LOVE YOURSELF ... IMPERFECTIONS AND ALL

LOVE YOURSELF imperfections and all … 1

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Glenn Marsden

By JENNI GILBERT

ONE MAN’S GLOBAL MISSION TO BUST MENTAL HEALTH MYTHS AND CREATE A WORLDWIDE COMMUNITY FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE STRUGGLING - TO KNOW THEY ARE NOT ALONE

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For near 18 months, a typical day for Glenn Marsden went something like this …

4am: Get up, go to the gym to work out, simultaneously study an audio course for a life- and business coaching certificate. 6am-6pm: Work on construction sites as a general labourer, complete assessments for course on the bus to and from work. 7pm: Home for dinner with wife, Catareeya, son Lincoln, 7, and daughter Leighton, 2, then put the kids to bed. 9-11.30pm: Get on the laptop to work on his mental health awareness mission, Imperfectly Perfect Campaign (IPC); networking and getting the message out.

Today the campaign has reached its two-year mark, with a combined international reach now surpassing 4.5 million people and having attracted more than 250 influential public figures across corporate, entertainment, and infrastructure to reinforce IPC’s mission. That is, to drawn attention to and normalise the conversation around a multitude of mental health struggles - from anxiety and depression, to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), post-natal depression, bipolar disorder and more - enabling people to live without the isolation and stigma so often attached.

IPC has attracted mainstream media coverage across Australia, New Zealand, the US and UK, and South-East Asia. Celebrities and sports stars, for instance, who have lent their names to the cause with their own stories include Rebecca Gibney, Grant Denyer, Angie Everhart, David Meltzer, Justin Guarini, Dominic Purcell, Anthony Trucks, Rebecca JR MARTINEZ, the cast of the original Baywatch series, Willie Mason, Shar Jackson and Christina Moses, among many more.

British-born, Sydney-based Glenn, 36, decided to launch Imperfectly Perfect just over two years ago, after losing a close friend in the UK to suicide.

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6. 7. 8. 9. 12. Heather Maltman - Actress who made headlines after having her heart broken by Sam Wood during 2015’s The Bachelor

Grant Denyer - Popular TV and radio presenter, Gold Logie Winner, race car driver and dad

Jeremy Jackson – US actor, singer, and former Baywatch star

Paul DeGelder - Former army airbone and navy bomb disposal diver, shark attack survivor, TV host, actor, author and speaker

Marny Kennedy - Actress, singer and dancer, best known for her roles in TV series Mortified

“The phrase `snap out of it’, or similar, is frequently uttered to people in the midst of a torrential mind battle engulfing their lives but who, on the outside, may appear to be doing basically okay.”

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12 and The Saddle Club Nathan Philips – Actor best known for his role as

backpacker Ben Mitchell in the film Wolf Creek (2005) Patrick OConner - Actor who plays Dean

Thompson on Home and Away Robert Mack – US coach, speaker and author who helps individuals and organisations achieve a balance of personal happiness and professional success

10. Simon Pryce - Singer and actor known for his work on children's show The Kingdom of

Paramithi; currently the Red Wiggle

11. Willie Mason - Australian-Tongan former professional rugby league footballer who played

in the 2000s and 2010s Rob Mills - Actor, TV host and singer-songwriter. He was one of the finalists from the first season of Australian Idol

In 2012, radio and TV Personality Mel Greig was involved in the now infamous and tragic "Royal prank call". Due to the guilt and shame that followed, Mel developed a major depressive illness which resulted in her contemplating taking her own life. “One day I went to work happy and healthy and within days I had major depression," she says. "My battle with mental health took two years to overcome. I now advocate for mental health awareness; we need to break down the stigma and understand that it can happen to anyone and we should never feel ashamed or scared to talk about it.”

“I was hit for six hearing of an old friend taking their life and seeing social media posts flooded with pictures of him and his young son,” Glenn says. “I couldn't fathom the place he must have felt he was in, and to think his son or anybody else would be better off without him.

“I also couldn't fathom it as a parent myself, knowing how much my kids idolise me and their mother. Imagine someone having to tell a kid their parent wasn't coming home.

The tragedy also brought to the fore the battle he had with his own demons for several years with body dysmorphia, a mental health disorder where a sufferer can't stop thinking about one or more perceived defects or flaws in their appearance.

“Six or seven years ago I became obsessed with my perceived flaws and comparing myself to other people’s bodies and their 'highlight reels' on social media,” he recalls.

At the time, Glenn was running health clubs but decided to give that away; he went into the construction industry for more than 12 months to enable him to take on his audacious goal of getting the message out globally.

“Working in health and fitness is amazing, but it can be long hours and running teams and having your phone on 24/7 takes its toll,” he says.

“The money in that industry isn't the greatest, either, so I got talking to some guys at the gym how much they were earning in construction.

“Although the hours were long, how I thought of it was if I wanted to take my message global, if I went into construction for at least a year, I could save x-amount a lot quicker, put money aside for our mortgage and bills, and then take the message international.

“I knew I had to raise much-needed awareness and points of action so people knew where to seek help but, most importantly, create a worldwide community so they knew they were not alone.

“The overarching aim of Imperfectly Perfect is to change the face of mental health by dismantling

“The phrase `snap out of it’, or similar, is frequently uttered to people in the midst of a torrential mind battle engulfing their lives but who, on the outside, may appear to be doing basically okay. The pain of mental health disorders is very real and raw, however, so it is devastating when it becomes a conversation others don’t want to hear.

“Effectively isolated, every minute of the day sufferers fight a battle that leaves them bereft, broken, and exhausted.

“Many, many people in this situation will isolate themselves – as I did - so I wanted to create a space, a community, to showcase how every one of us can be affected by mental health battles, directly or indirectly.

“If this was someone you loved - your wife, husband, brother, sister, or friend - how would you champion them in their constant battle?”

The key messaging tool of Imperfectly Perfect is Glenn’s powerfully poignant portrait photography. He has taken hundreds, if not thousands, of images of people who have supported the campaign with their own stories of mental health struggles. He captures the visceral emotion frame by frame, teardrop by teardrop. “The visuals I’ve used with IPC represent people’s raw emotion when thinking of their own story. They can’t hide or disguise it. It’s beautiful and authentic. That’s what the Imperfectly Perfect Campaign is about, accepting ourselves for who we are - mind and body, with all of our imperfections.”

Starting out with no team, or any experience dealing with publicists, agents, management teams, large corporations, press releases, marketing, assembling media kits, or podcast hosting, Glenn learned as he went. Within three months, local media publications picked up on it; within six months, TV networks. Within 12 months, international press and networks got on board when he took it to the US.

At the same time as all this, Glenn took on study to gain more knowledge about mental health management and a first aid and diploma in mental health, and regularly converses with clinical psychologist and therapists.

IPC now runs international solution-based workshops, fronted by faces of the campaign sharing their stories, accompanied by international mental health and wellness professionals.

And a highly acclaimed podcast has been picked up by Iheartradio, featuring chats with the names behind the campaign’s efforts, as well as experts and professionals in the mental health space.

For more information, and how anybody can help and get behind IPC’s efforts, go to:

www.imperfectlyperfectcampaign.org

or across all social platforms @ imperfectlyperfectcampaign@gmail.com

Imperfectly Perfect Campaign is a privately run awareness campaign. It is not a registered charity and not a substitute for professional advice. Should you need help, call 000 for all emergencies, or Life Line Australia on 13 11 14.