Video Transcription

Carpool Conversations: Louise Adams and James Van Cooper

They’re fighting over who’s going to sit in the front.
Hey guys!
Hey mate! How you going? Jump on in. Seatbelts on.
Well, welcome to Carpool Conversations, guys. I can’t believe it, here we are in Mount Gambier.
It’s really good to be here.
Yeah, it’s great! Louise Adams and James Van Cooper.
Look, how did you guys meet?
I was on this little show called X Factor, and I’d convinced Mr Blunt, my mentor, to let me play an electric guitar on the show. But how do we get my electric guitar from Mount Gambier to Sydney in a matter of days? Bit difficult.
So, I heard about this young musician in Sydney and someone put me onto him. He kindly offered to lend me one of his guitars.
And I was like, you know, maybe you should get your guitar out. We’ll see what you actually sound like.
And my instincts were good. You’re actually not too bad.
Thanks, Louise.
I also like the way you sing.
Thank you.
It’s obvious that you guys have a good relationship and there’s a real chemistry between you as mates, and you’re ambassadors for ‘Are You Okay?’, which is awesome. We’re so lucky to have you guys.
Talk to us about why ‘Are You Okay?’ is a message that’s important to you both.
You know, I grew up in the country, I live in the country, and I guess, you know, whether it’s just being part of those communities or just being someone that people often come and talk to now because of my, you know, they know me since the show. I guess I just know that those, you know, that simple act of having conversations and, you know, trying to make people on both sides of the coin feel comfortable about talking about mental health and how they’re feeling.
We’ve all been through it. You can have lots of people around you that you love, but if you’re not having some of those conversations, you can still feel really alone.
So, ‘Are You Okay?’ really hit me.
We’re incredibly lucky to have you guys.
And how about you, James?
My belief in this whole initiative is because I really believe in the power of conversation. I believe that that is the way real change can come, not just in our friends, but all across the board.
I think that if enough people can start a conversation about these topics, that’s how change can come.
For me, it was one conversation that saved my life.
It was saying, “Keep acting this way and keep doing what you’re doing, you are going to die.”
And I can assure you that if I hadn’t had that conversation, that would be the case. I wouldn’t be in this lovely Audi. Thanks for the spot, Spike.
Do you think it’s hard with a public profile, like, trying to sort of make a go of your career in this space?
From people we’ve spoken to, it can be hard.
Yeah, you have a share of disappointments.
How do you guys support each other?
I think, like, one of the challenges as a public personality these days is the prevalence of social media. A lot of people feel this idea of, “Oh, I’ve got to be the image of myself that others expect me to be.”
And so I think that the power of having the conversations and saying, “Look, you know, you don’t have to have that all on your shoulders. It doesn’t matter if your marriage isn’t, you know, perfect, or your relationship isn’t perfect.”
Like, talk to people around you about it, and all of a sudden, all that pressure you’re putting on yourself and on your shoulders starts evaporating a bit.
Yeah.
So, what would you say to anyone who’s worried about someone?
First of all, let them know that you’re there. It’s something that we take for granted sometimes, but you actually sometimes need to really say it as well.
Like, “Let’s try ‘Are You Okay?'” You might not want to talk about it now, but just know I’m here to talk to you if you want to.
Even if they don’t open up to you right there, I think sometimes people take that with them. They might sit in bed that night and think, “You know, that person reached out to me. Maybe I should have a chat to them.”
You’ve given us some great insights. You’ve shared a bit about yourself, so I’m going to pull over here. I’ll let you guys dance.
Well, you can if you…

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