BEN Brooksby, more commonly known as The Naked Farmer, will embark on his month-long tour around the country on Saturday.
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The St Helens Plains farmer’s Instagram page now has more than 66,000 followers. He has been profiling farmers from across Australia in an effort to raise awareness and funds for mental health.
As part of the tour, Mr Brooksby and his photographer Emma Jane will gather photos for his 2019 calendar and a book, featuring stories of farmers from across the country, which Mr Brooksby will write.
Mr Brooksby said after months of planning and discussion he could not wait to get on the road.
“We will leave first thing in the morning and drive straight over to Western Australia,” he said.
“We will see how far we can actually get in one day. We spent Friday getting everything ready and making sure nothing goes wrong.
“It’s a good feeling to finally get going and we are super excited to get out there and get these photos.”
Mr Brooksby’s tour will encompass visits in Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales.
“I’m focusing on those places because I only have Emma with me for a limited time,” he said.
“After the tour I will do trips around Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the bottom of New South Wales. That’s when I will also be able to hold my mental health workshops.”
Mr Brooksby has teamed up with the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
“Our main focus is to get the images for the book and calendars and to connect with the people and the land as much as possible,” he said.
“I don’t want to be doing much media while I am over there so I can really focus on the people I am with.
“I’m not a psychologist – all I can do is point people with mental health issues in the right direction.
“I have a lot of good resources and have teamed up with the Royal Flying Doctor Service if I ever need them.
“We will get some good stories, there are a few farmers who have told me their stories already so it will be cool to sit down with them and talk about it all properly.
“The challenging part will not be getting to affected by it but I’m pretty well trained in it.
“I’ve talked to a lot of people for so long and connected with them so it’ll be good to put faces to names.”
Mr Brooksby said a lot of people had offered accommodation for him while on his trip.
“All of the photoshoots have offered beds and accommodation for us so that’s all sorted,” he said.
“Anywhere else along the way we will be swagging it to make sure the costs are low and the profits we can donate are as high as possible.”
Mr Brooksby said the best place to follow the trip was on his Instagram page.
“On Instagram is the best place to follow what’s happening – that will be the best way to showcase what we are doing through our posts and stories,” he said.