Brayden Dunbar’s Mental Health Video Ends With The Gut Punch Nobody Sees Coming
Sydney actor and creator Brayden Dunbar has gone viral with a short film about men’s mental health, and the reason is the last ten seconds. Two mates meet on a bridge. One is quiet and obviously not coping. The other is bright and chatty, the one who asks, “Hey, how you doing man?” By the final frame it’s the cheerful one who is gone.
The film, Check In On Your Mates, Even If They Seem Okay, was made by activewear label LSKD with men’s health charity Movember and released in November 2025. It has been viewed more than 20 million times on TikTok and over four million times on Instagram (Insights, 11 November 2025). Dunbar reposted it last week with his interview on Nine’s Today. That reel alone has drawn 725 comments and more than 1,700 shares.
Dunbar pinned his own line at the top: “Check in on your friends.” Underneath, people got specific. “Made me cry. I lost my brother to mental health, something our whole family will never get over,” wrote laytonkellie. “He was happy, made everyone laugh, the biggest smile. I miss him every day.” Another commenter, r_oaming_roz, wrote: “Powerful. I didn’t see that coming, I thought the other way round.”
The most-liked comment isn’t praise. “I love the sentiment but you have just copied the Norwich FC video,” wrote ethan.gibson7, and 594 people agreed with him. He has a point about the source. Norwich City FC made almost exactly this film with Samaritans for World Mental Health Day in 2023. LSKD did credit Norwich on its own TikTok post. Dunbar’s repost doesn’t.
Why It Sits With Us
Seven of the nine Australians who die by suicide each day are men, according to Movember. Among LGBTQIA+ adults surveyed for the Private Lives 3 study, close to 42 per cent had thought about suicide in the previous twelve months. Most of them still say “yeah, good” when asked. So who is the mate in your group who is always fine? Ring him.
If any of this landed close to home, Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and QLife is on 1800 184 527, 3pm to midnight daily.
