<p><span><span><span><strong><span><span>Today is World Mental Health day. An opportunity to raise awareness of mental health issues and mobilize efforts in support of mental health. Today, we reflect on the tragic death of Ben Raemers in May 2019, which shook the skateboarding world into action.</span></span></strong></span></span></span></p>

<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Ben Raemers, known for his bright and contagious personality, showed us how dislocated the inner and outer worlds can become for those struggling with mental health issues. It showed us just how much work there is still to be done to remove the harmful stigmas of speaking out. There is nothing unusual about mental health struggles, and most people will navigate difficult periods in their lifetime. In fact, figures show that <a href="https://www.mind.org.uk/get-involved/world-mental-health-day?utm_medium=organic&amp;utm_source=instagram&amp;utm_campaign=wmhdinstagram&amp;utm_content=wmhd" target="_blank">1 in 6 people in 2020</a> experienced a mental health problem.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></span></span><span><span><span><span><span><span>The tricky part is feeling comfortable to speak out about these issues, but the more we do it the more support networks we will establish.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
