Meet the Mancunian - Talking mental health, suicide prevention and supporting veterans with Andy Schofield

Meet the Mancunian -Andy Schofield – Season 6, Episode 1 Transcript

Intro

Hello, and a warm Mancunian welcome to all my incredible listeners out there. I'm Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe, your friendly host and you've just tuned into the sixth season of the Meet the Mancunian podcast. This podcast is a celebration of the unsung heroes, the change makers, and the passionate souls who are making a real difference in our vibrant city. From social enterprises to non-profits and community groups, I bring you the voices of worker bees, and volunteers all coming together for a common cause.

Through heartfelt conversations, my guests share their experiences, dreams, and unwavering commitment to making a difference. From the challenges they've overcome to the triumphs that fuel their passion, their stories will leave you moved, enlightened and brimming with hope.

Join me on this audio adventure as my guests and I explore the transformative power of collective action and the remarkable impact we can create when we unite for a common cause. Their tales are a testament to the power of community, collaboration and the indomitable Mancunian spirit. They not only address pressing issues right here in Manchester, but also offer insights and inspiration that resonate far beyond these boundaries.

So whether you're commuting, on a run or just relaxing at home, I invite you to tune in on Apple, Spotify, Google, or any of your favourite podcasting platforms. You can also log on to my website www.meetthemancunian.co.uk

Let's embark on this journey of discovery and inspiration. For my new listeners, you can catch up on the incredible stories from the first five seasons at www.meetthemancunian.co.uk, where you'll also find out more about my own journey as a podcaster. And to all my returning listeners. I can't thank you enough for your support. You make this podcast possible, and I'm immensely grateful.

So, join me as I continue to share these inspiring tales of change and community support from the beating heart of Manchester. Together we can spread a bit of good news, spark some meaningful conversations, and inspire positive action. Thank you for being a part of the Meet the Mancunian community.

Welcome to the first episode of Season Six of the Meet the Mancunian podcast: social impact stories from Manchester.

Passionate about supporting injured veterans, we hear from Andy Schofield, fundraiser and enthusiast, Walking with the Wounded in this episode.

Episode 1

[00:02:44] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I am delighted to introduce my guest, Andy Schofield, fundraiser and enthusiast, Walking with the Wounded. Thank you so much, Andy, for taking the time.

[00:02:53] Andy Schofield: Deepa, thanks for having me on. It's an honour. Great to chat with you.

[00:02:57] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Looking forward to hearing about your passion. And so tell us about how you found your passion for supporting mental health.

[00:03:03] Andy Schofield: I think it's through lived and personal experience. You know, back in 2019 I, I really struggled with my mental health personally. I was in the military for six years. I left, found the transition fairly smooth. A lot of people do struggle with that transition back in, into ‘civvie’ life as we call it in the army.

But I was quite fortunate that I didn't really struggle to fit back into normal or civilian society. But my personal journey with mental health, it all stemmed from essentially not having the tools or the capability to deal with traumatic events and things just built up internally and manifested themselves in depression, anxiety.

Before I started struggling with my mental health personally, I was a director for a recruitment company. Just had my first child, my daughter. Things were going well workwise. I was in a loving, committed relationship. I was going to the gym five times a week. I was playing rugby, I was playing football, loads of friends and a big social group. So, you'd think on paper that I had quite a nice life, quite an idyllic life, and people do have it way worse off than I had it. But because of those accumulation of traumatic events from childhood and throughout my life, I just didn't have the tools or capability to deal with them.

And as I said, it felt like it came from nowhere and all of a sudden, I was struggling to find joy in anything at all. It got to the point where, I was probably a couple of days away from taking my own life.

I moved out of the family home, I struggled to get out of bed most days. Stopped training, stopped playing rugby, cut myself off, and isolated myself and withdrew from everybody. And really struggled for quite a while.

And it was just a chance conversation with my brother who opened up to me and told me that he'd actually been struggling recently as well with his mental health. And that was such a relief for me, just hearing him say that because I didn't feel isolated. I didn't feel alone. And it just kickstarted my recovery and the burning desire to get better and be there for my daughter, be there for the people in my life.

