Alan Thorpe begins 600-kilometre walk to Adelaide to raise money and awareness for men's mental health

Mr Thorpe has personally seen the toll of mental health, losing six family members to suicide and suffering from anxiety, depression and bipolar himself.

After a tough time where he watched his former house burn down and tore his larynx while screaming for his family, which were saved by his 11-year-old daughter, requiring speech therapy, suffered from seizures and found out his brother was diagnosed with cancer, Mr Thorpe found himself in a dark place, but found walking helped him both physically and mentally.

Weighing in at 146 kilograms during the pandemic, Mr Thorpe said he had lost about 30 kilograms during training for the walk, which included walking a total of 1100 kilometres, along with personal training and gym sessions.

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When his walk started on Saturday morning, Mr Thorpe had raised $8000 for Beyond Blue and was rapidly approaching his $10,000 goal.

Mr Thorpe said he hoped his walk would help teach men that it was okay to speak up if they are struggling.

"I'm walking to Adelaide for men's mental health because it touches home a lot with me, with the suicides and stuff in my family and myself," he said.

"I'm raising awareness for other men to speak up and not sit away thinking that they're on their own and there's no one out there for them. Trying to break the stigma, just any way I can help, to be honest."

Mr Thorpe estimates it will take him about 14 or 15 days to get to the South Australian capital with a routine of walking 50 kilometres for two days and 30 kilometres on every third day.

While he plans to stop in Ararat on day three and Horsham on day four, Mr Thorpe also has the help of a support vehicle, a Winnebago RV supplied by Evoke Building Group, which is stocked with supplies, two support staff and can be slept in if his day ends between towns.

Despite the daunting 630-kilometre trek ahead of him, Mr Thorpe said he was not nervous.

"I wouldn't say I'm nervous, I'm very determined to make it happen. A lot of people have been behind me and just for the reasons that I'm doing it," he said.

"From the Ballarat community, it's been awesome. Evoke Building Group, Athlete's Foot, D2E gym, have all just been unreal. I know I've got a lot of support through Instagram, people with shoes and clothes, Hip Pocket Workwear made custom tops for me and they were unreal. It's been a bit overwhelming.

"It makes me feel like there's still good people out there. I was losing a bit of hope but everyone just jumped on board and got behind me as much as they could."

To follow Mr Thorpe's journey or to donate, visit his Facebook page or @charitywalkballarattoadelaide on Instagram.

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