(From left) HIM chair Mark Sleigh, Lord Ian Botham, Gotcha4Life founder Gus Worland, TV personality Karl Stefanovic and St George Illawarra Dragons chair Andrew Lancaster at the 2025 HIM International Men’s Day Lunch. Photos: Keeli Dyson.
CONTENT WARNING: This story discusses suicide.
An international sporting legend has lent his voice to an important cause that could change the lives of boys, men and families in the Illawarra, with Lord Ian Botham joining other high-profile advocates and hundreds of community members at this year’s HIM International Men’s Day Lunch.
English cricket royalty Lord Ian Botham is one of the greatest all-rounders in history, but throughout his career and beyond he has seen the serious toll taken on the mental health of sportspeople.
“I’ve just lost a couple of mates that have committed suicide,” Sir Ian said.
“It is a problem, and one of the big problems with sport is that from the age of 14 you’re looked after and mollycoddled all the way through, and suddenly the door slams when you’re 36 or 37.
“Suddenly you’re on your own two feet and some people just can’t cope with that and they need help.”
Sir Ian has been supporting some players through the transition to life beyond sport, and been a point of contact in the worst of situations.
And he’s seen how the impact of mental illness and suicide has rippled through families and communities.
“You just feel your way through generally, you can’t go barging in,” he said.
“I think sometimes you need to look at the rest of the family, not just the one that’s gone.
“There is a knock-on effect.”
It’s an issue many sports and clubs are now working to address, including the St George Illawarra Dragons.
“Pathways for us aren’t just about what you do coming into being an elite athlete, it’s about what you do post being an elite athlete,” Dragons chair Andrew Lancaster said.
“Within the organisation, talking and educating our young players — our young men, our young women — is a really important part of what we do.
“There’s a lot of pressure on rugby league players, as you can imagine, so ensuring that they’re in the best shape but also ensuring that they’re educated as to what’s important within the communities in which they live.”
The club was this year’s presenting partners for the Healthier Illawarra Men (HIM) Men’s Day Lunch, helping boost the event’s profile and reach younger community members.
“Obviously, a big part of our target demographic is 14 to 20 and they’re so impressionable,” HIM chair Mark Sleigh said. “And to have our national sporting team standing here with us talking about the importance of men’s health, both physical and mental, is just so important.
“I think it’s just such a great story for the region to have people working together to create some great initiatives and to support our local community.”
The annual event supports important services across the Illawarra.
The sold-out event involved more than 540 attendees, including TV personality Karl Stefanovic and Gotcha4Life founder Gus Worland, who attended the first event when HIM relaunched in 2022.
“I think any event where you can get men talking is so important because we just don’t,” Karl said.
“Hopefully people when they come out of here they go home and start talking to their sons and their brothers and their dads and grandfathers. This sort of thing is so important these days.”
Gus said: “To see so many men now just greeting each other with hugs rather than handshakes and having conversations perhaps of gravity, less banter, is what it’s all about and it makes me very excited that we’re on this journey.”
But while there are steps it the right direction, there is still a long way to go, with suicide the biggest killer of men under 65 and seven men losing their lives every day.
“Seven blokes who wake up today won’t wake up tomorrow morning and that’s just unacceptable,” Gus said.
“You celebrate little wins like this just for a moment and then you get on with the job and that’s the most important bit.”
HIM has generated more than $600,000 for local initiatives over the past four years, with this year’s fundraising efforts going directly to organisations such as the Illawarra Regional Aboriginal Alliance Corporation (IRAAC), The Man Walk, Lifeline South Coast, the Top Blokes Foundation and new recipient Tough Guy Book Club.
“The Illawarra is very much leading the way in terms of these great initiatives,” Mark said.
“Our view is that if we can help young men in a certain way, it’s going to help the broader community, and being able to do that work and fund that work through events such as these is so important.”
The organisation will continue to work to support people across the region, with a new ”Leap for Life” campaign already planned for next year in partnership with Skydive Australia.
“Next March, with every skydive that takes place in the Wollongong area, $10 will be donated to continuing the work of Tomorrow Man in the local region,” Mark said.
“We love working with local companies to continue to do the work that we’re doing, and for Skydive to reach out and make that announcement is really exciting.”
To learn more about Healthier Illawarra Men, visit the HIM website.
If this story has raised any issues for you, you can call Lifeline’s 24-hour crisis support line on 13 11 14.
