Eventually he reached a crossroads; he could give in or choose to keep fighting the mental demons that had grown throughout last year.

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Watts chose to fight and through that battle he found running.

"I reached out to my mate Zach who is a runner," Watts said. "I had never run 10 kilometres before, he took me on my first 10km run and we had a big chat about my struggles. Since then we've been good mates, he's seen me through dark times and we talk about how good running is to get out of those times.

"People turn to things that aren't so good for you, I once did that myself. I never knew running would help the way it helped me. People take drugs and alcohol to suppress the feelings and emotions but running is a much better option."

Watts has developed into an avid runner, recently completing the Shellharbour Marathon and contesting the Wollongong Half Marathon.

The event is part of Sunday's Wollongong Running Festival, alongside 2km, 5km and 10km races.

With mental illness and suicide close to his heart, the 25-year-old will be running to raise money for Lifeline.

"Suicide is such a big thing but it doesn't get spoken about enough,'' he said.

''I have a social media following and I have an influence on the younger generation, I felt it was needed for me to speak up. I've been in that spot before, those dark times and people don't want to speak about it.

"Don't fight alone. Help is out there and as crazy as it seems, there's someone out there going through the exact same as you. If I can do it, you can do it too."