Troy Allan

About My Challenge

I’m completing 2,000 push-ups in 23 days to raise awareness and funds for mental health, in support of the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand.

Mental health matters to me deeply, not as a concept, but as something I’ve had to fight for.

I grew up believing I was a burden, unwanted, passed between families, surrounded by domestic abuse and violence. At one point in my life, the weight of that belief became so heavy that I attempted to take my own life. this is what I was taught and is what I believed. My father later murdered his partner and then took his own life. My mother abandoned me as a child. For a long time, I thought this was simply my load to carry.

But it wasn’t.

What I’ve learned over time is that mental health is not about pretending things didn’t happen. It’s about mindset, recognizing the thoughts we hear, the feelings we feel, and finding the strength to challenge the lie that we are broken, worthless, or beyond help. That strength doesn’t always arrive fully formed. Sometimes it has to be discovered slowly, often with support.

Coming from such a rough upbringing, I always knew the way I was treated wasn’t normal or right, and that belief became a quiet anchor. Over time, I realised that the weight I carried wasn’t mine alone, and that asking for help isn’t weakness, it’s survival.

I truly believe every person has inner strength. Sometimes it’s buried deep. Sometimes it’s bruised and broken. But it’s there, and with the right support, it can be found and mended.

I’m doing this challenge to support a future where mental health is talked about openly, supported properly, so fewer people feel they have to carry their struggles alone.

If you’re able to support or donate, thank you. And if this resonates with you personally, know this: it really is okay to not be OK, but it's not OK to stay there alone in the dark. Pain doesn’t define you, and your past doesn’t get the final word. There is light ahead, even if you can’t see it yet, and moving toward it, one small step at a time, is where real strength is built.

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