Hi my name is Chris and I am a participant and volunteer at Sport for Confidence. I have always had issues with depression, anxiety and self-confidence but when I met my then OT Lyndsey Barrett about 13 years ago we started going out and about and then we tried the gym. This helped to get out even more and to get in a bit better shape. We then went in to the sports hall to play some sports and when it started working for me we tried it with some other people and it was working for them too! We eventually went to the new Basildon Sporting Village and thanks to Lyndsey and Jack, our head coach, over time we’ve got more and more people and it formed Sport for Confidence. I was the first participant of Sport for Confidence and now I volunteer for them.

Me and a group of volunteers even won Volunteer of the Year at a recent awards ceremony in Basildon, but I think my biggest personal achievement is just being able to do what I do.

Sport is important to be because it is good for my physical and mental health issues and I really enjoy it.

I have had to overcome my issues with depression and both normal and social anxiety and problems with my self-confidence. But thanks to Sport for Confidence I am doing better now.

I have become an All Together ambassador as I would like to give back to Sport for Confidence and show people that even if you have a physical or mental disability you can still live your life and physical and sporting activities are a good way to do that.