Around 7pm every night in our family home, we sat down for dinner. Mum cooks brilliantly. On 11 August 2018, it was chicken schnitzel — my favourite — and I still remember the smell of buttery mashed potato wafting from the kitchen.
My youngest sister Sophia was in Year 12. As we sat down, she was off — picking at her food, not engaging, like she'd seen a ghost. I asked her what was going on.
"One of the boys in my year took his own life today," she said. "We found out when we got to school this morning."
A 17-year-old boy. Life cut short. Because he was struggling so much with what was going on in his head that he did the unthinkable.
That night I sat at the dinner table with my dad, completely confused. Here I was, travelling the world as a pro surfer, working with elite coaches and mental performance specialists. And then there were kids in my own local area — 17-year-olds — who'd never been taught how to manage their emotions because schools don't teach that. We teach algebra. We teach the periodic table. We don't teach the most important skill of all.
My dad turned to me and said: "Why don't you go to your old school and share the lessons you've learned?"
A seed was planted that night. The next day I called Woody — my old high school teacher, mid-20s at the time — and we met at the Collaroy Pub the next night. He smiled and said "Mate, you're such a good human. Kids will relate to someone like you better than the speakers we usually get. Call it The Good Human Factory."
The name stuck.
In early 2019, I delivered my first school workshop — a PowerPoint that wouldn't have passed Year 6 assignment standards, imposter syndrome through the roof, and a why that was unshakable. If one student in the room learns one thing that helps them with their mental health, I've done my job.
Seven years later, we've delivered workshops in over 150 schools and reached more than 75,000 Australians.
What I've learned watching student wellbeing work and not work
- Awareness assemblies don't change behaviour. Ribbons, posters and one-off speakers are noise. Students see straight through them.
- Practical tools change everything. Live exercises. Real stories. A specific framework students can apply on Tuesday afternoon.
- Every student has mental health. When we stop framing it as something only "the strugglers" need, every kid in the room engages.
Schools that take mental health seriously aren't the ones with the loudest awareness weeks. They're the ones building daily practice into the school year.
I started The Good Human Factory because Sophia's friend never got to graduate. Every workshop since has been for him.
If you're struggling, please reach out. Lifeline 13 11 14 · Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636 · Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800.