Bradley Spillane is an advocate, a community volunteer and spokesperson. Through the men’s mental health radio show on Radio Blue Mountains, he is a lodestone, a centre for people talking about something that wasn’t fashionable when he started, which was men’s mental health and men’s health in general
This episode is a brutally honest, in-depth conversation between two friends: our host John Milham and Brad Spillane
Parts of Brad’s story are very confronting. When his marriage came to an end his anger caused his life to spiral out of control. He made two attempts on his life through in October of 2013 and January 2014 when he incurred serious injuries. He spent months in hospital through that year. Before his third attempt he woke up to himself and said, “Hey man, you’re here for a reason? Let’s have a crack at this.”
Brad later worked out that the reasons behind his negative emotions come from his childhood, including family breakup, his physical size and a long illness. Eventually he began to speak openly about his journey on the radio podcast on mental health, and a friend encouraged him to create own show.
He is not a counsellor or a therapist but comes from lived experience and he found that purposeful and almost, a calling. He’s been in a pretty good place for four or five years now. He attributes that to the men’s mental health show, to all the people that came on and others he chatted with.
*****
We hope that you enjoyed this episode of Kintsugi Heroes.
Please take care: if you have been triggered by listening to this episode we recommend you get in contact with someone who can help keep you safe and give you the support you need. This may be Lifeline, AA, a friend, a counsellor, or some other support group.
If you’d like to share your story on Kintsugi Heroes, please get in touch by contacting us via the website here – https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au/contact
We hope you continue enjoying the heroes stories!
Warmly,
The Kintsugi Heroes team
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Theme Song: “Broken” by Colin Lillie
This episode of Kintsugi Heroes was made possible with support from the Community Broadcasting Foundation. Find out more at cbf.org.au.
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Kintsugi Heroes is a not-for-profit Australian podcast network sharing real stories of resilience, disability, and transformation.
Named after the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold — the philosophy that what’s been broken can become more beautiful for the mending — every episode honours the cracks, the rebuild, and the human underneath.
We believe every story matters. Every scar has something to say. And every person quietly finding their way through deserves to be heard.
🏷️ Topics we cover: resilience, disability, trauma recovery, mental health, transformation, lived experience, chronic illness, neurodiversity, grief, identity, community, caregiving, refugee stories, animal therapy, ageing, older Australians, wellbeing, invisible illness, inclusion, personal growth, hope, rebuilding, human connection, Australian stories
📺 Series on this channel:
– Kintsugi Heroes — real stories of resilience | hosted by John Milham
– Animals & Us | hosted by Natalie Stockdale
– Grit Diaries: from Grit to Grace | hosted by Simone Allan & Maryan Bova
– From There to Here | hosted by Emma Bellamy-Dodd
– Golden Threads — stories of disability & resilience | hosted by Dan Dougherty
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