Ari opens up about his battle
ARI Kucuku has been a fighter his entire life.
After fleeing over the Albanian border alone as a young boy and training to fight in the UFC, it may come as a surprise that this Toowoomba business man, body builder and father of three has a much more vulnerable side.
Mr Kucuku has recently opened up about his battle with depression to raise funds for Toowoomba based organisation, Momentum Mental Health.
“After I sustained a work accident to my hand in 2012, I felt like I lost a large part of my identity,” he said.
“A large part of my life has always involved some part of rigorous training and fitness regimen, ever since I was a young teen.
“Being fit and strong was a massive part of who I was and how I dealt with my emotions, so when that was taken away from me while I was trying to recover, I slipped into a very dark place mentally.”
Nearly 10 years on from the accident that changed his life, Mr Kucuku was juggling family life, running Toowoomba business KP Security, and building a new house when he decided to push his body and mind to the limit and raise funds for local mental health programs.
“I used to feel ashamed to have depression, I used to think it made me less of a man but I think if I’d kept that attitude I don’t think I’d still be here today.
“It was my wife and family who made me realise it was okay to not be okay, but I had to speak up and get help for them.”
After settling down and having kids, Mr Kucuku decided to give up cage fighting and martial arts for the highly disciplined sport of bodybuilding, signing up to compete in the IFBB Professional League titles at the start of the year after a period of hiatus following his hand injury.
“At the same time I wanted to give back to an organisation working hard to provide relief for other people in the region who are struggling with their mental health like I did.”
Formerly known as Toowoomba Clubhouse, Momentum Mental Health services offer a wide variety of programs, counselling sessions and support networks to adults in the community who are living with a number of different mental health illnesses.
“In the end we managed to raise $4616 for Momentum and they will put that money towards sessions with several clients who would otherwise have to miss out.”