Where we are today

That volunteer energy hasn't gone anywhere.

What started as informal men's wellbeing group has grown into something structured and proven: our team completed formal training through the Rites of Passage Institute in 2025, and in 2026 we launched our first public camps.

Over 100 people from the Geelong, the Bellarine and the Surf Coast communities showed up to celebrate that launch, alongside Dr Arne Rubinstein OAM, 2025 Father of the Year and one of our founding mentors.

Local businesses and philanthropic partners are now backing that momentum too - sponsors, funders, and community donors choosing to invest in what began as a handful of volunteers meeting in Torquay.

How we measure what matters

Every camp uses the PERMAH Profiler, the world’s leading flourishing framework - the same one Geelong Grammar School became the first school in the world to adopt in 2008.

We measure at baseline, immediately post-camp, again at 8–10 weeks, and at 6–12 months. Alongside PERMAH, we track additional measures built specifically for what we do: hope and agency, connection to nature, and the parent–child relationship itself.

Where we started

DIIGG began in 2022 as a men's connection group in Torquay, started by Michael “Juddy” Judd after the loss of his daughter Estella. In her final moments, Juddy made her a promise: to do something great and help other people. That promise became DIIGG, built from the ground up by volunteers who believed real connection could change lives - long before there was any funding, any camps, or any staff behind it.

Where we're headed

Our Vision: Connected and resilient communities where people are healthy, thriving, and supported through life’s transitions.

Still volunteer-powered at its core, but with a growing base of sponsors and partners helping us scale what’s already working - further and faster than we could alone. Every camp, program or experience we deliver furthers our mission; we’ll share real, de-identified outcome data here as our own offerings deliver results, not just the framework we’re measuring against.

The evidence behind the framework

DIIGG's Rites of Passage approach isn't invented from scratch - it's grounded in published research. A 2021 outcomes study of a father-son Rite of Passage program, co-authored by our own mentor Dr Arne Rubinstein and published with Orygen and the University of Melbourne, found real, lasting results: stronger family relationships, better communication, and higher wellbeing - still holding four months after the program ended.