Hongkonger ‘Everests’ his apartment building with 295 laps after year long, 20kg weight loss, mental health journey
- James Pickford climbs 8,848m in his stairwell just one year after making a life altering decision to include exercise as a mental health pillar
Hong Kong-based New Zelander James Pickford climbed the height of Everest (8,848m) up his stairwell this weekend. The epic feat took him 18 hours, and 295 laps, but what is more impressive is that just a year ago, he was 20kg heavier.
“Last year, I was suffering depression and anxiety. All to do with work and the pressure of career and finances. I started training at ATP Fitness, and they put me through a transformation programme. I lost in 18kg in 18 weeks,” he said.
Since then, Pickford has felt his mental health improve infinitely. A couple of weeks in lockdown in New Zealand, when he slipped back into bad habits was enough to prove to himself the correlation between his mental and physical health.
“I've realised physical exercise is 100 per cent one of the pillars to positive mental health, or even managing stress levels,” Pickford said.
“If I couldn't do it [lose weight] then, then there was no way it would happen later on down the line. It was like a crossroads, in making a decision to be a slob for the rest of my life, or to fight my way out,” Pickford said.