![\"Angus](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/6200259.jpg\" "\\"Angus")
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Angus Collins is hoping to become the first person to row around the coast of Britain solo (Image: Courtesy Angus Collins)<\/p>\n
Record-breaking rower Angus Collins is a man on a mission. On June 8, he\u2019ll set off from Portsmouth Harbour on an epic adventure, hoping to become the first person to row around the coast of Great Britain solo and unassisted. One of the first major dangers on his 1,700-mile voyage is the shipwreck graveyard of Portland Race, a treacherous stretch of water off the coast of Dorset. Then there\u2019s the small matter of Europe\u2019s largest whirlpool \u2013 the Corryvreckan, off the Isle of Jura, on Scotland\u2019s west coast \u2013 and the world\u2019s busiest shipping lanes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there isn\u2019t a phone signal then I have satellite communications, so if something goes wrong I can always call for help,\u201d says Angus, who has rowed the Atlantic twice. He aims to row for up to 18 hours a day, in shifts of eight hours, before dropping anchor and sleeping for around four hours. Depending on tides and weather, he plans to row through the night because it\u2019s cooler.<\/p>\n
The rules of the challenge mean he cannot accept help with navigation or supplies, he can\u2019t come ashore, and at no point is another boat allowed to touch his vessel. He\u2019s no stranger to challenges, having broken records on a 3,000 mile journey across the Atlantic with a team in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.<\/p>\n
But Angus, from Hambledon, Hampshire, has a more profound reason for attempting this feat than grabbing a world record. Five years ago he was in suicidal crisis. On his 30th birthday, he told his family he was with friends \u2013 and his friends he was with family. In fact, he was alone on his boat in Essex, and had planned how to take his own life. \u201cOn the surface it looked like I had the perfect life. I\u2019d rowed the world\u2019s biggest oceans and broken world records, I ran a successful boat building business and I flew around the globe to coach elite rowing teams. It was everything I\u2019d dreamed of,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n
![\"Angus](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/6200275.jpg\" "\\"Angus")
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Angus rowing the Atlantic during the 2015 Talisker Whisky Challenge (Image: Courtesy Angus Collins)<\/p>\n
\u201cIn fact I had been suffering from anxiety and panic attacks for months, and as my birthday got closer I remember thinking, I should approach my 30th feeling happy as I\u2019ve achieved my goals. But I wasn\u2019t happy and I couldn\u2019t work out why. Nothing I had achieved made me happy. I couldn\u2019t see how I could carry on in life feeling like this, and suicide seemed like my only option.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thankfully, Angus, now 35, did not follow through with his plans and went on to meet Elsa, who he married. He was able to open up to her and she helped him find the psychological support he needed. Today he is a passionate advocate for men\u2019s mental health, and is aiming to raise \u00a3250,000 for the male suicide prevention charity James\u2019 Place during the row.<\/p>\n
The charity was set up in 2018 by parents Clare Milford Haven and Nick Wentworth-Stanley in memory of their son James, who took his own life aged 21 in 2006 after he reported feeling suicidal following a minor operation. It runs centres in London, Liverpool and Newcastle, that provide free, life-saving therapy for men in suicidal crisis. They receive between six and eight sessions and there is no waiting list. \u201cThis row is going to be the hardest thing I\u2019ve ever attempted. But if just one man hears my story and is inspired to seek help, then it will have been worth it,\u201d Angus explains.<\/p>\n
Here \u2013 assisted by Andy Noon, therapist at James\u2019 Place and head of the charity\u2019s Liverpool centre \u2013 he shares five key pieces of advice for men who are experiencing mental health issues, and also for their friends and family:<\/p>\n
Don’t miss… <\/strong> The rower shows the cramped conditions on his vessel (Image: Courtesy Angus Collins)Sit in the mud<\/p>\n Angus says: \u201cI like the quote from author Simon Sinek where he says sometimes you just have to sit in the mud with someone who\u2019s experiencing a crisis. It means sitting and listening to them and just being there, rather than trying to find all the answers.\u201d<\/p>\n Andy adds: \u201cThis is a great quote and it\u2019s true that listening is a great skill. No one is expecting you, as a listener, to come up with a plan and solve all the person\u2019s problems. Try asking the question \u2018have you thought about what might help?\u2019, as that puts the power of how to help himself back into the man\u2019s hands. The Hub of Hope app is also a good tool as it lists all the mental health support services available in your local area.\u201d<\/p>\n Talking helps<\/p>\n Angus says: \u201cAfter reaching crisis point, I spoke with an NHS psychiatrist, who said I had a good business and a good support network of friends and family, so I\u2019d be fine. That just served to make me feel even more guilty and confused about why I was feeling like this. It wasn\u2019t until I met Elsa that I really opened up, and she \u00adencouraged me to speak with one of my closest friends, as well as find a therapist who I could work with. Speaking with my friend was what really helped me to get through it.\u201d<\/p>\n Many of the men Andy works with at James\u2019 Place are also reluctant to share their feelings at first.<\/p>\n He says: \u201cMen often feel isolated, many don\u2019t want to become a burden to their friends or family or feel that they are weak if they can\u2019t deal with problems by themselves. In fact, talking to someone you trust and who listens to you can help change negative thought patterns and open up other options for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Notice the triggers<\/p>\n The majority of men who Andy works with have faced a life event that has caused their mental health to decline. He says: \u201cThe most common life events that lead men to crisis are a separation or divorce, a job loss, a bereavement or financial difficulties. But although these might be the triggers, it\u2019s likely there are a lot of complex reasons for their state of mind, some maybe going back to childhood. I always encourage friends and family to look for signs of mental distress in a man they care about by thinking about what they can see, hear and smell.<\/p>\n \u201cCan you see any \u00addifferences in his routine? Do you hear him talking negatively, or even not hear him at all because he\u2019s become withdrawn? Do you smell alcohol? Noticing this can be a way to start a conversation. It\u2019s also important to realise that sometimes there will be no outward signs that someone is struggling.\u201d<\/p>\n Andy Noon is a James\u2019 Place therapist and head of the charity\u2019s Liverpool centre (Image: Courtesy James’ Place)Physical health is mental health<\/p>\n Angus will burn more than 6,000 calories and row for up to 18 hours every day during his British coastline challenge, and he has been training for months in the gym to be ready. While most of us will never reach these levels of fitness, it\u2019s been proven that exercise is key to maintaining positive mental health. Andy says: \u201cI like to use the SHED technique with the men I work with. It stands for Sleep, Hydration, Exercise and Diet \u2013 think of these as the four walls supporting a shed, and if one crumbles then the whole structure will come down.\u201d<\/p>\n Name\u00a0your emotions<\/p>\n Angus says: \u201cAs part of my recovery I wanted to start journalling every morning, but I\u2019d look at the blank piece of paper in the notebook and not know what to write. I bought a pack of 50 emotion cards and it helped me put a name to what I was feeling, beyond \u2018sad\u2019 or \u2018empty\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Andy adds: \u201cCards are one of our key tools at James\u2019 Place.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of the ones we use intherapy sessions have feelings and emotions like \u2018trapped\u2019 or \u2018humiliated\u2019 on them, some have questionsor prompts. It helps men to name their emotions, widen their thinking from the narrow lens of suicide, and open up about how they are feeling and what they are going through.\u201d<\/p>\n To donate to Angus\u2019s fundraising visit justgiving.com\/page\/gbodyssey<\/a> To access support from James\u2019 Place visit<\/strong><\/p>\n
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