Inside Mr Perfect: The barbecue connects Canberrans and became mental health's mate

According to its website, the name alone has conjured up (incorrect) ideas of dating services and if you type Mr Perfect into Google, you do get results referring to an American wrestler.

What the charity is, however, is far from both of those things. Described as "mental health's mate", Mr Perfect hosts barbecues in different parts of the country - including Canberra - in the bid to encourage conversation and connection over a sausage sizzle.

"It's very casual," Mr Perfect host Ben Stevens says.

"There are just guys there who just want to chat. A lot of the time it's about moving to Canberra or what they do for work and those sorts of things, but there's no pressure to talk.

"There's no structure. It's just a place where people can float in, open up a conversation if your comfortable and then float out if it's getting a bit much for you. It's very much at your pace."

Stevens was holidaying on the Gold Coast when he first heard about Mr Perfect while listening to a radio interview with founder Terry Cornick.

"It just really resonated with me," he says.

"I've struggled with bipolar and ADHD and with that, being medicated it comes with depression and anxiety and all of those things. There's also a lot of stigma attached to it as well.

"It just sounded like such a great idea. I called up basically straight away and had a chat to him."

At the time, the Mr Perfect barbecue in Gungahlin was just about to launch as the first Canberra monthly event. After attending for a couple of months, Stevens then started hosting the second barbecue in Barton.

Despite its name, it's not exclusively a men's club, with women and children often coming along for a feed.

It's also a myth that those who do attend need to have a mental health problem. As Stevens says, those who are perfectly happy and healthy but just want to come and have a sausage and a chat, they're more than welcome.

But Stevens says it is important for organisations like Mr Perfect to exist for those people who do need to connect.

"There's different support things for different people and men do struggle to talk about their feelings," Stevens says.

"They struggle to live up to the stigma of being perfect - which is where the name comes from, Mr Perfect.

"We're meant to have these strong exteriors and not show emotion and it's an opportunity to sit down and talk, and as hosts, we try and talk about our sort of struggles and issues, and give that opportunity for people if they want to touch on it as well."