Baring All For Mental Health

Module Overview

Apple orchardist Hamish Rush was one of a dozen Nelson growers who bared all for the ‘Horti Boys’ calendar to raise awareness about mental health. Here’s why.

Tell us a little about your business.

We’re growing 30 hectares of pipfruit and eight hectares of blackcurrants. We run a handful of sheep just to keep the hillside clean so I don’t have to mow it [laughs]. Our predominant business is export apples. It’s a family business and we’ve been doing it for 112 years.

What do you enjoy about the job?

I enjoy working outdoors. This business is also a big part of our family history, so I enjoy being able to continue the legacy. I also like working with other people and watching them grow while helping me grow my business.

What are the main challenges you’ve faced in recent years?

We had all the Covid-related stuff that put pressure on all primary producers because we didn’t know whether we were going to be able to harvest our crops. We only get one chance to harvest our crop a year in the pipfruit game, so the pressures around that were immense.

We also didn’t know whether we were going to be able to get staff in like we normally do or whether there was going to be anyone to pick up the product or buy it at the other end.

There was real uncertainty during those Covid and post-Covid years. This added another layer of stress on top of the usual business stresses, including random hailstorms and global market pressures.

That ongoing stress and uncertainty can take a toll.

It does. One of our good mates took quite a deep dive down the hole and was struggling. That prompted a lot of discussion about and around how we could support him and what we could do to raise awareness about mental health amongst growers.

Is that why you and your mates created the Horti Boys Calendar?

Yeah, my mate Evan and I, were out for dinner one night with our lovely wives and they suggested we make ‘a calendar’ like the firemen calendar. We spent the rest of the evening brainstorming and laughing. To cut a long story short, I rang a photographer, did the first photo shot holding a tastefully-positioned frame of bees and the rest is history.

Has it worked?

It’s certainly helped to get the discussion going about mental health. As far as I’m concerned, it only had to help one person for all of it to be worth it. It’s already prompted someone to ring us about someone they were concerned about and ask where they could go for support.

Doing the calendar is also a great metaphor – taking your shirt off for the camera makes you feel vulnerable because you are exposed. When you are talking to someone about your feelings you are exposed. Be vulnerable, talk about your feelings.

Stress doesn’t discriminate – it can affect anyone, at any time and the people that look bulletproof can be the ones who are the most vulnerable. The really cool thing about the calendar project is that people are more likely to be on the lookout now for others who may be struggling.

What do you do to look after your own wellbeing?

A big part of keeping well for me is getting off-site and getting active. Doing things that work a sweat up.

I’m an outdoors guy. I’m a snowboarder, skier, water skier, mountain biker, gym bunny and I’ve done a lot of running in the past, you name it, I’ve’ done it. I’m currently on a mountaineering buzz and learning how to go rock climb. It’s been absolutely amazing to try something different.

I also love to go to gigs in town with my wife and dance. Dancing is a great stress relief and its quality time together as a couple. Quality time together with your partner is important. That’s a great stress relief.

How do you find time to do all those things when you’ve got a business to run?

Look, to be honest with you, in the first 20 years of my career, I did not prioritise it enough and I regret that. But I worked out after observing others who were better at it than me, that I needed to plan it.

Nowadays I just book a meeting with myself so I can do what I need to do to be the best me. When you say to people, ‘I’ve got a meeting at 4 o’clock and I can’t miss it’. They’re fine with it.

By booking a meeting with yourself you’re creating the window that allows you to do what you need to do to refresh mentally and physically. I’ve learnt over the years that it’s really important to have that bit of time out that allows you to refresh and reset.

What else keeps you well?

I’ve got a very strong network of friends around me outside of my wife and kids. They are my top five people who I want to hang out with as much as I can, because they just fill my cup. They listen to my bullshit, they don’t judge me and if I need help they do what needs to be done.

Those are really critical relationships in anyone’s life, in my opinion. I really believe that you’re as strong as the top five people around you.

What about those days when nothing seems to go right? How do you manage those?

I think it’s about reminding yourself what’s really important in life. For me it’s my family, my health and the community I live in. None of that is material. It’s not about KPIs, flash cars in the driveway or international holidays.

I think when you’re in a really stressful situation you’ve got to be mindful of what truly makes you happy. No matter what’s going on at work, I remind myself I’ve still got my health. I’ve still got my family, I’ve got the community I live in. I haven’t lost the shirt off my back. So, bringing it back to basics is the answer for me.

Farmstrong passes on mental fitness skills that build resilience and help people perform under pressure. Do you think these skills are relevant for growers?

Absolutely. Look at the All Blacks. The reason they are so good is because they get the coaching on how to deal with adversity, how to deal with that stressful moment and how to not let it overwhelm them. Everyone can be a better version of themselves if they have the skills.

Looking back on your own career what advice would offer someone starting out?

Create some balance in your life and remember none of us are invincible. We’re all human, and it’s okay to actually ask for help if you need support or help someone else. Let’s look for those signs that someone’s under pressure and acknowledge it rather than fobbing it off. We’ll go further if we work as a team.

Farmstrong is nationwide, rural wellbeing programme that helps farmers and growers manage the ups and downs of the industry. Last year more than 15,000 farmers improved their wellbeing thanks to Farmstrong. To find out what works for you and lock it in visit www.farmstrong.co.nz