In this episode of Clocking Out, we meet Simon Rinne, a former government worker who spent years navigating traditional career paths before realizing his deeper purpose was to support others in their healing. Now a mental health social worker and founder of Mindful Men, Simon helps men break the silence around mental illness, drawing from his own lived experience with undiagnosed OCD, depression, and anxiety.
Simon grew up in a working-class, hyper-masculine household in northern Adelaide, where emotional expression was rare and mental health wasn’t discussed. Behind his jokes and big smile was a young man silently struggling. From visual arts to anthropology to public service, Simon explored different paths but found himself stuck in toxic work environments, under controlling and unsupportive managers, and in roles that left him anxious, isolated, and eventually burned out.
After years of masking pain with alcohol, internal struggles, and bottled-up emotions, a series of personal and professional turning points led Simon to finally live more openly and honestly. A burnout during the pandemic pushed everything to the surface, forcing him to confront what he had carried for so long. As he began sharing his story - first on Instagram, then through his Mindful Men podcast, and ultimately as a lived-experience therapist - he saw firsthand how powerful and healing it is to speak the truth, both for himself and others.
Published in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, this episode is a reminder that real strength lies in vulnerability — and that healing begins when we stop pretending we’re fine. Simon’s story is about courage, connection, and what’s possible when we finally clock out of survival mode and into something more authentic.
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