Cooper Chapman always wanted to find a way to give back, to be more than just a professional surfer, but it wasn’t until his little sister came home from school twice in a number of weeks with news of suicide among her friends that he felt he had to do something.
For the Narrabeen shredder it seemed unthinkable that life could get so dark for some right there on the Northern Beaches that they felt compelled to take their own lives.
But some research into the issue revealed even more shocking stats, with 30 people committing suicide in the area in 2018 alone.
Having grown up a talented surfer with a solid family base behind him, he admittedly didn’t have a huge store of his own mental health issues to share, but felt that through being exposed to some great resources in his career—such as coaches and sports psychologists—he’d picked up some handy coping techniques he might be able to pass on to others.
From there the Good Human Factory was born, which, in short, is Cooper’s platform for reaching those in need.
Still going through the process of setting the whole thing up, he’s nonetheless got the ball rolling, having completed his first presentation at his old school—Narrabeen Sports High—last month.
‘It went really well,’ he said. ‘I spoke to around 25 students. I think they all got something out of it.’
Promoting positive mental health and wellbeing through meditation, kindness and gratitude, he hopes to take his message to more schools and hopefully break down the stigma around talking about personal issues and struggles.
‘I think it’s a time right now in our society where we’re ready for a change and to say that it’s okay to talk about these things.’
And while surfing and cracking the CT is still his major goal, he sees this latest project not as a distraction or diversion from that goal, but rather as something that can work hand in hand with it.
‘The bigger my profile is, the more people I can reach,’ he said. ‘I think I’ve found my purpose in life with the Good Human Factory.’
