Over the Fence Conversations with Steve Rothwell

Insightful conversations every month that dive deep into men’s lived experience of suicide and mental health challenges!

The casual, opportunistic chats that happen over the fence, so to speak, or between two passing neighbours, or colleagues over coffee, they’re just as valid and important as an opportunity to connect and create support.

This podcast is brought to you by Roses in the Ocean, the Australian Men’s Health Forum and the National Men’s Lived Experience of Suicide Network.

Steve Rothwell is a writer and experimenter who lives on the waist-deep pasture country of the Atherton Tablelands, 65km southwest of Cairns, Far North Queensland. Originally hailing from Derbyshire, England, Steve migrated to Australia in ’86 and set about exploring our remote tropical coastlines by any available means. Initially writing about paragliding and sailing, Steve moved into freelance travel writing – eventually lecturing in journalism at UWA. Later Steve moved into motorcycle tourism and engineering – but always knew something wasn’t quite right.

Steve had spent decades trying to run from his mental health problems and in 2023 tried to take his own life. Soon after, he was diagnosed with OCD, ASD, ADHD, CPTSD, Bipolar 2 with major depression and anxiety.

During a six-week stay in a Mental Health ward Steve describes as ‘revelatory’, he met many who shared his diagnoses and learned new ways of writing about mental health to help others – a practice he has resolved to continue for the rest of his life.