Founders of mental health charities Andrew Ward and Steve Gamble call to action all print industry members to participate in this year’s Head Above Water 24-hour Swimathon.

Andrew Ward has worked in print for decades. For his day job, he is sales leader at Konica Minolta. In his spare time, he supports and promotes mental health. Steve Gamble was a print industry executive before leaving the industry to work as a full-time mental health advocate at his charity, Anchor Health.

Ward founded the mental health charity Head Above Water in 2019 as a response to his own mental health struggles with mental illness and the high rate of suicide in his neighbourhood of Collaroy in the Northern Beaches of Sydney.

It started with a charity-raising 24-hour swim at Collaroy Rockpool and has since blossomed to include the Altus Financial Bledisloe Cup Charity Dinner and smaller community-based activities. Impressively, Head Above Water has raised $650,000 for mental health programs in the Northern Beaches and throughout Australia.

Anchor Health began as a charity focused on assisting men with mental health and has since expanded to include the community as a whole. It runs community events including workshops and education forums for those seeking support with mental health. Gamble says knowing the signs of mental health disorders such as depression is as important as knowing resuscitation.

Together, Gamble and Ward are a force for good in mental health awareness and action, and both encourage all swimmers working in print, whether pro, hack or beginner, to dive in and register for this year’s Head Above Water 24-hour Swimathon.

The main Head Above Water 24-Hour Swimathon event will take place at the saltwater of Collaroy Rock Pool on the weekend of the 2nd and 3rd of March 2024.

Ward and Gamble say it is a fun, family-oriented, big-hearted charity swimming challenge, and the charity invites all who want to participate to swim as few or as many laps as possible, either alone or in a team.

Traditionally in Collaroy, this year marks the first time anyone can participate with the Remote Register option.

Now, there is no excuse not to get involved, whether based in Cobar or Copenhagen; it’s as easy as registering online and jumping in a local pool to be part of it.

At the time of writing, the leaderboard is at $15,058.38, intending to reach $250,000.

Ward says all the money raised goes back to mental health support through workshops coordinated by Anchor Health, Tomorrow Man and Tomorrow Woman.

“I’ve known Steve from the broader industry because I’ve worked in the print industry all my life, and the programs he runs at Anchor Health are really good.

“It goes straight back into the community; we fund and partly fund organisations who normally wouldn’t have the money or the ability to do it,” says Ward.

Both Gamble and Ward say they have experienced first-hand the impact of mental health in the printing industry and want to encourage greater awareness among its members.

“We have an industry that has gone through significant change. A lot of companies are no longer around. It’s very male-dominated, and we do not have a lot of succession planning,” says Ward

“By nature, men don’t know how to communicate well and talk about stuff. The industry has moved from analogue to digital, and many traditional printing companies have struggled with that.”

He says some of those companies have done well for a long time but haven’t managed the generational shift well.

“And being such a heavily male-dominated industry, men don’t seek help, and we know that. It’s a fact,” says Ward.

As an unofficial mental health ambassador to the printing industry, Gamble agrees.

“From my position, I’ve seen the impact in our industry. I’ve been privileged where I’ve had owners and leaders and team members reach out to me just for advice and support.”

“We’ve got such a wonderful industry that supports each other, believes in each other, and celebrates print. We need to get people thinking about positive mental health within our industry.”

Gamble and Ward encourage all to get on board with Head Above Water; even if you don’t like getting wet, you can still donate to assist the industry in promoting mental health awareness.

Click here to register.

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