A little bit more about Keith...

Have you met Keith?

Keith is our awesome Griffith wingman 🙌🏼

Please take a moment to get to know Keith a little better....

Farmer Keith Cowen was alone on his remote New South Wales property when he suffered a heart attack eight years ago.

It was five hours before he got from his Weethalle farm to an operating table in Wagga Wagga to have a stent put in.

The delay in treatment led to a second diagnosis, heart failure.

"I would have to give up farming, I could no longer work and I was basically preparing myself for the end — I was quite determined to pursue having a heart transplant,"

Three years ago, he matched a donor.

But he needed more help to be eligible.

"To be able to have a heart transplant, I had to come up with a list of people who would help me through the four months that I lived in Sydney — you can't be left on your own"

After starting a Facebook group with his closest friends asking for help, he had four months worth of assistance within two days.

His transplant was successful, but it got him thinking about how many men in regional communities might not be so well-supported in a time of need.

"I thought, how lucky am I to have such close connections, and how sad is it that so many men don't and they can't even come up with a couple of weeks of support,"

"That was kind of heartbreaking to think there are men out there like that.

Determined to ensure other men could foster the same kind of friendships and connections, he started a Men's Table in Griffith, where he now resides.

The group is in line with the national not-for-profit organisation The Men's Table, which consists of a group of men coming together once a month to have intentional discussions about life over dinner.

He also reached out to Grab Life by the Balls to come on board and be proactive in social events to improve male mental health and wellbeing through mateship, and recently started a Griffith group.

"What helps men more than anything else is to have three to five close friends they can call on when they're in trouble."

We all know the importance of mateship, and the impact of having at least 3 close mates has in us physically, metnally and emotionally.. but hear it is from lead psychologist and founder of Blokes Psychology, Carl Nelms

According to Ending Loneliness Together, a group of organisations addressing loneliness in Australia, men are 1.5 times more likely to experience persistent social isolation than women.

"Casual mateship networks like Grab Life by the Balls could be quite successful in helping men.If there's a connection there, there's camaraderie as well. It can enable people to just live a happier and better-quality life if they're feeling socially connected and supported."

With our founder and CEO, Sam being from regional NSW, the Leeton area in the western Riverina, he developed a great understanding of how mateship was key to social connection.

Having Keith on board as one of our wingmen is a great asset for us...his passion and willingness to give back are amazing!

In Keith's words, "I wanted to give back and do something for the community and certainly improve the outcomes in men's mental health in regional Australia...it's been wonderful."

Keith... thank you for all that you do 🩵🙌🏼