Mental illness - including depression, anxiety and bipolar - is something that runs in my family. I have seen close ones suffer from a young age and quickly learnt the importance of mental health. It became even more apparent to me when a local high school experienced several student suicides in a short amount of time.

My personal experience began in my early teens experiencing depression and social anxiety, which led to binge drinking. Bad habits started spiralling and it wasn’t until I started boxing that I gained some self-confidence and began to better myself. I can’t express how much my sport has helped me mentally.

The depression returned in 2017 when I badly broke my leg and was housebound for three months. Missing trips, selections and mostly not being able to train really put me in a bad place. It was then that I spoke to a professional and began working on my wellbeing. Sometimes you don’t realise how bad a place you are in until you open up about it.

I have had close friends have breakdowns - some so bad that I have driven them to hospital. Hearing from someone you care about say they don’t want to live or they have nothing to live for is heartbreaking. All I want to do is help and that’s why this position stood out to me so much.