Man to take on Weston beach challenge after friend's death

Andrew Roadhouse, 25, a former chef from Creech St Michael, will be setting off on October 5 on a whistle-stop tour of 55 beach towns in England, all to raise funds for Mind.

This follows the death of one of his close friends at the start of his chef career.

Mr Roadhouse said he aims to swim in the sea in every new location for the mental health benefits of cold plunges and invites those following his journey to join him.

He said one of the destinations on his list will be Weston-super-Mare, alongside destinations in Cornwall, Devon, Brighton, Southport and more. The first location will be Woolacombe.

In a new interview with the County Gazette, he said: “What is good for mental health? Going in the sea, ice-cold swims and breathing in sea air.

“It’s a place to release feel-good endorphins and to get new perspective.”

Andrew Roadhouse on an airplane. (Image: Andrew Roadhouse)

He added: “I hate cold water and being cold, usually after a cold dip you get out and warm up in your house, but I will be living in my van so that will be different.”

During his visits, he aims to run, review local eateries, and raise awareness for mental health, breaking the societal stigmas surrounding it.

This will also be a way for him to train in preparation for the 2027 London Marathon for the Mind charity.

In a previous interview with the County Gazette, he said: “I am running the London Marathon next year for Mind.

“At the start of my chef career, one of my close friends took his own life.

“I also have ADHD, which I want people to know doesn’t define you, and you can do whatever you want to do in life.

“I think everyone battles with mental health, and if you have not been personally affected by mental health issues, then you know someone who has been impacted by mental health; it is something that affects every single person.”

Mr Roadhouse said he started his career in hospitality when he was 14 years old, washing dishes in the Merry Monk, and was an apprentice chef at The Castle Hotel in Taunton for five years under chefs Liam Finnegan, Hugh Hazelwood, and John Godfrey.

Andrew Roadhouse with his dog. (Image: Andrew Roadhouse)

He then worked at Michael Caines in Exmouth before he took his first head chef job at a pub in Kilve.

He said that after travelling to Southeast Asia, he realised he wanted more from his life than cooking and decided to pursue content creation.

Mr Roadhouse has dedicated his social media to showing people how everyone struggles, and that is okay, with him even posting a video of himself crying on his platform.

Since his last challenge, he has received 60,000 new follows and has also had multiple videos go viral.

He said an important part of his social media is to show that social media is fake and to encourage people to follow their dreams.

He said: “I want people to know that you can be who you want to be.

“A lot of people think what they see on social media is true, but I would say take everything you see with a pinch of salt and be kind to people.”

He set off for the previous challenge on August 11 and finished on October 4 and will be finishing the new challenge on New Year's Eve.

For the last challenge he ran 275km in total.

He said: “I felt so good after, I felt so accomplished, but it is an almost Boxing Day feeling because you think ‘right what am I going to do next’, so I am glad I have this new challenge to keep me going.

“I didn’t realise how much being on social media would affect my mental health. Over the last three months I have struggled more with my mental health than I ever have.

“It’s exciting as well because it is another challenge no one has ever done.”

Overall, he managed to raise £800 for Mind Charity and will continue his fundraising efforts for the next challenge.

If you wish to follow Mr Roadhouse online, his username is andrew_chef1 on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.