In 2020, WOW’s CEO Joel Pilgrim paddled 84,957 strokes in 3 days. Why? Not just for raising money for the people who use our surf therapy programs but also for the people around Australia struggling with mental health battles.

The campaign has been named “Stand Up for Mental Health” and that’s what they did. Standing up for 33 hours and 39 minutes on a paddle board.

“The name of this challenge was Stand Up for Mental Health, and oh boy did we do that” – Joel Pilgrim

Alongside Joel was Cheyne Mitchell, a superhuman but also a firefighter. Together they completed travelled 208 kilometres in two and half days - exactly 33 hours and 39 minutes of paddling. While this paddle boarding adventure was for everyone, it was also for themselves. Joel and Cheyne took on this challenge across port Philips Bay for their mental health.

“An adventure, a challenge, a mental test? Regardless, what an incredible experience that I will never forget!” – Joel Pilgrim

Today we unveil the feature film, made by Safari and filmed by good mate of WOW’s, Andy Englisch! Our goal is to show you what fundraising can do, not only for others but yourself. Take on a challenge or help out others doing the same.

So far we have raised $7,156.

The smallest amount helps, $5,000 is enough to fund an 8-week program, but even if you want to drop in a board or some sun block, your donation can help. Donations can be made here.

DECLARATION

Cheyne partnered with WOW to raise awareness for mental health to reiterate our belief that ‘it’s okay to not be okay’. Cheyne has already raised $4,756, with the link below you can donate to help fund some of our surfing programs for mental health:

https://waves-of-wellness.raisely.com/cheyne-mitchell

Being such a legend, Cheyne also participated in our annual planking challenge, completing 9 minutes of planks for 9 days in support of our Plank up the Volume. We love that work you do Cheyne!

Joel talks about his experience of those challenging three days here…

THE MIND GAMES

Every paddle stroke, every shooting pain was a test. An opportunity to give in, to call the boat over, to surrender to our minds who were saying, “you can’t do this, it’s impossible!” When all signs point to give up, you have to hit the fuel reserves and trick your mind into it. Any big task seems colossal when you’re staring it in the face but breaking it down into small chunks makes it far more achievable. Every kilometre, every landmark we reached and passed, brought us closer to the finish, even if it was 2 days away.

“We said all along this was going to be more a mental battle than anything, and we weren’t wrong”

THE DELIRIUM

When you’re doing the same thing over and over, endurance athletes talk a lot about hallucinating. At times both Cheyne and I were seeing things. Cheyne thought he saw a dolphin next to him, I thought my board was traveling perpendicular to the direction we were traveling. Staring at the same thing for hours you even start to see kaleidoscope patterns in the water - it’s a real trip out, but you have to remind yourself this is all part of it.

SELF-DISCIPLINE

If we give in to every temptation in life, we don’t get very far. Training in and of itself was a big task, preparing our bodies with hours and hours of paddling, when we could think of many better things to be doing. I found it particularly hard not surfing for a whole month to get in enough training. Then comes the paddle itself, where the temptation to cut a corner or shorten the route is all too real. It all comes down to how hard you want it. Give into temptation or push yourself to be better?

PORT PHILLIP OCEAN!

Now technically this body of water is named Port Phillip Bay, but I call bullshit… it’s not a bay at all… it’s an ocean all by itself! When you can’t see the other side, when you’re out in the middle and can’t see over the horizon in either direction… that’s the damn ocean! It was quite a mind warp at times and reminded us just how small we were out there, and the importance of safety! It was so huge, that we got separated at one stage when I got blown way off course, and by the time I got scooped up by the boat to get back on track, we couldn’t find Cheyne! The technology was the saving grace, as we were able to trace him on the GPS tracker, he was 10km away in the complete opposite direction to where we thought he would be! That’s why you don’t try shit like this without the real gear and support.

THE CROSSING

Max elevation was 38m on day 1! This might be hard to comprehend seeing as though we were paddling a ‘bay’. We had to time the crossing of the heads to a tee, catching the slack tide right on the hour, otherwise we would’ve been sucked out to sea. Paddling out through what they call ‘The Rip’ was intense. There were 6-8ft waves coming through on both sides of the heads, with surfers getting the waves of their lives. Meanwhile we were battling to stay on our boards, with tide, wind and swell all pushing different directions, so the elevation was the number of waves we had to go up and down to make it across. We had a RIB (rigid inflatable boat) join us for the crossing for safety, but regardless, I have never scurried back onto my board quicker than I did after falling off in those waters!

CONNECTION

Cheyne and I met face to face for the first time 3 days before the paddle. We didn’t know each other from a bar of soap, it was brave diving into something this big with a stranger. What was for certain, is sharing something so wild with someone is a great way to get to know them! Never otherwise would you have the chance to dive into some wild and wacky conversations about everything under the sun. There were times we paddled together and talked each other’s ear off (let’s be honest I was the extrovert talking on patient ears!), and there were times we paddled apart, in silence with just our thoughts. There were times we talked shit and laughed, and times where we said nothing, paddling in silence squinting through the pain. Cheyne and I are now mates, and know a lot about each other, with this whole experience highlighting the importance of connection when it comes to mental health, and the importance of meaningful conversation.

SAYING YES

I’ve always been a yes man, saying yes to some pretty odd things... maybe it’s FOMO, or maybe it’s over-froth, but this one surely has to take the cake. Rarely does saying yes to an opportunity end badly, but fear of the unknown or limiting beliefs can hold us back.

WE ARE CAPABLE OF MORE THAN WE KNOW

We live largely in a world of comfort, safety, and predictability. Stepping out of your comfort zone is when I think the magic starts to happen. Over the last few days stacks of people have said “I can’t believe you did that” and truth be told, neither can I! But once I broke it down, did the preparation, and now reflect back on it, it’s a good reminder that we can do some pretty incredible things if we put our minds to it.

My challenge to you... what’s something you’ve always wanted to do, but have been too worried to give it a crack? What’s the worst that could happen?

THE DOCUMENTARY

With the help of Andy from Safari, the whole adventure could be filmed. A big thanks to Andy as he never left their side during those three days! He helped creature a feature film of the expedition. The film can be accessed here.

THANK YOU

“Grateful AF for all the messages of support, the calls and messages mid-challenge to get us through, to the people who gave up so much time to be our support crew, navigators, boat drivers, transportation, Naish Australia for giving me a board, but most of all to Cheyne. Thanks for taking a gamble with me… it certainly was something I’ll never forget!” – Joel Pilgrim

Join us standing up for mental health!

THE NUMBERS

$7,156 raised (so far)
208 kilometers paddled
2.5 days
33hrs 39mins paddling
84,957 paddle strokes
18 Nurofen
24 Energy bars
16 bananas
24L of water and Hydralite

Images by: Safari

Stand Up For Mental Health: A 208km Journey Across Port Phillip Bay