Perth Voice Interactive

THEY’RE often seen as laidback and carefree, but when WA’s surfing community lost a favourite son to suicide in 2021, it laid bare a mental health crisis gripping the South West.

Now a new documentary by charity 20talk is shedding light on the issue  with interviews from professional surfers such as Taj Burrows and mental health advocates.

The aim of Breaking Open: Mental Health in the South West is to spread mental health awareness through sharing stories, ways of support and education. 

The project was sparked by charity cycling group Bunker Bay 300, which raised $150,000 for local mental health organisations to embark on awareness raising projects. 

20talk founders Leighton Bradfield and Lachlan O’Donoghue decided to use their $50,000 share to tackle the South West’s problems after BB300 gave them the tip that there was a yawning gap in services. 

Between 2014 and 2018, 50 people died from suicide in the Augusta/Margaret River area, making it disproportionately higher than the WA average.

The documentary features interviews with Burrows, Bronte Macaulay, Jay Davies, Mia McCarthy, Jamaica Selby, Jerome Forrest, Mason Gibbs as well as Flowstate Margaret River founders Fynn Mueller, Brooke Paterson and Rob West, who provide mental health therapy in the natural environment. 

Macaulay competes in the World Surf League and comes from one of the state’s strongest surfing dynasty; her father Dave finished third in the world tour twice, while three of her brothers were pro surfers.

Macaulay lost her brother Jack to suicide in 2021 and features in the documentary speaking of her own experiences of grief, loss and depression. 

Her brother’s death was a catalyst for the South West community recognising there was an issue that needed to be addressed. 

“That’s a really big name” said Bradfield.

“It got people to a point where they’re like ‘we actually need to do something about this’.”

“Funding is a big issue,” said Macaulay.

“Nationally that needs to change.”

Currently people can receive up to 10 psychological consultations in a calendar year when assigned a mental health plan through their GP, qualifying for a rebate. But Macaulay says that still leaves gaps.

“For a lot of people they still can’t afford that,” she said. 

The Flowstate founders discuss their practical approach to addressing mental health in the South West using their backgrounds in teaching and mental health therapy.

West says they do it by providing an “innovative way for young people and adults to get support for their mental health”. 

They highlight the importance of staying active and connected to nature, a common theme with all the professional surfers. 

“That’s my most important message; is to get outdoors and find something that you love,” said Burrows who always feels “grateful for [the] stretch of coast we live on”. 

“With what little resources we have, how do we essentially change the mental health culture in the South West?” asks Bradfield. 

20talk’s approach is to bring an aspect of mental health to the people already doing what they love. 

“Are they at a festival? Are they surfing?… Are they skating?… You need to go there,” said Bradfield. 

The documentary has been screened in Fremantle and Margaret River. 

“[There was] lots of tears, lots of cheering,” said Bradfield.

“A lot of traditional blokes and women who wouldn’t normally engage with this stuff at all, were really moved, because for them that’s one of their first interactions with really meaningful mental health education.”

The documentary will be available online soon for viewing.

by MOLLY ADDIS