FABIAN Perez, 23, of Loftus, was planning to kill himself the night of his first day of orientation week at university.
It was the Movember men's health awareness campaign that helped change his mind.
Mr Perez was a depressed young man who had grown up in a culture where men were not supposed to talk about their feelings.
It wasn't until he made male friends at university that he realised it was OK to talk about mental health, and to seek help.
The director of Emroy print and design is now a big supporter of Movember, held annually by the Movember Foundation to encourage people to talk about men's health, and remain well.
The foundation runs programs in partnership with mental health organisations such as beyondblue and the Black Dog Institute.
"I wasn't a big talker growing up, and I bottled things up and could not justify why I was feeling certain ways," Mr Perez said.
"The first day of orientation week was probably the worst day because I'd just changed unis, changed degrees, and had gotten out of a long relationship.
"I was pretty much planning suicide that evening.
"I think seeing the guys at uni growing a mo' and finding out about Movember was a turning point. That night, I started talking to a friend of mine, and then from there started seeing a GP and a psychologist."
Mr Perez is the St George area leader of the 4Networking business and social networking group.
The group held a Movember event last week and raised more than $1000 for the foundation.
"Mental health is something people are a lot more open to talk about," he said. "If I had this advice earlier on, at high school, it would [have] made things a whole lot easier."
Support the Movember campaign by growing a moustache, participating in a fund-raiser or simply having a conversation about men's health.
Details: au.movember.com
Support: Help: Lifeline: 13 11 14;
Mens Line Australia: 1300 789 978.
