{"id":222143,"date":"2025-10-18T11:54:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T11:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/222143\/"},"modified":"2025-10-18T11:54:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T11:54:09","slug":"the-group-of-aussie-mates-doing-their-bit-to-improve-mens-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/222143\/","title":{"rendered":"The group of Aussie mates doing their bit to improve men’s mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dawn breaks on Cronulla Beach in Sydney’s southern suburbs.<\/p>\n

The sun slowly rises, warming the soul and the temperature.<\/p>\n

It’s here where a group of blokes gather most days, rain, hail or shine. A handshake, a hug \u2014 at least the welcome is warm.<\/p>\n

\"Cronulla\"\/The group of Aussie mates doing their bit to improve men’s mental health (A Current Affair)<\/p>\n

They’re called the Cronulla Gropers \u2014 mates, strangers alike.<\/p>\n

Under the leadership of mates Jason Dorahy and Lee Murphy, they’re about to take the plunge into the chilly ocean.<\/p>\n

Jason and Lee started the early morning swim club, which has since grown to about 280 members.<\/p>\n

“JD and I, yeah, we started swimming, but it’s the guys that make the group,” Lee tells me.<\/p>\n

“You get so much out of it \u2014 that cold plunge, see grandfather sun coming up,” Jason adds.<\/p>\n

There’s plenty of laughter and banter as they strip down to their specially designed budgie smugglers.<\/p>\n

While it all seems a bit of fun, there’s a very sombre side to this apparent madness \u2014 it’s all about men’s mental health.<\/p>\n

“We don’t claim to be psychologists or psychiatrists; all we are doing is gathering a group of mates,” Lee says.<\/p>\n

\"Cronulla\"\/The group of Aussie mates doing their bit to improve men’s mental health (A Current Affair)<\/p>\n

“We just come down, have a swim, a chat, a yarn, a bit of banter and a laugh.<\/p>\n

“I’ve had plenty of phone calls from guys just saying thanks.<\/p>\n

“Guys say they’ve been through rehabs, psychologists, psychiatrists and haven’t had the result that we’ve had here.”<\/p>\n

About seven men take their own lives every day in Australia.<\/p>\n

“So many men are taking their own lives, so many men don’t talk. Women talk, but men don’t,” Jason states.<\/p>\n

And the feedback shows this is making an impact.<\/p>\n

“If someone’s got some issues, there’s generally someone in the group who’s been through it, or is going through it,” Lee explains.<\/p>\n

\"Cronulla\"\/The group of Aussie mates doing their bit to improve men’s mental health (A Current Affair)<\/p>\n

The team comes from all walks of life \u2014 CEOs, tradies, sparkies, bus drivers, even federal MP Simon Kennedy.<\/p>\n

“Being able to talk through some of those issues and being vulnerable \u2014 I think that’s something a lot of men struggle with,” Simon tells me.<\/p>\n

Jason adds: “Doesn’t matter what you do \u2014 when you put on that pair of budgies and walk in that water, you’re just another guy in a pair of budgies and you’re just there to support and help each other.”<\/p>\n

Jason Dorahy has faced his own demons \u2014 separation, redundancy and major heart surgery.<\/p>\n

“It’s horrible, it’s a horrible thing to go through… to stay mentally strong,” Jason explains.<\/p>\n

“But for me, it’s about waking up every day and being grateful for every day.”<\/p>\n

There are three levels of Gropers: tea baggers, the 200-metre buoy swimmers, and the A team who tackle the two-kay Shark Island swim.<\/p>\n

They have a motto: “no one gets left behind”.<\/p>\n

Jason’s dad, ex-professional rugby league player John, says: “I’m a tea bagger… we call ourselves. We’ll go out there, dip in, and that’s enough for me.<\/p>\n

“The important thing for us is that it’s a gathering of guys with the same goal \u2014 ‘I want to feel good, and I want to feel good for my family’.<\/p>\n

“I think it’s a fact of life – we as men are supposed to puff the chest out, stand tall and straight, and suck it in and hide our true emotions.”<\/p>\n

Former rugby league star Jeff Hardy, another Cronulla Groper, adds: “The world we live, there is a lot of mental challenges going on.<\/p>\n

“To me, it’s the connection – connection to people, connection to the group, connection to the tribe, which is family, and connection to country.”<\/p>\n

Back on shore, it’s time to warm up and settle in for a coffee and a chat.<\/p>\n

“Just have a chat \u2014 doesn’t matter what it’s about, just have a chat and reach out to people,” Lee says.<\/p>\n

“No matter how bad you think you’ve got it, or how bad someone else has it, there’s someone there who will listen, someone who will help.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dawn breaks on Cronulla Beach in Sydney’s southern suburbs. The sun slowly rises, warming the soul and the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":222144,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[49,48,84,393,394],"class_list":{"0":"post-222143","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-mental-health","12":"tag-mentalhealth"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222143\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}