An Aberdeen man has vowed to reach the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro to raise awareness of the struggles of mental health and suicide.
Steve Krukowski knows only too well the crippling effects mental health problems can have on loved ones.
In 2010, his best friend Paul Baxter took his own life at the age of 40-year-old.
‘Bolt out the blue’
The 51-year-old said his death was a “bolt out the blue.”
He said: “We have all been impacted in some way, shape or form by suicide. My best friend hung himself a few years ago.
“Suicide is rife in society just now, coming out of Covid. The stress and everything that goes with this cost-of-living hike, it affects people in different ways.”
More than a decade on, Mr Krukowski – a rig manager for Odfjell Technology – is preparing to reach new heights by scaling Kilimanjaro, one of the seven summits.
He will travel to Tanzania to scale the 19,340ft peak in November alongside his fellow colleagues Barry Preston and Willie Agnew.
The trio will make the 7,000-mile journey to Africa on October 28 before beginning the eight-day feat two days later.
The group hope to raise thousands of pounds in donations for the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH).
‘It is going to be a real-life changer for me’
The 51-year-old began hillwalking four years ago and says the hobby became a “good escape” from everyday life.
He says he looks forward to returning to a country he loves; having previously worked on oil rigs in Kenya and Angola for 11 years.
However, he admits coping with the altitude sickness on Kilimanjaro will be a real challenge.
“Africa is a place I love so to go back there and do something worthwhile and for a worthy cause, it’s got a double benefit from me,” he added.
“My biggest challenge will be, and it’s something that affects everybody, is altitude sickness. We are going to have to get through a cardiovascular and our stamina.
“I don’t have any doubts at getting to the top as far as the height of the climb is concerned but I think we will just need to pace ourselves, stay hydrated, keeping our energy and food up – everything that stems off altitude sickness.
“It is a real risk and I think that’s going to be the biggest challenge for us all.
“I just think it is going to be a real-life changer for me emotionally, mentally and physically. I think it is going to put me through the ringer.
“It is a real sense of achievement both in getting to the top and raising money for a good cause.”
‘It means everything to support SAMH’
November’s feat marks the latest fundraising challenge to be completed by the rig manager.
Last year, he raised £3,700 while taking part in white collar boxing for Cancer Research UK.
He says SAMH is a charity close to all of their hearts.
He hopes their efforts will help to raise awareness of the challenges people face in battling their mental health.
He said: “Mental health, with the past things I have dealt with, is quite significant for me and the charity that we have chosen SAMH is for mental health and suicide prevention in young people across Scotland.
“We thought between us it was a very worthy cause and we would raise the money on behalf of them.
“It means everything to support SAMH. It allows me to feel that his (Paul’s) suicide and his troubles weren’t in vain.”
Conversation