For the latest chapter in our Community Always series with adidas Originals, we’re proud to spotlight 20Talk, a youth mental health organisation founded in Boorloo/Perth by friends Leighton and Lockie, who turned personal loss and quiet conversations into a national platform for honest, evidence-based mental health education. Built around community and raw storytelling, 20Talk avoids the polished noise, instead offering tools that resonate with young people in real ways. Their standout initiative, 20 Hours for 20Talk, invites participants into stillness; no phones, no distractions, just the space to reflect. Like the name suggests, it’s not just awareness, but what comes after. The partnership is a quiet reminder that mental health is ongoing work, and through trust, care, and showing up, we’re proud to share this space with people doing it differently.

What inspired the creation of 20Talk and what makes it unique?

When I was in Year 11 and 12, I struggled with my mental health pretty significantly. Like most teens my age, I was navigating stress, drug use, and trying to figure out where I fit in the world. Nobody knew, but depression followed not long after — and I had no idea what it was or how to manage it. All I knew back then was that my future looked pretty dull and hopeless. Then in 2017, Lockie (my co-founder) and I lost a few mates to suicide in the space of two months. It shook us. We didn’t really have the tools to process it, but we knew something had to change — because if it didn’t, it could’ve been us next. One night we were sitting around a campfire with a group of mates and we just said, “Lads, this can’t happen again — we need to start talking about our mental health.” That was the moment 20Talk was born.

In 2018, we pulled together a focus group of seven young people and started picking apart why mental health was such a problem in our age group. There was a tonne of money going into the sector, but the stats weren’t improving. What we realised was that most of the programs out there weren’t relatable or engaging. We were 20 at the time (we’re 27 now) and honestly, a lot of the stuff out there felt clunky and out of touch. We didn’t want to sing kumbaya in a park, we wanted real conversations, raw stories, and evidence-based education that actually spoke our language. So we built 20Talk around that idea: relatable content, backed by evidence, delivered without the corporate noise.

Since then, we’ve doubled our impact and revenue every year. We now deliver free mental health training in WA universities and TAFEs, run a full media team, and create transformative events across the country. Internally, we’ve got a team that genuinely has fun inventing new ways to help young people reflect and connect with their mental health.

Any exciting moments coming up or previous highlights for 20Talk that you'd like to share?

One of the most exciting milestones for us has been the creation of the 20 Hours for 20Talk challenge. Groups of 250 participants experience 20-hours in their own 2x2m square with no talking, no technology, and no distractions. It's extreme. It’s raw. And it's designed to replicate a moment of deep emotional pause, something that’s sorely missing from modern life. We created it because so many young people (ourselves included) never get a chance to stop and really sit with their thoughts, their fears, or their future.

So far, over 500 people have completed the challenge, and the transformations we’ve seen have been incredible. People have walked away saying they’ve never felt so seen, so connected, or so grounded. For some, it’s been a spiritual reset. For others, it’s been the catalyst to finally talk to someone, reconnect with a loved one, or make a big life change. And for many, it’s the first time they’ve ever really faced their inner world head-on.

In 2025, we’re scaling this event to a national level with four 250-person events planned across Perth, Sydney and Melbourne. The goal? Raise $1 million for youth mental health and continue to build momentum behind a movement that doesn’t just raise awareness, it gives people the tools to do something with that awareness. It's not just a fundraiser. It's an experience that shifts people from coping to growing.

How important is community to your business?

At 20Talk, community isn’t a buzzword, it’s the reason we exist. The whole thing started from a conversation around a firepit, when a group of young men decided that silence wasn’t an option anymore. That spirit of showing up for one another, being honest, and sharing the tough stuff has shaped every program, every campaign, and every event we’ve created.

We’ve always believed that real change happens in community, not just in clinical rooms or policy meetings. That’s why our programs are co-designed with young people. That’s why our media platform shares lived experience stories. And that’s why we go out of our way to make our training feel less like a lecture and more like a conversation between mates.

We also know that a strong community builds trust, and trust is what gives someone the courage to speak up or take that first step towards help. Whether it’s a student showing up to a Mental Health Maintenance course, or a 20 Hours participant taking on the challenge, what they’re really doing is joining a movement of people who want more from life, and are willing to do the work. That’s the kind of community we’re building. It's not just supportive, but proactive, honest, and deeply human.

Thanks for reading! Listen to 20Talk's playlist on Spotify or Apple Music.