WA has named its Young Australians of the Year, with Dr Haseeb Riaz and Gareth Shanthikumar receiving the award from Premier Roger Cook. The pair have become familiar names in schools across the State through MAN UP, the organisation they co-founded to help young men navigate mental health, relationships and identity with openness rather than pressure or silence. Their recognition reflects the growing support for voices calling for healthier expectations around what it means to be a young man.
Both men know the challenges they now help others confront. Haseeb speaks openly about the transition from adolescence to adulthood and the confusion that can come with it. Gareth has shared his own experience of sitting alone in his room as a teenager, struggling with thoughts he did not yet know how to name. Those years shaped their understanding of how easily boys can fall into patterns that limit emotional connection, hide distress or allow frustration to turn inward. They saw that harmful stereotypes were still influencing how many young people behaved, and felt there was space for a different kind of message.
MAN UP began as a response to that gap. What started as an idea between two young men has now reached more than twenty-two thousand students. Their workshops focus on culture inside boys’ groups, communication, emotional coping and the building blocks of respectful relationships. Sessions create space for boys to talk freely, compare experiences and question the pressures placed on them. The aim is to reach them long before their behaviour becomes shaped by habits that are hard to unlearn. Students often describe the sessions as the first time they felt they could speak plainly about how they are feeling.
The work sits alongside demanding professional lives. Haseeb is a junior doctor at Royal Perth Hospital, balancing frontline practice with ongoing leadership at MAN UP as Board Chair. His interest in eye care has taken him to Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, where he spent time with Professor Pearse Keane and the UCL AI team. He has held roles in medical advocacy across several organisations and continues to support medical students through teaching and committee work. His community involvement extends well beyond medicine, having served as a Fogarty Scholar, Co-Chair of the WA Ministerial Youth Advisory Council and Vice President of the United Nations Youth Association WA.
Gareth brings a different set of skills shaped by fitness coaching, mentoring and public speaking. His online coaching work is aimed at helping people build their physical and emotional wellbeing together, and his public talks often touch on vulnerability, resilience and the long journey to self-acceptance. He has said that MAN UP grew out of his own mental health journey as well as Haseeb’s experiences around respect for women and the expectations placed on boys. The pair have spoken about leaning on their fathers as positive influences, conscious of how rare it can be for young men to have everyday examples of healthy masculinity to draw from.
Their recent recognition has prompted strong reactions from the community that helped build MAN UP. Gareth wrote on social media that the award felt almost unimaginable when remembering the lowest moments of his teenage years. He thanked the volunteers, committee members and educators who have helped shape the organisation over five years, saying the achievement belongs to everyone who contributed. He also spoke directly to younger versions of himself and others who may be struggling, acknowledging the work required to move from fear to purpose.
Haseeb has expressed similar gratitude, emphasising the collective effort behind the program’s growth. Both founders continue to volunteer their time, often stepping into school talks after long workdays. Teachers and mental health advocates across Australia have highlighted the practical, grounded nature of MAN UP’s approach. Rather than offering quick fixes or theory heavy sessions, the workshops give boys everyday language for emotional literacy and clearer ways of relating to those around them.
As WA’s Young Australians of the Year, Haseeb and Gareth will now move to the national awards next January. For both, the recognition is less about personal achievement and more about what it means for the young people they work with. They hope the wider visibility will help more schools and communities start conversations that have long been avoided. Their message remains steady: masculinity does not need to be defined by silence or pressure, and boys deserve support that meets them where they are.
Their story continues to evolve, but the core purpose stays the same. Haseeb and Gareth want young men to grow into adults who can communicate clearly, treat others with care and recognise the value of empathy. The work is ongoing, but the thousands of students they have already met show how powerful those conversations can be when someone makes space for them.
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