Cooper Whitestyles draws on dwarfism, bullying struggles to encourage mental health mateship

In just 21 years, Cooper Whitestyles has endured 40 operations on his legs and spine with complications from his condition threatening paralysis, all while being bullied due to dwarfism.

He has plenty of reasons to feel defeated, but instead he is using his experience to help others face their own mental health challenges…..

…..He said sport was the ideal place to raise awareness of mental health and the benefits of asking for help and support.

"Sport is where people go to relieve stress. But when you`re on the field you`re not talking about it, it`s just relieving what`s been built up."

"It might help for the 80 minutes that you`re on the field, but afterwards it`s still there…..

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Bethany`s Notes: Learning to help others and their mental health struggles is one of Cooper`s goals in life. He has created a Join a Buddy program to help other help others.