It was quite a pivotal moment I think in my life, and it changed me forever going through that journey. And I remember when I was going through therapy and coming out the other side and getting out of that valley of despair.

I just had this burning passion, this voice inside just driving me to go, look, if you could help one person get out of that situation that you were in, get out of that struggle. Show them that there is a path, no matter how low they're feeling, no matter what they're going through at the moment, no matter how down and what they've been through in their life, there is a way that you can get out of it, and you can get better.

And it lit a fire in me to try and help as many people as they can really, and not just help people, also raise that awareness as well about mental health and what it is genuinely like going through those struggles and you as an individual may not go through them, but you may have people in your circle and your friends in your life that will, or that may.

What my passion was, yes, to help people, but also just get people to open up a little bit more, have more than a surface level conversation with people. Genuinely connect and tell people about how you're feeling and why you may be feeling that way?

Just in the hope that it reduces stigma around mental health. And also reduces the rate in which people are killing themselves, which I don't know if you know the figures or looked at the figures, but it's jarring, to see. My focus is trying to connect with that male audience and get them to open up more.

Because I think, not everybody, but generally, women and their friendship groups and their social groups are much more dynamic than men. And I think they find it much easier to open up and have those real deep conversations. Whereas men, it's a lot more surface. We don't want to be a burden to anybody. We think we can fix it ourselves. I feel like we just don't know how to have those conversations. So, I wanted to bare my soul and tell my story by doing this challenge in the hopes that it's helps somebody else and starts them on their journey to recovery.

[00:06:44] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thanks so much for sharing that. Actually, a couple of our guests have discussed this, both guests working in the mental health space as well as teen suicide prevention. There's a charity called Three Dads Walking, which raises awareness for young people who take their lives.

[00:07:00] Andy Schofield: That was Papyrus. I did a 15,000 foot skydive for Papyrus to, again, raise that, because if you look at the stats, the biggest killer of men and women under the age of 35 is suicide. The biggest killer of men under the age of fifty is suicide. It's a huge problem.

I think 6,000 men across England and Wales every year take their own lives so it's a huge issue and it's a systemic issue that I feel just isn't really being addressed. Or there isn't the awareness, the funding to help combat it. And I think those figures are high now.

But if you look at the social economic climate at the moment, you look at the cost of living debts rising, I feel like these figures are just going to increase, and I feel like we need to, not just rely on the government to do something, but just, as people, as humans that live in communities, that have friendships, that have relationships.

It's just being more open and honest and direct with people, that you're comfortable with, that you trust, that you can have those conversations because I think relying on the government to step in and try and do something, to combat this issue. I feel like we'll be waiting for a long time.

I feel like individuals need to kind of get some personal sovereignty and, identify these issues maybe within themselves and how they're feeling, and actively try and reach out. And it's easy for me to say that sat here now chatting to you, having gone through that painful journey. But when I was going through that, the last thing on my mind was to talk to somebody about it. So, I just want to try and get that message out there that it's not a weakness to be vulnerable, and it's not a weakness to open up and talk. It's actually a strength.

[00:08:30] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Absolutely, and I think it teaches you resilience because it's a very important thing that now people are starting to discuss and acknowledge and show empathy and understanding, but like you said, there's a lot more work to be done and perhaps there is something to be said about, different demographics like males or young people or others, or even women or, people of other affinities who need the support and we just need to have these open conversations and say, I'm there for you.

[00:08:59] Andy Schofield: Well, mental health doesn't discriminate, doesn't care what gender you are, doesn't care what race you are, doesn't care what background you are, what you know, where you started in life, where you are in life, it doesn't discriminate.

And it's only because how I was before going through this struggle and this journey. I had a stigma about mental health. I didn't understand it. I just thought people were weak or, how can you, what's wrong with you? Just, crack on, carry on. You'll be fine.

