Riders Against Suicide: Griffiths cycles for mental health

LARA resident Adam Griffiths has ridden across Australia to raise awareness about mental health and suicide and is using his voice for change and positivity at grassroots level.

Adam has been in Lara for the past three months after spending years cycling across Australia through regional towns and cities to “ride for lives”, a motto he has gone by throughout his journey.

The text the shirt Adam has ridden across Australia in says ‘Riders Against Suicide, Creating Awareness’.

“I’m originally a Melbourne boy and have been an orphan, a ward of the state, a heroin addict for 26 years, I’ve been in drug rehab, and I’ve lost my brother, my mother and a lot of friends to suicide, drug addiction and mental health,” Griffiths said.

“The mandates essentially meant we went from being the most livable city in the world to the most locked down one in the world.

“My heart is Melbourne, but I flew up to Cairns and got over the border before the closures and then got on my bike.

“I bought this bike, put all the flags on it (Aboriginal, Australian and Torres Strait) and begun cycling.”

Adam rode across Queensland and met local people and begun running mental health and domestic violence programs for women.

The journey led Adam to Mount Carbine where he ran a pub for three months for a local who was struggling with mental illness.

After riding back to Cairns, he spent his Christmas Day chatting to the homeless and then started his descent down the East Coast of Australia.

“The ride took me to Maroochydore, past Australia Zoo and to Woodford where I served a two year prison sentence for a crime I didn’t do,” Griffiths said.

“Essentially, I was sick of feeling like a victim and what I promote to people now is you’re a survivor and a warrior, not a victim.

“I just go out and speak to people, I don’t ask for any money.

“Rather than putting my Centrelink into my arm, I put it into the ride.”

Descending down the East Coast, Griffiths said he was able to connect with Aboriginal Elders to make sure he could ride on their land, protected animals and stopped in at churches to worship.

“Being self-raised, it took me a bit to go up to people and ask for help and to talk to people,” Griffiths said.

“I’ve got a couple of t-shirts I ride around in and I have every business listed on the shirt who have helped me including Channel 7, KFC, McDonalds, Coles and Woolworths who have just given me little things to make sure I survived.”

Griffiths said that a major motivation of the ride was to not to just do it on behalf of all the people he has lost, but for the community, to remember their friends and family.

“When I go to these towns, I have given people the option to let me print their loved one’s name on my shirt, that way I am riding for them too,” Griffiths said.

“I just want to let people know that they aren’t alone!

The Lara local has now started up a service as a life coach and hopes to point people to a range of services in the community to assist them with their struggles.

Adam is available on 0436 102 133.