Parasite: A Perfect Example of Diminishing Language Barriers in Modern Art

Parasite premiered in England on February 7th, 2020. It went on to make history just three days later, at the 92nd Academy Awards in Hollywood. Bong Joon-Ho won four awards, breaking records as Parasite became the first non-English film to win Best Picture. Joon-Ho’s work also won itself the titles of Best International Film, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Director. The movie, categorised as a dark comedy and a thriller, instantly left its mark on me. My appreciation for Joon-Ho’s work was not limited by the Korean dialect; in fact, I felt more drawn to the cinematography and music as a result of not focusing my full attention on dialogue. As I watched the movie for the third time, I found myself agitated at the thought that people are missing out on a once in a lifetime movie experience because of a language barrier… then I started making comparisons to a certain playwright that has suffered similar negligence because of linguistic barriers: William Shakespeare – the king of English literature himself.

It is undeniable that Shakespeare’s performative Elizabethan iambic pentameter is more than a stone’s throw from our modern linguistic norms. Yet, those who commit to dissecting the texts he published are rewarded with fanciful tales and clear societal commentary. Similarly, those who can watch Joon-Ho’s Parasite with subtitles are compensated with an unforgettable storyline and cinematic experience. The comparisons continue: both Shakespeare and Joon-Ho choose to monitor two opposing families; both family’s morals are called into question in both stories; and by the end of the plots, the main characters have reverted into their original states. Despite the four-hundred and twenty-five-year gap between the two texts, their parallels are indisputable. Even the crossover of genres is aligned, as audiences receive a slap in the face about two-thirds of the way into the plot, shifting from a light-hearted tone that mocks its characters to a somber and serious theme that threatens the characters we have just become so acquainted with. Perhaps the most interesting comparison is the final lines of both stories, as the bending of social structures results in a catastrophe for both parties and as a result, a new status quo takes hold.

Although Joon-Ho came up with the idea for Parasite in 2013, prompted by the notion that “everyone loves to spy on the private lives of strangers”, and not Shakespeare’s classic tale, it is hard not to draw links between the two tales. Both these stories, and links between them, are a prime example of showcasing how language barriers are gradually becoming extinct in modern-day arts. Hopefully, the widespread success of Parasite marks the beginning of a new era of cinematic experiences.1800

How to create a multilingual content strategy

How to Create a Multilingual Content Strategy to Help you Grow

As a leading UK translation company and copywriting service provider, we help our clients produce unique content for overseas markets. This can take two forms. Our multilingual copywriters can either write original content in your target language, or our qualified linguists can localise content that you have already produced for new markets.

With the importance of relevant, timely and authoritative content continuing to grow on the web, this has proved to be a very effective way to boost the global presence of our clients while keeping the integrity of their messages intact. But how do you create a multilingual content strategy that grabs the attention of overseas readers for all the right reasons? Here’s our guide.

1. Make sure your core message is well-defined

When you’re communicating with prospective customers in lots of different markets, it’s very easy to lose track of exactly what it is you’re trying to say. That’s why your multilingual content strategy should always be built around a single, core message. Once you have defined that message, you need to strike the right balance between localising for target markets and introducing elements that will appeal to them, while retaining the brand equity you already have and are trying to build.

A good example is a brand like McDonald’s. While it keeps its overarching branding consistent, it brings local flavours, literally, to different countries by creating regional specialities. That’s exactly the approach you need to take with your content.

2. Get to know your target market

Making assumptions about what appeals to customers in a new market, their online behaviours and their values and needs is a dangerous game to play. For an effective multilingual content strategy, you should always take the time to research the culture and people of the region to avoid those potentially brand-damaging localisation clangers and produce content with local appeal.

Ask the following questions:

  • What is the primary language used by your new customers?
  • What cultural nuances do you need to be aware of?
  • What are the online behaviours of your new customers (i.e. where do they hang out?)
  • What are their expectations and needs?
  • What are the trends that are emerging in the market?

3. Integrate your content channels

When you start to produce content for different markets, it’s very easy to lose track of what you have out there, how it’s performing and what kind of engagement it’s generating. Another risk is that you have numerous content outlets, such as social media accounts, that are completely separate from another.

That’s why you must integrate all of the platforms that you produce content on and manage them centrally. Content channels, such as your blog, social media accounts and your website, should also be linked together to create a seamless customer journey.

