“Impacting people’s lives in positive way was something I knew I wanted to do at the beginning of my sobriety.”
Rhys Thomas
Rhys Thomas is a former Wales international rugby player. When he was 29, he almost died from a heart attack during a training session with the Scarlets rugby team, which forced Rhys to retire immediately.
The doctors gave him two choices. 12 months to live or get an artificial pump fitted. This led to an eight-year period of trauma, challenging personal life circumstances and a battle with alcohol addiction.
Now 2 years sober, and waiting for a heart transplant, Rhys talks about resilience, athlete transition, mental health, overcoming fear, victim to a growth mindset, addiction and recovery, perspective, and finding purpose.
Rhys is the co-founder of Tidy Butt – a positive environment for people to talk. This charity has grown from a private Facebook group for people to share their experiences with issues around mental health to a registered charity presenting wellbeing talks to schools, businesses and professional sports organisations.
