The route for Kent's leg of the Baton of Hope has been unveiled

KentOnline / KMTV

More than a 130 Kent residents applied to carry the campaign's Olympic-torch style baton when it passes through Kent in September, visiting landmarks such as Canterbury Cathedral and Margate's Dreamland.  Rob Brady from Canterbury who will be one of those baton bearers joined us on The Kent Morning show.

Transcript

00:00In 2016, I lost my best friend to suicide.

00:04At the time, I was going through my own mental health problems,

00:07and so was he, but we didn't talk together as best friends.

00:10So there was almost like a...

00:12There was something that I now look back on,

00:14there was like an unspoken set of language that we didn't discuss.

00:18So in the sort of passing of his death,

00:23I set on a new journey of going to sort out my own mental health.

00:27So in effect, like losing him saved me, effectively.

00:32It's an incredibly touching story, Rob.

00:34Good morning to you. It's Abby here.

00:36Thank you so much for joining us today.

00:38Such an important message because it mirrors a lot of what other people share

00:42when they've lost somebody so close to them

00:44that if only they had perhaps opened up more, if only they had talked.

00:47And it sadly seems to only be when we lose somebody

00:51that we realise that we can sort of open up and talk.

00:54Has it changed the way you've lived since

00:57and the way you talk to other people?

01:00Yeah, I think a lot of actually people said

01:02Rob 2016 to Rob today is two separate people.

01:08I'm very much more open about my mental health.

01:11I'm not scared about even crying.

01:12It's got me into a new state of fitness.

01:16I've literally got away from having, being unfit, unhealthy,

01:21heavily drinking, heavily smoking, sleeping three, four hours a night

01:25to now, you know, yesterday I was running a 15-mile race.

01:28I'm about to run a 50K race for a mental health charity locally.

01:31So an evolution of just opening up opens up that new person.

01:37You have new layers to unfold and unpack.

01:39And obviously that leads you to discovering new things about yourself.

01:43And Rob, we know that you are a big advocate for mental health awareness

01:47as well as sporting activities.

01:49We can see those medals behind you there.

01:51So it seemed to marry up quite naturally

01:54that you would go for the Baton of Hope.

01:57Yeah, 100%.

01:58I mean, the Baton of Hope is a massive...

02:02So what I loved about the Baton of Hope is actually

02:03it's a proper symbolic thing that's happening.

02:06It's actually visual.

02:07People can turn out for it.

02:10It opens up conversations around it as well.

02:12Just, you know, someone walking down a high street in Canterbury.

02:15What's that?

02:16And then they obviously...

02:17The discussions happen and they talk about it.

02:19And then you always find that that second layer of conversation

02:23always opens up talking about either someone talking about,

02:25actually, I've been struggling recently,

02:26or I lost someone.

02:28And that then opens up another conversation

02:30around what was that meaning for it.

02:31So very much so, it...

02:35You know, their view is to try...

02:37Their vision is to try and net suicide.

02:39We've got 6,000 average in the UK happening.

02:43You know, under 35 is the biggest killer

02:46of under 35 at the moment.

02:47Biggest killer under men of 50.

02:49So it's, you know...

02:53If you think about it as a...

02:54It's almost like a disease in aspects.

02:56We need to try and work out how we treat this and prevent it.

02:59Yeah.

03:00And looking at the accolades behind you,

03:02all those medals and all the experience you have

03:05running just 15-odd...

03:06What was it?

03:0615 miles yesterday, 50K soon as well.

03:10This clearly isn't about the physical challenge for you.

03:12How will the baton of hope test you mentally?

03:17See, I've always said, I've never been a runner.

03:20I've never really been that fitness person.

03:22So I actually hate running, despite, you know, doing running.

03:27And it's always been a...

03:29It's been a test of my mindset.

03:31But I've always said it's the first step out the front door.

03:34Like, I do cold water therapy.

03:36I'm day 848 doing cold water therapy outside.

03:39It's always a step...

03:40Jump into the cold pod that does the thing.

03:42So the baton of hope, even though it is a smaller walk-in event,

03:46that doesn't change anything.

03:48That's, you know, that means, you know, it's that first step.

03:51And I always say the first step is always with Chris in my heart.

03:55Absolutely.

03:56And, I mean, there was more than 130 other people here in Kent

04:00that applied to become baton bearers, you know, alongside yourself.

04:04Does that kind of make you feel that, you know,

04:06130 other people who are all kind of joining part of this conversation,

04:10that there is that, you know,

04:12community there who are willing to talk about mental health

04:15and suicide prevention?

04:17Or do you still think that there is, you know,

04:19waves more that can be done?

04:20I think there's...

04:24So I'm a...

04:26I won a Kent Mental Wellbeing Awards a few years back,

04:30and I've actually become a, like, an awards judge.

04:35And behind the scenes, you see a lot of the amount of hard work

04:38that goes into the Kent area.

04:39All the unspoken heroes that actually, at those awards ceremonies,

04:42we can actually, you know, put on a stage and say,

04:44thank you very much for your services.

04:47And some of those people are actually, I know, are baton bearers,

04:50and I know that they are equally walking with a passion

04:52towards mental health.

04:54I do think that we need to have a lot more discussions

04:59around the prevention measures to it.

05:01So rather than just being the after four,

05:03about what happens on that crisis line,

05:05what can we do in our schools and in our workplaces

05:07that can actually improve those conversations

05:10that should be happening?

05:11Yeah, Rob, I imagine all the people around you,

05:14all your loved ones, are so impressed.

05:15As you said, you're a different man

05:17to that 2016 version of yourself.

05:19And I'm thinking if Chris is looking at you now,

05:22if he knew what you were taking on in his memory,

05:25what do you think he'd say?

05:28Oh, you're going to check me up now?

05:32I don't know.

05:32Just...

05:33I always look back and think,

05:36I wish I'd just had that one conversation with him.

05:38And I think if I just sat down with Rob now and him there,

05:44I think things could have been a little bit different.

05:46So I can't change that,

05:48but I can only change the direction

05:49I put myself forward in that grief.

05:50I'll see you next time.

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