There are not enough superlatives in the world for this man.
'Speedo Mick' has officially completed his final charity challenge, and walked almost 1000 miles in the process.
The Liverpool fundraising legend announced over the weekend that he had finished his journey, walking all the way from John O'Groat's in Scotland to Land's End in Cornwall in his huge fundraising challenge.
The famous fundraiser, who became a household name for swimming the English Channel in 2014 and numerous other impressive feats over the last decade, finished his 1,000-mile walk on Saturday, 29 April, summiting the likes of Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis in all manner of conditions on his way.
Real name Michael Cullen, Speedo Mick gained the amusingly modest moniker for carrying out all of his charity efforts in nothing but a tight pair of swimming trunks, but make no mistake, there is nothing modest about the things this man has achieved.
Arriving in Land's End this weekend following his epic four-month trek to walk the length of the UK, the proud Scouser and lifelong Everton fan (hence the choice of shorts) shared a resouding message of relief and gratitude on social media, confirming his journey had finally come to an end.
As if this individual feast wasn't enough, when totting up all of his other fundraising efforts throughout the past 10 years, Speedo Mick has raised more than £1 million for charity, including over £220,000 for mental health organisations not just around the North West but the UK and Ireland at large.
Mick began his remarkable voyage after he began struggling with his own mental health some time ago, with his last walk seeing him cover more than 2,500 miles and raising £200k in one go. Utterly immense.
As explained in the description on his fundraising page, the 58-year-old has raised a ridiculous amount for various important causes, including mental health, food drives, disadvantaged young people and homelessness — all of which factored into The SpeedoMike Foundation, which he set up in June 2020.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast on the day he reached Land's End, the mighty Speedo Mick explained how motivation came from nothing else other than wanting to give back, explaining how he "needed that support myself a long time ago and [has] never looked back since."
Speedo Mick has put in some serious graft over the past seven years, in particular, raising truly life-saving sums to combat mental health and suicide prevention, but as he explained when he began this walk (in freezing cold December, no less), he will now "be hanging up my Blue knickers for ever more."
Joking that he's "no spring chicken", his first words after reaching his final destination were: "I'm freezing cold, but I'm excited to see all of my family. I just want to see my own bed and to have some beans on toast." We'd say he's earned it, wouldn't you?
You can donate to his GoFundMe HERE and help him take his amazing tally even further.
You're an absolute inspiration, Mick, now have a good old rest and enjoy that beans on toast.
Featured Image — Speedo Mick (via Twitter)
Sport
A huge FA Cup semi-final fan park is opening in Leeds, with the biggest screen in the city
An enormous fan park is set to open in Leeds this month, ahead of Leeds United's FA Cup semi-final clash against Chelsea.
The Whites will be heading to Wembley on Sunday 26 April, but Leeds fans will be able to cheer them on in our home city too, thanks to this massive event from 4TheFans.
4TheFans will be turning the O2 Academy Leeds into an immersive, dedicated Leeds United fan park experience for this historic day.
Expect to watch all the action on the biggest screen in Leeds, plus there'll be world-class sound, a Sky Sports presenter, a fully-stocked bar, a dedicated 4TheFans presenter, DJs, and a genuine Leeds football legend providing analysis and banter.
And every time the ball hits the back of the net, pyrotechnics and other special effects will only add to the atmosphere.
It's been 39 years since our beloved Leeds reached an FA Cup semi-final, and now Daniel Farke’s side are just 90 minutes away from a place in the FA Cup Final.
Nearly 2000 fellow supporters will be able to come together under one roof in one of the city's most iconic venues, for what's shaping up to be the best atmosphere outside Wembley itself.
This really is the best alternative to being at the actual match, with 4TheFans’ proven track record of creating atmospheric fan parks for major sporting events.
A huge FA Cup semi-final fan park is opening in Leeds, with the biggest screen in the city
And whether it ends in ecstasy or heartbreak, this is a match that Leeds fans need to see together.
Hundreds of tickets have already been sold from pre-registration.
General Admission tickets start at £7.50 and provide standing access to the entire fan park, while premium seated tickets start from £9.50 and secure a balcony seat with unobstructed views of the screens.
This family event is for anyone over eight years old (under 14s must be accompanied by an adult on the balcony).
The 4TheFans FA Cup semi-final fan park will be open at O2 Academy Leeds on Sunday 26 April, with doors open at 1pm ahead of a 3pm kick-off.
Estimated to be worth around £45 million, the Grade II-listed structure renovations won't begin for a little while just yet, but it is set to increase the capacity of the space by more than 50%.
Announced on Tuesday, 24 March, the major refurb will be partly funded by public money and topped up by the private sector and "philanthropic partners".
The UK government and Sheffield City Council will be pumping in approximately £35m, with a further £10m being added through the investment mentioned above.
Soon to allow the theatre to scale up or down in size, the hope is that the new 'in the round' format will enable the Crucible to serve its arts and sporting audiences for decades to come, as well as opening the big Northern stage up to new opportunities.
Due to start in the summer of 2028, it's still unclear as to the exact completion date, but the plans are in support of confirmation that the annual snooker tournament will stay put.
A fresh agreement with the WSC will see them stay in Sheff until at least 2045, with the Crucible's number of seats set to jump from just under 1,000 to 1,480.
It's also said there is an option in the deal to extend the contract until 2050, and as one of the biggest competitive events that comes to the city year in and year out, you would expect them to push hard for the Council and partners to push hard for this, too.
Credit: Bread and Butter PR (supplied)
Dan Walker, Chair of Sheffield Theatres Trust, said in a statement: "The Crucible is a wonderful theatre with a brilliant reputation, and the positive impact of this investment will be seen for years to come.
"As a proud resident of Sheffield, I know the importance of snooker to our city, but this isn’t only good news for Sheffield: this is amazing news for the north of England and the whole of the UK."
If all goes to plan, the overhaul should take around 18 months, with productions being hosted in the Lyceium and the newest room, the Montgomery.
All the while, the Sheffield Theatres will continue to present new work both domestically and around the globe over this period, with more details coming this autumn 2026.
The Hoot -
2nd May 2023 
