Maybe This Helps Podcast

At 14, Jack Stewart's parents were told he might not survive meningitis. At 30, he ran the length of the UK. Alone.

John o' Groats to Land's End. 1,500km in 30 days. No support crew, a pack that weighed up to 17kg, and a tent he'd never put up.

Months before the start line, he was back in a hospital bed. By day two of the run, things had already gone wrong. And on day one, a stranger said one sentence that changed how he ran the rest of it.

This is a story about grit, grief and gratitude, and about how a man who ran the whole country on his own ended up feeling like he had a team behind him.

Watch it to the end. His last message is for anyone sitting on an idea they're scared to start.

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SUPPORT JACK

💛 Donate to Miles for Meningitis: https://www.justgiving.com/page/jack-stewart-23

📸 Follow Jack's next challenge: https://www.instagram.com/redrunswild_/

🔬 Meningitis Research Foundation: https://www.meningitis.org

KNOW THE SIGNS

Meningitis and sepsis can kill in hours. Learn the symptoms: https://www.meningitis.org/about-meningitis/symptoms/

Meningitis Research Foundation helpline (UK): 080 8800 3344, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. In an emergency, call 999.

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CHAPTERS

00:00 Trailer

00:36 Meet your hosts

01:00 Meet Jack

02:45 Meningitis at 14

08:04 "I'm gonna be alright, Dad"

14:05 A loss that changed everything

19:45 What the world taught him

23:45 Back in a hospital bed

29:46 The race he had no business running

32:06 The decision

42:05 The start line

47:04 "Not a running challenge"

49:25 Day two goes wrong

55:28 The worst-timed coach in Scotland

59:25 Where he slept that night

1:00:44 The lowest point

1:05:09 What a stranger told him

1:12:06 Coming home

1:14:07 Land's End

1:15:44 What he raised

1:17:25 After the finish line

1:23:07 Never really alone

1:25:25 His one message to you

1:27:45 Outro

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LISTEN & FOLLOW

🌐 https://maybethishelpspodcast.co.uk

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maybethishelpspod/

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@maybethishelpspod

👍 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579895290057

YOUR HOSTS

Josh: https://www.instagram.com/joshuagalea/

Rhys: https://www.instagram.com/rhysyoungg/

Who should we sit down with next? Tell us in the comments.

If this episode brings up grief for you, Cruse Bereavement Support's helpline is free on 0808 808 1677 (UK).

#MaybeThisHelps #Meningitis #UltraRunning

Billy got on a Megabus in Bristol just after midnight on 22 March 2018, heading for the Thailand trip his big sister Meg had always dreamed of doing. Four days later, he died in a motorbike accident. He was 20.Before he left, Billy had an idea. If people won’t give cash to someone sleeping rough, give them a token they can swap for food and drink instead. Meg and her dad Jon built it. Today BillyChip is in 458+ outlets across the UK and has passed 50,000 redemptions.But we didn’t start with Billy. We started with Meg: the lifelong chatterbox who’s just come off a 31-hour live radio interview for a Guinness World Record attempt, running on caffeine tablets and zero filter.In this episode:• Growing up 17 months apart: the wind-ups, the washing up, and forever being “Billy’s sister”• The last phone call she didn’t return, and why that ended up setting her free from guilt• The night the call came, and the list of people she had to tell• A festival instead of a funeral: a 20ft willow Viking ship, a flaming arrow, 1,000 people and a surprise set from Professor Green• How a “no” from the Charity Commission shaped BillyChip into something bigger• Quitting their jobs on a Thursday, and national lockdown the following Monday• The Bank of BillyChip, and the trial launching in Bath this winter• The chip people keep in their pocket as a reminder that they’re loved━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━GET INVOLVED WITH BILLYCHIP🌐 https://www.billychip.com🏢 Businesses: the Bank of BillyChip. £100 a month = 50 chips handed out by outreach teams to people who need them.☕ Cafés and shops: sign up as an outlet on the website.🌙 CEO Sleep Out, 19 November. Come and sleep out with Meg and the team.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━00:00 Episode trailer00:40 Welcome to Maybe This Helps01:56 Meet Meg and her radio endurance challenge06:49 Growing up with Billy18:39 Billy’s travels and their sibling bond23:43 Last conversations and coping with grief29:02 Losing Billy42:49 A festival instead of a funeral50:17 How BillyChip began55:22 Getting BillyChip off the ground58:56 Taking the leap — then lockdown hit1:01:09 BillyChip’s impact today1:02:27 The Bank of BillyChip: how businesses can help1:08:40 More than a token: the reminder that you’re loved1:14:30 How to support BillyChip━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━LISTEN TO MAYBE THIS HELPS🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2kwUtMJrZ4hQyIh17WcAUX🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/maybe-this-helps-podcast/id1829087661▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC76cwcLFfBoLQFoU83dWaUwFOLLOW THE PODCAST📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maybethishelpspod/🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@maybethishelpspod👍 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579895290057Hosted by Josh Galea and Rhys Young. Ordinary people, real stories, recorded in Bristol.#MaybeThisHelps #BillyChip #Grief

