Our Friends
StrongMind is built on connection, trust and community.
Our friends and partner organisations help us strengthen the work we do with men, families, frontline teams and communities across Australia.
These are the people, services and organisations who share our belief in honest conversations, practical support, healing, accountability and long-term change.
Stronger Work Happens Together
StrongMind works alongside organisations, facilitators, community leaders and support services who are committed to helping men heal, reconnect and create safer ways forward.
Our friends may support the work through program delivery, community partnerships, training, referrals, sponsorship, collaboration, event support or shared advocacy.
Each connection helps expand the reach of StrongMind’s men’s programs, AOD support, behaviour change work, healing camps, staff workshops and community-based initiatives.
side by side
Youth services
Side By Side, led by our good mates Troy Reardon and Eric Brown, is one of the most credible youth-focused behaviour‑change services we’ve come across.
Troy brings nearly nine years of sobriety and deep experience mentoring young people around self‑image, emotional awareness, and staying steady under pressure.
Eric is an Aboriginal cultural facilitator with over a decade of delivering cultural therapeutic interventions for high‑risk young people, drawing on his own journey through addiction and recovery.
Together, they run intensive workshops, early‑intervention mentoring, and speaking engagements that cut beneath the surface—helping young people understand the real drivers behind harmful choices and build healthier ways to cope.
We rate their work highly and proudly recommend Side By Side to any school, service, or community looking for grounded, lived‑experience support for young people.
Rolling With The Punches
Darryl Gardiner
Darryl Gardiner is the founder of Rolling With The Punches, a program grounded in lived experience, cultural insight, and a deep commitment to helping men change their lives. His story is one of turning hardship into purpose — moving from environments shaped by volatility and survival into a life centred on accountability, emotional regulation, and genuine growth.
Darryl works directly with men who use violence, including those involved in the justice system and men who have caused harm in their families. His approach is honest, culturally aware, and deeply practical. He creates spaces where men can confront their behaviour without shame, understand the roots of their actions, and learn safer, healthier ways to show up in their relationships and communities.
Rolling With The Punches has become a respected program for engaging men who are often labelled “too hard” or “too far gone”. Darryl’s ability to connect, challenge, and support men through real behaviour change is a big part of why his work has such impact.
StrongMind is proud to stand alongside Darryl and Rolling With The Punches as a trusted partner and friend. His leadership strengthens families, supports safer communities, and aligns powerfully with our mission to help men step into accountability and long‑term change.
The Rise Foundation Australia
Ben Higgs
Founded by Australia Day Award recipient Ben Higgs, The Rise Foundation Australia is a leading force in suicide prevention and mental health education. Ben brings over 30 years of lived experience with mental illness, paired with serious professional credentials — Mental Health First Aid Principal Master Instructor, Mental Health Response Instructor, YAM (Youth Aware of Mental Health) Instructor, breath coach, life coach, and an international lived‑experience speaker.
Ben’s approach is real, raw, and practical. He doesn’t deliver dry theory — he teaches everyday tools people can actually use, helping communities, workplaces, and individuals build confidence around mental health, early intervention, and responding to crisis. His work has taken him from local Sydney communities to regional Australia and global stages, including speaking at the U.S. National Conference on Behavioural Health and the International Bipolar Foundation conference. He has also collaborated with organisations such as Suicide Prevention Australia and the Black Dog Institute, and created community events like Ratfest, PPP4SPA, Walk It Off, and Hitting The Road.
Rise works with a huge range of people — from corporate teams and first responders to miners, gym staff, teachers, parents, and community organisations — because mental health is everyone’s business.
StrongMind is proud to stand alongside our brother Ben and The Rise Foundation as a trusted friend and collaborator. Their commitment to education, prevention, and community wellbeing aligns powerfully with our mission to support safer, healthier communities.