Inspirational mental health activist Zachery Dereniowski rose to prominence after sharing his honest mental health content on TikTok. After reaching a personal breaking point during the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the young medical student began to post on the social media platform so that other people knew they weren’t struggling alone. Since rising to fame he has appeared frequently across the media, featuring in the Daily Mail, Lad Bible, UniLad, the Sydney Morning Herald, Yahoo and NYK Daily. Now one of the most popular mental health advocates on social media, he has amassed an incredible 2.4 million followers on TikTok.

Born in Windsor, Canada and now based in Sydney, Dereniowski used TikTok as a platform to form a global support community during a time when people were yearning for a way to be vulnerable, authentic and most importantly connect with others. Based on his powerful yet simple formula “Vulnerability = Relatability = Empowerment” he has continued to inspire others and has now launched a podcast, mental health ambassadorship program, clothing line and offers students experiencing mental health issues the chance of a $1K scholarship.
Dereniowski has also formed a movement that looks to normalize conversations surrounding well-being and mental health called the Mental Health Movement (MHM).

Dereniowski’s popularity continues to soar, and he intends to continue to raise awareness for mental health whilst also pursuing a career in psychiatry, paediatrics or orthopaedics.