Over the past seven years, Matt Runnalls has worked tirelessly as a mental health advocate to create awareness, acceptance, and education. Having lived with a mental illness, surviving suicide attempts, and losing several friends to suicide, Matt utilizes his knowledge of lived experience to encourage others to feel comfortable to speak up and manage their well-being just as he continues to do.

Since devoting himself to advocacy full-time, Matt has delivered over 400 speeches & keynotes, workshops, and events across Australia, Canada, and America. His story and journey have been featured in books, documentaries, songs, podcasts, films and throughout most big Australian media outlets. Most recently, Matt’s work has been recognized in numerous awards- 2018 as he was awarded an Australia Day Medallion. 2019 Finalist of Regional Innovation & Leadership Award, 2020 Finalist of Saward Dawson Social Impact award, 2020 AMHF Best Mens Speaker Finalist and the 2020 Victorian Mens Health Award Top 3 placement. Matt has been recently nominated for  Australian of the Year 2021.

Matt’s passion and drive is propelled by the loss of ten friends to suicide. “I just want to teach people what I wish I would have known growing up. I know if I would have been this knowledgeable not only about mental health & suicide prevention, but about equipping myself with strategies and disciplines for well-being, I could have potentially still been able to share laughs and memories with those mates I’ve lost. I know personally that my life would have been a lot different, and now I have the opportunity to ensure that the next generation doesn’t walk in the unknown like I did.”

His rediscovery of the hope visible in others’ kindness enabled Matt to find strength within himself, which has thus enabled him to find his passion and purpose and pursue them wholeheartedly at the age of 24 when he created Mindfull Aus. Matt is trained in NLP, Meditation Practitioner, Sciences of wellbeing, Emotional Intelligence, MHFA , Asist, Safe Talk, Intro to Psychology, Counselling and 300+ hours of Quantum Learning at California State University.

Matt is committed to using his voice and experiences as a platform to instill acceptance, purpose, and hope.