News from the Room
Physical Endurance is a Pretty Good Teacher
I didn’t turn to exercise straight after Billie passed away. To be fair, exercise was never one of my strong suits. The idea of doing something like that didn’t even cross my mind. For the first few years after we lost Billie, I was just trying to keep my head above water and figure out how to live with the weight of losing her. Let alone try and look after my health and wellbeing.
Then Covid happened. We were stuck in lockdown in Melbourne, and the only real freedom we had was an hour a day to get outside within a 5km radius. So, I started walking. That was it, just walking to get out of the house. It gave me some space to breathe, and for an hour a day, I felt a little less trapped.
After a while, those walks turned into runs. Not for fitness, not for weight loss, and definitely not for some big goal. Just because I could. And then something shifted. I started to notice how much better I felt mentally when I moved my body. It didn’t fix everything, but it helped clear the fog.
That’s where the endurance stuff came in. Once I made that connection, I wanted to push further. I started taking on bigger challenges, first for mental health and then specifically for stillbirth awareness. These weren’t just physical tests—they became part of my healing process.
Long, enduring fitness sessions helped me categorise and compartmentalise the waves of grief, and also other aspects of my emotional spectrum that I hadn’t bothered to sort through before. I used to live a life where emotions and behaviour were one and the same. Whereas now, I’m much better at managing my emotions and my flaws. I can’t dictate when they decide to come and go, but I can dictate how I allow them to impact me. Sometimes I need to bank certain emotions and set time aside to let them loose when I’m in a better position to do so. It seems to be working. And I’m no therapist, so don’t take what I’m doing as a tactic for yourself.
But here’s the part I didn’t expect: all that training and all those hours of discomfort prepared me to talk about Billie in ways I never could before.
I’m not saying running or cycling or whatever is the answer for everyone. But for me, learning to lean into physical discomfort, and doing things I didn’t want to do, gave me the resilience to handle emotional pain a little better. And in a weird way, that’s what grief feels like sometimes. It’s a marathon you never signed up for, but you still have to figure out how to cross the finish line.
Do you find exercise helps you manage your mental health?
The 411
This Week at Room Eleven
It’s been a productive week behind the scenes as we gear up for Scooting for Hope.
On Friday, I met with the media relations executive at the Royal Women’s Hospital to share the heart behind the event and the purpose of Room Eleven. The goal? To help them craft strong media pitches and get the word out far and wide.
We’ve also locked in the community event format for the Sunday the 30th November.
Exclusive Invite-Only Event featuring a live concert as I finish the 24-hour scooter challenge around 3 PM.
Two possible approaches for tickets:
Tickets sold for $100 as a 100% tax-deductible donation.
Donors who give $100+ to the fundraiser will go into a draw to win tickets.
I’m leaning toward option two to encourage more donations. Let me know what you think?
Know a band, DJ, or music act who might want to get involved pro bono or at a reasonable cost? Please reach out!
A strong lineup will make this an incredible finish to the event.
In other news, I reached out to Woolworths with an offer:
Any of their stores that donates $1,000+ to Scooting for Hope will receive a free Peer Grief Support Workshop for their team, helping workplaces build cultures of empathy and resilience.
This offer isn’t just for Woolworths, it’s for any organisation. If you work somewhere (or know someone who does) that might like to support this cause and receive the workshop, please reach out and share this opportunity.
More exciting updates are coming soon, including potential partners and donation boosters. Watch this space!
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Weekly Musings
What I’m Watching: Superman
A Return to Hope
I’ll start with this, I really enjoyed the new Superman movie. After years of superhero fatigue, endless timelines, and gritty reboots, this felt like a breath of fresh air. It’s more than a movie, it’s a reset. Goodbye DCEU, hello DCU. And with James Gunn at the helm, the tone has shifted from brooding cynicism to something we’ve been missing: warmth, optimism, and humanity.
David Corenswet is perfectly cast. His Superman feels strong yet approachable, hopeful without being naive. This isn’t another origin story either, the world already exists, metahumans are established, and the story trusts us to keep up. The chemistry between Superman and Lois brings heart back to the center of the story, and the whole film feels intentional, like the start of something bigger.
Maybe that’s what makes this stand out. In a time where the world feels heavy, a movie about kindness, hope, and doing good, not because it’s easy, but because it’s right, hits differently.
Superman reminds us that optimism still matters. And honestly? That’s something I think we could all use right now.
What I Shouldn’t Have Watched: 1 Progressive Vs 20 Far Right Conservatives
This week, I checked out a Jubilee episode that’s been getting a lot of attention online. If you’re not familiar, Jubilee is a YouTube channel that sets up debates between people with opposing views, usually on controversial topics.
The episode I watched featured one progressive, Mehdi Hasan (a journalist known for work with networks like Al Jazeera and MSNBC), against 20 far-right conservatives. From the start, it was clear Mehdi knew his stuff. He was articulate, well-informed, and confident in his statements. The contrast was stark. The far-right conservatives, many of whom had their own online followings, didn’t seem as educated or prepared to rebut the points being made. Instead, the discussion often spiralled into emotional, ideological rants, and in some cases, openly racist comments. One participant even admitted to being a Nazi and a fascist.
In the end, no minds were changed. You can’t argue facts with people who only deal in beliefs.
That’s where it left me unsettled. While the debate was interesting on the surface, I couldn’t shake the thought that giving a platform to people who proudly hold extremist views like these can be dangerous. It’s amplification of voices that thrive on hate and misinformation can fuel even further radicalisation.
Watching it made me appreciate the importance of stories that push the opposite message, like Superman, where the focus is on doing good for the sake of good, regardless of race, beliefs, or background.
Will I watch another Jubilee episode? Probably not. I don’t think outrage-based content does us any favours other then further monetise their channel.
This week reminded me how growth often comes from unexpected places. For me, it started with a simple walk during lockdown and turned into something that taught me more about resilience than I ever expected.
We’re also making big strides with Scooting for Hope, planning an event that isn’t just about fundraising, but about connection and community.
And after watching both a messy online debate and a hopeful Superman reboot, I’m reminded of how much the stories we engage with matter. Hope, optimism and striving for good are always the right choice, even when the world feels dark and heavy.
If this message speaks to you, please forward this newsletter on, it might be the reminder they didn’t know they needed today.
See you next week!
Rob
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Giving Back
Donate a Still Billie Box
Our care packages for families who’ve lost their baby, named after our baby daughter Billie. Offering comfort during what should be a special, happy time.
Your donation can make a real difference in allowing us to provide free Still Billie Boxes to hospitals across Australia and fund our Scooting for Hope $100k Campaign.
Room Eleven is a social enterprise business and does not qualify for DGR status.