It’s 7:00 am at Scarborough Beach, yoga mats rolled under arms, music pulsing from the speakers. This is ExPRO Fitness Festival, Western Australia’s biggest celebration of fitness and wellness. But this year, the focus isn’t just on strength, speed, or sweat. It’s on something far more powerful: how we feel.
For founder Jo Finkelstein, ExPRO has always been about more than movement. “Wellbeing is not a solo pursuit,” she says. “It’s something we build together, through community, through shared experience, and through the simple act of showing up.”
That philosophy has shaped a new partnership between ExPRO and The Happiness Co Foundation, a Western Australian charity dedicated to improving mental health and wellbeing through grassroots programs and human connection.
The partnership brings together two homegrown organisations that have built their reputations on accessibility and community-led support. At this year’s festival, that shared purpose is most visible inside The Happiness Zone, a calm pocket within the bustle of workouts and DJ sets. Here, festival-goers can move through a silent disco meditation, pause at a gratitude wall, or simply take a moment to breathe between sessions. As the Happiness Co Foundation team puts it, “Our partnership with ExPRO was formed through a shared commitment to making a meaningful difference. It’s not about how much we can raise; it’s about how much we can connect. Fitness, wellness, and mental health belong in the same conversation.”
Funds raised across the weekend will support free mental health workshops and community programs across Western Australia, extending to regional and remote towns where services can be harder to access. That reach reflects a growing need, particularly for men, who remain less likely to seek support.
Project Fellas, one of Happiness Co’s cornerstone initiatives, takes a central role in this year’s programming. Co-founder Ryan describes it as “a space for men to slow down, look inward, and reconnect.” Every second week, small groups meet on the sand for breathwork, meditation, and open conversation. “Men are struggling, not just behind closed doors, but in plain sight,” Ryan says. “Most don’t lack the desire to talk. They lack the space and the language. ExPRO gives them both.”
ExPRO Fitness Festival returns to the Scarborough Beach Precinct on November 15th–16th, 2025, with tickets available through exprofestival.com.au.
