Rob's Story
Rob Brady, Canterbury, Kent
Elite Performance Coach at Iceberg Digital
Why did you apply to be a Baton Bearer?
Because I know what it feels like to lose someone you love to silence. I applied to carry the Baton of Hope in memory of Chris and for everyone who felt they couldn’t say what they were really going through. Chris was my best friend, the life and soul of the party, the friendly face that everyone knew - although looking back now, I always felt there was something not right and only if I had the awareness I had today our conversations would have been different… it would of started with how are you ‘really’ mate? So for those who keep saying I’m fine when they’re anything but. I’ve made it my mission to challenge that word and to remove it from the script we’ve been handed, to replace it with honesty and connection. I’ve spoken on stages about banning fine from society - not for drama but because the cost of pretending is too high. I believe the baton can spark conversations that save lives and I want to be part of that ripple, not in theory but in action.
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Who and what will you be thinking about when you carry the baton on 22 September?
Chris. Every step I take will be with him in mind. I’ll carry the baton for the conversations we never had and the ones I now have in his honour. I’ll be thinking about all the people I’ve spoken to over the years, at schools, in businesses, on podcasts who’ve told me they’re struggling but didn’t know where to turn. I’ll think of the charities doing the gritty, quiet, essential work in our communities. I’ll carry them all with me.
What is your biggest hope for the 2025 Baton of Hope Tour?
That it cracks the surface of silence in every corner of this country. Awareness matters but what we need now is change at the roots. I want the baton to reach not just policy makers but parents, coaches, teachers, teammates and managers. The ones who can create safer spaces and kinder cultures. I want it to reach the person who’s never told anyone how they really feel and give them the strength to take that first step. That’s what matters most to me. The first step. In everything. That small shift, that moment of bravery, can be the most powerful turning point in someone’s life. If this tour helps just one person to take it, then it’s done its job as they will become the beacon of hope for the next person.
When you lost hope, what inspired you to keep fighting?
Losing Chris shattered something in me. It wasn't just grief, it was this deep, aching guilt that I hadn’t seen it, hadn’t known how much he was hurting. His death pulled the rug out from under me and for a while, I didn’t know how to stand again. But, over time I realised I could either let that loss close me down or use it to open something up. I chose the latter. I knew I couldn’t bring him back but I could make sure fewer people felt as alone as he did.
There was no lightning bolt, just small, powerful choices. Putting one foot in front of the other and going for a run. Throwing myself into freezing water just to feel something again. Saying out loud ‘I’m not okay’ and learning that was a strength, not a weakness.
Then my partner Kel came into my life. She saw me, really saw me and chose to stand beside me. Then with my twins Ted and Erin arriving, everything shifted again. They didn’t just give me something to live for, they gave me a reason to fight louder, to love harder and to never stay silent again. In their eyes, I saw the future. A future where conversations about mental health aren’t hidden behind closed doors, where the word ‘fine’ doesn’t mask pain.
Chris’s absence will always be with me but so will his impact. It’s what drives me to be a better man, a better father and a voice for change. His loss gave me a mission and my family gave me the strength to carry it forward.
What advice would you give to someone who feels they are in a dark place and have lost hope?
Please don’t keep it to yourself. You do not have to walk through this alone. Tell someone. Even if it’s messy or doesn’t make sense. The moment you say, ‘I’m struggling’, is the moment the darkness starts to lose its grip and if you don’t know what to say, say anything. Say, ‘I don’t know what to do’, because that’s real. That’s human and that’s the beginning of getting support. There are people who want you to stay, even if you can’t feel it right now. Borrow their belief until yours returns. You are not broken. You are not beyond help. You are here, and that’s enough for today.
Do you think there is still a stigma around poor mental health, including suicide, that makes people reluctant to reach out?
Without a doubt. The stigma hasn’t disappeared, it’s just changed shape. For many, especially men, there’s still shame in admitting vulnerability. There’s still this pressure to perform strength, to keep things moving and to not be a burden. That’s why I speak out on social media, on podcasts, on stages, in schools and in businesses. I’ve sat on judging panels for the Kent Mental Wellbeing Awards. I’ve won awards for the work I’ve done but none of that matters more than the moment someone messages me after a talk to say: ‘Thank you, I finally opened up’. That’s the real impact. That’s how we start to dismantle the stigma - by showing up and speaking up.
