DANIEL HILARD, PRESENTER: I’ve got one on the phone with me, a very big, tall drink of water, Dan Repacholi, who’s catfished me with his profile picture. Your beard is much longer now, my friend.
DAN REPACHOLIMP, SPECIAL ENVOY FOR MEN’S HEALTH : Good morning, Dan, and good morning to your listeners. Yeah, my beard’s much longer than in that photo. That one’s from a little while ago. But hey, the more bearded men out there, the better, I say.
DANIEL HILARD: You’ve grown it for a great cause though. You seem to get behind a few causes.
REPACHOLI: Yeah, I do like getting behind good causes. I’m actually shaving my beard off soon. I’ve had it for about twelve and a half years. The real reason I grew it was when my wife was pregnant with our first daughter, Zoe. I thought, well, she’s growing something, I’ll grow something too. I had no idea how itchy it would be though.
DANIEL HILARD: You’re a brave man comparing beard itch to pregnancy.
REPACHOLI: (Laughs) Yeah, probably not my smartest move. It was my way of giving a little bit back to my wife. She didn’t think it was quite as funny as I did.
DANIEL HILARD: You’re up here from the Hunter in New South Wales for The Man Walk. It’s gone right across Australia and beyond. Why is it special to you?
REPACHOLI: The Man Walk’s really special because it gets blokes out walking, exercising, and talking. The weather up here in Darwin’s beautiful, perfect for a stroll and a chat.
Men aren’t always great at talking face to face like women are. Women can sit and talk for hours about anything. But blokes are better shoulder to shoulder, walking, watching the footy, fishing. That’s when we open up.
Once one bloke starts talking, others feel they can too. That’s what The Man Walk is all about. Getting blokes active, getting them chatting, and encouraging them to reach out for help if they need it.
DANIEL HILARD: Yeah, and once you’ve got another bloke saying, “Mate, go look after yourself,” it hits differently. We seem to listen to our mates more than our partners sometimes.
REPACHOLI: Exactly right. You’re spot on. When our partners tell us to mow the lawn or see the doctor, we go straight into defensive mode. But if a mate says it, especially someone who’s been through it, it lands. It makes us think, maybe I should actually look after myself.
DANIEL HILARD: You’ve got everyone heading out from 6:30 tomorrow morning along the Esplanade from the Cenotaph before work. A big morning.
REPACHOLI: Yeah, I’m really looking forward to it, heading out with Jimmy for a stroll along the Esplanade. Hopefully the rain stays away, but if it doesn’t, who cares, we’ll walk in the rain.
DANIEL HILARD: You haven’t met Jimmy if you think rain stops him. He’s out there rain, hail or shine.
REPACHOLI: (Laughs) Yeah, I met Jimmy yesterday. Great bloke. Really looking forward to walking with him tomorrow.
We’ve also got ShedFest happening today, bringing together Men’s Sheds from right across the Northern Territory. There are over a hundred sheds here. It’s the first ShedFest in the NT, so I’m keen to see how it goes and hear everyone’s stories.
DANIEL HILARD: Well, I’ll see this tall drink of water with a beard that ZZ Top would envy tomorrow, 6:30 at the Cenotaph car park. You’ve also brought your mate Reuben up with you?
REPACHOLI: Yeah, Reuben’s one of my advisors. He’s come up for the walk too. I’m sure Jimmy will give him a hard time, and I’m all for that.
DANIEL HILARD: Beautiful. Tomorrow morning, 6:30, Cenotaph, be there, get it done before work. Maybe even impress the boss. Thanks, mate, have a great day.
REPACHOLI: Thanks, Dan, and thanks to your listeners.