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Blue dozer for mental health awareness

GR Dirtworx is promoting mental health awareness in the construction industry with its attention-grabbing Beyond Blue Caterpillar D6 bulldozer.

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After helping his brother through his struggles of severe depression, Gavin decided to team up with Ritchie Bros. and Natik to makeover GR Dirtworx Caterpillar D6 dozer to become “Beyond Blue”. 

The dozer has travelled to Ritchie Bros. in Brisbane, courtesy of the float arranged by Natik, where Ritchie Bros. arranged and paid for the paint job at B&C Spraytech. 

The dozer will then head back to base in Victoria making pitstops in Newcastle and South of Albury.  

Once home to roost, $2 per hour that the machine works will be donated to Beyond Blue, an Australian mental health and wellbeing support organisation.

Within a year, Gavin’s brother, Nigel, went from being “happily married with two gorgeous children, had the house, the great job, living the typical life of a mid-thirties male, working his way up in the world to earn enough to make life comfortable” to “sitting in the same house, but the house is now very different, there is no life to it anymore, no noise of little feet running around, the house is now a dark lonely place”.

Sitting at the table where he would find himself numerous times, contemplating what he had to live for. 

After paying a lot of money for councillors, talking about his feelings to a stranger, he became “tired of it and didn’t want to talk about it any longer, he just wanted the pain to stop”.

As most people in this situation feel, Nigel found it a “real challenge to talk to anyone close about the thoughts he was having due to not wanting to be a burden” or that he “couldn’t handle what life had thrown at him”. 

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This is where the importance of ‘starting the conversation’ comes from and the real reason behind using this Blue Dozer to clear away any stigma attached with these feelings and moments when some might feel trapped, confused or unsure of what to do next, forging a path to just start with the conversation. 

It might be the person who is suffering that reaches out, or you might see a mate, work colleague or loved one who hasn’t been themselves lately, it starts with a simple concept of having a chat.

“When you see the dozer on the road or when it is hired out and in your place of work, it will give people a reason to take that step and have a discussion.”  

Ritchie Bros. Regional Operations Manager Andrew Chapman says it was a worthwhile project to get behind. “Operating heavy equipment can be a lonely job, so if having a blue dozer on-site starts conversations then that’s a good thing,” he says. 

Normal ‘bloke talk’ was what got Nigel through those dark days and all he wanted. 

This concept is to let everyone know that they are not alone, the more we talk about it the more people can open up about it. 

Nigel’s message to us all is that “Life is tough, but life can also be really awesome!” 

“If you come across the Blue Dozer, especially along our journey home, stop us, have a chat, take a picture and spread the awareness.  Together we will bulldoze the stigma and construct some lifesaving conversations.”

If you or anyone you know is suffering from mental illness, please reach out to Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 or visit  www.beyondblue.org.au for more information.

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