A fundraiser famed for wearing nothing but a pair of Speedos is donning his swimwear again to distribute the money he has raised.
Mick Cullen, known as Speedo Mick, will seek to give away up to £250,000 (€294,962) from his own foundation during a 2,000-mile, five-month trek across the UK and Ireland.
He also aims to raise £100,000 as he walks through Stornoway, Edinburgh and Glasgow before heading to Belfast.
He will then go to Dublin and Cardiff, crossing over to major towns and cities across before finishing in Liverpool.
“The reason we are giving the money out is because charities have been unable to fundraise due to the pandemic,” Mr Cullen told the PA news agency.
“The best way to have an immediate effect on people’s lives would be to give grants to small registered charities that support mental health and disadvantaged young people in homelessness.
“What we decided as a charity is the best thing we could do for communities would be to give a quarter of a million pounds back to small charities along the route.
“Basically the people who donated the money on the last walk (are) getting the money back.”
The 56-year-old, who has been raising money for charity for almost eight years, began his journey at the end of May and aims to finish by December 15th.
He has raised more than £75,000 during his latest challenge as he pushes through the pain. “Me feet are killing me, they’re killing me mate!” he told PA.
The SpeedoMick Foundation was set up by Mr Cullen during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, supporting disadvantaged young people and people experiencing homelessness.
The Everton football fan described his own journey of addiction, and wrote on his GoFundMe page that he hoped to help people who were facing what he had faced.
As well as fundraising on this walk #TheSpeedoMickFoundation is also donating to small charities along the way💙@BaronsProject supports people in #London on low income, homeless &/or vulnerable to mental health issues.
Thanks to you all, we donated £1000 to their cause 🙏💙 pic.twitter.com/wVmgOx4wTc— Speedomick (@speedomick) October 8, 2021
“A long time ago I lost my dignity, my self-respect, my family and anything that meant something to me.
“I was an addict and now I’m 19 years clean and sober, I am now a full member of society.
“My life changed, I got my family back, I’ve got my self-respect back, I’ve got my dignity back, I’ve got my hope back and I’ve got a whole roof over my head.
“The world’s on fire… and I’m trying to just make a tiny difference in people’s lives. I’m just trying to do my little bit, just to raise a smile.
“Don’t underestimate the power of a smile.”
