This article is about Kyabram resident Sean Cronin, who took his own life in December last year.
On Saturday morning, January 20, more than 50 people arrived at Shepparton gym Nemesis Strength and Conditioning to participate in a workout honouring one of their own.
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The gym partnered with local businesses, such as Shepparton BMW, to provide prizes for the event and also featured the Jam Packed coffee van on-site for attendees.
They raised more than $7500 for mental health support organisation Beyond Blue.
Sean Cronin had started going to Nemesis about two years ago after succumbing to positive peer pressure from his co-workers at Shepparton Magistrates’ Court.
He worked there with Olivia Coulston, who owns and coaches at Nemesis with her partner, Tareke Le Lievre.
Tareke said Sean had a bit of an addictive personality, which translated to the gym.
“He never batted an eyelid at any challenge,” Tareke said.
“He kept improving and kept moving the goalposts for himself.
“A lot of people in the gym looked up to him and aspired to be like him.
“He represented pure commitment.”
Sean was a big part of the culture at Nemesis.
He competed in CrossFit competitions and was supportive in the gym.
Tareke said Sean took a young teenage boy under his wing and would encourage and support him during the sessions.
“The gym was sort of like his second home,” Tareke said.
“He even had a key.”
Sean was one of just two gym members who received an award from Tareke and Olivia at the Nemesis Christmas party last year, honouring his work ethic and attitude in the gym.
He could be seen smiling and laughing with everyone on the night and talked about what a positive change CrossFit had been for him.
Just a few weeks later, on Christmas Eve, Sean took his own life.
Tareke and Olivia organised the fundraiser to raise awareness and funds and also to allow the gym community to come together and grieve the loss of Sean.
Tareke explained that CrossFit culture had military elements and that the gym often did a “hero’s workout” to memorialise a “fallen soldier”.
He incorporated some of Sean’s favourite workouts into one to honour Sean and give him a send-off.
Tareke said Sean’s memorial workout would become an annual tradition within the gym, demonstrating just how much impact he had on the group in just a few years.
Shaun’s parents and family made the trip from Melbourne to participate in the workout.
For many members of the gym, Sean’s passing was a complete shock.
Sean’s sister Lauren Ballard, who also made the trip on the Saturday, said it was a culmination of more than two decades of struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder.
PTSD is a mental and behavioural disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event.
Symptoms can include disturbing thoughts, feelings or dreams related to the events, mental or physical distress from trauma-related cues, attempts to avoid trauma-related cues, alterations in the way a person thinks and feels, and an increase in the fight-or-flight response.
Sean had been working in the court system for 27 years, starting in the coroner’s court in Melbourne.
There, he was exposed to some traumatic visuals and experiences that led to his diagnosis of PTSD.
In September 2022, Sean could not work any more and took a mental health leave from Shepparton Magistrates’ Court.
Lauren said his workplace was incredibly supportive of Sean throughout his treatment.
She was aware he had been struggling in December.
Sean called her and said something he had seen in a movie had disturbed him and triggered his PSTD.
“He said, this is so stupid, I can’t believe I got here from watching a movie,” Lauren said.
“But anything can be a trigger.
“It’s an ongoing injury you’re being treated for.
“It’s like how you could pick up a bit of paper and throw your back out.”
Lauren encouraged Sean to seek help and put his hand up for treatment, which he did.
“He’d been very open and transparent in the last 10 to 15 months about his struggles, which was good,” she said.
“He put his hand up to get treatment but just didn’t get in in time.
“Any time something like this happens, you think about everything that could’ve prevented it, and you could look across everything and find some sort of system failure.
“But Sean did access help at various points; he had ongoing treatment that did help and did make a difference.
“Looking for blame is unhealthy and does nothing for anyone.”
Since Sean’s death, Lauren said her family had been too busy for the reality to set in.
The priority was Sean’s family, including his two sons, Riley and Liam, six nieces and two nephews.
There had been a lot of driving back and forth between Melbourne and Sean’s home in Kyabram.
Lauren said there had been some good times going through Sean’s family photo albums and picking out his favourite music for the memorial.
She said the event at Nemesis and the turnout for Sean’s tribute was “amazing”.
“It shows that Sean didn’t die because he was lonely,” Lauren said.
“He was really loved by his family and his community.”
Lauren said sometimes people struggling with their mental health could be stereotyped as inactive, without many friends or family in their lives.
That certainly wasn’t Sean.
He still had friends from high school he would hang out with regularly.
He had become an umpire in the local footy league and had a group of buddies with whom he would go on golf trips.
Everywhere Sean lived and worked, including Bendigo, Echuca and Kyabram, he made friends and became entrenched in the community.
He loved regional Victoria and would remind his metro family members whenever possible.
You would’ve never known what Sean was going through unless he told you himself.
Lauren said he had gotten very good at “masking”, evidenced by the number of people at Nemesis who just had no idea until after his passing.
“Everybody has something going on,” she said.
“That’s why it’s so important to talk about things and continue to normalise it.
“That’s why things like ‘R U OK? Day’ are so important, because are you really okay?
“You can never assume or really know unless you are that person.
“The main thing for us as a family is the out-pour of love and support.
“Talking about it allows people to share stories and be honest.
“I hope that will resonate with people because these things don’t just disappear.
“PTSD is very real, and the more we talk about these things, the easier it is for people to get treatment and to understand that it doesn’t just get fixed; it requires ongoing treatment.”
You can still donate to Nemesis’s fundraiser here: https://nemesis-strength-and-conditioning.square.site/product/remembering-sean-multi/112?cs=true&cst=popular
If you or anyone you know requires crisis support, contact Accessline on 1800 800 944, Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14, Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 or Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800.
Cadet journalist