The message I'm trying to probably convey is probably to the old me is say, look, if you would've done this, then actually you might not have had to go through what you went through. But on that as well, I think I wouldn't change it either, if that makes sense in a weird way, because I feel like it's made me a more well-rounded individual going through it, which I know it's probably a weird way to look at it, but it's made me way more empathetic, sympathetic, understanding.

I'm a lot calmer, I'm a lot more resilient. I look back and think, wow, I was at the lowest point a human could be. I was days away from taking my own life. And, I had my suicide note written out in my head. I knew exactly what I was going to write and what I was going to say, so I was at the real lowest that anybody could be at.

I just want to hopefully show or be a lighthouse for people and say, look, you can get through it. It doesn't matter where you're from, who you are, how old you are, what you know, what your background is, we're all in it together essentially.

We're all a community, we're all humans. If we can help each other through these difficult times, I think we'll be a much stronger society for it.

[00:10:15] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Absolutely. And that brings us very well to how you've taken your difficulty and your challenging period, turn that around and you're trying to, like you said, be a beacon of good hope.

Tell us about how you got involved with Walking with the Wounded and what exactly Walking with the Wounded does, please.

[00:10:32] Andy Schofield: Absolutely. Walking with the Wounded is a veteran charity, what makes them maybe slightly different is they offer a full wraparound service. So it doesn't matter how you're injured, or even if you are injured, it doesn't matter. It's about looking after that community that have served. It's giving back to those people and helping them get through difficult times.

Walking with the Wounded, they're absolutely fantastic. They offer full wraparound service, they help veterans get back into work. They help veterans stay in work. They've got a program called OP Courage where they will take veterans through therapy and help with any mental health issues that they may be dealing with, but also physical issues as well. It's a full wraparound service and it's just a genuinely fantastic charity.

I've met so many people from the charity now, and I couldn't say a bad word about anybody. The work they do is needed. They've been established for a little while now, and they're tremendous.

I got involved with them because I actually signed up for the CEO Sleepout, in November last year at the old Trafford cricket ground. So basically you give up your bed, your home comforts for an evening. So you can kind of empathise with what it's like to sleep rough and live rough.

And again, raising that awareness piece around that. And if you look at homelessness, you know, a lot of the issues around homelessness more likely stem from mental health issues that haven't been addressed or dealt with. So, it all kind of links together. So that's how I met Walking with the Wounded.

I met Joel Roxbury, one of the directors there and essentially had this idea. I work at Michael Page. It's a global recruitment company. They've got offices all over the UK all over the world, but they've got an office in Manchester and in London. So, when I was going through my interview process before starting with the business, I made it very clear that a big passion of mine is raising money for charities.

And they've got a charity board that the business raises money for every year. I went to the committee and said, look, I've got an idea. It sounds like it's impossible. But I wanted to walk from the Manchester office to the London office, and I wanted to do it in three days.

Obviously not much thought went into it for me, but I just basically extrapolated from a previous charity challenge that I did where I walked the South Downs Way, which if people don't know, it's a hundred-mile trail across the south coast. It's beautiful. It's amazing. If anyone ever gets a chance to do it, definitely do it. But I did that in 48 hours, so a hundred miles, 48 hours, so I just extrapolated from that, right?

If I walk, six kilometres an hour for 20 hours, sleep for four, do that three times. I could complete this challenge. But the idea just kept growing in my mind and I thought, right. Who can I take this to and what can we do with it? And I met Walking with the Wounded through the CEO sleep out. And a couple weeks after that, I called Joel Oxberry.

And again, I said, look, I've got this idea. It sounds crazy, but this is what, I'll do. Well, walk from London to Manchester? Again, I was still sticking with the three days at that point, and I want to make it a physical representation of a mental health journey. So, take the ego out of it.

I want to make it as difficult as I possibly can to show people what it is like physically, as a representation to go through a mental health struggle. So London to Manchester, it was a 350 kilometre route. Which is about 222 miles, and my plan was right. I'm going to make it as difficult as I can, so carry all my kit and equipment, sleep rough, in a tent. Carry all my food with water, do it solo.

