'The Whale gives a voice to people like me'

Sean Crawford cried erstwhile helium saw the trailer for caller Hollywood movie The Whale.

He says the movie astir a reclusive English teacher with terrible obesity, played by Brendan Fraser, resonated with his life.

Mirroring the crippled of the film, Sean rapidly gained value aft idiosyncratic adjacent to him died. He present weighs 30 chromatic (190kg).

The father-of-one from Athelstaneford successful East Lothian says the movie has fixed a dependable to radical successful his situation.

And helium says determination are galore similarities betwixt his beingness and that of the film's pb character, Charlie.

"He instructs a people from down a machine due to the fact that helium is ashamed of his weight, I hid distant from things due to the fact that I was ashamed of mine," said Sean.

"The main absorption is making definite our daughters crook retired to beryllium bully quality beings conscionable successful lawsuit we aren't determination to spot them turn up.

"I deliberation radical request to realise large radical are quality beings."

Sean says wellness and slump are among the issues that tin pb to value gain.

He said: "I often get adults looking astatine maine successful disgust, kids look and marque comments - but I recognize this is the innocence of youth.

"I truthful often perceive radical speech astir the likes of anorexia and bulimia with a grade of sympathy, whereas obesity is frowned upon.

"Both are illnesses astatine the extremity of the day."

Sean said helium had been a assured idiosyncratic earlier helium started gaining weight.

One of his champion friends passed distant successful 2019, past 2 months aboriginal helium took voluntary redundancy from his relation arsenic a attraction supervisor aft 12 years successful the job.

This was followed by the Covid lockdown, and helium ended up retired of enactment for a fewer years.

In this clip helium became a spot of a hermit - and enactment connected 12 stones (76kg) successful 18 months.

"My doc said if determination was an grant for putting connected value successful the shortest abstraction of clip past helium would springiness it to me," said Sean.

"I neglected my beingness and spent 99.9% of my clip watching TV, eating and drinking fizzy juice.

"I don't slumber overmuch truthful I person 18 to 19 hours a time to bash this."

He went from moving with 200 radical each time to sitting connected his ain successful his house.

Sean said helium gave up - peculiarly during lockdown, erstwhile helium recovered the isolation precise stressful.

He started getting backmost pains and it became excessively achy to walk.

He tried to find retired however overmuch helium weighed, but determination were nary scales large capable astatine his doctor's surgery.

He yet got weighed astatine the hospital, and recovered that helium weighed 30 chromatic (190kg).

"It was psyche destroying and I mislaid each my confidence," helium said.

At the extremity of 2020, erstwhile his vacuum cleaner broke and helium did not person capable wealth to regenerate it, a person gave him a fig for the foundation DadsWork.

The assemblage task successful East Lothian provides enactment groups, affirmative parenting classes, workshops connected the relation of fathers, location visits, trips and outings for fathers and their children.

They gave him a vacuum cleaner and told him astir drop-in groups and workshops helium could be with his daughter.

Sean, who is 5ft 11ins , said: "I didn't cognize what they did but aft gathering them I've seen them conscionable astir each week since.

"I started going to their drop-in groups and it was large to conscionable different dads and perceive their stories and what they were struggling with.

"These sessions helped normalise struggles of fatherhood to maine and present I realise that I'm not unsocial - and not the lone 1 who whitethorn consciousness that they don't cognize what they're doing each of the time."

Sean said this had made him a amended dad.

He besides present has a occupation volunteering arsenic a supervisor successful a nutrient bank.

"DadsWork person truly helped maine beryllium much productive with the clip I walk with my girl too," helium added.

He said they present bash "all sorts of things together" and had been supported with swimming passes.

"My girl loves it and it's helping maine get into signifier and get my assurance back," helium said.

Kevin Young, task manager of DadsWork, said the organisation was determination to connection support.

He said: "Sean has made a singular turnaround. When we archetypal met him helium was debased successful assurance and aforesaid esteem and wouldn't spell out.

"We person spent a batch of clip gathering our narration with him to found trust.

"He has gone from the vacuum cleaner, which was a tiny happening but immense happening for his family, to engaging with america hugely."

Now Sean feels successful a amended spot and hopes to suffer value truthful helium tin conscionable a caller partner.

"I hatred being connected my ain and I hatred being lonely," helium said. "I'm successful a unspeakable spot with my value and hatred having my representation taken oregon looking astatine myself.

"But present I'm moving again I consciousness acceptable to suffer weight."

He besides wants to spot The Whale astatine the cinema.

"I'm hopeless to spot it," helium added. "I ended up successful tears erstwhile I watched the trailer, I related to it truthful much.

"I couldn't archer you the past clip I wanted to spot a movie astatine the cinema but this 1 massively ties into my situation.

"I empathise with him and it besides gives a dependable to radical successful my position.

"He is simply a teacher and is helping society. It shows radical benefitting from his life, arsenic usually overweight radical are hidden distant and are not fixed the recognition they are due."