By Luke Voogt
Health awareness and a passion for motorbikes have driven Grovedale’s Wayne Milner to raise $4000 for the Geelong Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride in just a month.
“I just rang people up,” said the 61-year-old, who works as a mechanic at Anglesea Golf Course.
“I went to the chiropractor, I went to the dentist, ex-business people that I dealt with years ago… obviously people were pretty generous.”
Wayne moved to Geelong 19 years ago and relatives from as far as Kalgoorlie and Adelaide donated to his tally.
“The ladies at the golf course gave me a very nice donation too,” he said.
Wayne has his own health battle against “minor” prostate cancer, which doctors detected early due to tests.
He urged all men over 40 to get their prostate checked.
“It’s nothing compared with a biopsy is it?”
He is no stranger to depression either – he lost his then-22-year-old son Andy in a road accident 11 years ago.
“You have to be strong,” he said.
“It might make people a bit uneasy, if there’s grief involved but I think you’ve got to talk about things.”
Despite staying on top of his health, Wayne admits he has a “problem”.
“I’ve got about eight motorbikes in the shed,” he said.
“I got my first minibike when I was 10. I think I bought my daughter Cassie her first minibike when she was a three-month-old baby.”
He joined about 150 riders on Sunday, riding his Royal Enfield Continental GT to promote men’s health.
“There are eight suicides per day in Australia, and six are men – they’re mostly young fellas too,” he said.
If you or someone you know needs support phone Lifeline on 13 11 14.
