Growing up in a sporting family, fitness and football became a huge part of who I was from a very young age. I started playing football at six years old and instantly fell in love with the game. Football quickly became more than just a hobby — it became my identity, my escape, and my dream. I dedicated my childhood to the sport, progressing through academies across North Wales, eventually being scouted by Everton, Liverpool, and Wrexham, while also achieving one of the proudest moments of my life by representing Wales at youth level.

From the outside, it looked like I was living the dream. But behind the scenes, I was quietly battling struggles that deeply affected my confidence and mental health for years. At just eight years old, I experienced bullying because I was shy, and the anxiety it caused became so overwhelming that I would pretend to be ill just to avoid training. As I got older, the pressure I placed on myself only grew stronger. I remember being told at ten years old that I wasn’t good enough for the main team at my academy and lying on my bedroom floor in tears, convinced I had failed.

Despite setbacks, I worked relentlessly to prove myself. I earned trials with Everton and Liverpool and later signed for Wrexham, where I achieved my dream of becoming a full-time football scholar at 16. I truly believed everything I had worked for was finally becoming reality. But during those years, constant pressure, criticism, and fear of failure slowly destroyed my confidence. Football — the thing I had loved more than anything in the world — became something I feared. I would cry before training, overthink every mistake, and completely lose belief in myself.

When I wasn’t offered a professional contract, I felt completely broken. Football had been my identity for so long that losing it felt like losing myself. My mental health deteriorated badly and I came dangerously close to ending my life. Thankfully, with support from my family, my GP, and a psychologist, I slowly began rebuilding myself through fitness, mindset work, and running.

Running gave me something I thought I had lost forever — hope. It gave me purpose again during the darkest period of my life. Every mile became part of my healing process, both mentally and physically. Completing the London Marathon in 3:23:37 became one of the most emotional moments of my life because it symbolised resilience, recovery, and finding myself again.

Now, I am running the Sydney Marathon 2026 for Sport in Mind, with a goal of raising £2,500. Sport in Mind’s mission resonates deeply with me because I know first-hand how powerful sport can be for mental health. Sport once became the source of my struggles, but it also became one of the biggest reasons I survived and recovered.

This marathon is about so much more than running for me. It’s about using my story to help others who may be struggling silently, raising awareness around mental health, and showing people that no matter how dark life may feel, things can get better with support and hope. Any donation, no matter how small, would mean the world to me and help Sport in Mind continue their incredible work supporting people through sport and physical activity.