A teen who hit 'rock bottom' countless times with severe depression, now says he has a 'future worth living for'.
Lucas Rodriguez Kisak,was born in Leicester to a Ukrainian mother and a Spanish father, and was moved around a lot as a child.
The 18-year-old says this meant he was unable to ever feel settled or create long-lasting friendships.
His father attempted to start a business in the Canary Islands when Lucas was four - which failed - and his family moved back to England, where his parents eventually split.
Despite being surrounded by grief and despair, Lucas excelled in primary school and was determined to make his mother proud.
However, he says he attended a secondary school where he felt grades came first, and emotional integrity came second - marking the beginning of his struggles with mental illness.
'The guilt hung over my head like a dark cloud'
Lucas says he was bullied continuously for years, which affected his self-esteem and confidence, and he began to suffer from deep depression and crippling anxiety.
Unable to deal with the pressures of GCSEs, he was home-schooled for his final year, losing all connections to friends and isolating himself from the outside world.
Lucas said: “Toxic masculinity often prevents young men from speaking up and leaves them hopeless.
"From self-harm to suicide attempts, I’ve done it. My family has been dragged through it all. The guilt hung over my head like a dark cloud."
After dropping out of college to do volunteer work, Lucas met Chris Walsh from youth charity Snow-Camp, which uses skiing, snowboarding and life skills to support young people and help them become ski instructors.
This was the start of Lucas’ journey of finding his skis.
'I’ve got a future worth living for'
With the help of the charity, Lucas has now become a qualified ski instructor, and is also a youth ambassador for the charity.
He also won the Snow-Camp Exceptional Young Person of the Year Award for his determination and motivation to succeed while supporting his peers.
Lucas is now working hard to gain his Alpine Level 1 (BASI) qualification, which will allow him to work as an instructor on the mountains.
Lucas added: "I’d reached rock-bottom countless of times. but Snow-Camp really changed all of that for me, and opened the door to a new horizon.
"I’m now employed, a qualified ski instructor and believe I’ve got a future worth living for.”
Mental health in Leicestershire
Launched in 2003, Snow-Camp is the UK’s only registered charity using a combination of snowsports, life skills sessions, qualifications and vocational opportunities to support inner city young people.
The charity's programmes enable young people to reflect on the key issues impacting their day-to-day lives, and help them develop new skills to support their futures.
Over the last 15 years, the charity has supported over 10,000 young people like Lucas across the UK.
