Josh Quigley: I wasn’t meant to die that night...

Josh Quigley is raising awareness of mental health. Picture: Alex Hewitt

In May, award-winning entrepreneur Josh Quigley woke up in hospital after intentionally crashing his car at over 80mph.

At 22, his career had begun to take take off: he became the recipient of the Forth Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and his first business, SharkDog – a digital marketing firm – was gaining momentum and clients in its first year of operations.

What few knew, however, was that bubbling beneath the surface of a successful business persona was an intensely personal battle with depression, which culminated with him attempting to take his own life.

Waking up in a hospital bed after his suicide attempt with only minor injuries, the young entrepreneur vowed to use his near-death experience to save people in similar situations.

Quigley of Deans, West Lothian, recalls: “I really started to believe in hospital that I walked away from that crash for a reason, that I wasn’t meant to die that night and that there was some sort of purpose that I still hadn’t achieved on this earth.

“I thought I had to help other people and show others that it can get better”

With a renewed vigour for life, the brave businessman created the Tartan Explorer project, an endeavour which will take the 23-year-old to 80 countries across the globe as he attempts to raise awareness of mental health issues and eliminate the stigma surrounding them.

Taking some time out from SharkDog to plan his epic journey, he has set himself five “A-W-A-R-E challenges”:

A – Accept or undertake an adrenaline-based activity or extreme sport.

W- Work or volunteer in a mental health charity or association.

A – Appear on TV or radio speaking about the challenge and adventure.

R – Reveal his story on a stage at a mental health conference, event or seminar.

E – Exercise or perform a physical challenge at the country’s most iconic landmark or destination in a Scottish Morphsuit.

Not one to leave a task unfinished, Quigley is determined to complete every challenge in all the nations he visits.

“I’m a competitive guy, I don’t think I could leave a country without completing all five challenges,” he said.

“I don’t know where the idea came from but I just thought, why just raise awareness in Scotland,” he says.

“I knew I had to do something really incredible and over-the-top that is going to get people to stand up and say ‘wow, what is that guy doing?’”

He aims to fund his trip from sponsorship deals secured from Scottish businesses. In addition, he will launch a crowd-funding campaign next year to supplement the aid he receives from the corporate world. In total, he is aiming to raise £50,000 – £100,000 for his global mental health mission.

“I’m confident I can do it. Worst case scenario, even I don’t raise the money I’m going anyway.

“If I have to hitchhike around the world and sleep on people’s couches then I’ll do it.

“But the more money I can raise the more good I can do, the early signs have been great. I’ve had so much support.”

After completing the Tartan Explorer – which he estimates may take 12 to 18 months – Quigley aims to create a social enterprise to help individuals who are feeling alone and trapped by mental illness. To do this he knows he will need additional funds.

“There are two sides to revenue generation for this project.

“Firstly the sponsorship and crowdfunding will enable the round-the-world trip.

“Then after that I’m hoping to have a massive online community and a really strong brand which I’m able to use help me write a book, make a film and take on public speaking appearances. This way the Tartan Explorer will generate revenue in its own right and I’ll no longer have to rely on donations.

“I can then start to use my commercial influence to create my own initiatives and programmes that I can run to help people.”

Beyond the Tartan Explorer project, he wants to affect real change in the way Scotland treats mental illness. “The next six months I will be speaking to legal and health professionals to find out what the current support system is like for those with mental health problems in Scotland. Ultimately I want to work with charities and hopefully the government so we can implement new systems that will do more for those with depression or other mental illnesses.”