Anthony Gregory takes a breather at the Cambridge Skatepark.
Hitting the lip of the jump at speed, he pulls on the handlebars, tips his head back and watches the snaking black asphalt open into a wide expanse of sky.
When he’s up there, climbing into an elegant back flip above Cambridge Skatepark, anxiety and depression don’t exist anymore.
“It’s literally adrenaline,” says Anthony Gregory, 19.
“All you can think about is doing what you’re doing and nothing else is on your mind.”
Anthony, a passionate Cambridge freestyle mountain biker who dreams of competing professionally across the globe, is using his own experiences to support others struggling with mental illness.
Three years ago, he started his own clothing brand, Buzzedriders, aiming to create an online community where adventure sports enthusiasts could talk openly about mental health issues.
“If you really know me, I’m always the one who’s laughing, joking around, trying to make people happy, but in reality I’m struggling with my own silent battles, you know,” he said.
“And it is really hard. It’s literally the stigma around it. As a man you just feel like if you say something to someone, they’ll judge you and you don’t and it never gets talked about. It’s definitely a thing, it’s definitely still an issue in today’s day and age.”
Cambridge freestyle mountain biker Anthony Gregory, wearing a t-shirt from his Adrenaline Seekers collection, is using his clothing company to promote mental health awareness.
Now he’s chipping away at that stigma, encouraging people to open up about their struggles, support each other and use action sports as a tool for healing.
He uses the clothing he designs and sells to get his ideas across – printing messages like “it’s not weak to speak” on t-shirts and hoodies – and posting regularly on social media.
Ten per cent of his profits are donated to I Am Hope, an organisation founded by Mike King.
Launching Buzzedriders has been a massive leap into the unknown and Anthony has had to learn a huge amount about running an online business very quickly, but his venture is gradually gaining momentum.
He has nearly 5000 Instagram and almost 10,000 TikTok followers and is making connections across the globe.
“When I get people from Holland, Sweden and Finland and places like that messaging me and saying bro, I love what you’re doing I’ve struggled with these things as well and I really like your brand… it gives me motivation to keep pursuing this,” he said.
“Even though it’s hard right now I’m beginning to feel like I will have the support in the future if I stick with what I’m doing.”
Dreaming big can mean falling hard but for Anthony that’s part of the rush.
And right now, the sky’s the limit.
Anthony Gregory says all his problems disappear when he rides his bike.
