From participant to mentor, Tyrone Trindall's Boys to the Bush journey

Fast forward around five years and Tyrone Trindall is suited up and sharing his experience at the Boys to the Bush ball, now a mentor himself to other young boys in the organisation.

Mr Trindall first came across Boys to the Bush when he was about 15 years old and was looking for a holiday camp to attend.

Being a bit reclusive and spending most of his time inside playing video games, the idea of a camp on a farm sparked Mr Trindall's interest.

And while he was nervous to join a group of people he didn't know, attending the camp was the best decision he has ever made.

"I was looking for camps and we found Boys to the Bush and watched this little video about it ... and I was very interested because I'd never been on a farm in my life," Mr Trindall said.

While getting up to a lot of mischief and testing the patience of the Boys to the Bush team, slowly Mr Trindall realised that it was up to him to make a change, and so he did.

"It was probably the worst years of my life doing what I was doing ... Boys to the Bush gave me a purpose to do something with myself," he said.

After gaining experience in traffic control, carpentry and cooking, Mr Trindall was approached by the Boys to the Bush team and asked if he wanted to become a mentor.

While a little apprehensive about the opportunity, it only took a little encouragement and he decided to give it a go and help other kids in similar situations to what he was in when attending his first Boys to the Bush camp.

Now, Mr Trindall has spent the past nine months as a Boys to the Bush trainee, helping kids achieve their goals and change their lives.

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And it's his personal experiences that Mr Trindall believes helps him to connect to the participants on a very real level.

"I kind of know what the kids get up to now because I was in their shoes," he said.

"With camps I know how they'll hide their phones and things and I'm like, 'Mate, I know where it is, come on.' So I know their little tricks and how they want to hide things and I call them out for that.

"I really want to help other kids. I've been through so much and I don't want other kids to go through the same shit I did.

"I say this all the time, it was either jail or death for me and I don't want any kid to go through that. I want them to be the best people they can be."

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