A LOCAL strongman is taking on an epic challenge to raise awareness about men’s mental health.
Mark Kelly, 43, from Otley, started his mental health journey four and a half years ago.
He’s had a tough battle with his mental health and through training, he has found an outlet to channel his emotions.
- Interested in local family events and activities, and want to connect with other local families? Join our new Bradford Families Facebook group
Next Friday, November 25, Mark will be deadlifting a 1,000kg car 107 times in solidarity with over 102,500 men who died by suicide over the past five years.
He said: “I set myself this challenge because I’m so passionate about male mental health and I want to help men open up and speak about their struggles.
“So how we got to this number is by adding the number of male suicide victims, times by the number of years I’ve been struggling with my mental health, and we got 102,500kg.
“But just in case there are any discrepancies in the data or the car weight, I’ll be lifting it 107 times.”
Mark is passionate about the cause and wants to help as many men as possible, to stop them from becoming another statistic.
“I speak with men at the gym, and I ask them about how they’re doing and once you push them a little, they open up and really start speaking.
“It takes up my training time, but I’d rather listen to them and help them get it off their chest than read their obituary in the paper.”
He will be completing the challenge at Club Energy in Otley, under the supervision of his coach AC Fitness and other personal trainers who will be checking to see that Mark is fuelling correctly.
“I told my coach, I don’t need him to hold my hand but if he could check in every now and then, I’ll be fine.”
People can drop by and support Mark while he takes on the challenge and help him raise funds for Men in Need Together, a support group that supports men and helps them through their struggles.
Donations can be made via his JustGiving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/mark-kelly-535
Want Bradford’s top stories delivered straight to your inbox each morning? Sign up to our newsletter to get our daily bulletin.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.
Have you got a story for us? Email newsdesk@telegraphandargus.co.uk or contact us here or call us on 01274 705292.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here