The Shaka Project: A Simple Idea Saving Lives Sean Phillip

Sean Phillip is an Australian-based mental health and suicide prevention advocate and director of The Shaka Project, based in Torquay, Victoria. Drawing on his own lived experience with mental health challenges from a young age, and the openness of his parents in discussing their diagnoses, Sean has delivered hundreds of workshops and keynotes across Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and Europe.

In this conversation, Sean shares how his family’s honesty about mental health shaped his ability to seek help, the frightening periods of his own journey, and how becoming a father deepened his commitment to creating a more empathetic world for the next generation. He explains the origins of The Shaka Project, including how a simple hand gesture between him and his stepson became a powerful, wordless check-in, and describes the organization’s mission to reduce stigma around suicide (particularly among men) and normalize everyday conversations about mental health. Sean also offers his view of influence as the ability to have a positive impact on others without expecting anything in return, highlighting the crucial role of “everyday influencers” in small communities, not just celebrities or social media figures.

Takeaways:

1. Lived experience fuels real impact Sean’s own long-term journey with mental health, shaped by parents who openly discussed their diagnoses, underpins his work and shows how honest family conversations can literally save lives.

2. The Shaka as a silent check-in A simple hand gesture between Sean and his stepson evolved into The Shaka Project—using the shaka as a non-verbal way to say “I’m okay” or “I’m here for you,” helping normalize mental health check-ins, especially among men.

3. Influence belongs to everyone Sean defines influence as making a positive impact without expecting anything in return, emphasizing that people in small communities—parents, teammates, coworkers—can be more powerful influencers than high-profile “influencers.”

Quotes:

1. "I think influence is simply the ability to have a positive impact on someone without getting anything in return."

2. "Suicide prevention is everybody's responsibility... it starts every day, it ends every night, it starts again every morning."

3. "We really want to focus on the people that are closest to us all... the footy coach, or the bloke who runs the pub, or the mum of two that's struggling with her own demons."

Timestamps:

00:00 - Sean talks about the different historical origins of the Shaka and its connection to surfing and checking in with friends. 01:00 - Anton introduces the Find Your Influence podcast and Sean Phillip’s role as a mental health and suicide prevention advocate and director of The Shaka Project. 03:30 - Sean shares his early mental health diagnosis, his parents’ openness about their own struggles, and how that shaped his ability to seek support. 07:31 - Sean tells the story of how a silent Shaka exchange with his young stepson at a playground inspired the name and concept for The Shaka Project. 11:30 - Sean defines influence as having a positive impact on someone without expecting anything in return and explains why “everyday people” can be the most powerful influencers. 21:06 - Sean and Anton discuss current suicide statistics in Australia and the ongoing challenge of reducing those numbers. 28:53 - Sean outlines the vision for The Shaka Project: building a community that gives people permission to talk about their mental health, with a strong focus on regional and everyday communities.

Conclusion:

Sean Phillip shows how powerful lived experience can be when it’s shared openly and without shame. From growing up in a home where mental health was talked about honestly, to surviving his own crises, to founding The Shaka Project, Sean demonstrates that prevention starts with everyday conversations and simple signals of care.

By redefining the shaka as a check-in gesture and championing “everyday influencers” in small communities, he reminds us that suicide prevention is everyone’s responsibility—something we practice in how we show up for colleagues, friends, family, and even strangers, every single day.