About SmackTalk
Behind the SmackTalk name
The name SmackTalk was designed to incorporate Mac’s name and his absolute love for basketball.
While smack talk is banter, sometimes referred to as trash talk, the use of the name for this charity is to help stamp out cyber bullying and sexual extortion.
Tuesday 24 October 2023 was the day our lives changed forever. Our 17-year-old beautiful boy Mac took his life at home.
Mac normally got up at 6.30am. At 7am, I knocked on his door and found him, he had hung himself.
The grief, shock, helplessness and self-blame knocked me over physically and mentally.
I asked him regularly if he was ok, he always responded, “I am fine Dad”. He was not fine and if I had the knowledge and skills that I have now, to really listen, the outcome may have been different.
I have now used Mac’s death as a catalyst to do more and we want to educate every person we can reach to simply be a better listener. The research clearly confirms that real learned listening techniques make a world of difference.
The 40-minute SmackTalk session is free of charge. We will come to you, small groups, big groups, sporting clubs, school groups, business groups – we want to ensure we reduce the epidemic and silent killer that is suicide.
In 2023 alone, more than 3200 people took their own lives in Australia. Of those, 801 people died of suicide in Victoria compared to 299 road deaths in the same period in the State. We need to take urgent action to change these devastating numbers.
We miss our beautiful boy and together we will change hearts.
Wayne Holdsworth, Mac’s Dad
Book a SmackTalk today
Every small, medium or large organisation needs education on really listening.
In one free 40-minute session Wayne, or one of his trained facilitators, will give you the tools to really listen and perhaps change the course of a person’s life.
Learn how to be a better friend and family member by really listening.
Behind the SmackTalk name
The name SmackTalk was designed to incorporate Mac’s name and his absolute love for basketball.
While smack talk is banter, sometimes referred to as trash talk, the use of the name for this charity is to help stamp out cyber bullying and sexual extortion.
The devastating sextortion of Mac
Sending nude photos is commonplace among young people today – but the consequences can be devastating. For Mac Holdsworth, it was an incident he never recovered from and just months later, aged 17, he took his own life.
The horror of finding Mac
On Tuesday 24 October 2023, Wayne Holdsworth underwent a trauma no parent should go through. He found his son Mac’s body, the morning after Mac took his own life.
Memories of Mac
MacKenzie Charlie Brennan Holdsworth, known as Mac, was a really fun-loving boy and a fiercely loyal family member who always loved being involved in any sport, particularly football and basketball.
Missing Mac's Mum
Exactly 100 days before Mac took his own life, he lost his Mum, Renee.
In his note to family, Mac outlined his guilt of not being able to spend more time with her before she passed away from a cardiac arrest, just six weeks after being diagnosed with MS.
Scott's sextortion safety tips
At the end of May, Barefoot Investor Scott Pape wrote a heart-wrenching post to his large database. Entitled ‘This is the hardest thing I’ve ever written’, it detailed an extremely moving conversation he had with Wayne about Mac taking his own life following an incident of sextortion.
Scott also included some advice for parents and people facing cyber issues. With his permission, we have included an excerpt from that email.
Wayne's wish
It deeply disturbs Wayne Holdsworth that there were more than 3200 people who took their own lives in Australia last year.
There were 801 suicides in Victoria alone in 2023 and the numbers in Victoria have already increased by 17% for the same period of time in 2024.
Why counselling is critical
It was just two days after Wayne Holdsworth found his son Mac dead in his bedroom that he had his first visit from Adrian Price from Support after Suicide.
Wayne has had sessions with Adrian nearly every week since the tragedy. That support has helped him have the strength and courage to be able to form SmackTalk.
The start of SmackTalk
Around three months after his son Mac took his own life, Wayne Holdsworth decided he had a responsibility to ensure other families didn’t go through the pain his family was suffering. It led to the creation of a registered charity, SmackTalk.
Weekly counselling support gave Wayne the strength to get through the funeral and then Christmas. Then he decided he wanted to leave Mac a legacy because at 17, he hadn’t really left one.
Feedback from SmackTalk presentations
Wayne was fantastic and gave a presentation that resonated so powerfully throughout our group, not a dry eye in the room.”
Casey Women’s football club
…this was the most impactful presentation I have ever seen. It’s raw, it’s honest, it’s factual and it provides kids and adults with real answers to deal with their own depression or suicidal thoughts and importantly, HOW to ask your mates how they are really going.
I HIGHLY recommend you all get on board and have Wayne come out and present this.”
Grant Harrison
CEO Knox Basketball
Wayne from Smacktalk was outstanding, compelling and we learned so much and now feel empowered to save lives.”
Mornington and Casey Basketball clubs
Wayne’s presentation Smacktalk was as powerful as I have ever attended I now feel ready to help others, you are a legend Wayne and inspiration.”
Rockets basketball club
Thank you for coming out and providing such information that we now know will save lives. Outstanding individual.”
Cramli
Some of the places our story has been shared
