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Lily Canter

After his son’s death by suicide, life came to a standstill for Tony Bruno for nearly two years.
“I didn’t do anything, just literally nothing, just lying around, grieving,” he says.
Before the tragedy, Bruno had been active, describing himself as “a bit of a walker, hiker, runner”. But losing his 15-year-old son, Jamie, in 2017 stopped him in his tracks.
It was walking that eventually helped him through his bereavement.
“I slowly but surely got back into it,” Bruno says. “It did help an awful lot.”
The grieving father’s return to walking eventually grew into the Weez Walk, a 62km (38.5 mile) route around the coast of Hong Kong Island that follows the Hong Kong Island Coastal Trail. The challenge raises awareness and funds for mental health support and suicide prevention.

In 2024, the estimated suicide rate in Hong Kong stood at 14.1 deaths per 100,000 people, compared with 13.5 in 2023.
“Hong Kong is not a place that has the best mental health provision,” Bruno says. “It’s improving a lot, but there’s still some way to go.”
Proceeds this year support youth interventions by Mind HK, ensuring that professional mental healthcare is available to those who need it most.
What began as a personal challenge has since become, in Bruno’s words, “my life’s work”.
“It’s the most important thing I do now,” he says. “It’s helped hugely in the grieving process. However, over the past few years, I made the decision that if I’m going to do it to benefit others, rather than it just being a memorial, I need to take some of the emotion out.
“It’s important to remember my son, but the most important thing now is what the Weez Project does to help others in Hong Kong.”

The first walk took place in 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Bruno had few expectations. “I thought, well, I’ll just do something and try and raise a few dollars,” he says.
He completed the coastal walk in one go and raised nearly HK$350,000 (US$44,800). “It seemed to get a bit of a buzz,” he recalls.
That enthusiastic response convinced him to open it up to others. The first organised event followed in 2022, still constrained by pandemic restrictions. Participants were able to complete the route in stages over six weeks.
“We got about 700 people signed up to do it, which was amazing,” he says, “and we raised close to HK$2 million.”
Now in its fifth year, the Weez Walk is stronger than ever, with 2,265 sign-ups at the time of writing. Schools, including West Island School and Victoria Shanghai Academy, now take part, with pupils completing sections of the route together.
“There’s a real buzz about the event,” Bruno says.

While some participants tackle the full 62km in one attempt, most participants walk it in stages over several days.
“Walking 62km or running 62km, it’s a big deal,” Bruno says. “The in-one-go is like the elite challenge.”
Bruno’s fastest time for completing the full route in one go is 12 hours and 37 minutes, while the quickest completion overall stands at just over five and a half hours.
For Bruno, the emphasis has never been on speed: the appeal lies in walking itself.
“Walking, certainly in my opinion, and in the opinion of many experts, is possibly the best sort of exercise you can get,” he says.
He points to the well-established mental health benefits of combining physical activity, nature and social connection.
“The three things that any expert in mental health will tell you – exercise, being outside in nature and being social – are all encapsulated within the event,” he says.
Bruno now walks about 50km a week – “some of it on my own, as I quite like my own company sometimes, but often with friends or family”.

Among his favourite places to walk are Braemar Hill, Sir Cecil’s Ride and Red Incense Burner Summit, which, according to Bruno, give you the best views of Hong Kong.
When it comes to the Weez Walk route, Bruno is particularly pleased to see how the infrastructure has evolved alongside the event. Early editions were improvised and, at times, precarious.
“There were bits where you’d have to jump over fences and bushwhack through bits that were very inaccessible,” he says.
But over time, government infrastructure projects have transformed sections into proper public paths and bridges.
A distinctive element of the Weez Walk is its street art, commissioned annually in memory of Bruno’s son, who loved graffiti. Those artworks are incorporated into graphics for the event’s signature T-shirts, which Bruno describes as “really whizzy”.
Many of the artworks are now permanent fixtures visible along the route.

