We Not Me
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Episode 47 - Creating a movement
Show Notes
Communities need a common goal to work towards. And even with that goal in place, how can we galvanise people together to help them achieve it? These are some of the questions this week’s guest, Nick Hudson has had to face while building the phenomenally successful Push-up Challenge. After challenging some friends to workout regularly, former engineer Nick setup a simple app and website that would expand from a few hundred to over 150,000 participants across Australia. Together they’ve tracked their push-ups, kept in regular contact with each-other, and raised upwards of $26 million for mental health charities.
Takeaways from Dan and Pia
- Enrolment is the key focus for building a community.
- Nick added meaning to a personal challenge by weaving in mental health statistics.
- Starting from experiments – rather than a big hairy audacious goal – allowed Nick to follow the flow of what was working.
Links
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Meet the guests
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In 2019 Nick’s life changed when he underwent open heart surgery. Motivated by his own lived experience with crippling depression before and after this surgery, Nick made it his mission to reduce the stigma around mental health, improve mental health literacy and promote the link between mental and physical health. Through The Push-Up Challenge, Nick has created a fun and unique way to engage people across Australia in mental health through ‘health by stealth’. The event offers groups including workplaces, schools, gyms and clubs the opportunity to promote connection, exercise and encourage vital conversations about mental health. This has helped to break down the stigma associated with mental ill health, normalise difficult conversations and encourage those who need it to seek help early.
A Perth based engineer who has moved into his area of passion, Nick is a sought-after speaker and respected community leader, and has won multiple awards including Mental Health Advocate of the Year 2021 and Community Citizen of the Year 2018.
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