BUILDING strong business and community relationships, finding outdoor hobbies, and keeping a healthy diet has helped Tamworth creative designer Nic Hinwood keep his depression in check, but his family, particularly wife Lisa, is his biggest support.
Nic owns KEO, which celebrated seven years in operation last month.
He’s a successful businessman and involved in Rotary, and he’s been living with clinical depression for about 10 years.
Nic’s mental health troubles started when studying in Newcastle.
“I was studying a diploma of graphic design at TAFE and didn’t have an ideal living situation in share houses,” he said.
“I lost my nanna and grandmother within the space of a year and I felt incredibly isolated, so I stopped everything, pulled up stumps, and moved back to Tamworth into another share house with friends for some support.”
Letting his friends know about his mental health struggles helped.
“They were a huge support,” Nic said.
“Depression doesn’t really align with how they know you, so I made them aware of what was happening to help them understand.
“We’d go out to the pub and I could have a breakdown there, so they’d shut me in a cab and bring me home.”
A short time later, he was diagnosed clinical depression.
Since the shift back to Tamworth, he’s built a design agency KEO.
He now has a long list of clients and a staff of six, and was named young entrepreneur at the 2016 New England North West regional business awards.
He said KEO’s clients were part of the reason for him staying in town.
“I came back to bounce back and it wasn’t a longterm goal, but I love the community and I was incredibly well supported by it, so I wanted to give back to that, and now, with the kids – we have a four-year-old and a two-year-old - I couldn’t imagine anywhere better for them to grow up.”
A big breakthrough in managing his depression and growing his career was when he became involved in Rotary.
“I was sponsored in the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, and it, I would say, was the turning point for me,” Nic said.
“It’s a week-long seminar where you put a hold on everything and take a good look at yourself, where you want to be.
“As soon as I got back for that, I quit my job and started KEO.
“I’d had a go at freelancing a few years back and I wasn’t ready – I was about 22 – but then I decided to start KEO for real at 25.”
Running the business and being involved in Rotary has given Nic an opportunity to be part of the community, which has been important for him to cope with depression.
He’s also a member of the Tamworth Business Chamber.
“I can’t sit back and whinge about things, I’d rather be involved and contribute, and being part of Rotary is such a huge thing for me.
“We’ve lost two members recently and the friendship in our club just got so much tighter and we’ve all pulled together.”
Support from Lisa is also key.
“The support I get from Lisa is insurmountable - it’s 100 per cent understanding,” Nic said.
“She allows me to work through my depression.
“There are a few people I’ll open up to about it, but it’s mainly Lisa that I talk to.”
It’s been a tough year for the pair, losing four friends, including one to suicide, over the past 18 months.
“That was a completely shock to everyone who knew him and at the time I didn’t deal with it very well, but depression isn’t something I can stop and deal with, I’ve just got to ride it out.
“It makes me work really hard in the good times and I really appreciate the moments I have when it’s all good, because the tough times are going to come, it’s inevitable.”
He’s also taken up more than a few outdoor hobbies and enjoys alone time.
“I have a very addictive personality, so I’ll start something, like mountain biking, then I’m just obsessed.
“We have 10 acres at Kootingal which is just our little haven, with a big shed and enough space that we can all exist.
“I’ll watch youtube videos and pick up hobbies. At the moment I’m interested in blacksmithing, and I find that switches my head off at the end of the day.”
Nic keeps fit with his hobbies, but diet has had a huge impact on his health.
“Diet is definitely a big thing for me, and I lost 50 kilograms last year,” he said.
“I had incredible back pain and felt like an 80-year-old man, but through diet I lost the 50kg, then once I realised I could move more I took up running, but I’ve moved to the bike now.
“There’s no rocket science behind the weight loss –just fresh, healthy food.
“And it’s made me a much more active dad.”