Weez Walk 2026 started in mid-January and runs until March 1. When Bruno spoke to the SCMP, he had not yet done it this year, but he has plans to do it three times, with friends and with two of the walk sponsors.
It is going to be “quite hard”, he says. But after years of grief, it is walking, repeated and purposeful, that continues to carry him forward.
To learn more, join the walk or support it, visit mind.org.hk or weezproject.com. Registration closes on February 15.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, or you know someone who is, help is available. For Hong Kong, dial +852 2896 0000 for The Samaritans or +852 2382 0000 for Suicide Prevention Services.
In the US, call The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on +1 800 273 8255. For a list of other nations’ helplines, see this page.
Like what you read? Follow SCMP Lifestyle on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also sign up for our eNewsletter here.


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Walking saved him after son’s suicide. Now, his Hong Kong trail walk raises millions

Tony Bruno pauses in front of West Island School during the first Weez Walk, which he completed on his own, in 2021. He launched Weez Walk to raise funds for mental health support in Hong Kong to honour the memory of his son. Photo: weezproject.com

Weez Walk 2026 officially kicked off on January 17. Proceeds go to support Mind HK’s youth mental health support programmes. Photo: weezwalk.org

The Weez Walk is a 62km route along the Hong Kong Island Coastal Trail around Hong Kong Island. Photo: weezproject.com

A family takes part in a Weez Walk. The 62km route can be done in stages or in one go. Photo: weezwalk.org

Tony Bruno promotes Weez Walk, a fundraiser that runs until March 1. Photo: Instagram/weezproject

Artist Stern Rockwell’s street art for the Weez Walk was completed in 2021. It depicts someone facing hardships, reaching out for help on his phone while hugging himself. Photo: weezproject.com

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The Exploring Dogs group on a walk through Tai Tong, Hong Kong, in December, 2025. Founder Stephanie Lown says being outdoors in the fresh air can help ground you and give you a fresh perspective. Photo: Instagram/exploringdogs

Stephanie Lown is seen on a walk with her dogs and other members from Exploring Dogs. Photo: Stephanie Lown

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An Exploring Dogs get-together in December 2025, at Tai Tong. Photo: Instagram/exploringdogs

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Hong Kong charity’s walk for suicide awareness is ‘something to move through together’

Hikers walking the Dragon’s Back trail, in Shek O, Hong Kong. 

Jess Hulton is the founder of The New Normal Charity Hong Kong, which has organised a walk along the iconic Dragon’s Back on September 27 to raise awareness of suicide and mental health. Photo: John McGrane

Hikers walk along Hong Kong’s Dragon’s Back trail, in Shek O. Photo: Martin Williams

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Heinok Fan, a team member at The New Normal Charity Hong Kong, says exercise is the go-to activity when she struggles with her mental health. Photo: The New Normal Charity Hong Kong

Exercise is beneficial for your physical and mental health. Photo: Shutterstock

Hikers head along the Dragon’s Back, on Hong Kong Island. Photo: Antony Dickson

Youth suicide prevention: Hong Kong walk in memory of teen raises awareness – and funds to help others struggling with mental health issues

Participants in the Weez Walk around Hong Kong island that raises awareness of youth mental health issues and funds to help young people overcome them. Photo: Weez Project

Tony Bruno (centre) poses with supporters at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre checkpoint on the 2021 Weez Walk. Photo: Weez Project

Japanese artist Taxa uses a lotus as a metaphor to describe those struggling with mental health in one of eight artworks created along the route of the Weez Walk. Photo: Weez Project/Taxa

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Guo hikes near the Waterton Lakes National Park in the province of Alberta, Canada. Photo: Substack/jessicaguo

Guo on the Great Divide Trail. Photo: Instagram/whereisjessi.ca

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Lifestyle

Health & Wellness

Health

Tony Bruno’s return to walking turned into Hong Kong’s Weez Walk, which raises funds for mental health awareness and suicide prevention


Tony Bruno’s return to walking turned into Hong Kong’s Weez Walk, which raises funds for mental health awareness and suicide prevention.


Mental health

Mind HK

Trail running and hiking

Walking saved him after son’s suicide. Now, his Hong Kong trail walk raises millions

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Tony Bruno’s return to walking turned into Hong Kong’s Weez Walk, which raises funds for mental health awareness and suicide prevention

Tony Bruno’s return to walking turned into Hong Kong’s Weez Walk, which raises funds for mental health awareness and suicide prevention