G’day Legend,
Nine editions of the Yarn now! How good!? The new year’s already going off like a frog in a sock with the first of many releases behind us. There’s so much we’re stoked to show you: from our sixth birthday celebration jacket to some bloody exciting partnerships with big brands that you WILL know… Stay tuned for our biggest and best year yet legends!
- Dan, Ed, and the TradeMutt team
Worksite news:
Local Tradie Achieves Mental Clarity After Accidentally Listening to a Podcast Instead of Construction Site Banter
Have you joined the mutt hutt yet?
We welcome you to our community of like-minded Mutters where you can shoot sh*t with legends, get insight into TradeMutt’s inner workings and have a yarn.
Tales from the mutters
We share some stories about conversations you guys have had. There’s some bloody good ones.
Don’t keep it under your hat
That little thought nagging away at you? Talk to soneone about it.
Read more page 4
Sports:
World Record Shattered: Tradie Completes Marathon in a Wheelbarrow
Who Needs Running Shoes When You Have Steel-Toed Boots?
Tradie Removes Sock
Despite repeated attempts to get him to put a sock in it, local tradie Darren Drillsgood is starting conversations instead.
“It’s all the shirts,” Mr. Drillgood said in an on-the-record interview he also livestreamed to all of his social media accounts.
“Before I wore TradeMutt shirts all I talked about on-site was cricket and the weather. Now, I can chat about how I’m doin’ even on days when it’s not so good without it being the end of the world.”
“Yeah, look,” started site supervisor Simon Says, “we weren’t so sure when he started wearin’ these shirts every day but he’s got all us around. It’s nice to know how the crew’s goin’. We’re all a bit better friends now.”
It’s not just the worksite either. Mr. Drillsgood wears his TradeMutt shirts everywhere on Fridays, even if they’re a bit sweaty. He’s starting yarns at the shops where he gets a few bits for dinner. He still makes sure to line up with the cashiers’ queues instead of the machines because the machines can’t chat to ya.
“Servo folk love ‘em too,” he reckons. “They’ve seen ‘em around on a lot of Fridays and it’s been great to just talk about how I love the patterns and the story behind the shirts.”
Mr. Drillsgood doesn’t know for sure how many people he’s talked to wearing a TradeMutt shirt but that’s not the point for him. “It’s a bit beside the point, to be honest,” he says. “These shirts are all about the impact.”
Mr. Drillsgood’s girlfriend, Sam Sparkes, loves the shirts too. “It’s like his whole wardrobe,” she says, showing us when we went to visit so we knew she wasn’t joking.
She wasn’t joking. “But I love ‘em. Don’t have to iron them, he can just chuck them on, and he gets new ones for me too every time he does so we’ve always got something fun and impactful to wear.”
Stories Roll In
TradeMutt Customer Success Manager Rach reckons that Mutters have started the year strong with stories piling up in the inbox that she loves to read.
“It’s the highlight of my day,” Rach said.
“Getting to know how Mutters are out there making tonnes of impact — whether it’s just giving people directions because they look friendly or whether they’re getting people in touch with TIACS for free professional support.”
Tales from Mutt Town
Recently, we went to The MuttHutt asking about the best conversations they’ve had in a TradeMutt shirt. We got a range of responses with co-founder Dan leading the way. Some were funny while others inspiring. Here are our favourites:
Dan Allen
Well I’ve had too many to tell them all, but just before Christmas I had a new dining table delivered at home. Being the good former tradie that I am, I obviously offered the two hot and sweaty delivery guys every option of cold drink I had on hand in my fridge. They politely declined, but one of them said I’ll happily take your shirt though, pointing to my rainbow road full print. I asked him if he knew about TradeMutt to which he replied “Yeah, those guys are bloody legends. They sponsor the cricket competition I play in and each week they send out prizes to people who score runs and take wickets. I got a shirt and a hat the other week for scoring a half century and it made my bloody week.” I said to old mate, “That’s pretty cool, they must be real decent blokes,” to which he replied, “Yeah they definitely are.”
I like the fact that he didn’t actually realise he was talking to one of the founders. I would have hated to see his bubble burst when he realised that I’m not actually that good of a bloke.
Rose Moss
The other day while walking to my car I heard a voice from behind me ask “What conversation are we starting today?” “How about what the shirt is about.” So the lady who asked and myself talked about my Razzle Dazzle shirt and about TradeMutt in general. As we parted ways she said that she wished she knew about TradeMutt and their support as her hubby had needed help. She didn’t know the extent of his depression until she read the note that he had left. After a hug she said that she was going to tell her son about TradeMutt as he’d been struggling since that awful day. I sincerely hope that our chance convo that was started by the vibrant Razzle Dazzle shirt is of help to this lady and her son.
David Robertson
The best one I ever had was just a bloke asking “what’s the conversation starter?” I replied with “the shirt”. He asked “I don’t really think so”. We then spoke for another 5 minutes. I finished up by saying “cya mate, I guess the shirt doesn’t really start conversations,” and smiled.
