When Greg Inglis was diagnosed with anxiety, depression and bipolar II disorder it was the “aha moment” he’d been searching for. Now he’s calling on others who may struggling to seek professional help.

Backed by his Goanna Academy, Inglis has launched the ‘Stick With It’ campaign, which will see a host of NRL clubs unite in Round 22 in support of the mental health initiative.

Players and coaches will wear special strapping tape that Inglis hopes will act as an icebreaker that can ultimately spark more action in the mental health space.

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“You go to a doctor and get a bandaid. People see that and ask ‘what’s the matter’… hopefully sports tape can help get a conversation started about mental health,” Inglis explained to foxsports.com.au.

Inglis achieved it all in his 16-year NRL career — a premiership, a Golden Boot, 32 games for his state and 39 for his country, just to name a few. He also endured the lows of the rugby league rollercoaster in the form of injuries, off-field dramas and relentless headlines.

But nothing could prepare him for the hardest thing about being a professional athlete — retirement.

“That’s where it all came down for me,” Inglis admitted about his decision to exit the NRL in 2019.

“I thought I could just get up and walk away from it, but Wayne Bennett told me that when you’re retired you’re a long time retired. I didn’t quite get that at first.”

Two months after calling time on his illustrious NRL career, Bennett’s words sunk in.

Inglis struggled with the transition from his structured life as a full-time athlete to the real world where there was no high performance coaches telling him when and what to eat or a football manager drawing up a daily schedule for him.

It became so overwhelming for this rugby league great that he was admitted to a rehabilitation clinic for a second time.

What could’ve been considered a rock bottom moment though ended up being the launching pad for some of Inglis’ best work.

Off the back of his own journey, Inglis started the Goanna Academy in 2020 with the aim to break the stigma around mental health and address the devastating suicide rates across the country.

“My professor, Gordon Parker, put me on this path. His simple words were that my story can help change a life or save a life,” Inglis said.

“So I sat back and had a good think about how does that look and how can I deliver it? Do I cater for all or do I cater for just men who are struggling, which is how it originally started — for Indigenous men — and then I just looked at the broader picture, which is open to all.”

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During his time in the clinic Inglis learnt some valuable lessons, one of them being around social media. He didn’t have a mobile phone for the first three months after he left and still to this day — six years later — he doesn’t use social media.

The Greg Inglis Instagram account that has over 250,000 followers is run by his business managers.

The 38-year-old knows better than to subject himself to the negativity and toxicity that circulates on social media.

He’s also learnt about the importance of structure, which is why he’s so pleased to see current NRL players undergoing courses and further education to better prepare them for life beyond the footy field.

“My biggest thing to help me get back is to stick to a daily routine,” he said.

“I had played for 16-odd years and all of a sudden you stop – it just can’t happen. It doesn’t matter what business you’re in or what you’re doing in life, if you’ve done it for so long, try and have some form of normality in your life afterwards.”

Inglis was diagnosed with anxiety, depression and bipolar II disorder in the months following his retirement. The diagnosis gave him the clarity he didn’t even know he had been seeking.

“My outlet and the way I got through it was football,” Inglis said.

“I could be at home and just have a crap day, not really knowing my emotions but I’d turn up to training and be totally different — up and bubbly doing what I love. Then some days I wouldn’t feel up and I’d just put it down to being tired from training.

“I found out it was always there, even in my earlier years, but I just learnt how to mask it.

“Going back and thinking about it, having the proper diagnosis was an aha moment. That’s why I encourage people, if you don’t know how or what you’re feeling, go seek professional help.

“There’s nothing wrong with you — we’re just all wired differently.”

Inglis has been very open and honest about his mental health journey over the last five or so years. In fact, he seems to be more comfortable talking about that than his NRL achievements.

But that vulnerability hasn’t always been there. Mental health was very much a taboo subject when Inglis was playing.

“It just wasn’t spoken about,” he said.

Why?

“Men’s environment, testosterone, wanting the biggest flex — ‘nothing’s wrong with me’ — or thinking nobody wants so listen to it,” Inglis added with a shrug.

“But it’s getting to the point now where we’re seeing far too many deaths through suicide and we’re not actioning anything — we’re just reacting to it.

“That’s what Goanna Academy is about — it’s preventative. We go around and give people the tools so they know how to cope or how to help someone else.”

These days Inglis is kept busy delivering programs to schools and within the community with the Goanna Academy. He’s also a mentor to young Indigenous men, including Wests Tigers fullback Jahream Bula.

It was that relationship that led to Inglis joining the club’s NRLW staff as an assistant coach — something he never expected to dive into.

“I’m loving it,” he said.

“It breaks up the work that I’m doing… from having those tough conversations about mental health to helping grow our women’s game.”

Join the Stick With It movement and donate via the Goanna Academy.