4. Create style guides for each country

When it comes to creating content for multiple markets, you can do it the easy way or the hard way. You can either create original content for each market with the help of a multilingual copywriting service provider, or you can produce content once that can be easily localised for all the other markets you operate in. The latter approach is certainly more cost-effective. Producing a style guide for each target market will make it easier to localise your content quickly and consistently.

5. Work with an experienced language service provider

Partnering with a language service provider that has a team of subject matter experts and mother-tongue translators will help you to produce authoritative multilingual content for your new customers. At Linguistica Translation and Recruitment, our copywriters, translators and transcreation experts are on hand to create content that gets your business noticed in markets around the world.

Please call 02392 987 765 or email info@linguistica-international.com to discuss your project with our team.

A Festive Look at Food Labelling After Brexit

A Festive Look at Food Labelling After Brexit

If you’ve come to the Linguistica Translation and Recruitment blog in search of some sort of festive jamboree, complete with reindeers, elves and the big man himself, then you’re going to be disappointed. I’m afraid it’s been that kind of year. Instead, we’ve laid on a wonderfully festive platter of post-Brexit food labelling tips for you. Granted, they may not be particularly jolly, but they could prove to be jolly useful.

Whether or not a deal with the EU is in place, on 31 December 2020, the transition period will end and everything (in regard to food labelling) will change. Here’s what you need to know.

Food labelling after Brexit: What do you need to do?

Any business that exports goods to the EU of any kind will have to make a few changes to comply with the relevant import/export rules. All UK products that are exported to the EU/EEA will have to replace ‘Made in the EU’ with ‘Made in the UK’. That’s not the case in Northern Ireland, where EU labelling rules will remain in place. That’s the result of an agreement between the UK and the EU to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

UK food products sold in the EU will have until 1 January 2021 to make the necessary labelling changes. However, that does not apply to products that are already on the market, which can continue to be sold with the old labelling.

  • Food Business Operator (FBO) Address

One of the biggest changes to food labels after Brexit is that UK food producers exporting to the EU will have to include an EU food business operator address on their packaging. To do that, they will either need to open a legal entity in the EU or designate an EU-based importer.

  • Country of Origin

In the EU, some foodstuffs such as fruits and vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, wine and olive oil must show their exact country of origin, while for other foodstuffs, simply ‘EU’ or ‘non-EU’ will do. From 1 January 2021, food produced in the UK for EU markets cannot be labelled ‘Origin: EU’. It’s a small change but one that you must make.

  • Organic Products

From 1 January 2021, organic food produced in the UK and sold in the EU can no longer display the EU organic emblem. Critically, until an equivalent status has been assigned by the EU to UK standards, organic producers may not be able to export their produce to the EU at all.

  • EU Emblem

UK food producers selling goods in the EU must not use the EU emblem on their labels from 1 January 2021, unless they have been authorised to do so by the EU.

Get prepared NOW!

Although the food labelling changes after Brexit shouldn’t be too problematic for most UK exporters, labelling changes can be costly and difficult to manage. At Linguistica International, we can help you produce food labelling quickly in multiple on-pack languages so you can hit the ground running when the new regulations come in.

Give us a call on 02392 987 765 or email info@linguistica-international.com to discuss your requirements with our team.

 

Is Your Business Attracting International Buyers Unintentionally

Is Your Business Attracting International Buyers Unintentionally?

In the Linguistica International blog, we talk a lot about the problems businesses face and the potential opportunities that come from targeting customers in new markets. However, occasionally, some businesses find themselves in the serendipitous position of targeting overseas customers unintentionally.

In this article, we will explain how businesses can accidentally attract international customers and talk about the steps you can take if you have traffic that you could really do without.

Be prepared to capitalise on unexpected opportunities

In the age of the internet, businesses can receive enquiries and orders from territories they had never intended to target. Any sale or enquiry should be welcomed and if it’s something you can fulfil, often one sale will lead to another, particularly if you can identify how overseas customers are finding you online.

In many cases, such an unexpected order will lead to a scramble to arrange shipping and some initial confusion about the relevant rules and regulations for imports in that country. You’ll also need to have a payment system and shipping service in place that can fulfil the order. However, not all businesses can plan that far ahead, in which case, it may be necessary simply to refuse the order and refund the customer but also to think about how you might be able to fulfil this type of order in the future.

How to identify international search traffic

It’s not unusual for even very small businesses to find themselves with unusual web traffic patterns that don’t make much sense. To check where your website’s traffic is originating from, go to Google Analytics, select ‘Audience’ and then click ‘Geo’ and ‘Locations’.

