My name is Ryan Adams, I am one on the organisers of this event.

This all came about when a good mate of mine, Matt Eyre, offered me $100 to a charity of my choice to shave my beard. I thought about it for a second and realised we could raise some serious coin by getting more people involved.

I mentioned it to my beautiful partner and asked her what charity/cause we should go for- her answer was quick, “suicide prevention”.

Bri, my partner, has lost her father to suicide and recently her brother also, so this is extremely close to her heart. 

I myself, for a time, also had suicidal thoughts. It wasn’t until a very drunken night after a close mate of ours had lost his brother to suicide that I told a couple of the boys about these thoughts I'd been having. Talking out loud about it with them opened my eyes so I could see how wrong I was looking at the negative aspects of my life. Having a non-judgemental conversation with my friends gave me the support I needed to start changing the way I was thinking. It is apparent that speaking about these issues and sharing experiences with others is life changing.

So our goal is to raise as many funds as possible in order to support Lifeline continue the amazing work they do with crisis support and suicide prevention and we want people to know, IT IS OK TO TALK ABOUT THESE THINGS, YOU’RE NOT ALONE.