How are you working to use your lived experience to help others?
My ideology is to help one person a day, whether that through my profession or person life. They’re the same to me. Through every talk, every run, every conversation. I’ve run marathons, ultras and 100km through the night, not for medals but to raise money for grassroots mental health charities such as Keep Talking Services and East Kent Mind, who are keeping people alive when no one else sees them. I share my story publicly because I know the power of hearing someone say ‘Me too.’ I’ve spoken in schools to reach young people before the world teaches them to hide. I’ve worked with charities to amplify their message as I believe in community-led action in meeting people where they are. In creating the kind of environments where it’s safe to be real. I want to be a beacon, a lighthouse in someone’s storm because I’ve been there and I know that one light can change everything.
Alex's Story
Alex richardson, herne bay
Founder and CEO, Keep Talking Services
Registered Mental Health Nurse​
Why did you apply to be a Baton Bearer?
I applied to be a Baton bearer for a variety of reasons, but the main theme was that I am passionate about all things mental health. From a 12-year career in acute and community mental health services, to qualifying as a mental health nurse, to setting up my own charity, I want to put everything that I am into helping others. My career has held some of the greatest, most amazing times of my entire life. But it has also birthed some of the toughest. With 16 people professionally lost to suicide and an additional 2 friends. I have seen firsthand the damage a suicide can bring to one's life.
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Who and what will you be thinking about when you carry the baton on 22 September?
I will be thinking about the fallen 16. But not only that. I will be thinking about the 100’s of clients I have within our charity that battle these thoughts on a daily basis. These people, though fallen, will be carried through the community and live on through me and my work. It is due to people such as this that I am everything I am today, and why I am committed to creating change across my local community and one day, the UK.
What is your biggest hope for the 2025 Baton of Hope Tour?
The Baton of Hope Tour inspires change. But it is all about lasting change. I do not want this to be alive for the tour and then diminish when it ends. I want this to raise a robust awareness that creates ripples through our community. Those ripples paving way to a new way, an enhanced awareness, but most importantly, I hope things like this will attack the stat and create a reduction in our current suicides.
When you lost hope, what inspired you to keep fighting?
I have worked with countless individuals who are experiencing a mental health crisis due to losing a loved one to suicide. I have worked with individuals who have buried their children. Being a father of 2 boys inspires me every day to keep fighting and also to keep talking. I can not and will not allow my children to grow up in a world filled with such pain. I will put everything that I can into this to do all I can to create that change. My eldest’s understanding of my work is that “daddy helps people with poorly heads smile.” That is why I walk out of that door with pride, and that is why I keep fighting.
What advice would you give to someone who feels they are in a dark place and have lost hope?
If you are in that dark place, if you feel you are in a hole with no way out, then please, reach out to someone. Ask them what size wellies they are. I assure you, when people closest to you find out where you are, some individuals will not hesitate and will jump straight in there with you. You are not alone. It may feel like it, but if you reach out, if you keep talking, you will gain allies that can help you fight this. We talk about support networks, but there are so many different types (Your partner, your family, your GP, your friends), each with their own set of uniqueness that they can bring something to your table. More minds are better than one. Reach out, acknowledge that you are falling, so that people can catch you. So that people can help you stand again.
Do you think there is still a stigma around poor mental health, including suicide, that makes people reluctant to reach out?
I do think there remains a stigma, but one of the things that concerns and upsets me is that there are many services out there that will not work with people with suicidal ideations. They will say items such as “too high risk” or “too complex,” and we sometimes forget that this person is a person and they are not defined by a diagnosis or thoughts. Sometimes I think we need to consider that, if we can work with this individual, if we can make this person feel less alone, we can potentially stop these ideations, and we can instill hope. While I am aware that safety is always a priority for good reasons, I just feel that we need to look at a person as a whole. Person-centred practice for the win every single time.
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How are you working to use your lived experience to help others?
I feel that because of my understanding. My own experience of personal loss allows me to be right there alongside someone as opposed to merely looking down in the hole with sympathy. Lived experience is well-researched as being effective in the provision of care, and although it is not everything, it matters.
Though I have seen pain regularly for my entire 12-year career in mental health, I am incredibly proud to be doing what I am doing. I am proud to Keep Talking.