By Taylah Eastwell
Rob Larson once felt like he was drowning in himself. Now, he is swimming to save lives.
The Cockatoo man is taking part in Laps for Life, backstroking and free-styling his way to the end of the swimming pool lanes over-and-over again in order to raise awareness and funds for mental health and suicide in young Australians.
By raising money, the 28-year-old will be helping ReachOut, an organisation delivering digital mental health and wellbeing programs to support young people through tough times.
But the strength and determination required for the challenge hasn’t come easy for Mr Larson, who admits he has been inspired to help others after dealing with his own demons.
“Seven years ago, I thought I had it made. I thought my life was going to be great, chasing down the athletic career as a coach or personal trainer. And then I had my first psychotic episode,” he said.
When Mr Larson was discharged from hospital, he recalls feeling “broken, fragile and defeated”.
“I went home with my new suitcase and my new diagnosis, and just felt like this object in the living room staring out the window but no longer participating in life. I was just a mental illness, no longer a human being because I was so shameful and all my identity had been stripped from me. I’d had things done to me that I don’t remember. I felt violated spiritually, emotionally and physically,” he said.
Mr Larson said he sat around for a long time, before joining his brother at Gembrook Footy Club training sessions.
“Gembrook Footy Club moved mountains for me. I started getting involved and played my first ever team sport in my life. I didn’t believe in it beforehand, I had no team spirit,” he said.
But just as Mr Larson felt he was “out of the darkness”, he ended up suffering another episode, but this time it led to a turning point. Mr Larson reached out to the Victorian Mental Illness Advocacy Council, who advocated for him to have his Compulsory Treatment Order overturned. He was instead placed in a community-based help service rather than being “locked up” in hospital.
“My life changed in that moment. It was powerful, I had achieved something, I was worthy of help.
From there, Mr Larson went back to Chisholm Tafe and studied a dual certificate in mental health, alcohol and other drugs, with the help of a scholarship he received through the Caroline Chisholm Foundation. Now, he is a mindset coach, sharing his insights, reflections and experience to help others unlock the potential to live a truly purposeful life without limits.
“I had a win, and now I am here trying to make a difference, sharing my voice to make noise for the voiceless, the powerless, the broken dreams and futures cut short,” he said.
“One of the biggest things that tore the pages out of the old story and began writing this new one was changing the narrative. You have the power to change your story, you don’t have to keep writing the same book.
Mr Larsons advice – talk to your kids, talk to their school, talk to their coaches.
“Positive self-talk is a massive thing. The voice in your head that is telling you that you can’t, you are not good enough, that you’ll always fail, that you’re broken, needs to change to ‘I am worthy of love’, ‘I am enough’, ‘I am capable of incredible things’,” he said.
“If you are passionate about it, there is a reason you are doing it – and that’s why I am swimming these laps,” he said.
He has currently swum 428 laps and 15.55km.
To donate or read more about Mr Larson’s fundraiser, head to
https://www.lapsforlife.com.au/fundraisers/roblarson/laps-for-life/.
Anyone needing to speak to someone for mental health support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Sane Australia Helpline on 1800 187 263.
