James Brodie is a radio host, songwriter, mental health advocate, and former student politician born in May 1996 from Te Aroha, New Zealand.
After a quiet (but entertaining) childhood in Te Aroha acting on stage at the Future Te Aroha Centre, James first began struggling with his mental health at 12 years old (despite having Autism and ADHD), starting with small things at first and eventually hitting breaking point at age 14 with self-attacking, anxiety, and multiple suicide attempts. After seeking help at age 15, James began advocating for mental health awareness in his community on a small grassroots scale, which led to a substantial involvement in New Zealand’s student voice movement from 2016-2022. Through this work, James was advocating for mental health in the tertiary sector while encouraging engagement and communication among students around New Zealand.
During this time, James was also a musician- playing as part of independent music projects and collectives from 2013-2020 before starting the process of creating his first album as a solo artist under the name “SKYKID”, written about the re-emergence of his mental health struggles across the early 2020's and his subsequent recovery. The album was released in September 2024- 3 months after surviving a near-deadly car crash in Auckland, New Zealand.
Having overcome these battles, James now spends his life to speaking hope and creating change in the area of mental health by sharing his story and music. James’s unique experiences and hopeful message have now been heard at music festivals, parliament, speaking engagements, TED talks, in front of world leaders, and other smaller stages in between over the course of 14 years, with no sign of slowing down anytime soon.
James is currently finishing his 2 album as SKYKID (set for release in 2026) and is the host of a weekly radio show on GLA Radio called SkyKid’s Cabin, a program aimed at kids and young families that talks about hard things while listening to a wide variety of music. He continues to advocate for mental health awareness around New Zealand while sharing his stories and music in a way only he can. Through melody, conversation, chaos, and hope.