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Mental health campaigner Matt passes through Tayside on 200-mile ‘walkie talkie’ mission to help others

North east father-of-two Matt Kinghorn became a mental health advocate after a workplace accident almost cost him his life in 2022.

Matt Kinghorn is midway through his 200-mile walk to North Berwick. Image: Matt Kinghorn
Matt Kinghorn is midway through his 200-mile walk to North Berwick. Image: Matt Kinghorn

A dad-of-two with a passion for mental health is lending an ear to anyone who needs to talk as he passes through Courier country on a 200-mile trek.

Matt Kinghorn has hosted regular ‘walkie talkie’ events along Aberdeen beach over the last 12 months.

Also known locally as the poet Bardy, Matt launched the initiative after a brush with death in an industrial accident.

Matt Kinghorn thanks emergency service after saving his life.
Matt (centre) thanked emergency personnel who saved his life in 2022. Image: Supplied

Now the 42-year-old, dad to Akira, 9, and Sorcha, 6, has taken the project to the rest of the country in a 203-mile walk from his Pitmedden home to North Berwick.

And on Wednesday he met Taysiders along the stretch from Arbroath to St Andrews.

Forklift accident changed Matt’s life

Matt said: “I started walkie talkie because while I am blessed with good friends and family who I speak to regularly, I know not everyone is so lucky.

“One of my best pals lives in North Berwick. I decided I wanted to visit and have a walkie talkie with him.

“That’s when I came up with the idea of walking all the way there and inviting people to join me for wee stretches along the route.”

Matt, who makes fishing nets for a living, has built up a social media following with his video poems under the pseudonym Bardy. Those focus on positivity and promoting positive mental health.

Mental health campaigner Matt Kinghorn walkie talkie trek.
Matt arriving in Arbroath on his 200-mile ‘walkie talkie’ journey. Image: Facebook/Matt Kinghorn

In February 2022 he was crushed by a forklift at work but survived thanks to the quick actions of colleagues and the emergency services.

He raised thousands of pounds for the NHS, ambulance service and fire brigade after the brush with death.

“My accident almost cost me everything. It almost took me away from my two wee girls who mean everything to me,” he said.

“I knew I had to do something to help others. I ain’t a paramedic or a firefighter – but I am a positive person and a good listener and my poems seem to help make people happy – so ‘walkie talkie’ was born.

“It’s such a simple thing, having a person to walk and talk with. We all have stuff going on. We all need someone to speak to.”

He hopes to reach his pal’s house in North Berwick on Saturday.

After the 39-mile leg from Arbroath to St Andrews on Wednesday, Matt plans to cover the 40 miles from St Andrews to Kinghorn the following day.

You can follow his journey on social media at www.facebook.com/bardypoet or www.instagram/bardypoet

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