Gail Stevens
I’d just flown back to Australia from Vietnam and landed in Brisbane and I decided to wear my trusty TradeMutt to come home in
Well Jesus Christ, of course the morning I get it, there’s signs saying that they’re filming for Australian Border Force.
I got pulled aside and had my bag fully searched. They say to me “Welcome home, love the shirt.”
Its been almost 24 hours since I started traveling, my eyeballs were pretty much falling out of my head and I just couldn’t muster the energy to chat but managed to awkwardly say “shanks” to the officers searching my luggage.
Could have died from the embarrassment.
Natasha Mildren
Dad wearing his favourite TradeMutt on a boat cruise through Europe, at dinner with his fellow crew mates and they ask what it’s all about. Dad proudly tells them the story of the boys and his connection, then one of the dinner guests opens up about his son committing suicide and then promptly logs on and orders his whole family shirts to be shipped back to the US. A 100% conversation starter. Dad has continued to stay in contact with this gentleman and they email each other often.
Allie Beeston
Wore mine to work...A Secondary Girls College. The girls loved it and we were able to have some really great conversations. Sadly a male teacher decided to have a go at me, not realising the message the shirt gives. He thought he was so cool until I explained what the shirt stood for and that maybe he needed to think before being an idiot. Best result was his promise to purchase a shirt that day and to be a little more thoughtful before opening his mouth.
Jason Smith
I had a bloke come up to me when I was out for dinner. Convo went like this: I love your shirt bro it definitely is a conversation starter. I said sure is bud its all about mental health awareness. He said I could definitely use some of that. I said what’s going on. He said it’s my 2nd night out with my daughter in 2 years the courts are killing me I lost my job. I can barely afford to bring her here for dinner. I told him to go get her and join us and we will make sure it’s a night she will never forget. Dinner ended up going for like 2 and a half hrs then me and my mate paid for dinner and took the kids to iPlay. We got chatting and had an awesome night. My mate gave him a job driving one of his trucks until he found what he wanted to do. Only a small baby tipper. I now wear my shirt all most everywhere. I also stop and chat to any1 who wants a chat. Just remember a smile can save a life
Adam Woodley
I attended a Leadership Meeting in Melbourne with 100 of our company’s top employees from around the country. They are usually pretty stuffy with everyone from Victoria wearing dark suits, ties, etc. I thought I would mix things up and wear my Spun Out Half Button to add some colour.
Well, it certainly got plenty of attention and started many conversations mainly about what TradeMutt is because many in the room had never heard of “The Cause”.
The best comment of the day came from the chairman of the board, who was walking behind me to lunch… he commented “It’s not much of a conversation starter” obviously after reading the tag line on the back of the shirt. I stopped, turned around, and asked him “if I wasn’t wearing this shirt, would you have even spoken to me?”. His look of surprise said everything when he realised the shirt had caused him to start a conversation with me and we spent the next 15 minutes in deep conversation about TradeMutt, TIACS, and what it’s all about. He was sold on the entire concept after that single conversation – to me, that’s exactly what it’s all about… raising awareness and starting conversations !!
Lachlan Patzel
We own a farm in western Victoria. In the first week of December I wore my Fractal shirt to the monthly store sale, I had 10 people comment on it and explained the story to all of them about what TradeMutt is all about. One guy, my old stock agent asked the same question that the last 10 people asked me. Once again I explained that half the money goes to TIACS for free mental health counselling. At the end of the conversation he said to me that he appreciates what I’m doing, his grandson ended it at 14 years old. And that hit hard
Zebedee Schulz
I’m a paramedic in Darwin, NT. I fly often to Alice Springs and Nhulubuy for work and I always wear one of my TradeMutt shirts when flying to and from. Without a doubt someone alway comments on the shirts. The convos start with a chat about the shirt, the TradeMutt story and end with me flipping up the breast pocket getting them to scan the QR code (for the ones that have it).
I have 10 of the different designs now and my partner loves them too. We both work in the health care setting and with paramedics and health care workers having one of the highest burn out rates in the country we love the designs, the background of the shirts and the mental health support that the shirt brings though the partner ship with TIACS. Keep up the amazing work and designs - We Love Them!!
Alison Fielden
I brought my husband a shirt, when he opened it he said ‘it’s definitely a conversation starter!’ I told him all about TradeMutt & what it means & he had an open conversation about times he’d been really down .. which started a conversation that we’d never had..
A few months down the track we were getting ready to go to Melbourne Cup lunch at the local pub..( They all laughed at first at his bright shirt) but the locals had a more meaningful conversation with him & one guy that didn’t, but wanted to know what the shirt meant, so I just flicked up the pocket & said scan this and you can check it out later mate and several other guys & girls did too.
Definitely helped a lot of people & friends that day and I’m proud he wore it with pride to not only help him but so many others too!
