Dan Repacholi is a big man in a colourful suit.
The two-metre-tall, five-time Olympian turned MP has recruited a workwear company and a tailor to create the custom, rainbow-splashed suit, all in the name of starting conversations about men's mental health.
"I'm a tradie. I'm a blue collar worker," he told reporters in Canberra on Monday.
"It's not weak to speak. It's actually extremely strong to go and have those conversations," Mr Repacholi said.
The regional politician has teamed up with TradeMutt, a company which makes colourful workwear designed to get people talking about mental health, to create the suit.
The clothing brand donates half of its profits to TIACS, a free counselling service for blue-collar workers.
Tailoring was done by Urbbana, a chain of Australian suit makers.
Mr Repacholi, who has represented his NSW seat of Hunter since 2022, says he wants more men to talk about their mental health.
"If we could just save one person from actually possibly going down that route and using the tool that's in their toolbox, that's in the very, very back corner of it, which is suicide ... suicide is still a tool to be there, but we need to make sure it stays in those deep, dark corners of your toolbox," he said.
Mr Repacholi is Australia's first special envoy for men's health and has made the issue a cornerstone of his time in parliament.
"I urge every bloke out there that's seeing me in this wild suit today, not to just think it's a wild suit and look at this dickhead from Canberra. Actually look and start the conversation with a mate," he said.
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