Outlet Spotlight: Young Blood: Men's Mental Health

“The solution must be found in giving the young male demographic a platform to share their stories and help each other”

The bleak reality is that in Australia men are three times more likely to die by suicide than women. The topic of mental health is well covered in the media, but what is spoken about less frequently is mental illness among males. 

The Young Blood: Men’s Mental Health podcast has been working to support men suffering from debilitating mental health issues for over one hundred episodes. It’s hosted by 2022 South Australian Young Achiever of the Year Callum MacPherson, who was inspired to do something positive after the loss of a close friend to suicide in 2019. “If he'd heard the stories of other men like him who had ended up in a dark place and found a way out of it and if he'd felt safe enough to reach out to someone and say ‘I’m not ok’, I believe he'd still be here,” Callum says. “I created Young Blood for other young men to know they're not alone and there's always hope.”

Callum believes that shifting the culture to one that encourages open dialogue regarding mental health and suicide - particularly surrounding men - is crucial to reducing illness and suicide. “Shame, stigma, and isolation are huge contributing factors to this problem and storytelling is one of our best tools to combat it,” he says. “Because it shows that no matter what you're going through, you're not alone.” Each episode features a deep discussion with an individual who has a story to tell about a time they felt there was no way out and gives them a platform to share the things that have helped them through their darkest times, in the hopes of helping others on their journey with mental illness.

Callum has interviewed a broad range of individuals from a Muay Thai fighter who let his fists do the talking to a forklift driver whose crushed leg was only the beginning of an immense physical and mental journey. A unique element of the podcast is the time Callum dedicates to interviewing everyday people. When so many podcasts focus on big-name celebrities and influencers, Callum believes that everyday people have powerful stories and you don’t need to have a large public profile to be heard. “The more listeners can relate to the person being interviewed,” says Callum, “the more impactful the content is.”  

Young Blood - Men’s Mental Health regularly releases new episodes that focus on hard-hitting, real-life stories delivered with empathy. It is available on all major podcast platforms.