How former NRL star Owen Craigie turned hardship into happiness NITV
Owen Craigie was a teenage Rugby League prodigy."One game that stood out for me, we were the best school team in the area ... like the Yowies, we were stacked," explains Dean Widders on NITV's Feeding The Scrum.There are likely hundreds of similar stories from those days about the Gomeroi man affectionately known as 'the Big OC'.OPINION: These were very difficult times, feeling as though I was a monolith for Aboriginal people, writes Zoe Walters.
"We had no phones or anything. We just went rabbiting, hunting and playing touch footy .. football gave us hope," he said. “When I needed help for my mental health, my addictions, nine out of 10 people ran – they ran for the hills.He revealed to Newcastle masthead The Herald that in 2019 he was about to take his own life, but was grateful that a phone call he made to former teammate Matthew Johns was answered.
He has just opened a gym; his charity, the Big OC Foundation, and his Chase the Energy initiative both aim to help people who’re battling addictions and mental health challenges.