Gosport rallies round rugby player shaving his head to help bring awareness to mental health

Rob Ellis, from Gosport, has decided to say goodbye to his signature look, the much-loved mullet, to help raise money and awareness for a campaign close to his heart.

February 22 marked seven years since Rob and his family lost his eldest cousin, who tragically took his own life at the age of 22. Rob, who was 15 at the time, says he found it hard to comprehend.

‘I hadn’t really matured back then so it was quite a hard pill to swallow, I didn’t know what emotions to express or how to react. Now I’m a bit older and closer to his age, it feels a lot more real,’ says Rob.

‘The statistics are actually shocking,’ he adds.

Now Rob, a fibreoptic cable splicer, hopes to honour his cousin’s memory, while raising money and awareness for the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), a charity taking a stand against suicide. CALM exists to change the sobering statistic that in the UK, 125 lives are lost every week to suicide, 75 per cent of which are male.

On his personal experience with this statistic, Rob adds: ‘It was the first family tragedy we’d ever had, it brought us closer, but it was a bit of a reality check for us.

Through his fundraising efforts, Rob hopes to encourage people to speak up, and not be ‘left in the dark.’

‘I’ve never experienced mental health problems before, sometimes when people tell you they’re feeling depressed or suffering, you don’t really know how to react in case you make it worse. Having a charity where people can go to see people that are trained to respond and react to it, does help,’ he says.

Since sharing his mission and plans to shave off his ‘signature’ mullet which he and three friends first decided to grow three years ago, the 21-year-old has received a huge outpouring of support.

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‘Year by year they started cutting them off, one friend joined the navy, others just got bored of it, and I stuck with it,’ Rob says. ‘It’s kind of a part of my life now, it’s part of my signature look. It’s had mixed reviews. Some liked it, most hated it and some were inspired to grow one too,’ he adds.

As an active member of Gosport and Fareham Rugby Club, who themselves have experienced loss to suicide, Rob has been blown away by the support he has received from his club, as well as friends, family, and colleagues, who together have helped him raise £620 in just two days.

‘I think there’s been a few people touched by the choice of charity, there was an old player who also committed suicide at the club, it’s really hit home with people,’ adds Rob.

‘I originally set a target of £150 thinking – cor I might struggle here – but I’ve raised even more. I don’t really know how to react, there’s some very generous people who know what their money can go towards.’

Rob is hopeful that this will continue to rise, bringing support to people like his cousin.

To donate to his fundraiser visit justgiving.com/page/robert-ellis-shavingthemullet-1678098696998.