A free event at Dixon Park Beach on Australia Day aims to boost people's mental health through ice baths, breathing and conversation.
The charity Talk2mebro, which attracts hundreds to its Newcastle events, began through people who lost loved ones to suicide.
Director Luke Conners, who founded its Newcastle arm, felt there was a "massive need" for events that help people connect.
"I lost a mate who was my go-to mentor. I thought he was the most mentally strong person I'd met," said Mr Conners, an Australian Army veteran.
The Talk2mebro events involve breathwork and mindfulness, which "bring people back into themselves".
"People come together with authenticity, vulnerability, storytelling and sharing," he said.
"One of our leaders gets up and shares their story first, a bit about their journey or something in their heart at the moment.
"That gets the crowd open for it."
People connect with the sand and ocean, along with "beautiful Newcastle and everything else around them".
"After we do breathwork, we ask people to hold space for each other. It's having a deeper conversation about what's happening in your life right now.
"We give them a few questions to ask one another."
He said this could be "someone they came with or someone they haven't met before".
He encouraged participants to ask questions like "what's really going on in your world right now".
This could be done though repeating the common phrase "how are you?" as "how are you really?" or "talk to me bro".
Repeating the question helped people go deeper.
"After that, they get the connection and the conversation continues. People start chatting."
Ice baths follow the breathwork and conversation.
"The breathwork can bring up emotions that we welcome, but the ice baths help wash the morning off," Mr Conners said.
"We change the energy a bit and make it fun."
He said some people initially resist the ice baths, but once they relent they "enjoy the event even more".
Photos of a December event show many ice-bath participants beaming with happiness.
"They fight it, then say it's the best thing they've ever done," he said.
A local swimmer watching told him the ice bath part "looked like a rave party, with everyone out there having fun".
"Everyone gives you a clap when you get out of the ice bath. It's community, it's encouragement, all those good things," Mr Conners said.
"It brings people together and they leave feeling like they're part of something more. They feel heard and seen and have had an opportunity to connect with themselves.
"To finish off, they get a free coffee. So what's not to love."
Every second Friday, a guys catch-up is held at Dixon Park Beach. A ladies catch up is held on the same day at Merewether Beach.
Every couple of months, a community catch-up such as the Australia Day event is held for everyone.
It begins at Dixon Park Beach at 6.30am.
