This episode of the Connecting Seniors podcast series, is a wide-ranging and deeply personal conversation between Ian Westmoreland, founder of Kintsugi Heroes and John Milham, Kintsugi Heroes Podcast Host.

Despite his reluctance to do so, Ian acknowledges his age and reflects on the untapped wisdom and skills of seniors, advocating for their value.

Ian's perspective on retirement has shifted to focus on giving back and volunteering, finding purpose and fulfillment in the last decade and demonstrates persistence at achieving his goals.

He started mentoring men at 64 and established Kintsugi Heroes at 68, emphasising the importance of "finishing well" in life.

Ian describes what it has been like to face mortality through three illnesses: cancer with a positive prognosis, a non-treatable lung disease, and a near-fatal antibiotic reaction.

Ian shares two dreams: a weekly gathering for sharing stories and easily accessible resources for those facing life challenges.

Biography

Ian spent 42 years working in the Australian and New Zealand telecommunications and energy industries mainly as an IT project manager. In 2013, a profound life changing moment led him to give up paid work and commence a full-time volunteer career.

During his work as a volunteer for not-for-profit youth programs such as the Raise Foundation, Kidshope and COACH, Ian noticed a gap for comparable services for mature adults.

After a personal moment of challenge, he realised how urgently these services were needed, especially for men, who have historically struggled with vulnerability and asking for support. In response he developed the Mentoring Men program in June 2018, and it was officially launched as a registered charity in November 2018. In just three years, Mentoring Men grew to become an Australia-wide, free mentoring service to support men.

In 2022 Ian launched Kintsugi Heroes which aims to show how those major moments of challenge we face can change the course of our life, making it even more beautiful and fulfilling than ever before. It is a weekly podcast of inspirational interviews with people who have discovered beauty, despite the incredible adversities they have faced.

Ian and the charity organisations he established have won numerous awards including:

NSW Volunteer of the Year Award 2016 – Raise Foundation

NSW Volunteer of the Year Award 2020 – Individual and Mentoring Men state finalist

AMHF Men’s Health Award 2020 – NSW Men’s Health award

2024 Order of Australia – For services to Men’s Health and to Youth

Socials:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ian-westmoreland-mentor-menshealth

Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/IanCWestmoreland

mentoringmen.org.au/

kintsugiheroes.com.au/

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We hope that you enjoyed this episode of Kintsugi Heroes.

Please take care: if you have been triggered by listening to this episode we recommend you get in contact with someone who can help keep you safe and give you the support you need. This may be Lifeline, AA, a friend, a counsellor, or some other support group.

If you’d like to share your story on Kintsugi Heroes, please get in touch by contacting us via the website here - https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au/contact

We hope you continue enjoying the heroes stories!

Warmly,

The Kintsugi Heroes team

Welcome to our Kintsugi Heroes special series, Connecting Seniors, where we share the experiences of aging Australians to create connections across our communities.

To find out more about Kintsugi Heroes and our other podcasts, head to KintsugiHeroes.com.au.