This is an Influencer: elevating male role models
ThirdStory have launched a bold new campaign recognising the everyday men who positively shape the lives of young people.
Released to coincide with the Western Australian State Government’s 16 Days in WA family and domestic violence prevention campaign, the initiative aims to spark conversation, amplify healthy masculinities, and equip male role models with the confidence and tools to make a meaningful difference.
Building on insights from engagements with young people, community leaders, experts and practitioners across sectors, and men across bounds, we heard that young men are navigating a world where messaging about ‘how to be a man’ is louder, faster, and more extreme than ever before. While the dominant media narrative has focused around the threat of negative influences on boys and young men through the online “manosphere”, This is an Influencer reframes influence away from online fame and towards the quiet leadership shown by fathers, uncles, coaches, teammates, colleagues, friends, and mentors. The campaign calls attention to the crucial, and often overlooked, power these men have in helping shape others’ attitudes and behaviours by being present in their everyday lives.
“What would I have needed? I would have wanted someone to do what I do. Thought provoke. Be present with young people. Build relationships so you understand what they enjoy. Build robust conversations and build their resilience. Most importantly, make them believe that they can be anything.”
Running from 25 November to 10 December 2025, 16 Days in WA is themed “Stopping Family Violence: Play Your Part,” inviting all Western Australians to recognise that prevention begins with each of us. We know that prevention is most effective when men are part of the solution - using their influence to interrupt harmful norms, model respect, and contribute to safer families and communities.
Our work with men and boys is grounded in the national evidence base set out in Change the Story, which identifies four gendered drivers of violence against women. Addressing these drivers is the core of primary prevention - shifting the attitudes, norms and power imbalances that create the conditions for violence long before it occurs.
“Violence is not inevitable, it’s shaped by culture. Primary prevention is about changing the norms, assumptions and power dynamics that sit beneath behaviour. When we shift culture, we shift outcomes.”
The campaign forms the second phase of the broader This is Manly initiative - a multi-year, youth-led effort to redefine and broaden the idea of masculinity. While the first campaign centred on the voices of young men, the second shifts to the people they trust most: the role models who help shape their identity, attitudes and relationships.
Together, this project unites both phases of This is Manly - redefining narratives of masculinity and equipping everyday men to step into their role as positive, trusted role models for young people and their communities.
To explore the campaign, view stories or get involved in upcoming community offerings, visit: www.thisismanly.com or contact: thisismanly@thirdstory.org.