To show that, going through a mental health journey is physically, mentally demanding, straining. It's very isolating. You feel like it's insurmountable. It feels like you can never overcome it or get through it. So that was the birth, the idea of doing this challenge to raise that money and awareness.

It just kind of snowballed. When I actually did the challenge, it was December just gone. I started on the fifth, which is the Monday at the Cenotaph in London, finishing at the Cenotaph in Manchester on Friday the ninth. And that week was the coldest week of the year as well. So not only did I make it as difficult as I could, the British weather chipped in and helped me out as well.

[00:14:18] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Wow, that must have been some experience. Tell us a little more about this challenge. I'm sure it was fairly physically challenging and mentally challenging. Did you have any support? Did you meet any interesting people on the way?

[00:14:32] Andy Schofield: Absolutely. Luckily, we had a support team from a company called Challenge the Wild. Again, veterans and veteran business run by a veteran. People that work tend to be veterans as well and essentially put together these challenges, and basically do all the logistics and support and also they helped me develop my training program leading up to it as well.

So, I have to say a shout out to Dan Searson and Paul Johnson. They're the two chaps that I worked really closely with, really good friends from Challenge the Wild, and a chap called Toby Townsend, who operates a company called Buzz Drones, he did all the content. Without those guys, I would not have got through that walk.

Five months previous to starting the walk we put a training program. So, every night I'd finish work. Working recruitment, its long days, 10, 12 hour days. I'd go to the gym, do strength training to make sure my body was getting in good condition, and I could carry the weight, because the weight was around 25 kilos that I'd be carrying so condition myself. Then every evening after the gym, I'd put a backpack on, put a load of weight in it and just do a 10 K every night.

So every weekday, five days a week in the gym, and then a 10 K weighted walk. And then every weekend, Saturday and Sunday, I would do between 30 and 50 K, Saturday, 30 and 50 k Sunday for five months. So that way it was quite an undertaking because I knew how difficult it was going to be.

But I've always been quite in shape. Train, gym, rugby, sport, et cetera. So, I've always had a good base level of fitness, so I knew the fitness side of it wouldn't be an issue for me. It was preparing myself mentally for it, what I'd have to go through, I had to go through some real dark places in my mind and being on your own for that long.

Actually at first, I was really worried about it when I was going through the training and, I'd get up at 5:00 AM on a Saturday, walk for 12 hours, and, being on your own for that long scared me a little bit. But actually I became really good friends with myself going through the training and that real positive self-talk and positive affirmations and just found little nuggets that would get me through. But also, I would use the fuel from what I had been through and what I'd gone through and use that to push me forward to go, look where you were and look where you are. Come on, this is just a walk. You can do this.

But the reason I had to train so much is because trying to complete 350 kilometres in five days. That's 70, 80 kilometres every day. So it's essentially equivalent to an ultra-marathon every day for five days. So, I had to get me body prepped for it, make sure my feet were prepped and, they could handle it.

But like I said, a lot of it as well was preparing myself mentally and I really committed to it. I don't think I've ever committed to anything more in my life than I committed to training for this walk, because I knew that if I could complete it, hopefully, it would just raise awareness and help people, and show people that in spite of what you're going through, you can get through it and you can actually use this real dark time in your life to fuel yourself forward and drive you forward.

And actually, you might be able to achieve things that you wouldn't have achieved if you didn't go through that. So, try and reframe it and see it not as a positive, because it's not a positive, but just see it as something other than almost an affliction.

[00:17:31] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I like that very much, and I like the bit that you became friends with yourself over that training period, and presumably the journey as well.

What would you say is the impact that you were able to make through this journey?

[00:17:43] Andy Schofield: Honestly, I'm quite a humble man. I'm from a working-class background, I try to not take myself too seriously, and the outreach and the response was overwhelming, I'll be honest, in an amazing way.

