Speedo Mick is a man you may have seen before. Unmistakable in blue speedos and Everton Football Club regalia he has walked thousands of miles, swam the English Channel and raised over £750,000 in support of the most vulnerable in our communities. Relentless in his charitable endeavours you have probably seen Mick on your TV screens on his 1000-mile walking journey from John O’Groats to Lands’ End in 2020, or at one of many football grounds across the nation appealing for donations. Regardless, Mick’s foundation (The SpeedoMick Foundation) and its efforts are incredible – much like the man himself.

Michael Cullen aka SpeedoMick’s passion for helping those in need comes from a very personal place and a journey that has driven him to want to provide communities the support and guidance that he had been in need of in times of trouble in his own life. Mick struggled with homelessness, addiction, and alcoholism before turning his life around and using those struggles as a fuel to power himself (and later his foundation) to be a positive part of his community and society as a whole. Mick credits his charitable work as returning his “self-respect, confidence, humility and sense of belonging back” to him and is committed to providing young people with the support and guidance that he needed at the same age.

Focussing on supporting young people through education, relieving poverty, or on mental and physical health topics The SpeedoMick Foundation believes in the power of compassion and understanding and supports 108 charities and groups across the UK that share this passion. The Mailing Room are especially proud to have supported The SpeedoMick Foundation because of our shared belief that every young person can flourish and grow given the right support and guidance despite any difficult upbringing or childhood they may have been through. Developing this nurturing approach is something we care about at TMR and something that we put time and effort into developing internally.

TMR are delighted to have been able to meet Mick as he undertook his 1000 mile walk and present him with a donation to go towards helping disadvantaged people across the UK. As of the publishing of this article Mick is planning to announce another charity walk in the coming days so from all of us here at TMR, good luck Mick & keep up the fantastic work!