The Good Human Factory puts a smile on locals dial

SURF COAST community members attended the Torquay Football Club to hear professional surfer and Good Human Factory founder, Cooper Chapman, share wellbeing and mental health tips to work towards living a fulfilling and meaningful future.

The free event, which was presented by the Bells Beach 50 Year Storm, challenged and inspired people to be aware of and take care of their mental health, targeting the various ways that one can live with values and aspirations in their day-to-day life.

“We strongly believe in the need for local communities to strengthen and not fragment, and by engaging with Cooper on Wednesday night, we felt he translated a really positive and uplifting message around how to navigate the challenges that we all face in life,” O’Callaghan said.

“Cooper delivered a really strong message during the session and really echoed the need for gratitude, responsibility, meditation and living by values.

“We are very thankful to Cooper for lending his time to assist with our 50 Year Storm event, and also extend that gratitude to the Torquay Football Club for giving us their great space for the evening.”

Chapman, who was a professional surfer for more than 10 years, provided mental health and wellbeing lessons that came from his own experiences with mental health, noting that his own battles were prompted by his father’s bout with depression and the suicide of two family friends.

Chapman mentioned that meditating on a regular basis and practicing mindfulness has assisted him with bouts of anxiety and being aware of his feelings has allowed him to perform at his best in and out of the ocean.

During Wednesday night’s event, Chapman took attendees through workshops that centered around gratitude, mindfulness, kindness and breathing.

Chapman was stoked with the strong local community turn out at the football club and hoped that his messages would shine through with those who attended.

“It was great to share some of my own stories and insights during the event in Torquay,” Chapman said.

“Everyone really seemed to enjoy the event and hopefully they took plenty out of it that they can use in their day to day lives.

“Big thanks to the committee for getting me down for what is an important cause.”

To find out more about being kind to your mind through the Good Human Factory, visit https://www.thegoodhumanfactory.com/