It’s an unstable time to be a young man right now…

The world is rapidly evolving around us, job markets are changing, traditional gender roles are shifting; polarising content served by our algorithms is pushing us ever deeper into echo chambers of opinion and the social discourse that men are the problem looms in the background. 

With me today to chat about various trending topics that intersect with men’s mental health are not one but two clinical psychologists, Dr Ian Zajac and Dr Michael Billows. 

Raised by a mother with Borderline Personality Disorder, Brad was always walking on eggshells, living in fear of the next violent outburst and unable to count on anything except the future being unpredictable…

Growing up with all that instability and unmet need had a major impact on Brad’s emotional development: permeating his adult relationships and looming in the background of his own marriage breakdown. 

Just 28, Brad speaks like a man who’s been around a lot longer, the result of a tough life and hard lessons learned. 

This is Brad Ordway...

The past few years have been a tumultuous time for masculinity… 

We’ve witnessed the furore whipped up by the manosphere, and the fear that we’re raising a generation of Andrew Tate clones…

We’ve had Primary prevention programs brought in to schools, spurred by the will to reduce Australia’s appalling rates of domestic violence. 

Men under 30 just played a major role voting Donald Trump back into power, influenced by his appearances on the world’s most popular male-led podcasts.

And swirling around all of this social discourse is one pervasive word that’s stuck to young men like a curse - toxic

With me to talk through this and more is psychologist and Movember Director, Dr Zac Seidler, a preeminent researcher and thought leader working to evolve men’s mental health in Australia. 

This is Dr Zac Seidler...

___

Sometimes going through the worst pain you’ve ever experienced sets you on a path to becoming something greater than you ever imagined. 

A decade ago, Jed’s leg was crushed in a brutal workplace accident; and now he’s a 2024 Paralympic gold medalist… 

Now 38, Jed’s life experience extends far beyond being an elite athlete, he’s a family man, a leader and a dude who just keeps on learning.

This is Jed Altschwager…

___

Imagine if your world suddenly went dark and you had to learn to live without the ability to see; That’s what happened to Ian when he was shot at the age of 21… 

Having lived half his life without his eyesight, Ian’s had to adapt in every way and has dedicated himself to becoming a mentor to young men through his youth work role at Top Blokes Foundation. 

This is Ian Clements…

Grief can take you to a dark place you never imagined, especially when it's wrapped in guilt. Drew spent a long time believing if he'd done more, his brother Mat might still be alive...As a teenager and an adult, Mat was often teetering on the edge, dealing with his inner turmoil by shutting down and keeping everyone out.

For more than a decade Drew knew something wasn't right with his brother, but couldn't penetrate the walls he put up. 

Drew self-destructed after Mat's death, using drinking and drugs to numb himself into oblivion, with ugly consequences. 

Finding purpose, deepening his connection with his mum and meeting his wife has made space for much brighter chapters in his story; all written down in his book, Until The End. 

This is Drew Westfield...

————

No matter how hard he tried, Nik never felt good enough in any area of his life. Always craving respect and approval from his father that wasn’t forthcoming,

Nik manufactured a version of himself based on his idea of what the people around him wanted him to be; and spent years in the cycle of escaping reality on the weekends.

The journey from self-hatred to self-love has been a painful and challenging one, but so much better than staying stuck.

This is Niko Diamond...

The quality of our mental health is intertwined with our sense of connection to each other and the world around us.
Humans are social creatures; we need community wherever we can find it, and being lonely makes us more likely to be mentally ill.
Ben is a musician on a mission to create connection his own way. Since April, he's been taking his guitar down every single street in the Adelaide CBD singing and striking up conversations while raising money

You might be shocked to hear a third of child sexual abuse is perpetrated by another child...

It's not the stereotype that comes to mind when this topic gets brought up, but it's what happened to Shannon Molloy from the age of five...

An accomplished journalist and author, Shannon investigated male child sexual abuse for his book 'You Made Me This Way', interviewing experts

Viciously tormented by bullies over his sexuality during his school days, Shannon's younger years were coloured by shame, secrecy and self-loathing. Despite always having felt broken in some way, he's gone on to create happy life for himself and his family, while building a successful career and bringing crucial light to ugly issues

This is Shannon Molloy...

Grinding out a successful career as a young lawyer, Brian thought he knew the path laid out before him, until one particularly confronting case changed everything…

Back then Brian had no idea embarking on his mental health journey would ultimately lead him to create a unique mental health support service called BCognitive.

Brian’s got a great story, he’s doing phenomenal work and listening to him talk will put a smile on your face.

This is Brian Njuguna...