People were leaving messages on my donation page just saying that they've been through something similar. And actually, hearing somebody talk about it normalised it as well and made them feel kind of more at peace with things and people just reaching out, saying, thank you for putting yourself through it.

What you put yourself through physically and mentally to try and raise this awareness and get rid of that stigma that that does hang over mental health. Honestly, the response was incredible. Even people really close to me, a lot of people didn't have any idea what was going through.

So they were hearing the story for the first time and whilst I was training for it, unfortunately, one of my friends that I played rugby with for over a decade, a chap called Lloyd, he unfortunately took his own life whilst I was training to do this walk to try and stop people doing that.

It's one of those things. A lot of people do go through it and more and more people know somebody that have unfortunately taken their own life. But again, it just kind of reaffirmed how important it was to do it and get the message out there.

And, losing him. And I went to the rugby club and did a talk and I told my story again just in the hope that it would make people open up and it had an instant response. As soon as I told my story, there's a few tears. Because again, I've known these men for half my life, they had no idea that I was going through that.

Because I was always the life and soul of the party. So, they had no idea. Instantly people that I wouldn't have thought were struggling started to open up saying that they were struggling and what they were feeling. And also they had friends that were going through something similar.

Again, I think what humanised the process was the commonality between everybody's experience, regardless, of background. People were going through and feeling the exact same that I was feeling, and it was just like, wow, we're so connected and we're so similar. But you know, if you look on social media, you look at the news, you'd think that we're not.

The real humbling thing for me was the commonality between people's experiences. They were all so similar nuanced and different in their own ways. But there's a kind of golden thread that ran through everybody's experience and it was that almost feeling of shame for the way they were feeling and not understanding why they were feeling and how to get through it. That was the common theme.

[00:19:53] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you for sharing that and I'm so glad you were able to reach out to so many people and I remember reading about it and definitely it was very impactful.

Are there other charities or, organisations you want to talk about that you're supporting?

[00:20:08] Andy Schofield: I think actively at the moment it's probably just Walking with the Wounded. And as I said, I've done other charity events. I've done a 15,000 foot skydive for Papyrus. I'm petrified of heights. If I get on the second rung of a ladder to change a light bulb, I'm shaking.

So again, it was pushing myself out of my comfort zone to show people that they can do the same. So I did that. I've done quite a few 10 Ks, half marathons for like Sport Relief as well. Obviously, a couple of other veteran charities.

One of the reasons I did the South's way is because unfortunately when I was out in Afghanistan one of comrades and friend was unfortunately killed by the people that we were trying to help essentially. He had a girlfriend, a family that were just left. Excuse me, I can't remember the name of the charity, but essentially what they do is their sole focus was to help bereaved families of people that died whilst in Afghanistan. So, we did the South Down's way in his memory to raise money for those charities that supported his family whilst they were going through their difficult time as well.

[00:21:03] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Well, that's really good that you could help your friends family. I'm so sorry about that as well.

How can interested people reach out to you and learn more? And you can give out your website as well as that of Walking with the Wounded.

[00:21:15] Andy Schofield: Sure. The walk that I did it was the flagship for an annual charity event that Walking with the Wounded do, which is called Walking Home for Christmas. Where you don't have to do what I did because you know who would want to do that.

Just as much as you want to walk, it can be a kilometre, doesn't have to be long, but it's all about raising money for that charity. And so, every year they do Walking home for Christmas. If you do want to get involved with any of the events that they run, they run events throughout the year, just go to their website. It's www.walkingwiththewounded.com.

If anybody wants to reach out, they can find me on LinkedIn. On LinkedIn it's Andy Scofield. I've tried to systematically go back to everybody that reached out to me when I was doing the challenge and thank them and their contributions. But happy to have a chat with anybody, even if they're not struggling. I'm more than happy to meet up for a beer and help anybody that I can.

[00:22:01] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you for sharing that and absolutely will include both your LinkedIn and the Walking with the Wounded page in the show notes of the episode so people can find it easily and hopefully they'll get in touch.

