Here at DMARGE, we’ve long covered fitness and mental health, but rarely do we see quite such a powerful crossover of those two categories as this; after months spent trumpeting the benefits of psychedelics, sobriety, and cold water, two blokes from Bondi may have shown us all that the key to wellness lies in one simple but often overlooked thing: community.

In the early hours of every Saturday morning, before the sun rises over Sydney’s Bronte Beach, Trent Knox and Todd Liubinskas embark on what has become the most important ritual of their lives and, it seems, the lives of so many others.

Their story began in 2016 when Knox, grappling with a whole host of personal demons — many of which we suspect are felt by blokes around the world — started the “440 Run Club” as a way to combat his struggles with substance abuse, the long shadow of a turbulent childhood, and dissatisfaction in his professional life.

The club, whose name is inspired by the 440-meter stretch runners conquer towards the top of the hill at Bronte Beach, found its second member in Liubinskas, who quickly bonded with Knox thanks to a shared passion for fitness influenced by their fathers’ rugby league careers. Not only did Liubinskas become Knox’s running partner but also a rock in his journey to sobriety.

By 2019, their bond had strengthened and marked its new heights during the Red Bull Defiance race, a moment that not only marked a turning point in Knox’s battle with addiction but also inspired Knox to open up to Liubinskas about the life-saving role of their friendship. A microcosm of the power of community that the club can create, you’ll be unsurprised to hear that in the years since it has exploded in popularity.

Now, they get hundreds of runners turning up to their weekly runs in Sydney but — even more impressively — they now boast several spin-off clubs that have popped up across Australia and around the world, with people in Los Angeles and NYC joining Aussies in their mission to come together, get physically fit and — most importantly — mentally healthy.

Far too often the notion of “community” is turned into something of a buzzword, taken up by brands and businesses looking to turn a quick buck. Here, however, we see it in its truest, purest, and most potent form, with one man’s struggle and long road to recovery resonating with and uniting thousands. More power.