‘Stick with it': Greg Inglis leads national mental health push for mob
Launched through his mental health organisation, the Goanna Academy, the Stick With It campaign invites people to write messages of strength, remembrance or hope on sports tape - a small gesture aimed at sparking big conversations.
"No matter what you're going through – even if it feels tough or you're not sure about the process – we want people to stay with it,' Inglis said. "There's always a light at the end of the tunnel." The campaign comes as new figures show more than one in three Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults report having a current mental health condition, a rate significantly higher than for non-Indigenous Australians.
Standing in front of a mural in Redfern covered with hundreds of handwritten messages, Inglis reflected on the significance of making mental health visible.
"We all bandage up injuries you can see - but mental health is invisible,' he said.
"This tape, these messages, they make it real. People wrote for the next person, someone they lost, or about their own struggles. It's powerful."
Greg Inglis places a message on a mural in Redfern covered with handwritten notes, part of the Stick With It campaign raising awareness for mental health in First Nations communities. The Stick With It initiative is part of a broader movement by the Goanna Academy to break down stigma in First Nations communities and to support young people through targeted education and cultural connection. "I used to say I was okay, but I wasn't,' Inglis said. "Sharing my story helps others realise they're not alone.
"We have to look after ourselves, so we can look after the next generation."
South Sydney Rabbitohs star and Bundjalung and Yuin man Cody Walker, an ambassador for the Goanna Academy, also threw his support behind the campaign. "Mental health affects everyone – all communities, across the whole country,' Walker said. "Seeing people come together to write messages for strangers – that could be the thing that helps someone get through the day." He said campaigns like this are vital in communities where suicide rates remain alarmingly high. "You never know what someone's going through,' Walker said.
"But the Goanna Academy is giving mob the tools - strategies to work through mental health struggles, and ways to support others too. That's what makes it so important."
The campaign will also roll out across the NRL, with players set to wear Stick With It tape during Round 22 as a show of solidarity. "It's a great initiative, and I'm proud to be part of it," Walker said. The Goanna Academy is aiming to raise $500,000 to expand its reach across schools and regional communities - enabling more programs, more ambassadors, and more sustained support. "I don't believe in just visiting a community once,' Inglis said. "Mental health takes time. That's why we return, we follow up, we build real connections."
For Walker, the message is simple: dream big, even through the struggle.
"I always tell kids: follow your dreams,' he said. "I've had my challenges, but I never gave up. That's what this is about, showing people they're not alone, and not giving up on themselves." As NAIDOC Week continues across the country, Inglis said the campaign reflects what this year's theme – 'The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy' – is all about. "This is about legacy. This is about looking after ourselves so we can be here for the next generation,' he said. "If we can change a life – or save one – then we're doing our job."
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