Mental Fitness Conversations
Podcast series
In partnership with
Introducing Mental Fitness Conversations, a new podcast series from Gotcha4Life.
Hear more about how people in our village build their mental fitness through connection, community and simple everyday actions.
In this first season, created in partnership with Black Magic Woman and produced by BlakCast, we hear from First Nations people across the country as they share their experiences of taking action to build mental fitness. This series explores identity, connection and culture alongside personal approaches to strengthening mental fitness.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or inside the Mental Fitness Gym app. Subscribe and be the first to know when new episodes drop.
Our host: Mundanara Bayles
Mundanara Bayles is an award-winning Indigenous businesswoman, educator, changemaker and Gotcha4Life board member. Through this series, Mundanara helps us explore identity, connection and culture alongside personal approaches to strengthening mental fitness.
Episode 1: Shantelle Thompson – The Barkindji Warrior
To launch the series, Mundanara sits down with Shantelle Thompson OAM in this bold and heartfelt conversation, where she shares how mental fitness is not just resilience – it is reclamation. This episode is a celebration and an honouring of the courage it takes to come home to self – and to dream again. A return not to who she was, but to who she has always been: sovereign, powerful and Dreaming-led.
About Shantelle Thompson OAM
Shantelle Thompson OAM is a proud Barkindjii and Ngiyampaa woman, mother of five, Jiu-Jitsu black belt and three-time world champion, founder of the Kiilaana Foundation and author of the upcoming memoir Warrior Heart: Suicide to World Champion.
As the creator of the Warrior Heart Movement, Shantelle weaves ancestral wisdom with modern truth-telling to create brave spaces for others to arise.
Continue the conversation
There are many ways to build our mental fitness through small steps, everyday actions and moments shared with others. That might mean connecting with people you love and adore in your community, joining community activities, spending time on things that make you feel grounded, or seeking extra support when you need it.
If you’d like to keep the mental fitness conversation going, learn new strategies for looking after your wellbeing or find support, these services are a great place to start. Created by and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, these resources are grounded in culture, community and connection, and offer ways to connect with others and strengthen your emotional muscles. They’re also valuable for anyone who wants to learn, share and help build mental fitness in the people around them.
13YARN provide free and confidential 24/7 support from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander team members. Call 13 92 76 or visit 13yarn.org.au
WellMob provide social, emotional and cultural wellbeing resources. Visit wellmob.org.au
Brother to Brother is a 24-hour support line for Aboriginal men. Call 1800 435 799 or visit dardimunwurro.com.au
Yarn Safe (via headspace) provide mental health resources for young people. Visit headspace.org.au/yarn-safe
Listen to the podcast in the Mental Fitness Gym app
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