A CARRBROOK man is ready to head towards the top of the world as he looks to help others suffering from mental health problems.
Liam Gray makes no secret of the fact he has had mental health struggles himself after serving in the Army.
And he is using them as the reason why he is looking to raise £20,000 by trekking to the base camp on Mount Everest, which sits at 17,598ft above sea level, as well as awareness of suicide prevention.
That would continue the work Live Great Adventures, which he and wife Jo run, including Men’s Minds Matter session and mental health walk and talks, which often attract more than 100 people and more than 200 joined them on a hike around Dove Stone Reservoir.
It is also raising awareness of the 17 Hugs For 17 Lives campaign, focused around the 17 people a day in the UK who take their own life.
And behind it all is lived experience.
“I’m a survivor myself,” said Liam, of Crowswood Drive, about his own attempt. “A few years ago, I never thought I’d be here now making the moves were doing.
“I couldn’t even see past a 24-hour period.
“When I look back, I’ve got that real sense of duty and a moral obligation. If I can survive something like that, I’ve got to be willing to go back into the darkness and help as many people as I can find their inner light.
“That’s what keeps us going.
“My friend Shaun, who was in the Army with me, passed away after his own battles with mental health and took his life. He was meant to come to our wedding.
“That was a massive shock having spoken to him a couple of days before. Instead of him going to the wedding, we ended up going to his funeral.
“A joint friend who we both served with called Will had come back from Everest Base Camp and had his own hiking group down south.
“He knew what Jo and I were creating and really helped out. He inspired me and we were going to do fundraising for suicide prevention – everything was ready but while he was out hiking with a group but fell and sadly passed away.
“That was a massive knock. There was that state of chaos but I know Will wouldn’t want me to not go. Everest has always been on my bucket list but you think it’ll never happen. He always said, ‘We can make it happen.’
“A lot more important than my personal attachment, though, is the campaign that shows people that 17 people take their own life every day. That’s the message I really want to get out there.
“Society outs pressures on us all as human beings and people are battling do many problems. Some of the things that come out at Men’s Minds Matter are a real eye opener.”
Jo added: “One piece of feedback from the first hike we did was, ‘Today has made me realise my life is worth living.’
“We’d like to provide a stopgap for people where they can come. We find a lot of people don’t get support and end up in a dark place.”
Among the activities Liam and Jo, whose group lives by the slogan Improve Lives, want to keep going is night hikes, which shine a light on mental health issues through walkers’ head torches.
In preparation for the departure to Nepal on March 23, Liam, Jo and a group put themselves through a 29-mile trek around the area on February 29.
But while Carrbrook may have its hills, they are not Everest-style hills – and getting exercise-induced asthma, which led to pneumonia, on a challenge at the south west’s Jurassic Coast makes him aware of the dangers.
Even getting from Kathmandu to the start of his journey sound daunting as former Royal Signal soldier Liam, who has already raised more than £11,000, added: “We’ve got to get the most dangerous flight in the world. It’ a little rickety plane and the runway’s off a cliff!
“I’ve done Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon, the three main ones in Great Britain, as well as the 29-mile march.
“Every day, sometimes three times a day, I’m out there hitting it hard. I’m not going to fail. This is very personal – I’m going to carry the spirit of my friends with me. That’ll motivate me even more.
“Men’s Minds Matter has become a lifeline for some people,” Liam added about the Wednesday night session at Stalybridge’s Academy HQ. “Some of the conversations and work done there has created a real sense of family.
“We’re very much a partnership, I couldn’t do it by myself. Two weeks into our relationship, we were sat with a roll of wallpaper writing down ideas about how we wanted to make a difference in the community.
“I wasn’t feeling great myself. I was newly diagnosed with bipolar and was getting to grips with the challenges that comes with.
“And Jo said, ‘Let’s set a date and make a difference.’ We did that but the day after, Shaun passed.
“We raised a bit of money for his family and things have grown from there. To see the scale of what’s happening now is humbling.
“We went through a lot together – this is my way to give back.”
YOU CAN donate to Liam’s effort by clicking www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/everest-base-camp-suicide-awareness-trek-live-great-adventures-tickets-803566006557 or www.gofundme.com/f/everestbasecamp2024.