Rex Fisher will cross the Atlantic in memory of his father – ShootingUK

Rex Fisher, son of the late BAFTA-winning television writer, fishing broadcaster and Shooting times contributor Nick Fisher prepares for a 5,000-mile cruise across the Atlantic Ocean. Less than two years after his father’s suicide, Rex is raising funds for Tackling Minds, a charity promoting the mental health benefits of fishing.

Rex is part of a four-person team taking part in an annual race known as the World’s Toughest Race. Rex’s team will row 24 hours a day, in three-hour shifts, battling sleep deprivation, bedsores and the physical extremes that come with navigating the world’s second largest ocean.

Nick Fisher (inset) was the creator and presenter of Channel 4’s Screaming Reels, Radio 5 Live’s Dirty Tackle and co-author of the award-winning book River Cottage Fish with friend and fishing buddy Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall. In November 2022, Nick’s body was discovered in a hotel near his home in Dorset. At age 63, he has experienced a lifelong battle with mental illness and addiction.

Suicide has remained the leading killer of men under 50 for 20 years.

“I wanted to make this poem to show people suffering from suicide that there is life after suicide,” Rex said ST. “Not the same life, not necessarily brighter, but stronger, more resilient.”

You can support Rex in his poem via his GoFundMe page: bit.ly/rexrows