The Good Push 2024

Hey everyone, my name is Nathanael Kealy. I'm a skateboarder and family man from Lake Macquarie (near Newcastle) NSW Australia. I need your support to undergo a massive undertaking.

On 23 June 2024 I began my 300km skate mission from Port Macquarie to Lake Macquarie to raise funds and awareness for mental health and suicide prevention.

My original plan for this project was to complete the 300km+ skate over 5days, rolling into Lake Macquarie on the day that marked my 7th year of sobriety.

BUT; my health took a very unexpected turn after finishing Day 2 at Nabiac, 110kms from my starting point, landing me in hospital for a week having treatment (thankfully avoiding surgery) & since getting home from this I am still undergoing observations, scans, tests & all that comes with it for at least another 6 weeks or so.

Once I get the all clear from my specialist, I WILL be back, The Good Push 2024 will continue and I will be finishing my mission from where I left off!

My fundraising goal remains the same, hoping to raise $30K, so far we have raised about $6K and I cannot thank everyone who has already donated enough for these contributions!

Some of the funds raised will help cover expenses for the trip such as fuel (for my support crew aka my wife following me), food & supplies & the rest of funds will go to very worthy not-for-profit organisations whose purpose is to provide education & support for people of all ages at all stages of their mental health journey. Educating the kids before they land in a mental health crisis, helping those suffering and prevent yet another suicide statistic and of course support those who have been affected by suicide.

About me

So, Thursday 27th June 2024, marked my 7th year of sobriety. Although not easy, being sober for the past 7 years has improved so many aspects of my life, mentally, physically, and for all who are important to me. I wouldn’t have been able to attempt this skate without the energy and focus that sobriety has given me.

There is much to be said about the importance of prioritising the things in your life that you are truly passionate about. Skateboarding is just one of those things for me, and has really helped my healing process. Throughout my childhood and career in hospitality I’ve lost people through suicide, and myself have felt the darkness of suicidal thoughts.

The skate will be mentally and physically gruelling, especially because I have osteoarthritis in both knees, and a meniscus that’s been torn off its roots in my right knee, just floating around in there, my right tibia is on 6 degree offset slant so I have bone on bone grinding and the cartilage is severely diminishing.

Despite the setbacks, this event is massively important to me. Like my 7 years of sobriety, the push will challenge me mentally and physically, and brings together two things that are important to me: skateboarding and speaking up about mental health.

Any donation big or small is greatly appreciated!

To show my appreciation; leading up to and during those first days of the mission in June, everyone who donated $30 or more went into the draw to win one of 7 rad complete skateboards, ready to roll, that I put together myself, each worth around $350.

My original plan was to draw these winners on my arrival back at Lake Macquarie on June 27, but my body had other ideas on that timeline.

My wife (Nay) drew prize #1 on the 27th & again my congrats to Shane G on winning the Powell Peralta Caballero complete board. We hope you enjoy pushin on that rad whip!

When I got home from hospital, we ran the draw for the remaining 6 prizes and those lucky winners who had all made donations were:

• Kylie B - New Deal Sargent Invader
• Josh P - Heroin 'Soft Boiled Egg'
• Mat B - Colours Collectiv 'Grunge Logo'
• Michael S - Santa Cruz Fabian Delfini 'Wildflower'
• Mark F - Colours Collectiv Aleksander Bezinovic 'Inferno'
• Lyn K - Amnesia 'OG Chalk'

So with those prizes gone...whats next you ask? WELL...

Mick Medusa Tattoo& Laser who works out of Tora Sumi Tattoo Studio in Balmain has thrown 3 huge prizes into the barrel that are up for grabs, again just by making a donation!

There is a Tattoo Session (palm size) and 2x Laser Lightening sessions

(T&Cs apply to all prizes & will be discussed with winners directly by the artist, Mick Medusa)

And to sweeten the deal, Mick Medusa has put forward a challenge to supporters of The Good Push 2024:

Lets raise the bar & get the donation tally to $10,000 and the Tattoo prize will JACKPOT to a FULL DAY of tattooing!

Be sure to follow my journey on Instagram @thegoodpush2024 and #thegoodpush2024.

I’ll be posting updates as much as I can leading up to the day that I get to Keep On Pushin and continue my mission, The Good Push 2024.

If you wanna hear a little more on my and my why, check out my interview on Terrible Happy Talks podcast hosted by Shannon Farrugia, available on all platforms.

Thank you for supporting me and being part of #TheGoodPush2024! I hope you can join me in sharing this mission and awareness for better mental health and suicide prevention.

Check in on your mates!!

Peace, Love and Mungbeans

Nate.