Low volumes of international traffic can potentially be explained by expat activity, but what if you’re receiving higher volumes of traffic from completely unexpected locations and with no clear reason? That’s when your international visitors could become a cause for concern.

Potential explanations for unwelcome search traffic

Despite being widely available for almost two decades, the internet is still very much the wild west, and receiving a large amount of unexplained international web traffic is not necessarily a good thing. That is particularly the case when the traffic visits your site for malicious reasons or through paid advertising campaigns that have not been properly targeted.

Fake traffic

Fake traffic is artificial online activity generated by bots, click farms and other types of software, and unfortunately it’s extremely widespread. If you have lots of visitors from an unusual location over a short period of time that leave your website almost immediately, that’s a sure sign of bots.

You might think bots are harmless, but they can completely distort your reporting and make it difficult to distinguish between genuine and fake visitors. Fake visitors also lead to higher bounce rates, which can have an impact on your search engine rankings.

Cloned websites

Plagiarism is a less common problem but could still be the cause of your mysterious international visitors. Some websites and their content can be cloned by those in other markets, which can lead to an unexpected increase in traffic from overseas.

If you suspect that your site has been cloned, you can paste chunks of your content into Google to see if it has been replicated elsewhere. If it is, the good news is that Google is adept at distinguishing between the original and duplicate content and the cloned site will be heavily penalised. You can also issue a DMCA takedown notice to get the content removed altogether.

Attract an international audience for all the right reasons

At Linguistica Translation and Recruitment, we can help you attract an international audience with meticulously translated content that attracts clicks from genuine overseas customers. Call 02392 987 765 or email info@linguistica-international.com to discuss your project with our team.

The role of translation during the Covid-19 pandemic

The Role of Translation During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Sharing knowledge and information is central to medical and scientific advancement. This has been irrefutably demonstrated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

As the virus has spread from country to country, medical professionals around the world have been learning from the research, information and experiences of their international peers. In the early stages, that information was not readily available. However, as more and more translation teams have joined the battle, now that potentially life-saving information is much more readily available.

Sharing information between medical peers

In the early days of the US outbreak, one of the first recorded coronavirus patients was a doctor’s assistant in New Jersey called James Cai. He reached out to his Chinese peers for information about how to treat the virus, which at that point was only available in Mandarin. Fortunately, the patient’s boss, Dr George Hall, was originally from China, and he was able to work slowly through the treatment guidelines from the Chinese National Health Commission and give the patient the treatment he needed.

This story, as told in the New York Times, ended happily, as the patient was treated in accordance with the guidelines and survived. However, it required 12 straight hours of translation work from Dr Hall to produce what became the early blueprint for the symptoms, signs of mild and severe cases, methods of oxygen delivery and the course of the disease.

Combating misinformation

Sadly, we live in the age of misinformation and the ongoing pandemic has shown just how damaging it can be. At one stage, telephone towers were being destroyed amid 5G conspiracy theories and we were being told by certain soon-to-be ex-presidents that bleach “used inside the body” could be an effective cure. Everything from garlic to saltwater has been hailed as a silver bullet. This misinformation, with the help of social media, has been disseminated across international borders and through language barriers.

Translators have a vital role to play in combating the spread of misinformation. Translators Without Borders and the BBC have created resources in a huge range of languages urging people to fact-check the information they read online before they share it or act on it.

Giving the public access to coronavirus information they can trust

Perhaps the most important role translators are playing in the outbreak is ensuring that reliable information from trusted sources is available to the public. Specialist medical, pharmaceutical and life sciences translators have been working around the clock to ensure vital messages are heard by everyone.

They are experts in the field who can communicate complex concepts such as ‘social distancing’ and translate technical medical information accurately into different languages. That’s more easily said than done when some of the terms that are now widespread have only been introduced in the last few months.

The bottom line

When it comes to creating trustworthy information that could save lives, you need to work with a team of translators who are qualified, vetted and adhere to proper quality control procedures. That’s where we can help.

Just give us a call on 02392 987 765 or email info@linguistica-international.com for expert translation assistance during this critical time.

5 Common Misconceptions About Translators

5 Common Misconceptions About Translators

We tend to have stereotypical ideas about the people who work in industries we have no first-hand knowledge of, and nowhere is this truer than in the field of translation. Here at Linguistica Translation and Recruitment, we have more than 20 years of experience in the field of professional translation, so we’ve certainly heard some rubbish, but some misconceptions rear their amusing heads time and time again.

