Until recently, Dean Antony was your typical Aussie bloke who kept a lid on his feelings.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But Mr Antony now makes a point about talking through his issues and wants more men to follow his lead.
And the Tarrawanna man is undertaking a very physical challenge – 37 one-hour gym sessions in six days – to start a conversation around male suicide.
His eyes were opened to the dangers of “bottling things up’’, after watching the Man Up documentary series on ABC.
Media personality Gus Worland fronted the three-part documentary series and social awareness campaign, which aimed to get to the bottom of the male suicide crisis, effect real social change and hopefully even save lives.
Suicide is now the leading cause of death for Australian men aged 15-44, with research suggesting that some men choose to take their own life, rather than appear weak by asking for help.
“It [Man Up] probably just hit home a bit about how bad the suicide rate is in Australia for males,’’ Mr Antony said.
“I’ve been touched through suicide through people I know in my life – friends, work colleagues and family members.
“I’m getting a bit older and I’ve got a young family…...this has given me a greater understanding how precious life is and I just started to think about what I could do to drive [suicide prevention] awareness and this is what I’ve come up with.’’
The 42-year-old has come up with the Sui Survive challenge to raise awareness and funds for beyondblue.
He will do a whopping 37 gym classes at Woonona Bulli RSL gym. His first session was on Monday at 5.50am, with former St George Illawarra winger Wendell Sailor joining Mr Antony on his last session this Saturday at 8.15am.
The father of two is confident of reaching his $10,000 target, with his employer Tabcorp to match dollar for dollar (up to $10,000) anything Mr Antony raises.
Woonona Bulli RSL will also donate $100 for every session Mr Antony completes.
“So that’s $3700 if I do every session. I just have to complete all the sessions.’’
The gym regular has seen some early benefits from his Sui Survive challenge.
“When I started I thought awareness was about handing out brochures, but as more and more people became aware I was doing this challenge, they opened up to me about their own issues,’’ Mr Antony said.
....he was in some dark places....and ended up getting in his car and going for a drive and before he knew it he ended up in Berry.
- Dean Antony
“One example that stands out is a guy that I’ve known for a few years - he has got a great job, has a beautiful family and comes from a great family. Not that long ago he told me he was in some dark places. He mentioned that one night he ended up getting in his car and going for a drive and before he knew it he ended up in Berry. He lives in the northern suburbs. I took a lot out of the fact that he opened up and told me. That’s why the challenge is working already because it’s more about the conversations that people are having.
“It’s been really good. I’ve got a lot out of it already. I’m sure by Saturday it will touch me a lot more.’’ Visit https://give.everydayhero.com/au/sui-survive-challange to support Mr Antony.
