JCIP #363 - Simon Whitmore

In episode 363 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Simon Whitmore.Simon is part of an organisation called Spoke To A Bloke. Spoke To A Bloke is a men’s mental health charity, which was founded in Australia by three men called Scott, Paul and Matt after their friend Nick Dunn tragically took his own life in 2021. Before he did, he would organise an annual 25k men's mental health walk in the country.After they did the first memorial ‘Nick’s Walk’ in 2022, Spoke To A Bloke was formed.Simon came on board through charity ambassador James Kennedy, and became the Brighton Walk Leader for the annual occasion.Since then, he has started more events on a more regular basis, including ‘Climb For A Bloke’ at his local climbing centre.In this episode we talk about his mental heath journey, which involved a lot of issues with his family during his childhood, which carried on into his adulthood.These traumatic childhood memories eventually led to Simon's mental health state becoming so severe that he came very close to taking his own life at the start of 2026.This rock bottom was also his turning point and since then he has taken ownership of his mental health and gotten the support he needs to turn his life around.We talk about him getting involved in Spoke To A Bloke, leading the Brighton leg of the annual Walk event, and the impact it had on him and the thousands of other men who got involved with it.As always, #itsokaytoventYou can follow Spoke To A Bloke on social media below: InstagramTikTokTRIGGER WARNING: this podcast contains a deep discussion about suicide and suicidality, which some listeners may find distressing or upsetting, so please listen with caution.Support Us:PatreonPayPalMerchandise