IT man raises awareness of mental health

Mike Dawes is a volunteer firefighter on top of his fulltime job in the IT sector. Photo / Supplied

Mike Dawes, founder of IT Heavy Hitters, truly is punching above his weight.

The Wellingtonian had no previous experience of putting on large-scale events, let alone promoting sports and charity events, until two years ago. Now, his IT Heavy Hitters charity boxing match raises between $30,000 and $40,000 per event for the Key to Life Trust, which focuses on mental health support.

In 2013, Mr Dawes' friend and boxing mentor, Doug McLay, committed suicide.

"I had never been involved or had exposure to suicide at all until Doug's, so it certainly opened my eyes to a whole new world," he said.

The tragedy spurred Mr Dawes to raise awareness around depression and suicide through putting on boxing matches. The events are aimed at getting IT professionals out of the office and into the ring to promote health, fitness and mental wellbeing, while encouraging fundraising.

Mr Dawes has been nominated for a Pride of New Zealand Award, in the Fundraiser of the Year category, for his dedication to supporting mental health.

"Despite the pain and grief, Mike took the situation and turned it into an immensely powerful and positive life-changing situation," his nominator said.

Mr Dawes is also a fulltime IT professional, volunteer firefighter and a dad and he works towards one major event a year.

"I didn't know how big it was going to get," he said.

A broad range of men and women working in a variety of professions get involved, from lawyers to chief executives.

The women's matches have been the best fights for the last two years, Mr Dawes said.

Next year he hopes to raise $50,000 but he will "look at it one year at a time".