Mental health advocate Mike King is giving a free talk at the Arrowtown Bowling Club this month.
The I Am Hope and Gumboot Friday founder says he’d already planned to visit Queenstown this month to check on local Fowler Homes franchisee Jason McGirr, who’s building a Hanley’s Farm house — ‘The Hope House’ — that’ll be auctioned off to raise money for Gumboot Friday.
Separately, King’s partnerships manager, ex-world champion triathlete Rick Wells, had been talking to an Arrowtown mate, Mark Stoneman.
‘‘[He] said, ‘there’s been a few ups and downs in the region and it would be timely to get us down there’.
‘‘It’s all meant to be.’’
King says the biggest problem with mental health isn’t what some would have people believe.
‘‘The biggest problem, running around the country and speaking to over 300,000 kids, is self-doubt, imposter syndrome.
‘‘Everyone’s running around at the moment pretending they’ve got their shit together and not realising the impact … [that] is having on
their kids.
“For me, it’s about reminding us all, if we want to do good with our mental health, you’ve got to look out for others and lift other people up.’’
King’s Arrowtown talk, on April 18, starts at 6pm.
