Australia’s largest mental health and fitness event, The Push-Up Challenge, is calling on students who are passionate about mental health to apply for its 2025 Student Ambassador program.
Student Ambassadors will lead their school friends, teachers and school community in The Push-Up
Challenge by cheering them on to get active, have fun and learn about mental health.
Founded by Nick Hudson in Perth, Australia in 2017, The Push-Up Challenge began as a challenge between
four friends, and has grown to become Australia’s largest mental health and fitness event. 2025 will mark
The Push-Up Challenge’s ninth year in Australia and second in Canada. The Challenge is a fun way for
participants to connect with one another, get fit, and learn about mental health, with participants encouraged
to raise money for mental health charities. The event is free to take part in and will run in June 2025 in
Australia.
Students completing Year 10, 11 and Year 12 in 2025 anywhere in Australia can apply to be a Student
Ambassador and make a difference to the mental health of their school community.
Be part of a proud achievement
Founder of The Push-Up Challenge, Nick Hudson, says the Student Ambassador Program is one of the
organisation’s proudest achievements to date:
“Watching students from around the country bring their communities together through fun and fitness is such a special thing,” Hudson says.
“Students and school groups are some of our most passionate participants because they care wholeheartedly about learning about mental health and coming together to achieve a common goal.”
Ambassadors benefit by developing skills to have conversations about mental health with confidence,
learning more about mental wellbeing, and bringing their school community together to push for a good
cause.
Mental health awareness training can change lives
The program offers successful applicants mental health awareness training facilitated by a clinical psychologist, practical strategies to boost their own mental fitness, exclusive merchandise, workshops and
event resources to support mental health education at their school.
“Young people are those least likely of any age group in Australia to seek professional help for mental health
issues. Reducing the stigma attached to mental health challenges and seeking help is crucial, as the more
we can educate young people about it, the more they will think proactively about their mental wellbeing,” says Hudson.
“The Student Ambassador program provides tools to increase mental health knowledge and build confidence in encouraging conversations about mental fitness with their peers and community.
“This year we had over 640 Student Ambassadors lead over 33,000 students around the country in completing millions of push-ups. We can’t wait to engage even more students and their communities in 2025
through an even bigger Student Ambassador Program, helping students, teachers and parents Australia-wide look after their mental health, foster a sense of connection and ultimately reduce stigma associated with mental illness.”
Supporting mental health charities
This year, 218,000 Australians took part in The Push-Up Challenge, collectively completing a staggering 317
million push-ups in 24 days and raising over $12 million for mental health charities Lifeline, headspace and
The Push for Better Foundation. In 2025, The Push-Up Challenge will take place in June and see
participants complete a set number of push-ups across three weeks to raise awareness and funds for mental
health charities.
For the Student Ambassadors – and everyone involved – the results can be life-changing.
“I was so proud seeing the loud, funny, tough boys who normally don’t talk about this kind of stuff at all actually open up,” says one 2024 Student Ambassador.
Applications for The Push-Up Challenge’s 2025 Student Ambassador program are open now.