[00:22:12] Andy Schofield: Thank you.

[00:22:13] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: What advice would you have for people looking to start a similar movement in their local community, in the UK or anywhere in the world? If they want to do something for mental health awareness or to support veterans, how do they get started?

[00:22:26] Andy Schofield: You don't have to start big, start small, speak to your friends, ask them how they're doing. Then ask them again. That has been proven to make people open up. How you doing? Your natural response is, I'm fine. And you go, you wait, you pause. How you actually, how you doing? And then some people tend to open up a little bit, so, yes, you could do something similar to what I did.

But I think for me, start locally, speak with your friends more, see how they're doing. Speak with your family. If you know somebody in your community, there's community centres, you could go and volunteer.

I think you don't have to do a big massive challenge or an event. If you are truly passionate about helping people, start close to home and then expand out. That's kind of what I did. If anybody wanted to follow in my footsteps, then there's loads of charities out there that are crying out for people to be a fundraiser for them.

It doesn't have to be mental health, it could be something that maybe you've had personal experience with or, or a family member or a friend has had experience with. Reach out to the charities, reach out to the local charities, the national charities and see if there's some way you can get involved and help them raise money.

[00:23:30] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you so much. That's great advice.

An opportunity now for you to talk about anything that I haven't asked you about, anything you want to share or anything coming up in the next few months.

[00:23:40] Andy Schofield: I don't know how much I can share, but there is a potential challenge that will be coming early next year. I can't really say too much about it. I don't think at this stage still trying to get funding for it, essentially. So, we're still looking to reach anybody that would be interested in sponsoring.

But essentially, it's a similar thing. I'm trying to connect to communities that are close to my heart. So, the communities I'm trying to connect are the rugby community and the veteran community. I've played rugby all my life. And Lou said is a fantastic charity for ex rugby, rugby players, and people affiliated with rugby that are suffering with mental health. They offer that service.

What I'm trying to do with this challenge is make it more about connecting communities and people and men and everybody just opening up and speaking more. So that should be coming early next year. It will be rugby related as well.

So if anybody who knows rugby knows what happens in February in rugby, it might give a bit of a clue there.

[00:24:33] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: As somebody who doesn't understand rugby, that went over my head, but I'll assume there are some of my listeners who can totally understand.

[00:24:41] Andy Schofield: Yeah.

[00:24:41] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I'll ask you now the signature questions I ask all my guests. So, the first one is to describe the Mancunian spirit in a word or a phrase.

[00:24:49] Andy Schofield: We are just worker bees, aren't we? Everyone's friendly, don't really take themselves too seriously. If you've got a problem or you've got an issue, I don't think you can find much friendlier people than Mancunians in my personal opinion.

I've travelled a bit around the world. I've lived in loads of different countries. There's nothing like Manchester. It really is the best city. It's fantastic. And that is purely down to the people, just the spirit of the individuals that live within the city.

It's my home. I love it. Like I said, I've lived in loads of different cities, and this is home.

[00:25:18] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Well, thank you for sharing that. I totally agree. It is a lovely city and I'm learning a little bit about it every time I talk to one of my passionate guests like you.

[00:25:28] Andy Schofield: Good.

[00:25:28] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Can you share a Mancunian who inspires you and tell us why.

[00:25:32] Andy Schofield: Oh, that's a good question. I suppose for me, Marcus Rashford, what he's done in terms of the school dinners and standing up for people that don't tend to have a voice. The working class. We don't tend to have a voice, especially on a big stage.

And the fact that he's been a beacon for those people and fighting on behalf of those people. And then you look at. last season to this season and what he's done and again, what he's gone through. And he's shown that is all about that mental fortitude.

We're both from Wythenshawe. It's just someone so close to home that come from a very similar background to me and seeing what he's achieved, especially this season, the accolades he's got, he absolutely deserves. There's always going to be some negativity out there, but no one can argue with what he's done, and giving the voice to people that don't have a voice.

