“To Help”: Gent Walks From Port Elizabeth to Cape Town To Bring Awareness to Men’s Mental Health

• A 30-year-old man from Gqeberha walked over 750km from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town to raise awareness about men's mental health
• Zolani Zondani started the journey in early October 2025 to raise funds for his nonprofit organisation called Broski
• Social media users praised his efforts, with Cape Town's mayor welcoming him at the end of his journey

A man from Gqeberha has won over the hearts of South Africans after walking 750km to raise awareness about men's mental health. Zolani Zondani packed a backpack, put on his sneakers, and just started walking from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town in early October 2025. His story was shared by a Cape Town content creator, Cool Story Bru, who posted about it on 21 October 2025 with the caption:

"This South African man is walking from Gqeberha to Cape Town to make a difference ❤️🇿🇦."

Cool Story Bru explained in his video that Zolani had been on the road for over a week, covering 800km between the two cities. Zolani started this walk, trying to raise money to register his nonprofit organisation called Broski, which helps men deal with their mental health. The reason this matters so much to him is that he lost his younger brother last year.

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His brother got into drugs, trying to deal with whatever he was going through, and it ended up destroying his life. Zolani says he couldn't help his brother back then, so now he's making sure other men don't become another statistic.

He shared that men shouldn't have to keep everything bottled up inside, and he wants to create a space where guys can actually be vulnerable without feeling ashamed. He's also doing the walk to fight against problems in Nelson Mandela Bay like crime, drug abuse, and gender-based violence.

Mzansi supported Zolani's walk

Social media users flooded the comments section with messages of support, while others shared stories of people doing similar walks:

@Shenay Swartz shared:

"My grandfather, at the age of 70, walked from Victoria West to the Eastern Cape."

@Gerrie J-man said:

"I know a guy who skateboarded from PTA to CPT in 2010 (skate for change), all in all he did a distance of 1800km... Good luck, man."

@Lusindiso Babra gushed:

"You put Soweto-on-Sea on the map, bro, that's huge, we're proud of you, Kwekwe 🙏🏽🙌🏽❤️."

@Adrian Barnard added:

"God bless him. His brother must be so proud."

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@Bokamoso Modisha mentioned:

"Check those who walk from the marble hall to Munisa to fight against GBV."

How Zolani's walk inspired South Africa

The content creator posted about Zolani on his Facebook page @Cool Story Bru, where he's always sharing stories about people doing good things in South Africa. The whole walk wasn't just about covering the distance. Zolani kept everyone updated along the way with live videos and posts from the road. People gave him places to sleep, brought him food, encouraged him with kind words, and donated money to help keep him going.

According to the Good Things Guy, when he finally made it to Cape Town on 21 October 2025, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis was there to shake his hand. The mayor said he was proud of Zolani for walking to raise awareness about young men's mental health, and mentioned that hundreds of thousands of South Africans had been following his journey online.

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This kind of walk isn't new in South Africa. People have been doing long-distance walks for years to raise money for charities, fight against gender-based violence, and bring attention to social issues. But Zolani's walk is different because it's shining a light on something people don't talk about enough: men's mental health.

Watch the Facebook clip below:

More inspiring South African stories

• Briefly News recently reported on a newly qualified South African pilot who proudly shared her aviation graduation.
• A young Randburg entrepreneur started his automotive business at 15, growing from a small WhatsApp group.
• A Cape Town man shared a video showing a group of young South Africans from Potchefstroom who are cleaning up public spaces.

Source: Briefly News