In this edition of the Linguistica blog, we’re going to take an admittedly flippant look at some of the misconceptions that pervade our industry.

1. Translators don’t talk much

Translators spend so much time reading and writing that they don’t have time to talk, apparently. What tosh! Yes, being bookish is a trait of some translators and it’s an admirable quality in any profession, but translators love to talk just as much as anyone else. In fact, their ability to use more than one language means they have twice as many people to talk to.

2. All translators are female

The reason given for this one is that women are naturally better language learners than men. The truth is that there are more women in occupations across the linguistic fields. Studies have been conducted to try and prove whether women are naturally better at learning languages than men, with none proving conclusive. So, what is the reason for the disproportionately large female presence? We have to put it down to tradition, with young bourgeois women encouraged to learn two languages to ‘develop their reasoning’ as far back as the 18th century, and personal preference.

3. Translators are over 40

Supposedly it takes such a long time to learn a language fluently enough to work as a professional translator that you have to be over 40. Most translators do have an extensive linguistic education, but you can still gain the necessary qualifications and experience you need to be a fully qualified translator by your mid-twenties. What young translators may lack in experience, they more than make up for with their knowledge of the colloquialisms and linguistic nuances present in the language used by the highly prized younger consumers that businesses are so desperate to attract.

4. Translators wear moth-eaten clothes

This one is true. At Linguistica HQ, you’re only allowed into the building if you have a hole in your obligatory cardigan that’s at least thumb-sized. Clothes that have any shape are immediately taken to our on-site incinerator and translators are given a suitably drab replacement outfit from our lost property bin. We find it’s the only way to maintain any order.

5. You have to speak four or five languages to be a translator

While some translators do know more than two languages, the vast majority of translators only translate into and out of the same two languages professionally. Only by specialising in those languages they keep up with the evolution of the language and be familiar with all the relevant industry terms. Just as a doctor has to specialise in one area to have the necessary expertise, so does a translator.

Let us debunk your translation misconceptions

Get in touch with the fashionable, young (reasonably) and happening team of professional translators here at Linguistica Translation and Recruitment. We’ll happily discuss your project with you and explain what our work is really all about. Call 02392 987 765 or email info@linguistica-international.com today.

Human translators vs. machine translators

Can Machines Outperform Human Translators?

Ever since machine translation became neural machine translation in 2016, big tech has been trying to persuade us that it has reached human-level quality. Today, it has gone one step further. The nerds over in Silicon Valley are now trying to convince us that machine translation outperforms human-level translation. Are they right? Not on your nelly!

What exactly are the claims?

Anyone with knowledge of the industry knows that human translation has always been superior to machine translation in just about every way apart from speed and price. Big tech knows it, too. That’s why its claims are made with some interesting caveats.

The study only looks at whether a deep learning translation system called CUBITT can produce translations that are comparable to those produced by humans in the domain of ‘news’ translation, which accounts for a tiny proportion of the whole translation sector. The study also claims that machine translation only outperforms human translation in the metric of ‘adequacy’, but what exactly does that mean?

The sentence-level translation Turing test

The tests compared the work of CUBITT against human translators on almost 8,000 sentences across 53 documents. 15 human evaluators were then asked to rate the translations for ‘adequacy’.

The definition of adequacy for the purpose of the test was ‘adequately expressing the source text’s intended meaning in the target language’.

The human evaluators found that 52 percent of CUBITT’s sentences scored higher than the human translations when measured against this metric, while just 26 percent of CUBITT’s translations scored lower than sentences translated by humans. Impressive, right?

Here’s the catch

When compared to the work of human translators, the evaluators observed that CUBITT made fewer errors in addition of meaning, shift of meaning and omission of meaning. However, it made significantly more errors when it came to cross-sentence context and readability, with the work of the human translators rated as more fluent.

Interestingly though, another test compared 100 pairs of sentences that were translated by CUBITT and Google Translate. In this case, the evaluators found that CUBITT’s translations were less likely to be identified as the work of a machine when compared to those produced by Google Translate.

Better than Google Translate but still worse than humans

Big tech’s claims that CUBITT can outperform human translators seems to be more of a newspaper headline than a representation of reality, given that the metric of ‘adequacy’ is one that has been devised specifically for this test.

