Pink Shirt Day is an attitude

Constable Bryan, who is one half of the dynamic television duo known as Bryan and Bobby, has been a keen supporter of Pink Shirt Day even before it arrived in New Zealand.

“I knew I had to get involved and help out any way I could, calling on friends around the world and in New Zealand.”

Why? For Bryan, every day is a Pink Shirt Day.

“It isn’t just about the colour you wear, it is an attitude you carry 24/7.”

As a police officer for 21 years and a family man, Bryan lives this attitude by treating others like he would like to be treated.

“In my role as a police officer I have seen some of the worst kinds of bullying that people are capable of doing to one another. It is important for us all that we all do our very best to stop bullying.

“I view bullying like a big brick wall. Brick by brick I am helping take it down with the help of lots of other like-minded people.”

As Bryan says, the effects of bullying can last a lifetime. But Bryan wants young people who are being bullied to know that they aren’t alone and that being bullied doesn’t have to hold them back.

“Help is there, so talk to people and remember, while it may seem that there is no light in the tunnel, many, many people who have achieved great things have done so due to the strength they have found within themselves while they were being bullied.”

The message is getting through, according to Bryan.

“Every year somebody that has been bullied or has bullied others gets hold of me and says, ‘wow I didn’t realise’ or ‘thanks for making a stand, it would have made things easier for me at school'.”

“Everybody I see in a pink shirt is one more person who is aware of bullying and much less likely to bully others,” he says.

What keeps Bryan focused and determined to make a difference? A Dr Martin Luther King Jr quote which he’s kept in his police notebook since he entered the force: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."