Independently Owned, Locally Grown, Community Loved
Ash and Matt Lade.
Building resilience starts with movement, connection and simply showing up. That's the thinking behind two community initiatives supported by the Whitsunday Suicide Prevention Network, with affordable breathwork sessions and a fun obstacle course designed to help locals young and old develop healthy habits for life.
Taking place on August 16th from 8am-10am, the free Resilient Obstacle Course at Evo Prime Fitness Gym invites children age 11 to 17 to climb, crawl, splash and problem-solve their way through a series of fun challenges.
Participants will have 30 minutes to complete as many laps of the course as they can. Along the way, teamwork is encouraged, with the challenges fit to push children to help one another over walls and through tricky sections.
Coaches will be there to guide participants through the course, encouraging them to step outside their comfort zones and celebrating each milestone along the way.
Evo Prime Fitness co-owners Ash Lade and Matt Lade said the event was about much more than simply getting muddy.
"There's a real camaraderie about it," Ash said.
"Watching people overcome fears, help each other through obstacles and realise they're capable of more than they thought is one of the best parts of the day."
The obstacle course also gives children an opportunity to practice staying calm when faced with a challenge, using simple breathing techniques to regulate their emotions and work through each obstacle.
"Everything we do in life is going to have obstacles and challenges," she said.
"When we can reframe the way we work through those external stresses, the more resilient we can become."
For the Whitsunday Suicide Prevention Network, initiatives like the obstacle course are about giving young people practical ways to build confidence and resilience from an early age.
"We believe helping children discover a love of movement gives them lifelong tools to support both their physical and mental wellbeing,” said Matt Stokes, the President of WSPN.
For grown ups wanting to explore the benefits of controlled breathing, the WSPN also supports weekly Monday night breathwork sessions at Evo, giving locals an affordable way to reduce stress and build healthy habits year-round.
Held every Monday from 6pm for 5 dollars, the guided breathwork sessions offer an hour for people to slow down and reset after the start of the week.
Open to all experience levels, the series guides people through a set of breathing exercises, beginning with gentle techniques that settle the mind and body before progressing into the Wim Hof method.
"It's absolutely amazing for mental health because it stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, our rest and digest," Ash said.
"It's going to bring us out of that high stress, high cortisol and bring everything back down."
"It's open for everyone, not just people who train with us.”
Beyond helping people unwind, Ash said the sessions can also improve sleep, support recovery and give participants practical breathing techniques they can use whenever life becomes overwhelming. She said those same skills can be particularly beneficial for people recovering from injury or navigating periods of stress, helping them feel calmer and better equipped to manage everyday challenges.
"Using the breathwork again to really bring you completely out of that state, it just changes your whole state and how you then move through the rest of your day or evening," Ash said.
Mats are provided, and attendees are welcome to bring a pillow, blanket or towel to help them get comfortable, as these exercises are supposed to help you excel at that.
By helping make the breathwork sessions affordable and backing community activities like the Resilient Obstacle Course, the Network hopes to make conversations around mental health feel more normal, more accessible and easier to act on.
As Matt Stokes put it, sometimes the hardest part is simply knowing where to start.
“We all want to help, but it’s tricky to know how sometimes,” he said.
“These are a couple of real practical ways, and they’re pretty easy for people to do. It’s affordable, it’s regular, you can bring a friend, and it’s a safe place to be.”
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