Last year I lost a friend too early to cancer and COVID. This year, Max and I are cycling the length of the UK from Lands End in Cornwall up to John O’Groats in the Scottish Highlands (1500km) over the course of 10 days to raise money for the charity that supported Ben throughout, SARCOMA UK. 

Ben was a very special person who I was lucky enough to call a close friend and mentor. We first met through his brother Christiaan who DJ'd at one of my Stevie Wonderland shows in Manchester in 2015 and Ben and I stayed in touch since, ending up with me working for him at CAA. Amongst so many huge life lessons, Ben taught me to make time for everyone, park your ego, be as fair as possible, and to stay positive.

Ben passed in Mexico at the end of 2020 following a long struggle with an uncommon cancer called a sarcoma (or MPNST) which initially infected his back and later his lungs. He was a fighter through and through, however the final blow was dealt by COVID. 

In between Ben’s 2 diagnoses, he signed up to run the London marathon for Sarcoma UK but was not able to. I will be following through on Ben’s promise to Sarcoma UK and raising the money Ben would have raised in his name. Charities have been hit especially hard by covid, and this has been felt even more acutely by already underfunded sarcoma researchers. 

So here’s what we’re doing. Myself and my friend Max are setting off from the furthest south westerly point of the UK (Land’s End) and cycling up to the furthest North Easterly point (John O’Groats). We’ll be averaging 150km per day and climbing 15,000 metres (the equivalent of nearly 2 Everests), along the way burning the same amount of calories as 14 marathons. 

It’s a pretty mad idea, but inspired by Ben I’m sure we’ll pull through. Please give generously!