Nick Hudson

Together we can push for better mental health.

Profile

Nick Hudson is the CEO and founder of Australia’s largest mental health and fitness event, The Push-Up Challenge. Since its inception six years ago, Nick has led the event to engage over 400,000 participants and raise over $40 million for mental health in Australia.

In 2019 Nick’s life changed when he underwent open heart surgery. Motivated by his own lived experience with severe depression before and after this surgery, Nick made it his mission to reduce the stigma around mental health, improve mental health literacy and promote the link between mental and physical health. Through The Push-Up Challenge, Nick has created a fun and unique way to engage people across Australia in mental health through ‘health by stealth’. The event offers groups from workplaces and schools to gyms and clubs the opportunity to promote connection, exercise, break down stigma , normalise difficult conversations and encourage those who need it to seek help early.

A Perth-based engineer who has moved into an area he’s deeply passionate about, Nick has won multiple awards including Mental Health Advocate of the Year 2021 and Community Citizen of the Year 2018, and is a sought-after speaker and respected community leader. He was most recently recognised as the 2024 WA Australian of the Year Local Hero.

Expertise

Talking Points

How Nick Hudson turned adversity into Australia’s largest mental health and fitness event

This is an inspiring and motivational talk about how Nick's personal experience with depression led to Australia's biggest mental health movement.

Gamification, simple UX and a slick MVP are all you need to succeed

Humans are simple creatures - and something as simple as five minutes of a game or challenge in someone's day can be more exciting than the Metaverse will ever be. What energises and influences customers can sometimes be more simple than we think, so long as dopamine is involved.

This keynote uses case studies and lived experience to explore how gamification, a simple user experience, and a slick minimum viable product can make for a winning marketing formula.