[00:26:11] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I've seen some of his charity work. It's definitely very inspiring, and so nice to know that you are both Wythenshawe peeps.

[00:26:17] Andy Schofield: Yeah.

[00:26:17] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: What's the most important life lesson you've learned so far?

[00:26:21] Andy Schofield: I suppose a phrase that I heard that I love and that I'm trying to stick to is 'comparison is the thief of joy'. It's a great phrase, and I think for me, when that green envy comes out, I'm looking at other people, what they're doing, thinking, oh, you know, I'm not achieving what they are.

I always just keep saying that to myself as a mantra that you're on your own path. You're not on other people's, don't compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to yourself. Where were you 12 months ago? Look where you've come now. Look what you've achieved actually going your life.

I think kind of having a gratitude journal helps. And I think sometimes it's reflecting on your own life a little bit and being kind to yourself. But comparison is a thief of joy, I think.

If you look at social media and you look at the amount of people that are on those platforms, and then also the increase in people taking their own lives. Correlation isn’t a causation, but it is having an impact on people. And a lot of that comes down to comparison. People are, looking through a lens and looking at what people want them to see.

Everybody knows couples that in person you know them, they can't stand each other. But on social media, you would think they had the perfect relationship and that they were the perfect couple. And I think, people can conflate social media and these profiles to actual real life. And it's not the same.

Everybody struggles. Everybody goes through hard times, and I think no one's going to post that. What people are going to post is the highlights of their day, the highlights of their week and life. And you can sometimes, feel inadequate or that you are not achieving, and that again, can sometimes have a spiral. I think there's a lot of kind of girls and women, especially the younger generation that are struggling with their mental health and the increase in people in that demographic taking their own life.

I feel, in my personal opinion and looking at the stuff that I've looked at and read, that's a direct result of social media, social platforms and thinking that they have to be this perfect, airbrushed person. Nobody looks like they do on social media in real life. I think if people can just kind of remember that. Stick on your path and compare yourself to yourself.

[00:28:21] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: This is so true. And we all put very heavily edited versions of ourselves, our best self out there on social media or for public consumption. So that authenticity isn't always there. And some people, especially the younger people, they confuse that, and they think that's what they need to, they have unrealistic expectations of what they need to achieve and what they need to be.

So, absolutely, I do agree. There's a lot of good things about social media as well, because it creates awareness for good causes but it's a double-edged sword.

[00:28:51] Andy Schofield: It is. And I think, platforms like social media that have connected the world. I feel like we are the most connected we've ever been as a race. But we're also the most disconnected we've ever been.

I'm only 34, I'm not old. But even in my lifetime, I've seen a huge difference in just the way people interact with each other. And it's just quite interesting to watch, but it's also quite sad in a way that, we're the most connected we've ever been, but yet we're the most isolated we've ever been.

[00:29:19] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: It is a very important note. That's not something to just brush away. It is something we need to acknowledge. And we just need to, like, one of the things the podcast does is tries to put a little positivity out there. Tries to send good news out there because there's so much bad news. So, you're contributing to that.

[00:29:34] Andy Schofield: Hopefully. Like you said, there is obviously loads of benefits from social media as well and if you've got family members all over the world, you can speak with them. You know where they're up to. You keep in touch, and you don't even have to necessarily speak, but you can see what they post.

So, it is a fantastic platform. I just feel like as a a race we're still trying to figure it out. We've only had it for, what, 15 years? What is it, 15 years, 20 years, something like that. We're still figuring out how it works, how it fits into our lives, and I think, hopefully, we'll see a slight decrease maybe in that reliance and engagement and obviously people hopefully then feel a little bit happier as well, and more content in their own skin.

[00:30:10] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Lots of people are doing digital detoxes and they're taking time off from social media or time off from being online.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

[00:30:20] Andy Schofield: Oh, can I say flying?

It's a great question. I'm trying to think of what I would pick. What I probably would go as basic as being able to fly. It'd be just to experience what it'd been like to fly. But I suppose I did that when I jumped out of a plane, but it definitely wasn't flying. It was falling with style.

