“Just wait one more minute and take one more step,” is the thought that has helped Alex Glover push a trolley 11,500 km so far.
He was 295 days into a round Australia trip when we met him heading into Esperance on Thursday.
“The walk’s called ‘Strides Against Suicide’,” he said.
“I decided to walk around Australia for men’s mental health and suicide awareness.
“The objective really is to have roadside conversations and offer anyone just to have a conversation with me, encourage them to communicate if they’re struggling.”
We asked Mr Glover if he was also fundraising.
“The main cause is to create awareness,” he said.
“People did want to reach out and give me money along the way, so there is a GoFundMe set up and when I get home it will be directed to mental health research into specific niches.”
Mr Glover said he was funding the walk from his own savings.
“I meet a few people here and there that give me 20 bucks and say ‘buy yourself a nice meal’,” he said.
“But besides that I didn’t want to be the guy kitted out in all the flash gear and try to have a conversation with someone, because I wouldn’t want to listen to that person.
“I figured ‘as grass roots as possible’ is the nicest way to do something and that’s when I thought ‘why not just cover the circumference of Australia on foot?'”
Back to his message, Mr Glover said he encouraged anyone who was struggling to reach out and talk to someone.
“I’m pushing an 80 to 100kg trolley,” he said.
“When I’m going up these big hills I often say ‘it’s nothing to someone going through mental health issues’ because they are always pushing a trolley that no one can see.
“And the more people you can tell about your struggles the more people can help you push that.”
Mr Glover said that was the best advice he could give.
“Don’t try and overwhelm yourself with the future or the past, just be where you are right now and focus on what you can get through today,” he said.
“With that attitude you can walk around Australia pretty easily.”
Strides Against Suicide can be found on Facebook, Instagram and GoFundMe.
