Braydon Brown with his Don’t Get Sucked In poster.
Te Awamutu’s Braydon Brown has creatively shared an important message with his peers – don’t get sucked in.
And he’s won national recognition for his efforts.
The 11-year-old Year 7 Te Awamutu Intermediate School student was named one of four runners up among five finalists in the inaugural Don’t Get Sucked In poster challenge. The overall winning entry came from Wellington.
Run by the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation New Zealand in partnership with the Life Education Trust throughout term two, the challenge was designed to highlight the harms of vaping to school students.
There were about 280 nationwide entrants aged aged 11 to 18.
When the winners were announced at the end of the first week back at school, Braydon’s was the only Te Awamutu entry named amongst the top five – and as a runner up, he was awarded $100 worth of art supplies and a $50 Prezzy Card.
Entrants were asked to choose one of several key messages to communicate via their poster – including among others don’t get sucked in, safer than smokes?, don’t gamble with your lungs and vaping harms your lungs and the planet.
Braydon chose don’t get sucked in, his poster depicting a group chat text conversation amongst friends discussing whether or not to take up an offer to vape.
The chat features replies such as “…nah dude, not cool…”
Braydon told The News he entered the poster challenge because the message of steering clear of vaping was an important one to share.
“For me, it’s about the importance of the type of friends – and influences – we surround ourselves with. And, of course, many people communicate via text these days, so I felt it was relatable.
“Being named a runner up was a complete surprise though,” he smiled.
Braydon’s poster.
He said he was “elated” when he found out.
Dad Mel and mum Renee agreed they were proud of Braydon after his roughly month-long effort to create his entry.
“There’s lots of peer pressure out there these days, but it was fantastic that the point of the design – and the challenge itself – was to be an example of peer support,” Renee said.
Asthma and Respiratory Foundation New Zealand āpiha takawaenga Māori, or Māori community liaison, Sharon Pihema said Braydon’s poster impressed the judges because it was what Braydon intended it to be – relatable.
The foundation facilitates several workshops – also known as Don’t Get Sucked In – in schools around New Zealand each term.
They encourage teenagers and young people not to pick up vaping or smoking by challenging them to do the research and think critically about the decision.
The five finalist’s posters will now be used as resources during those workshops, Sharon said.
