Majak Daw's life has made him an expert among AFL players about the need for mental resilience.
The Sudanese war refugee became a poster child for AFL multiculturalism when North Melbourne recruited him.
Then came his much-publicised court case two years ago, when he was acquitted of rape following a 2007 incident.
"On a personal level, I don't shy away from talking about it," he says of the court case.
"That was a really tough time for me and my family and I'm just so happy I came out the other side of it.
"I was lucky enough that I had great tools in place, that I (could) deal with the tough times I was going through."
Daw is helping to promote the MindMax phone app, which is designed to help people build their mental fitness.
The AFL Players' Association is promoting the new program, which is timely given the growing issue of mental health among elite sportspeople.
A few weeks ago, Collingwood forward Alex Fasolo had a short break from the game as he dealt with an episode of depression. But, he is back playing.
Daw revealed at Wednesday's launch that he worked with a psychologist around the time of his trial to help cope with the stresses.
He said MindMax was about trying to prevent the problems suffered by people such as Fasolo.
"It's about giving the players the tools, when they go through pressures or tough times, that they don't get to a stage where it's too late," Daw said.
Carlton midfielder Ed Curnow, after a tough path to his AFL career, is also helping to promote the app.
"It's fantastic to have this device, that is really positive in thought sharing - social media at times can be quite negative," he said of life as an AFL player.
Clinical psychologist Dr Jo Mitchell is one of the key figures behind MindMax.
"There was just this really obvious gap between dealing with the mental illness side of it, but we weren't really building the capacity-building side of it," she said.
"They (AFL players) know how to build a fit body and they're probably leaders in terms of being able to build a fit mind as well.
"Let's learn from the best."
The app is available for free public download.
Australian readers seeking support and information about depression can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
