Belmont North's Mark Crockett was going through a tough time.
He'd been diagnosed with MS [multiple sclerosis], which meant he lost his job as a coal train driver.
And his mum had died from bowel cancer.
"It all went pear-shaped," said Mr Crockett, ambassador for Sunday's MS Gong Ride.
"I had pins and needles and blurry eyes. I thought it was a low blood sugar thing.
"But after a couple of days, it didn't stop. I went to the doctors and they came back with a diagnosis.
"I had to tell work. They laid me off - see ya later. It was the best job ever."
He started battling depression and it got worse.
"I was not in a good place," he said, adding that he became suicidal.
He went to take some photos at the beach.
"I took a photo of the sun coming up. In that split second, it changed my way of thinking," he said.
"If one photo changed my way of thinking, I thought I could start sharing photos and hopefully someone might change their mind too."
He applied for a scholarship from the MS Society [now called MS Plus] and won $3000.
"I bought a camera and practised a lot," he said.
"It's been a saviour to me. I sit at the beach and take photos. It puts me in a better place.
"That's when I decided I'd give back. From that day, I've been doing MS talks around the state.
"I still have my down days of depression, but I know what to do if they come."
He also had another saviour.
"I came back from the beach one day and was in a dark hole, curled up in a ball laying on the floor," he said.
"I can't explain what happened, but I had this magazine for people living with MS.
"I rolled over and the magazine was open. It said if you need help now, call MS Connect. I rang the 1800 number. The lady was warm and had a caring voice."
She helped settle him to the point where he no longer felt like taking his life.
"With her three words, 'are you OK', I blurted everything out."
A few years later, he met people in the room that day.
"The lady I spoke to that day had moved on, but others were there who remembered her talking to me," he said.
"It was a crazy moment, that was another thing that made me decide to give back."
Mr Crockett, 55, has since talked others back from the brink.
"When you ring the hotline, it gets diverted to a specialist until you settle down," he said.
"Then they refer you to a peer support person - that's what I do.
"I speak to blokes going through what I have. It's amazing how many people out there are suffering with their mental health."
Chronic depression is a complication of MS.
The MS Gong Ride, which runs from Sydney to Wollongong, raises money for those living with MS.
More details at msgongride.org.au
- Support is also available by phoning Lifeline 13 11 14; Mensline 1300 789 978; MS Plus Connect 1800 042 138; beyondblue 1300 224 636; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732.
