In a career first, Aussie World SuperSport rider Tom Edwards is proud to announce Black Dog Ride as his official charity partner of 2024.
An organisation that is close to his heart, Black Dog Ride is an Australian charity with a core mission of raising awareness of mental health and suicide prevention.
Gifting the major sponsor spot on his bike for the opening round of the World SuperSport Challenge in Barcelona this week, The Black Dog Logo will proudly showcase on Tom’s Ducati V2 Panigale and be seen in the D34G Pit Box for the 2024 season.
Black Dog Ride motorcycle events provide a safe environment and a caring community of motorcycle enthusiasts.
“I’m really excited to become an ambassador for the Black Dog Ride. I’ve had ties with the crew there for a few years now so it’s great to be extending that connection,” says Edwards.
“Partnering with a charity is something that I’ve always really wanted to do and I feel that I’m reaching a point in my career where I can use my platform for something bigger than racing.”
“Partnering with Black Dog Ride just made the most sense. Motorcycles have always been a mental outlet for me, if I need to clear my head, I go for a ride. So to have a community of people that get together to do that, I think it’s really special.”
“Mental health is something that isn’t spoken about enough, especially in the motorcycle world. There’s almost like an expectation to be this tough invincible guy, but I want people to know that it is okay to have feelings and more importantly, to talk about those feelings. I want people to know that they always have someone to talk to, that they’re not alone.”
“There aren’t many people out there who haven’t been affected by the impacts of mental health. Being a professional athlete and the pressure that comes with that, I’ve definitely battled with my own mental health at times. I’ve also lost someone really close to me to a long battle with mental health. I miss him every day.”
“So I’m proud to be linking up with an organisation like the Black Dog Ride and use my platform to help raise awareness for this cause.”
Black Dog Ride General Manager, Lawson Dixon has welcomed this announcement and said: “My thanks and appreciation go out to Tom and his team. Over the last few years as our riders have visited Philip Island, we have been able to forge a strong bond with Tom over shared values of the importance of mental health and suicide prevention. We’re looking forward to being a part of Tom’s journey and we welcome him warmly, to ours’.
To learn more about Black Dog Ride or to get involved, visit their website: https://www.blackdogride.org.au/—
If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, or with someone who is, please act promptly, keep yourself and/or the person in crisis safe, and call the helplines below who provide crisis support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If the situation is life-threatening, call 000 immediately.
Lifeline Crisis Support – 13 11 14
Samaritans Help Line – 135 247
Lifeline Online Crisis Support Chat Service – (7pm - Midnight AEDT)
Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467
Kids Helpline – 1800 551 800
MensLine Australia – 1300 789 978
SANE Australia Helpline – 1800 18 7263
Veteran's Line – 1800 011 046
ADF All Hours Line – 1800 628 036
Family Violence Crisis Line – 1800 737 732
Mates in Construction – 1300 642 111
StandBy - Support After Suicide - 1300 727 247
1 comment
Good on you Tommy, have a great year.