Finding His Way as a Warrior

Finding His Way as a Warrior

By Shanelle Schick

Brandt Cogill is a local Rockhampton man on a mission to help other men find their warrior within. Coming from a family of graziers, Brandt has always enjoyed martial arts and the discipline that stems from being involved in that.

The Warrior’s Way was born after Brandt experienced a near breakdown after a challenging period in his life. The challenges of being a dad, running a business and training for competitive fights eventually led to burnout. During this time, he turned into a hermit – not going anywhere or doing anything and eventually fell into a state of depression.

Throughout his years, he has always been an avid supporter of Movember raising awareness around men’s mental health. He ran boxing charity events to raise money and awareness amongst the community. It was this event that led to being a pivotal moment for Brandt, coaching 11 fights and being the main event himself, he reached a point in the evening where he ‘just wanted it to be over’. A quick change in mindset and he decided not to quit, but to get up and fight on. His thought pattern soon became that he was fighting for his life, his mental health because the cause he was fighting for was ‘bigger than me’.

Delving deep into personal development and having recently attended a men’s retreat as a support person for his brother helped him to gain an insight into breathwork. It was during the retreat that he realised that he is a true-life warrior and has been training his whole life.

This led to finally having a life purpose back, knowing that ‘it’s not just about me anymore. A lot of growth can come out of the crap we go through and become a real blessing in disguise’.

Moving forward, the gym will close, and Brandt will step more into working in the men’s mental health field to help other men to grow and become better versions of themselves. He has begun a movement called ‘The Warriors Way’ to grow and serve the male community. There is a Facebook page with a private alliance group which hosts a meeting each Monday night. It is free to attend, and attendees are free to share their challenges, their wins and what they are grateful for..

Brandt says ‘women had CWA, and blokes just went to the pub’ when reflecting on how mental health challenges were dealt with during his younger years. It became quickly evident that there was no quality release for our male folk who tended to shake off their shared worries that came to the forefront after a few beers the next day as having had a few too many. They tended to just ‘get on with it’, never really addressing the underlying issues.

He is hoping to create a truer, more authentic level of communication where men can relate and share their experiences. Sometimes all it takes for someone is hearing that they are not alone and it can send out massive ripple effects. Speaking up gives others permission to speak about their experiences.

Keep an eye out on The Warrior’s Way Facebook page for more information on The Alliance Group, the upcoming Rockhampton Charity Boxing Event along with retreats and workshops Brandt will be running as he steps fulltime into his business.