15th July 2019 

A pivotal day for every single person who knew and loved Conn.

My brother, Connor, was one of the most incredible people I’ve ever been fortunate enough to have step foot in my life. He was courageous, resilient, funny, but above all else, he was caring. As much as he did have his flaws like every human being, he would do absolutely anything for all of those he loved. I idolised him growing up and spending each and every passing day together, and I can say hand on heart that I wouldn’t be the man I am today without the lessons he taught me and the extensive impact he had on me throughout my childhood - and I think I speak on behalf of most people that are lucky enough to have met Conn when I say that. 

Conn had a long history and struggle with mental health issues growing up, especially thoughout his teenage years. What we ignorantly put down as bad behaviour at the early stages was actually Connor struggling with his own mental health. I can only imagine how he must’ve felt - tired, confused, anxious. I guess I’ll never know for sure. We tried so hard as a family to try and support Conn wherever we could. 

On the 15th July 2019, our world got turned upside down.  I woke up on that Monday morning with the worst news I could possibly hear - Connor had taken his own life in the early hours of the morning. 

For a while, I really struggled to visualise and action how we as a family could turn such a tragic event into something positive, for some of us it was near enough impossible. What I knew for sure, is that I never EVER want to see someone go through what my brother had to go through ever again.

I’ve always tried to be a forward thinker, and although we can’t change what happened to Connor, we can definitely try our hardest to carve a better future for everyone else experiencing mental health issues. Just because one life has been lost, it doesn’t mean so many more can’t be saved.

And that’s exactly why we have chosen to raise funds for the Mental Health Foundation. Their unyielding core value of prevention of mental health issues sits really personally with my own values and beliefs - if we can get talking about mental health, and start to build bridges of understanding between each other instead of condemning and criticising, we may stand a chance as people to start breaking the social stigma that has been ingrained into our society for centuries and build a better future. Maybe with time, we can start to build on these foundations, and ensure that we can uphold Conn’s legacy by ensuring our loved ones don’t ever have to go through what Conn did.

We will never stop until everyone gets the help and support that they need and truly deserve. ❤️