An Afghanistan veteran, who has been supported by Help for Heroes, is looking to give the Charity’s funds a lift with a weightlifting challenge at two gyms at different ends of the country.
Alex Combat Fuel
Alex Berezynskyj, 32, originally from Sutton, in Cambridgeshire, was an infantryman with the Royal Anglian Regiment, The Vikings, until a shock medical discharge in 2018. As a qualified PTI he became a personal trainer in a civilian gym but branched out to launch Combat Fuel Supplements Ltd, based in Amesbury, Wiltshire.
During the intervening years Combat Fuel has supported other veterans through donations and fundraising for Armed Forces charity Help for Heroes, with its total standing at more than £20,000. And, on 25 June, Combat Fuel is hosting ‘Lift for Heroes’, a 12-hour weightlifting marathon at two venues: Full Motion Fitness, Andover, Hampshire, and Tactical Transformations, Chester-le-Street, Co Durham.
Berezynskyj’s aim is to get more than 500 people to attend each venue to lift as big a total as possible, between 7am and 7pm.
He explained:
“The two locations will be headed up by many of our athletes, with plenty of Combat Fuel products on hand to keep participants fuelled. As when the event was held, in 2019, everyone is welcome, from kids to the elderly and everyone in between; novice lifters to professional athletes.
“Food will be on offer at both locations and the aim is for each location to lift at least one million kilograms!”
Berezynskyj credits Help for Heroes with getting his life back on the rails after he was admitted to a psychiatric unit, and even contemplated suicide.
He recalled:
“Help for Heroes was amazing at getting me out of my shell. I started talking again; I began to acknowledge the impact my mental health was having on my life and accepted I would never be the ‘old me again’.
“The judgement-free zone, being able to undertake therapy and talk freely without fear of being detained and being put back into a psychiatric ward, was invaluable to my recovery.”
He concluded:
“Help for Heroes and Combat Fuel is a real story of how important it is to help others. I was on the brink of losing everything and now we walk side by side helping other veterans.”
Help for Heroes champions the Armed Forces community and helps them live well after service. The charity helps them, and their families, to recover and get on with their lives. It has already supported more than 27,000 people and won’t stop until every veteran gets the support they deserve.
The Charity supports veterans from any branch of the UK military – regulars or reserves – irrespective of length or place of service, and locally embedded civilians (and their families) who worked alongside our Armed Forces.
