To all of those closest to him and, indeed, those who thought they knew him best, Grant Trebilco was the happy-go-lucky, 'nothing gets me down' surfer dude. But that 'could not have been further from the truth'. Three years ago, as bipolar consumed his life, the now 33-year-old found himself at his lowest ebb. He no longer cared for the beautiful eastern Sydney beaches he'd called home since moving across the ditch from New Zealand. 'Mate, all I know is that I tried to run away from it and one day, I'm not exactly sure how I got there either, but I was sitting alone in a hotel room in Mexico and in a very dark place,' he admitted.
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Both Grant Trebilco and his dad Bruce suffer bipolar disorder
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In his darkest moments the New Zealand-born surfer admits he thought 'there was only one way out'
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Groups at beaches along the east coast of Australia and internationally are supporting the not-for-profit charity Grant founded called Onewave
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A bit of fun 2 years ago has morphed from the then 'board meetings' to 'Fluro Fridays'
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Bipoloar disorder will affect up to 460,000 Australians at some point in their lives
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Almost half of all Australians will suffer some form of mental illness
Surfers of all shapes and sizes come out to play to send a very serious message on '@placeholder'