Talitha Brown
My best TradeMutt story is simply bumping into people who are dressed just like ME on a Friday afternoon. I recently bumped into a fella at my local Woolworths and we were both representing the Party Animals high vis top! We had a laugh and were able to instantly get chatting. We talked about what we do for a living and how the people we work with also get amongst fun shirt Friday. Of course we talked about our favourite prints too! I love what a community this brand has been able to form and I look forward to seeing all the fun prints on Fridays. Big love Talitha Brown.
Anna Ferrinda
My favourite interaction wearing a TradeMutt shirt was out the front mowing the lawn. A man pulled up looking very flustered and said he was meeting his friends at a local pub and was completely lost. He said he’d been driving forever and didn’t know who to approach for help then drove past and read the back of my shirt and he figured it was a sign.
I gave him the directions and he went on his way, thought it was pretty funny that these shirts can help in all sorts of unexpected ways.
David Moran
“I was presenting in a remote area of South Australia - Roxby Downs, and I was telling people that there are services that they can use to get instant support for Mental Health Issues.
One of the attendees stood up and said rubbish, please don’t lie to me, Ive had issues and I have no help as there is none available, it is insulting for you to say there is.
After we had settled the situation down a bit, I repeated that I could give them several options to get help today, and they demanded I do it, so I did.
They looked at the list (of which your number is a part) and stormed out of the presentation and one of our team went with them, and they started a phone call.
After 10 minutes they came back and said stop the session, I want to address everyone. We did and asked them what had happened, they said they were having trouble believing what had happened -
They went out and called TIACS - and were able to speak to someone almost straight away and it was FREE, and they felt better just knowing this worked, and would use the number again tomorrow.
They apologised and advised everyone that the help is there if they need it!
We know this person has used the service again and has told us it has been fantastic!
Ngaitylya (“thanks” Kaurna Language)
We LOVE to hear your stories. They help inspire new Mutters to start conversations and break down barriers. You even have a chance to win a $100 voucher just for sharing (more details on the back page). So come find us in The MuttHutt, drop your story on your favourite social platform or shoot us an email and inspire others to become mental health advocates and help make the invisible impossible to ignore!
Your shirt can save a life.
G’day team.
Normally, I’m tasked with writing some barely serious content for the Yarn, as a bit of a nod to our valued Business customers, but mostly just for a laugh.
This issue has something a bit different, as we recently received the below story from the amazing Carpentaria Shire Council team, as a result of introducing a custom design uniform run across their workforce:
“Since the changeover and introduction of the new uniforms at Carpentaria Shire Council and the constant message about mental health, this has allowed me to be more open and unembarrassed about my dealings with depression, and more recently, anxiety.
Depression is a dark place which seems like there is no escape; you start to distance yourself from family and friends, withdrawn from activities, lose all your interest and start to contemplate your own existence.
Because of my own dealings and understandings, I was able to notice a change in a previous employee. I kept letting him know if they needed to talk, I’m here. After a few times he eventually sat down with me and spoke about what was happening.
I asked him to see a doctor and he was diagnosed with severe depression.
During the recovery he would sometimes contact me around midnight asking if he could sleep over which he did. Before he left to take up another job, he gave me a bag and said thank you and, “Can you get rid of this for me, I won’t be needing it.”
The bag had items he was considering using to take his life.
Sharing this message lets people know they’re not alone, but I’ve also realised it’s hard for people who haven’t experienced a mental illness to understand.
Help is available, our clothing has access to a help line.”
Needless to say, I get chills reading this. It’s rare to be given the gift of seeing the value of the work you do, but we’re lucky here, and we get stories like this from all corners of Australia.
Thanks again to the team at Carpentaria Shire council for their commitment to the mental health & wellbeing of their team and community, for sharing this story, and for reminding us at TradeMutt of what a privilege it is to be able to do what we do.
Thanks also to the legend who wrote this, for reminding me, personally, why I love my job.
Cheers, Shannen
Don’t Keep It Under Your Hat.
There might always be something that you don’t want to share—something you’re not sure about but want to think through first. That thing that’s nagging at you a bit, and you should chat about it with someone. But who? Everyone you know is a farmer, tough as nails, sunburnt to the bone, and all you talk to them about most of the time is the weather and the footy.
Don’t keep it under your hat. Talk about it with TIACS. Whatever it is—something at work, something at home, something a friend said to you that you’re mulling over, trying to figure out—TIACS is there for you. From 8 am to 10 pm Monday to Friday, AEST, a TIACS counsellor is ready and keen to chat about whatever it is you need to get out from under your hat.
If your head’s feeling heavy, lighten the load. Take your hat off, have a chat, and get that head noise out into the world where someone’s listening and ready to yarn about how to make it easier for you.
“Connecting with TIACS made me realize that doing it alone is not the way to go. Us blokes sometimes think sharing is weak, but it’s not; it’s actually brave. I was so angry, which didn’t get me anywhere. People around me just gave me answers. I didn’t want advice. I needed someone to listen and to ask the right questions. I won’t be doing it alone again, and I thank TIACS for being there when I needed them. I now know where to go if I need to talk again in the future.”
Text or call TIACS on 0488 846 988 or go to TIACS.org for more info. Mon-Fri 8 am-10 pm AEST.