We only planned to chat off camera, then got so deep into Type 1 vs Type 2 fun that we hit record. In this episode we talk about the difference between quick dopamine hits and the kind of fun you're glad you did, living with hyperactive ADHD, what 18 months without alcohol looks like (stag dos and weddings included), and why a craving for a beer is really a craving for dopamine.

We also get into ice hockey and coaching kids as healthy dopamine, ADHD and medication, non-alcoholic Guinness, Jesse Itzler's book Living with a SEAL, and how reading helped with grief and loss.

Want us to dig deeper into ADHD or sobriety, or have a guest in mind? Message us and tell us.

This episode contains strong language. It is for conversation and information only and is not medical advice. If you're struggling, speak to your GP. In the UK and Ireland you can call Samaritans free, any time, on 116 123.

No big guest, no deep insights this week, just Josh and Rhys giving you the quick backstory on how we know each other before things really kick off with some really exciting guest episodes that we will be releasing VERY soon!

Consider it a "getting to know us" episode.

Josh & Rhys unpack something most of us know but can't explain, that struggle of feeling something and not having the words for it.

Through their own experiences, this is an honest attempt to help you find the words you've been looking for.

Maybe This Helps

In todays episode Josh and Rhys sit down to speak with Chris Ritchens, the man behind the movement that is Give Yourself 30 (GY30)

Chris tells the boys about the struggles he's faced that have ultimately led him to where he is today..

Inspiring, helping and connecting people of all ages within his community and beyond.

If you'd like to find out more about Chris, his movement and his run club you can find his instagram here 👉 https://www.instagram.com/give_yourself_30?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsi=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Disclaimer: There are mentions of suicide and mental health struggles within this episode

Before we get into the big conversations, you need to know who you're listening to.

In this episode Josh and Rhys turn the mic on each other. Simple questions, honest answers, some of which went further than either of us expected.

No filter. Just us.

Maybe This Helps is BACK!

Things look and sound a little different, you'll remember Rhys from the very first episode of Maybe This Helps.. He's joining me as co-host and that changes things a bit.

Same message, same intent, but the conversations have a different energy now. That's good for us. Hopefully it's even better for you.

In this powerful episode of Maybe This Helps, I sit down with Josh (@joshjsa), who’s running 5,656 kilometres in a single year — one kilometre for every life lost to suicide in England in 2023.

Josh opens up about:

• Why he chose the charity CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably)

• The mental and physical toll of running nearly 15K every day

• How accountability and vulnerability are helping him push through dark moments

• The pressure of doing something so big — and what it’s taught him about life, presence, and purpose

We also talk about resilience, rest vs. pushing through, what it actually feels like to run through illness, and how connection with others can make or break your mental health.

Whether you’re a runner, someone who’s struggled, or someone supporting a loved one — this episode is for you.

🔗 Support Josh’s Mission💙

Donate or share his fundraiser: https://www.justgiving.com/page/joshua-squires-adams-1733308077483

📲 Follow Josh on Instagram: @joshjsa

🎥 TikTok: 5656Reasons2Run

Over the past couple of weeks, I noticed my mood slowly spiralling down again and it made me realise I’d stopped doing the things that actually help me.

In this episode, I go back to basics: 3 tools that have helped me rebuild my mental health when I start to slip.

Journaling, movement, and connection.

If you’ve been feeling low, overwhelmed, or stuck, I hope this episode reminds you that you already have what you need, you just might’ve forgotten to use it.

00:00 – Intro

01:15 – Why I felt myself slipping again

02:10 – Tool #1: Journaling

07:50 – Tool #2: Physical activity

14:40 – Tool #3: Connection (“Waffle Wednesdays”)

20:00 – Final thoughts: you can’t think your way out of an emotional storm

If this episode helps you, please leave a comment or share it with someone who might need it.

And if you try one of these tools this week, let me know how it goes, I’d love to hear what works for you.

Link to "Do you feel lonely" episode: https://youtu.be/shivR9xZeso?si=6yqJYq1uM03TFOFh