I think just being able to connect people and open up understanding in a way. Just because sometimes, people will talk to you and say things, but actually inside they're not feeling that way.

So it'd be good to be able to be able to scratch the surface and see how people are actually feeling and what's actually going on with them rather than this facade that sometimes people put up.

[00:30:56] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: That's a very good one, and I hope it comes true someday. I guess you're developing your skills of empathy, which will help to some extent, empathy, emotional intelligence, and other things.

[00:31:10] Andy Schofield: Absolutely.

[00:31:10] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Is there a nice or a funny story you'd like to end on to share with listeners? Something from your walk, something from Manchester, something from rugby.

[00:31:18] Andy Schofield: I suppose something interesting. I don't know if it's funny or not, but when I was 12, I was in a TV show called Stig of the Dump which was on BBC One on a Sunday.

It is a book. They made a series and then they rehashed it again back in the noughties. From the background that I'm from, you couldn't do drama or act.I think it was me mum just saying, well, what have you got to lose? You don't want to be looking back on your life and thinking, oh, I wish I'd given that a go. She's like, right, go for it. And I managed to go for all the auditions and get the part.

Where I'm getting to with this is, a group of friends that were adamant that I had to go round one day. Obviously, I'd let slip that I was in the Stig of the Dump. And they'd gone on Amazon, bought the DVD, I didn't know this, but everyone was messaging me this day saying that, you're definitely going to come round tonight.

I was like, I've said I'm coming. I'll come. And as I've walked in, everyone's already there, and as I've walked in, I just hear the intro music, the Stig of the Dump. I was just like, I cannot believe this has happened. So, they bought the DVD and it's six episodes and we sat and watched back to back every episode, and every time I was in it, I spoke, I was mentioned, I had to net my drink, so I finish my drink. I can't really remember much of the night than that.

[00:32:31] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: It is a good story.

[00:32:32] Andy Schofield: I always keep this Stig in the Dump story quiet, but they managed to get it out of me, and then they ran with it, and, I never lived it down.

[00:32:38] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: No, but what are good friends for if you can't share embarrassing stories.

[00:32:42] Andy Schofield: Exactly. Friends make you realise not to take yourself too seriously.

[00:32:45] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you so much. It's been really a pleasure to talk to you.

[00:32:50] Andy Schofield: Well, thank you too. It's been a pleasure to have a chat. Thank you for sharing my story.

Outro

Andy, thank you for talking to me about supporting veterans today.

Dear listener, thank you so much for listening to the first episode of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, Season Six. Tune in every Tuesday for a new episode or log on to www.meetthemancunian.co.uk to listen to all the episodes and learn more about my podcasting story.

Next week on Tuesday, 12 September 2023, I speak to Matt Richardson about supporting the creation of social value.

Thank you for joining me on this enriching journey through the social impact stories of Manchester with the sixth season of the Meet the Mancunian podcast. I hope the stories you've heard today have sparked a fire of inspiration within you, and they serve as a gentle reminder that no dream is too big, and no passion is too small.

Your feedback means the world to me. Visit www.meetthemancunian.co.uk to share your thoughts, suggestions, and the causes that touch your heart. Your input helps me craft a podcast that truly touches hearts and makes a difference in our community.

Stay connected with the podcast on social media. You can find us @MeettheMancunian on Instagram and Facebook or follow us on Twitter as @Mancunianpod. Sharing and leaving a comment would be a fantastic way to spread the word and build a vibrant community of change makers.

Before I sign off, remember to introduce this podcast to your friends and family. Together we can amplify the impact and reach of these incredible stories. Once again, thank you so much for being a part of the Meet the Mancunian family. Your support fuels my passion, and I can't wait to bring you more compelling stories that will touch your hearts and fuel your soul.

Until we meet again in the next episode, let's keep creating waves of change together. The world needs more Mancunian spirit. So go out there and be the change you wish to see.

Take care, stay inspired.