Swellbeing: Everyone deserves to feel awesome by Blake Johnston

Blake ‘Blakey’ Johnston is a surfer. So was his dad. And his brothers. For Blake, growing up around the beaches of Cronulla, life was good and surfing was everything. At sixteen, he turned pro and took off around the world, chasing his dream to become the world’s best. The thing about dreams, though, is that they change – sometimes by choice and sometimes by circumstance. For some people, that change can be too much. Too often, people stay silent about their struggles; too often, they can’t see a way back. Nine Australians commit suicide every day. Blake’s dad was one of them. Ever since, Blake has made it his mission to help people find the tools they need to stay alive. In his own struggles with mental health, they are the tools he’s used to find the joys in nature, family, human connection and himself. These tools even enabled him to unite a community, spend forty gruelling hours in the water, catch 707 waves and claim the world record for longest surf. And then the world’s biggest paddle-out. Now, in Swellbeing, his powerful and inspiring memoir, Blake outlines what he drew on to overcome his challenges with mental illness and shares the lessons he’s learned to help others make it through the tough times to live their best lives. He’s hoping his experience can ripple out and help others. Because . . . everyone deserves to feel awesome.