Saved from closure, The Man Walk takes biggest steps yet

The Man Walk’s Big Walk is being held on Friday and Saturday (June 19 and 20), when participants walk 80 kilometres to raise funds for men’s mental health.

Hosted by charity The Man Walk, the fundraiser begins with a 45-kilometre walk from Gerringong to Shellharbour on the first day and finishes with a 35-kilometre trek from Wollongong to Kembla Grange racecourse, where Race Against Suicide Day is being held.

Funds raised by The Big Walk will go towards running The Man Walk, a men’s support charity with 101 branches across Australia and the world and more than 150,000 members.

Founder and CEO Mark Burns believes The Man Walk's beauty lies in its simplicity.

“It’s just walking side by side because blokes aren’t always so good at this, just having a chat,” Mark says.

“For the most part, it’s really struck a chord with the blokes, connecting men, strengthening communities and combating isolation.”

Mark founded The Man Walk in 2018 after discovering a walk helped him overcome unhealthy habits and routines in his life.

“It got me out of that bad routine, where, you know, 11 o'clock on a Tuesday night I figured I’d deserve a glass of wine and watch Netflix 'til one in the morning – my sleep pattern was terrible,” Mark says.

“Getting to bed by 11 or 12 and getting up at 6 and going for a walk just shuffled that routine for me, and I was actually really enjoying the time on my own in the mornings.”

Mates began joining in on the walks, some started their own, and in 2019, The Man Walk quickly gained traction after a post on social media went viral, exploding from three walks to 101. Man Walks have popped up in New Zealand, Japan and the UK.

“Becoming an international charity wasn't the plan, but the impact and the thousands of blokes that walk each week all around Australia and stories from them about the camaraderie and the mateship have just been unreal,” Mark says.

Mark believes the walks give men a space to connect and socialise, preventing mental health issues from festering.

It is estimated that 43 per cent of Australian men will experience anxiety or depression at some point in their lives and that seven of the nine people who die by suicide every day are men.

Men are the least likely to seek support for their mental health of all demographics, making The Man Walk an invaluable resource as it provides a simple "blokey" approach to support, keeping men healthy, happy and preventing knock-on effects in families and the wider community.

Recently, The Man Walk has struggled financially due to difficulties acquiring grants and funding.

“We were pretty much bust a month ago,” Mark says.

“Because we're about male connection and combating isolation, we don't fit into any of these buckets around specifically suicide prevention, child and domestic violence, so finding revenue streams is hard.”

Left with the small grants that fell through the gaps and facing the closure of The Man Walk, Mark took it to the very top to save the charity. On May 19, NSW Premier Chris Minns brought his cabinet to Kiama, where Mark stood in front of the crowd and asked for emergency funding.

“I stood up during question time and asked the premier if we could have his support for our pre-budget submission,” Mark says.

“Then I just had one of my cheeky moments, I sort of looked around the room and I said ‘no one’s asked for any money’.

“'What I really need is 250 grand as an emergency boost to make sure that we are here through 2026.’”

The premier agreed to the funding, securing The Man Walk’s future.

“It’s allowing us to improve our systems and processes and employ someone,” Mark says.

“We just need a bit more firepower; our plan is to start 12-man walk (groups) a year.

“And we’d like to get more young people walking, because they can be isolated and disconnected as well.”

In the last financial year, 26 new locations have joined The Man Walk. Mark is confident that this time around, the charity will handle the growth.

“We’ve learned the lessons for it, and we’re ready this time,” Mark says.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to have 400 walks in the next four years.”

You can donate to The Man Walk at themanwalk.com.au or join in on the Big Walk on the 19th and 20th.

“There’s 12 of us doing both days but we’ll have more joining us each day,” Mark says.

“People can join us for a little bit or a lot.”

Joining a walking group is a simple as heading to themanwalk.com.au or downloading the app and searching your area for nearby man walks. You can also start your own walk and invite others to join.