If you've landed here, firstly, thank you, and secondly, I hope you take the time to read my story which will hopefully help you understand why I've chosen to support YMCA.

When we are kids we think we know everything, it's only when we become adults and parents ourselves that we realise we knew nothing.

Growing up I was unfortunate to experience two parent break ups, first at the age of 8 and then at the age of 14, both for very different reasons.

From 14-17 my life would change drastically, though it would take me the best part of 25 years to truly come to terms with what happened to me during those years.

You see, growing up without a male influence is hard enough, you lack direction, discipline, a role model and it's no surprise that I ended up going off the rails.

Sadly, that vulnerability was taken advantage of in a major way, by someone in a position of trust, who to this day it baffles me was able to continue in that position for so long, there were rumours and jokes but no one ever did anything about it, and because of that, I became a victim, though that's not a term I associate with myself. Nor is the term 'survivor' so commonly used.

For me, I'm a fighter, I haven't always been but you become one when you experience trauma of that nature. BUT, for 25 years I buried my deepest, darkest secret, sometimes it would surface and come out of me in other ways, never good. Other times, I'd feel shame, guilt, blame and question why I let it happen to me over and again, then buried it once more.

It literally affected everything, though I never really knew it!

It's only with the help, love and support of my incredible family and a charity called Onyx who are part of the wider YMCA Group that I can finally say I'm rid of all of those feelings and feel completely liberated and at ease to share my story.

You see, salvation came from opening up, talking about what happened, working it through and understanding the way people like that act the way they do and why they prey on the vulnerable. Which I was, I didn't think it at the time, I thought I was untouchable, invincible and too street.

Unfortunately, that couldn't have been further from the truth. I was a vulnerable, scared, emotionally lost young boy who was taken advantage of.

Today, the person you speak to, the person you see, the person you occasionally hear from when he's tapping you up for sponsorship money is someone I'm completely proud of. That wouldn't have been possible without the help of the good people involved with YMCA.

I'm telling me story now because I want to help others who may have experienced the same and have never felt able to talk about. To those people, I'd say this; it wasn't your fault, and there is help out there.

When I finished working with Onyx, I made a promise that I would support them as much as I could and for me, the logical way to do that is through a physical challenge, which this time is taking the form of the London Marathon 2025.

If you've got this far, thank you so much for reading and I'd be grateful of a small donation to help me reach my target goal.

Outside of my sponsorship target, if I can help one person, then I've achieved more than any amount of money ever could.

Thank you so much for your support and please feel free to message me/email me/ring me if you'd like. After all, in the words of Bob Hoskins, it's good to talk.