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Walk With Me, a registered Not-For-Profit organisation, has a purpose to engage elite athletes and coaches in supporting the physical and mental health within communities.

Former North Melbourne dual premiership AFL player and MVP, Corey McKernan created Walk With Me in May 2020 after seeing the impact of the initial COVID lockdown on family, friends and the broader community.

While the stringent lockdowns of COVID may be a thing of the past, the long-term psychological impact of the pandemic is becoming more pronounced with recent ABS report indicating that one in five people reporting mental health issues during 2020-2021.

McKernan shared “at the time I was shocked to learn that many more people would suffer from mental health issues as opposed to the impact of Covid-19 and it was from there that I decided to start Walk With Me Online.

“I know how important exercise and talking about how you feel is in combatting mental health issues so I got online and asked people to join me for free, live walk over Zoom each week.

“During the height of the Covid lockdowns, Walk With Me Online grew to include participation from hundreds of people across Australia and overseas including England’s Barmy Army who accessed free interviews and live events within our core pillars of momentum, connection and development.”

After months of reviewing the Walk With Me structure and its program, McKernan has made significant changes to ensure the Not-For-Profit has a long term sustainable future.

McKernan advised “Walk With Me is now registered as a Not-For-Profit organisation and we have a super impressive advisory board including Jodi Sharman and Shanyn Puddy.

“Our aim is to give back to the community through training workshops and ongoing support programs by elite athletes including former Australian Netballer and AFLW footballer Sharni Layton, Sydney Swans premiership co-captain Barry Hall and Queensland Origin Legend Billy Moore.

“We run five Walk With Me programs across Australia where a combination of Sharni, Barry and I will visit local sporting clubs, help out with training and they we hold a presentation to talk in detail to players and all involved in the club about the importance of looking after your physical and mental health.

“This is a really exciting addition to the program and we all can’t wait to get out there and talk to as many people as possible. We are committed to seeing this grow and we want to run multiple programs across the country by 2024 and beyond.”

Retired All Australian AFLW Collingwood Ruck and Australian Diamond's netballer Sharni Layton said she hoped that sharing her mental health journey would inspire others to seek out the tools to manage anxiety and depression.

“I was first diagnosed with Anxiety at the age of 17, I thought I had chronic asthma and had to pull out of training sessions but as it turns out I was just super hard on myself and couldn't breathe because I had anxiety!

“I learnt how to manage the voices in head and my unrealistic expectation but if I had more self-belief then I doubt this would have happened as I had constant opportunities despite my-self sabotage.

“This went on for a number of year and with the help of my psychiatrist and psychologist I started living my life to my values while also understanding and recognising my triggers and learning the appropriate strategies to cope.

“I share my story as part of the Walk With Me program because if I knew the symptoms of depression and anxiety, I would have sought help earlier and the recovery wouldn't have been as rough as it was.

“I want to help others understand you don't need to be happy all the time, but when it lingers for weeks or months, then it's time to seek help and Walk With Me will provide some of the tools needed to manage,” Layton said.

Walk With Me is now running live events across Australia. These events are aimed at increasing brand awareness around Corey McKernan's vision to deliver services that help build peoples momentum, connection and development to thrive through adversity.

All events will be focused on bringing participants unique experiences to meet and network with leaders of sport, entertainment and business as well as hear special guests speak on their areas of expertise.

McKernan added “we held similar events last year and they were hugely popular and we will be taking them to a new level this year.”

Upcoming Events and Sessions:

Ultima Live Training Session with Barry Hall 25th of May @ Ultima Football Netball Club Golf Day 14th of July @ Palmer Coolum Golf Club

Sunshine Coast Race Day 16th of July @ Sunshine Coast Turf Club

For more information on Walk With Me or to book tickets to the lunch events visit www.walkwithmeonline.com

Image top. Brisbane Walk with Me launch includes Barry Hall, Corey McKernan (centre) and former league star Billy Moore 

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