However, CUBITT can outperform fellow machine translation tool Google Translate, and that is something to celebrate. Machine translation undoubtedly has an important part to play in the industry, so any improvements are welcomed, but the truth is, there’s still no substitute for the work of a professional human translator.

Human translation from a leading UK team

At Linguistica International, our professional team of human translators can help you reach your customers in more than 250 languages. Get in touch to discuss your translation project today on 02392 987 765 or email info@linguistica-international.com.

A few fascinating facts about business translation

4 Fascinating Facts About Business Translation

Business translation services can open up a tremendous amount of opportunities for firms that want to sell their goods and services overseas. To illustrate that, we’re going to bring you a few fascinating facts about business translation that serve to highlight and quantify the opportunities that exist.

For example, did you know that there are only 11 languages that account for more than one percent of all the content online? This means that if you just translated your product and service information into just those 11 languages, you could reach over 75 percent of the internet users around the world. That equates to more than 3.4 billion potential new customers!

Sound enticing? Then read on for a few more fascinating facts about business translation.

1. Just 1.8 percent of online content is written in Chinese

Linguistically speaking, the Chinese are massively underserved when it comes to online content. China has the second-highest number of internet users and there are nearly a billion Chinese speakers around the world, yet just 1.8 percent of online content is written in Chinese. Given the native language bias of online shoppers, with 76 percent of consumers wanting to buy products in their native language, it’s clear that translating your content into Chinese could deliver extremely attractive returns.

2. The web is predominantly English-first, but other languages are gaining ground

Around 60 percent of all the websites in existence are written in English, which reinforces the fact that the web is predominantly English-first. However, the dominance of the English language is on the slide, with several other languages gaining ground. The next most common language online is Russian, accounting for 8.6 percent of all websites, while 4 percent and 3.2 percent of websites are written in Spanish and Turkish, respectively.

There’s also a big disconnect between some of the world’s most commonly spoken languages and their presence online. Chinese, Bengali and Punjabi are three of the world’s 10 most commonly spoken languages, spoken by more than 1.2 billion people, yet they’re still relatively scarce online.

3. Arabic is the fastest-growing language online

There are already around 300 million native Arabic speakers, with many of those living across the Western world. In fact, Arabic is the fastest-growing language in the US and online. From 2000-2020, the number of Arabic-speaking internet users grew by 9,348 percent, bringing the number to 237 million. The combined gross domestic product of the Arab-speaking world is £2 trillion, giving you some idea of just how lucrative a market it could be.

4. 57 percent of online shoppers make purchases from overseas retailers

Research from Shopify has found that 57 percent of online shoppers make purchases from overseas retailers. However, there are some important caveats to that. Consumers who buy from foreign websites still want to be able to read product reviews, watch videos and read information written in their language. Many also want to be able to purchase products online in their currency.

Business translation represents a tremendous opportunity

The growth of the multilingual web and the scarcity of some of the world’s most spoken languages online represents a fantastic opportunity for businesses that take the time to do it right. At Linguistica International, our mother tongue linguists are ready to help you get your business online in the languages your customers speak.

Call 02392 987 765 or email info@linguistica-international.com to discuss your business translation goals with our team.

Language preferences of consumers around the world

Study Reveals Language Preferences of Consumers in 29 Countries

The third global ‘Can’t Read, Won’t Buy’ survey by CSA Research (formerly Common Sense Advisory) has revealed the language preferences of consumers in 29 countries. It makes essential reading for businesses that have already expanded overseas or are planning to do so in the near future.

Among its headline findings, the survey revealed that 76 percent of online shoppers prefer to buy products from websites that have information in their own language, with 40 percent saying they never buy from websites that don’t.

The survey’s scope

The CSA survey is by far the most extensive research conducted into the language preferences of consumers around the world. There were 8,709 survey respondents in 29 countries in Europe, North America, South America and Asia, with the results making the case for delivering localised content throughout the customer journey.

Specifically, the research explored online language preferences and their impact on buying behaviours. Factors including nationality, global brand recognition, English-language proficiency and the ability to conduct transactions in local currencies were also included in the study.

The top-level findings

The study found that, not surprisingly, the demand for local-language content in online transactions changes with nationality. Consumers in Asia-Pacific countries are the most reliant on local-language content, with consumers in Taiwan (94 percent), Korea (92 percent) and China (92 percent) favouring online products with information in their own languages.

