“THE REAL TEST OF STRENGTH IS COMING FORWARD AND SEEKING HELP WHEN YOUR STRUGGLE BEGINS” – GRANT EDWARDS

Grant Edwards was officially Australia’s strongest man from 1996-2000 and has pulled everything from steam trains and aircraft to mining trucks. Today he is an author, public speaker, and mental health advocate for Police. Grant is on a mission to remove the stigma of mental health, not just in policing but society wide.

Grant joined the police force in 1985, working in Sydney, Newcastle, Canberra and overseas. Grant had a diverse career working across family law, international drug trafficking, major organised crime, drug smuggling, child exploitation and human drug trafficking. Most recently, he completed a 3-year posting to Washington DC as the Australian Federal Polices most senior officer in Americas responsible for all law enforcement engagement with Canada, USA, Mexico, Central and South America. During this time, he hosted two global mental health symposiums for police bringing together experts from law enforcement, academia, policy, and the medical profession across the world to identify and enhance a unified universal best practice for managing the mental health of police, family and retired members.

He is also well-known for his sporting endeavours, winning Australia’s Strongest Man in 1999 and was mentioned in the 2001 Guinness World Record book for his strength feats. He has represented Australia in Athletics, Bobsleigh and Scottish Highland games. He has competed across the world in Strongman events including the 1999 World’s Strongest Man competition in Malta.

He has been a strong advocate for discussing post-traumatic stress and his own mental health struggles. He discusses the misconception that police must always be strong and unshakeable, which in turn creates immense pressure for those in the police force. “We have a highly stressful job and coupled with our personal lives. Things aggregate and it’s not good when the two collide. But most importantly, as individuals we need to look after ourselves first and foremost.”

Grant wrote a book in 2019, ‘The Strong Man’, in which he discusses his career and his struggles with his physical and mental health. Nowadays, Grant is the head of Aspect Frontline, a program created to support the mental health of Police and First Responders. “Mental health in our organisation and our profession isn’t a stigma. It’s a result of the highly demanding, stressful and confronting job we have chosen to do and the burden of wearing the badge.”

“SOMETIMES THE HARDEST BATTLE IS GETTING THE CONFIDENCE TO WALK BACK INTO THE BIG WIDE WORLD” – ANNA MEARES

Anna Meares OAM is an Australian retired track cyclist. She is a 4-time Olympian, 2-time Olympic champion with 6 Olympic medals, 11-time world champion across four different disciplines and a 5-time Commonwealth Games Champion. She retired from cycling in 2016 after 22 years, with six Olympic medals under her belt. She won one of those medals at the Beijing Olympics, just seven months after a velodrome crash in Los Angeles, which resulted in a fractured neck for Anna, 2 millimetres short of a clean break.

Anna learnt very early in her life that the mind is an important tool. Ignore it and you are ignoring your chance to be the best version of yourself, to equip yourself with the skills that can help and cope/survive some of life challenges. “What I have learnt is that becoming strong of the mind takes time, a measurement that is different for everyone and, it takes many occasions to break, or to fall, or to lose, or to be facing a brick wall before you realise your full capacity, that you have to be in a vulnerable place in order to force yourself to ask for help”, Anna said.

Anna has been open about the struggles she experienced mentally and emotionally throughout her sporting career and in retirement from professional cycling, transition to life outside of sport and the personal battles that faced her in those times. In her book, titled ‘Now’, Anna discusses her grief and anxiety, how she processed and dealt with it, and the support she needed to get through it.
“Mental health is as important to face and accept help just as we seek support and help in the physical sphere of life as an elite Athlete”, Anna said.

Her success on the track is not the only thing that drives Anna. She has chosen to be a strong contributor to her community. Anna heard about Integra Service Dogs Australia while supporting veterans at the Invictus Games 2018 held in Australia. As an Integra Service Dogs Australia Ambassador Anna provides insight into what it is like to experience a mental health condition and gives hope and encouragement to others.

“As with everything in life, we can do so much more together than alone” – JESS CAMERON

What is your everyday job?
Currently a director in Defence People Group, Department of Defence.

How did you come to be an Ambassador for Integra Service Dogs?
I was invited by Ben Johnson the CEO, following my involvement with Integra early last year. I was quick to say yes!

What does holding this position mean for you?
It’s an honour to be associated with Integra and I don’t take it lightly. Sharing my knowledge of Integra’s mission is a real icebreaker and I love being able to bring awareness but just about service dogs but about mental health.

PTSD is the second most common mental health issue after depression, and for many serving members, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a burden they carry with them long after their service ends.

What superpower do you bring to the role?
Fortunate to work in a military and civilian environment plus I have experience working in communications and presenting so I understand the power of story telling and tailoring messaging to different audiences.

What unique way have supported Integra?
Breaking a Guinness World Record for the heaviest sumo deadlift in 60 seconds (female), I lifted a massive 4935kg, beating the previous holders record by over 900kg….and raising over $20,000 was a pretty unique way to introduce myself! I had an idea to break a world record as a personal achievement, but using it to promote Integra’s work was the best part. The fact that so many people donated was astounding, and it hit home that as with everything in life, we can do so much more together than alone.

What are you looking forward to?
To see more Integra Assistance Dogs out and about because it means more people have benefited from Integra’s great work. It means there’s more support available for the people that need it most, I think that’s what we all want.

Read more about Jess’s achievement here