Deke Hardman is raising money for the charity CALM and is currently taking a 100k step challenge from the City Ground to Pride Park and back after pledging to give up alcohol, take-aways and gambling during the whole 2019/20 season in which he has just succeeded in completing.

Having raised near £4,000 through his Just Giving page for the Campaign Against Living Miserably, Deke stated “until relatively recently I spent my entire adult life living miserably. Between 1999 and 2012 I lost several people extremely close to me – most notable my mother at 16 and my father at 26, and whilst on the face of it, I probably seemed to be coping I had a huge dependence on what I would call ‘quick fixes’ – namely beer, take-aways and gambling.”

“With the concept of happiness being seemingly out of reach, the comfort provided by a few pints, a kebab and an accumulator at least eased the pain I was feeling – something I can only admit with the benefit of hindsight.”

Deke wanted to raise awareness on mental health having been inspired by his beloved Nottingham Forest’s Tricky To Talk initiative saying “with football being such a big part of my life, my pledge was to give up alcohol, take-aways and gambling for the whole of the 2019/20 Football League season.

Since that pledge one year ago Deke has raised an incredible amount of money and has stated “This is just the start for me, I have many more ideas in how I can get even more involved but for now it’s your help I’m asking for, even if it is just by sharing my story.”

You can donate to CALM through Deke’s Just Giving page here

*Main image @waynosmith88 Deke on the Kimberley leg of his walk between Forest & Derby and back.