ABOUT THIS EPISODE
What happens after we break
⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses mental health & wellbeing and trauma & healing, which some listeners may find distressing.
If you need support, you're not alone. Help is available:
• Lifeline (24/7 crisis support): 13 11 14 · lifeline.org.au
• Blue Knot Foundation (complex trauma): 1300 657 380 · blueknot.org.au
Michael grew up in a violent household with an alcoholic father and emotionally burdened mother, taking on the role of emotional caregiver for his family by age twelve. He spent two decades in performing arts before pivoting through myotherapy and exercise science, searching for meaning without credentials or financial security. When his mother died and his brother Marty took his own life a year later, Michael experienced profound grief that redirected his entire path. He pursued a Master of Public Health, then a PhD in men's suicide prevention and mental distress, driven by both personal loss and a conviction that men's emotional lives have been systematically constrained. He now interviews men across generations about their experiences of distress, help-seeking, and connection, finding patterns of change and hope.
Michael Collins is a PhD researcher at the University of Technology Sydney investigating the lived experience of men from low socioeconomic backgrounds who experience suicidal thoughts and behaviours. A former dancer, choreographer, and fitness instructor, he returned to formal study in his 40s after losing his mother to cancer and his younger brother Marty to suicide within a year of each other. His research explores help-seeking, distress disclosure, and masculinity through interviews with men across multiple generations.
🕒 CHAPTERS:
00:00 Opening: grief is not shameful
05:05 How Michael became a researcher in men's distress
10:17 Growing up in a dysfunctional household
16:11 His father's thwarted dreams and family legacy
22:53 The jobs, the searching, the lack of direction
28:20 His father's cycle: drinking, employment, abandonment
34:00 Losing his mother and brother within a year
40:14 Witnessing grief in public as an act of courage
46:54 Dance as reclamation of his body
50:49 What his research reveals about men's help-seeking
59:59 What he hates about men: violence and its aftermath
1:08:07 His message: feel your emotions in safety
🎧 If this story moved you, follow Kintsugi Heroes in your podcast app so you never miss an episode.
📌 RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Lifeline Australia: 13 11 14
Lifeline Australia webchat: lifeline.org.au
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ABOUT KINTSUGI HEROES
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Welcome.
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Our name comes from the Japanese art of Kintsugi, where broken pottery is repaired with gold. Rather than hiding the cracks, they are honoured as part of the object's history. We believe people are much the same. The experiences that challenge us, break us, shape us, and help us grow are often the very things that connect us to one another.
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Show notes by Kintsugi Studio · Approved by Tony Bailey · Australian English
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