27/10/2026
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Handwritten messages, written in chalk on footpaths at Perth beaches, have become popular online after locals shared pics of the messages on social media with .
Phoenix Forbes-Keith, 21, is the man behind the chalk and says it was born out of his struggles with mental health.
"I just knew that something had to change, something in my life had to change, otherwise it really was never going to get better, and this positivity and this display of optimism was really the way that I chose to start that,” he told 102.5 ABC Perth.
When Phoenix first started, he was nervous and tried to write his messages without anyone else seeing him.
“I think even just connecting with people was so scary,” he said.
“I would be hiding behind a tree with my chalk, looking for people and trying to get a letter in every time people passed. But now I'm so open about it. I have chats with people, and it's beautiful.”
The first message he ever wrote on the path was 'you can't add days to your life, but you can add life to your days'.
"I had really just realised at some point, like, 'hey, I'm supposed to live this life. I'm supposed to enjoy this life. I'm supposed to get out there every single day and make the most of what I'm doing'. And that's where that came from."
Besides writing the messages, Phoenix recites them out loud to himself as a daily habit.
"I would call it a gratitude walk where I'd go outside, no music, no podcast, nothing, and just speak my gratitude out loud to myself as I was walking through. 'I'm grateful for the trees. I'm grateful for the ocean'."
"And I think that really grounds people and reminds people — enjoy what you have in front of you."
Have you spotted a Beach Path Wisdom?
