the best version of herself she can be. Layne is incredibly motivating to listen to, yet she also shares profound wisdom and insight that only someone who has sat in their own darkness could.

I had the good fortune of meeting Layne in 2015 when my friend Toni Popowski and I co-founded the Women’s TRY Athlon and Fun Run in Tasmania. Layne was the speaker at our motivational dinner and she even provided a beach training session for some of the ladies.

The TRY-athlon is on again in Novemeber this year and you can find the details here: http://womenstryathlon.com.au

So without any further ado, I bring you the incredible Layne Beachley.

Tom Bell has spent the last fifteen years speaking to people in a real, honest and impactful manner.

He began working with groups of people through The Reach Foundation, with the legendary AFL player, Jim Stynes.

He has worked with over 100,000 people: from high-level corporate executives, professional athletes to your everyday teenager. 

His work evolved from working with Jim into the organisation Tomorrow Man.

They’re mission is to disrupt the stereotypes that surround what it means to be an Australian man.

What does it mean to be a bloke today?

And what do we want it to look like tomorrow?

The tide is changing for men young and old and the outdated stereotype is leaving some of our mates, dads, sons, uncles, teammates, workmates and brothers stranded without the tools for a healthy life.

In today’s world a lot of men are suffering as a result of not being able to open up emotionally.

Holding everything together, not showing vulnerability, being the mate, the partner, the dad, the brother without a space to let go and be supported is taking its toll.

Suicide is the biggest killer in Australian men between 15-44.

This podcast was an emotional one for me after losing my brother, Sam to suicide last year.

Yet, part of me wants to learn and understand suicide more and to be able to play a part in suicide prevention. More needs to be done. 

Through my own grief after Sam’s death I realised just how important our connections are with the people we love in order to find strength and resilience. 

I feel as a woman that asking for support is something that’s accepted. Yet I’ve watched a lot of men that I care deeply for suffer from the pain of mental illness, from ex-boyfriends, to friends to my brother, and also those men who have been my patients.

I’ve heard a consistent message from them that they don’t always feel ok with sharing their struggles and vulnerabilities or in getting help, and that’s really something I wanted to learn more from Tom about.

I found out about Tom when I called my friend Claire Eardley for some support: Claire’s son Kai sadly ended his own life in 2016. She has since started the kaifella foundation and has raised over $100,000.

To quote Claire from the website:

I believe a peer-based program available to young men, which helps to erase the tough macho stigma associated with our Australian male culture, and provides them with some skills to navigate mental illness and crises they will inevitably endure in life, is an important piece of education that is not available in our education curriculum today.

If you wish to donates will go directly to support delivery of the program, Man Up, currently being delivered in Victoria and Ireland by Tomorrow Man facilitators Tom (who you hear in this interview) and Tom Harkin.

.Tomorrow Man aim to disrupt and evolve the stereotype of masculinity - where did the rules originate and who made them?

They want to redefine what it means to be a man and provide a relevant emotional skill set that can be applied in the real world for the men of today and tomorrow.

Enabling men to strengthen their emotional muscle allows them to develop stronger supportive relationships, express themselves with clarity and confidence when under pressure and most importantly gives them the ability to ask for support when they need it without feeling weak or like a failure.

They work in education, sporting clubs professional and amateur, workplaces and partner with aligned brands on unique projects with a social impact. Tom and I caught up at Hotel Miami – a new co-work, studio and event space. They were wonderful hosts to us with this podcast and I just want to give a little shout out to Darren for letting us use the family heirlooms for this interview.

I hope you enjoy this episode with Tom Bell

Jess xx