About Us
Our Mission
To inspire people and help change their perspective from dreaming of one day to starting day one.
Here at Start Day One, we're trying to change the global perspective on mental health, where doctors, organizations, and society are still doing everything wrong by reactively waiting for symptoms of mental health issues or suicidal tendencies.
Our Story
The founders of Start Day One, Ricardo & Kristen Zulueta, have been supporting suicide prevention awareness with their apparel brand, which has the mission to inspire and motivate people to live life without regret and accept challenges worth the risk.
Ricardo has personally experienced the loss of his oldest brother from suicide, which is why they are genuinely passionate about their mission.
According to their philosophy, true prevention is not waiting for someone to reach out or show symptoms of suicidal tendencies. It is more effective to proactively help people stop complaining and taking life for granted in the first place.
People don't need help because they are depressed or suicidal. They need help that's WHY they're depressed or suicidal. Depression is not the cause, it is merely the result.
You can learn more about how we started on this blog post: The Beginning of our Non-Profit Foundation
The Problem
He learned from that experience that we don’t get sad or depressed because of our situations; it's because of our perspectives.
After talking to thousands of people with his inspirational apparel brand, he learned that our negative perspectives evolve into anxiety, depression, drug abuse, etc., and eventually suicidal tendencies.
This is why rock stars commit suicide while the homeless are struggling to stay alive.
But these mental health issues are just the results, not the cause. It's impossible to solve any problems by focusing on the results and waiting for symptoms instead of focusing on the cause.
Most places only invite public motivational speakers or counselors to their venue AFTER someone has already committed suicide. This doesn't make any sense.
We should be doing this BEFORE suicidal tendencies occur.
The Solution
We believe that true prevention of any mental health issues requires a proactive approach by inspiring people to change their perspectives before they begin complaining about their life, abusing drugs or alcohol, or showing symptoms of suicidal tendencies.
Everyone is exposed to inspirational content every day but they're all meaningless unless you actually make a decision. We need to change people’s perspectives because it is what influences our decisions.
This is why we started, Start Day One, a non-profit to proactively help people's mental health by distributing inspirational content, speaking at schools, companies, events, etc., and making life coaching services more affordable.
We raise funds to send speakers to different venues like schools, military bases, rehab centers, or events to inspire people and change their perspectives to maintain a healthier mindset. We also produce and distribute inspirational content to spread awareness about our approach to suicide prevention.
We may not be able to start a new beginning, but with your help, we can help inspire people to start day one and make a new ending.
Mental Health & Suicide Prevention
Suicide completion rates have surged to a 30-year high. Suicide has no prejudice, and each year more than 800,000 die in this silence. In the United States, over 44,000 people die by suicide every year, averaging 121 suicide completions each day.
Suicide is a preventable mental health crisis. The primary obstacle to suicide prevention is the silence of stigma. Stigmas are social and cultural factors that try to dictate how we express ourselves and compel individuals to be silent on their internal experiences. Too often, we do not discuss mental health or suicide until it directly impacts our community.
Proactive prevention is about creating an environment that doesn’t wait for someone to reach a point of crisis to address their mental health. In doing proactive prevention, individuals step up to take action and facilitate the conversation on mental health in their spaces.
Teal Theme Color
The color TEAL has become our theme color for our foundation. It is meant to act as a reminder of what we can all give to help in suicide prevention: