As a professional golfer, Andrew Jensen spent years travelling the world and playing the sport he loved. While he enjoyed public success, Jensen struggled in private. Tragically golf had opened the door for depression to reassert itself firmly in his life. After his third suicide attempt, Jensen has decided to use his platform to speak out about his experience living with depression while chasing his dream. Utilizing the value of his lived experience, Jensen’s aim is to demystify the stigma surrounding mental illness among youth, using golf as the catalyst.
Bell Let's Talk at NSCC
Off The Record: Bell Let's Talk Day Show - Full Episode
Jensen shares his personal story of overcoming challenges, shame, guilt and judgement of feeling hurt and frightened for his future. He encourages audiences to speak up, find humility and seek support to help you reach your goals. He shares how lessons, skills and coping mechanisms learned in personal and professional life can help each other. He notes: ‘ I’ll do what it takes to become a better golfer – I need to do the same for my mental health.’
Platform Plus Presentations
Unique formats and ways to connect with audiences.
Links Golf Program
Andrew is available for Golf Tournament or Charity Fundraiser events. He’ll come and golf with your group for the day, and provide his inspiring story as a dinner speaker end of the day. Or feel free to mix up the program to include Golf and Speaking or Hosting/Award ceremonies.
Audience reviews:
There are very public speakers who combine passion, candor, vulnerability, humour and personal connection like Andrew Jensen. I had the pleasure of organizing a couple of speaking events and public forums in which Andrew was a keynote speaker. He had the audience hanging on his every word. His willingness to share his personal journey was moving and inspirational. He made us cry. He made us laugh. But most importantly, he gave hope to people working their way through depression. Andrew is not only an excellent public speaker, but an outstanding person, and it was an honour to have him with us.
- Media and Public Relations Officer, Health Sciences North
Andrew's humour and down-to-earth personality allowed the 150 audience members to really connect with him and his story, and made the experience of mental illness relatable to everyone. Andrew not only shared his story of his life-long battle with depression and how he has emerged stronger than ever, but also what we as individuals can do to address the stigma around mental illness. I believe that having Andrew speak to our Carleton community has been a huge step forward in promoting positive mental health for everyone who steps foot on our campus.
- Healthy Workplace Co-ordinator, Carleton University
Andrew Jensen’s session with students and staff on Bell Let’s Talk Day offered an incredible opportunity to hear a very poignant and compelling story about a person successfully living with and facing, head on, very serious mental-health challenges...Andrew’s honesty and straight talk were a highlight of the college-wide participation in the campaign.
- President, Nova Scotia Community College
He told his story to a sold out draw, weaving his personal experience with the incredible importance of overcoming the stigma of reaching out for help.
Andrew Jensen is a professional golfer and mental health Bell Let’s Talk Ambassador. In his teens, Andrew began to suffer with depression, culminating in a suicide attempt at 16 years old. In those difficult teenage years, golf was his refuge and the one place he felt meaning and purpose. It wasn’t until having to deal with the immense stress and pressure of professional golf that the game became his undoing.
After struggling through an extremely difficult rookie campaign in 2008, being dropped by his sponsors in 2009, and finally an injury in 2010, Andrew’s poor play and off course struggles re-opened the door for his depression and suicidal thoughts to enter his life. His 2011 season was his worst to date, forcing him to retire and give up on the game he loved for so many years. In the fall of 2011, two failed suicide attempts in a 3-week span had Andrew hospitalized. Most importantly, he was finally ready to get help and walk a road of recovery towards better health.
Returning to professional golf in 2013, Andrew gained status PGA Tour Canada. Though his starts were sparse, the Tour took it upon themselves to share Andrew’s story of strength and courage on the PGA Tour Canada TV show and YouTube channel. The response Andrew received helped him fully realize his place as an advocate for mental health across Canada.
Andrew now finds himself at the forefront of the dialogue on mental health overall and as a 2017 Bell Let’s Talk Ambassador, and the effort to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health as public speaker traveling the country and sharing his story with charities, schools, associations, and corporate Canada.
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