Young Blood - Men’s Mental Health

For more than a year, Ben Hampton was constantly sick, in pain and out of sorts. The scariest part was, he had no idea why... All the doctors and all the tests told Ben there was nothing wrong with him. But he didn't feel right and started to believe it was all in his head. It  wasn't till a friend suggested he test for coeliac disease that he finally got an answer and a whole new way of l...

Coeliac disease flies under the radar and it could be the elusive answer to why you're not feeling right...

Welcome to question time! These laid-back chats are a different vibe to the main podcast and your opportunity to share your thoughts with the Young Blood community!  It works like this... We ask a mental health related question on the @youngbloodmensmentalhealth Instagram page, you comment your answer on the post and we'll soon follow up with one of these podcasts reading out all of your respo...

Ben Wade is a passionate personal trainer and a dedicated father; who's also a recovering drug addict. Ben went from first trying ice to using every day and his life soon fell apart around his habit. His marriage broke down and the possibility of not being able to see his young son became very real. But Ben bounced back; replacing drugs with fitness and finding purpose that set him on the path...

Will and Mitch are a couple of mates and recovering alcoholics who host The Last Drinks Podcast. As is the case for many young Aussies their drinking started in their early teen years and snowballed from there. Drinking goes hand in hand with Aussie culture, but how much is too much and how do you know you've got a problem when it's so accepted? A lot of us like a drink, myself included an...

James Alexander is a young dad, an expert strength and conditioning coach and a community leader with a great life ahead of him.  None of it would’ve happened if there’d been a different result to the attempt James made on his life in 2019…   He’s been through a divorce; switched careers and learned to navigate single parenting, all by the age of 30.   James does intense physical challenges to rai...

Around a year ago, Will Plagakis lost his father Stalios to suicide.  Will’s dad was always his hero and as he grew into a man, he was his best friend too.  Stalios endured decades of pain and mental distress caused by fibromyalgia - that Will felt hopeless to help with. His death has had an enormous impact on his son, but it was his life that’s made Will the man he is today. Having just finished...

Will lost his dad to suicide, following a decades long struggle with fibromyalgia, a divorce and other traumas.  He was his hero and his best friend.

If you met Shannon Archbold now you wouldn't think he's a guy who's had more than his fair share of mental health struggles and that's why he's sharing his story. Shannon endured an abusive childhood and normalised living with symptoms of depression and anxiety throughout his life. He made a career as a pilot, only to have that identity pulled out from under him when COVID hit. Shannon's past trau...

It's taken 100 episodes for me to share my story in detail.  I created Young Blood to be a space for men to talk openly about what we struggle with and how we process emotions and like most men, I have a hard time doing it myself! In this solo episode I get into: My past and personal life What it was like for me to lose a friend to suicide How the podcast journey has gone so far and why I do i...

Pat Di Domenico was once one of a growing number of single fathers in Australia. Pat’s parents were separated when he was growing up and he was deadset on avoiding a repeat with his relationship - but it didn’t work out that way. He’s been put through the ringer in the family court system and has had a steep learning curve. Now Pat’s a husband and father of 3, helping single dad’s navigate co-pare...

Brandon's a FIFO worker who's big on mental health. He's been to a dark place himself... when he was only 19, he was on the verge of suicide when a phone call from his mum saved his life. He's taken on the pressure of becoming a young dad, all while having to navigate a relationship that wasn't working. Brandon’s been dragged through the family court system trying to stay close...

Jordan Fielding is a champion Muay Thai fighter and one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, who could also break your ribs with a single kick... Jordan had a rough life growing up and he's had to battle to beat the odds and make something of himself. He's never been one to share his past, focusing on the present and letting his fists do most of the talking. But Jordan's telling his story now to s...

Anders Villani endured severe sexual abuse as a child, beginning when he was just 5 years old. The abuse shaped the young man Anders grew into, deeply impacting his development and relationships, without him even realising. Anders suppressed what had happened to him all the way into adulthood, denying it to himself and never sharing it with anyone. Then, when he was a student at university, Anders...

It all started with a bicep tear in the gym... In the days after his initial surgery to repair the injury, Gabe Lieschke was overcome by necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating virus that suddenly pushed him to the brink of death. He was put in a 10 day coma and had his right arm amputated in a desperate attempt to stop the disease spreading. Gabe survived, but the physique he'd built through a...

A year ago Seb Steel's leg was crushed under a forklift in a workplace accident.    The brutal moment of Seb’s injury was only the beginning of the immense  mental and physical pain that followed.  Surgery after surgery led to let down after let down and when Seb finally got his wish of a leg amputation, it didn't go the way he’d imagined…  In the face of all that adversity, Seb now sees h...

I promise you've never met anyone quite like Chance... The Congo native fled his war-torn homeland as a child, leaving his family and everything he'd ever known behind him. When Chance finally made it to Australia he thought he'd be in paradise, but in reality, life was hell... Homeless, traumatised and a world away from the only people who loved him, Chance had every reason to give up...

TDrew is Co-Founder of 1AND1 Life, an African American owned mental health and wellness performance company based in New York City. Thomas went through more than his fair share of mental health struggles during his schooling days... He was regularly victimised by bullies; ending up so distressed that he became suicidal. Thomas had a hard time learning to love himself and stop hating the fact he wa...

Dave Edwards is a father of two who’s really struggled with post-natal depression.  Dave was rattled from the moment his now 8 year old son was born.  He soon developed anxiety and depression as the pressure and reality of being a father hit home.  Putting on a brave face for his partner, Dave was ashamed to share how he was really feeling.  He’s not alone - around 5% of new dads develop postnatal...

Marcellus Enalanga is a gay Aboriginal man who's faced prejudice on all sides. Marcellus had a lot to grapple with growing up in Port Pirie. Figuring out who he was and how to be himself was no easy task. He had some very dark days that culminated in attempting suicide. But thankfully Marcellus's story was only beginning. Since then, he's gone on to help make significant improvements to Aboriginal...

Abdul Abdullah is an Aussie artist who's fascinated by the concept of being an outsider, something he identifies with personally.  Abdul Is a 7th generation Australian-Muslim with Indonesian and Malay heritage. He's a man who can't be put into a box by any one definition.   Working across portraiture, photography and painting, Abdul vividly expresses the experience of growing up Muslim in Australi...

I met Cain Dover a few months back at one of the breath work, meditation and ice bath sessions he regularly runs as a way of helping people connect. Cain struck me as a man who’d been through something  significant, come to a life changing realisation and taken the necessary action to evolve. And I wasn’t wrong…  Until a few years ago, he was under the shadow of a strained relationship with his fa...

Steve White grew up without a father after his dad abandoned him as a young boy.  The hurt of that rejection ran deeper than Steve realised, until he himself became a father and much to his horror, became caught in a cycle of repeating the same behaviour he swore he'd never subject his own family to.  He never had anyone around to teach him how to process his emotions and was made to feel like sha...

After being named 2022 South Australian Young Achiever of the Year, Young Blood - Men's Mental Health podcast host, Callum MacPherson, chats with Fresh 92.7 Breakfast Show presenters, Davo, Tom and Callum about the podcast's origin story, how to be there for someone who's struggling and what we can all do to contribute to the positive mental health revolution. 

Tom Tilley is one Australia's most recognised journalists and he's just written a fascinating book called, Speaking in Tongues, a memoir about his life growing up in a Pentecostal sect that believed it was the one true church. The church was based around speaking in tongues, with members believing they could receive the holy spirit and speak directly to God in their own divine language.    Tom was...