A Cup Of Tea With… Sir John Kirwan

The sporting legend tells Karyn Henger that his biggest achievements have been off the field

- Karyn Henger

Sir John Kirwan was an absolute legend on the rugby field and now the former All Black champions mental health issues as the founder of the Sir John Kirwan Foundation and the mental wellbeing app, Mentemia. He chats about his latest passion projects, facing his demons and the mantras he lives by.

Thanks for joining us, Sir John Kirwan. Can you tell us about your latest mental health projects.

Okay, about four years ago the government began to put mental health into the Health and Safety Act – where there is a focus on looking after people’s mental health. That was a good thing. But then I continued to see our suicide rates going up and reflected on what I’ve been doing. I felt that I’d failed because there is no change. So I was challenged by that and stayed awake a few nights. Out of that came these new projects: Mentemia – a mental wellbeing app free to all; Recentre – a private mental health clinic in Auckland for those who can afford to pay; and through the Sir John Kirwan Foundation we’ve developed a curriculum-based approach for schools to equip children Years 1 to 8 with skills and knowledge to understand their mental health so they can recognise and deal positively with life when it gets tough. We’re going into four schools to trial it.

It’s great you’re taking your work into schools…