Soften The Fck Up
This blog post is a little different compared to my usual ones. But it marks an exciting new journey in my life and I’m really looking forward to sharing it all with you. At the start of 2010 I made a pledge to get involved in projects and movements that were outside of my usual circles. I’ve found great success career wise through social networking and seen first hand the immense power of technology in bringing passionate people together through crowd sourcing. But I felt it was time to put my energy towards projects that would generate real social change.
Soften The Fck Up is the first campaign run by Spur Projects. It’s an amazing campaign for several reasons. The quote that we were given to build the website, videos and graphic design was around $300,000. Instead we reached out to our social networks and crowd sourced a team of 40 passionate young men who worked virtually using google docs to generate all the content, build the website, design the logos and spread the word.
As of July this year I’ve taken up a role as Director of Operations with Spur Projects as we look to promote the site and gather the great stories from the community and experience real social change.The site launched in July and I urge you to go have a look! So what is it all about?
Down your beers then out-drink and out-fight us all? Sleep in the gutter and play footy in the morning? Yeah. Nice one.
When your mate Matt told you he’s feeling crap, you told him to “harden the fuck up”, or “suck it up, pussy”.
Or you probably didn’t know when your mates actually needed a chat or are feeling crap ‘cos you didn’t ask. I’m not talking about the chat you had at the game last Saturday, or at the pool table at that bar last summer.
Did you know that suicide is the leading cause of death amongst young folks and most of them are men!
Say it out loud. Go tell a friend. Let me guess… it shocked them didn’t it?
We’re standing up to be counted. We’re saying it’s time we chuck out that tough Aussie bloke stereotype and bring back the laid-back Aussies. Speak up if you’re not feeling right. Soften the fck up like a real man would.
Look after your mates if something seems a bit off. Ask them if they’re okay. If they’re really okay. Your gut will usually be right, even if your mate doesn’t wanna talk about it. Grab a beer and have a chat.
Tell all your mates. Get on Facebook and Twitter. Share your thoughts or experiences. So go on, be tough and go soft.
It is time to admit something is wrong or isn’t right and take action.
Damon Klotz 
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