Other findings include the following:

  • 65 percent of consumers prefer product information in their own language, even if the quality of that content is poor.
  • 67 percent are willing to tolerate mixed languages on a website and still make a purchase.
  • 73 percent want to see product reviews in their own language, even if no other native language content is available.
  • 66 percent of consumers use machine translation tools to create native language content if it’s not available.
  • 75 percent say they’re more likely to buy from the same brand again if the customer support is in their language.
  • Given the choice between similar products, 66 percent will choose the less expensive product even if no information is available in their own language.
  • A strong global brand can influence purchasing decisions, with 69 percent of consumers choosing products from major brands over those with information in their own language. Vietnamese (85 percent) consumers are most impressed by global brands, while the Japanese (50 percent) are the least.

Localise your website if you want to sell more goods

Although there are many more factors, such as price, payment methods and delivery options, that influence cross-border purchasing decisions, it’s clear that language has a major impact on your customers’ experiences online.

The results of this survey prove that if you want to increase the sales of your products in overseas markets, the translation and localisation of your website content is a must. That should include your product information, delivery details, payment options and product reviews.

Give your business the global edge

At Linguistica International, our diverse network of 2,000 professional linguists can translate your product information into more than 200 languages. Call us on 02392 987 765 or email info@linguistica-international.com today to discuss how our translation and transcreation teams can help.

It's okay not to be okay

It’s OK not to be OK

Here at Linguistica Translation & Recruitment, we’re going to break from our usual line of translation news and tips to introduce a charitable campaign that we’re proud to support until the end of the year.

It’s OK not to be OK (IOKN2BOK) is a mental health campaign started by Tony Wilsher. It encourages people to reach out and talk about their mental health challenges, however big or small they perceive their problems to be.

Here’s a little bit more about Tony and why he felt inspired to set up the campaign.

A difficult start

Tony’s mental health issues go back to his childhood. Although he has a loving relationship with his father now, as a child, the stresses of life and excess drinking made his father harder on him than perhaps he should have been. In Tony’s teenage years, he started out on a slippery slope of drink, drugs, crime and violence, and he needed a way out. That’s when he found the army.

Life in the army

The army set Tony on a different course. It straightened him out and gave him routine, fellowship and structure – all the things he had needed to leave his troubled teenage years behind him. Although the drink and violence still made the occasional unwelcome appearance, things were good for a short period.

Tony used to think that the things he’d seen and done in the army hadn’t affected him. However, after two operational tours of Afghanistan, other operational stations and various other damaging life events, the familiar demons of drinking, violence and addiction traits resurfaced, and Tony started to spiral out of control.

The decline

With his demons buried deep within himself and no way to get them out, Tony started to push away everything that he loved or that was important to him. He lost his wife, children, family, home, health, sanity and very nearly his job. There reached a point when Tony had nothing left to lose. He was at rock bottom and was plagued by insurmountable debts and addiction problems that were out of control.

At his worst, Tony would stay in his bedroom for 20-30 days at a time. His depression and anxiety had gotten so bad that he wouldn’t eat and would choose to go to the toilet in a bucket rather than risk leaving his bedroom and seeing the outside world.

Despite many people trying to help, including charities, the army welfare team, friends, family, his wife and even his children, nothing could relieve the pain and suffering Tony was going through.

Tony 1

The salvation

On 10 January 2020, a man Tony had never met visited him at home. He said he’d been told that Tony was in a bad way and was reaching out to try and help him. He asked Tony if he’d like to go to church with him the following day. Although Tony had never believed in God and had only been to church for weddings, funerals and christenings, something inside him said go.

Tony went to church that next day and felt the love, warmth and care from the people in the church; it was a power like nothing he had felt before. From that day onwards, slowly but surely, Tony has started to turn his life around. As well as the support from the CRC, he has also opened up to all the other networks that were so desperately trying to reach him and is now receiving the help he needs.

The campaign

Today, Tony is the best dad, son, husband, friend and soldier he has ever been.

Tony 2Tony 3

He has seen how powerful sitting down and talking about the mental challenges we all face at certain times in our lives can be. He has started the ‘It’s OK not to be OK’ campaign’ to help others reach out a lot earlier than he did so they can avoid the hurt and pain he went through.

The campaign started with motivational videos on Facebook that went viral. Tony received message after message from people saying how what he was doing was helping them and was even saving lives. Since then, the campaign has snowballed. ‘It’s OK not to be OK’ is now in the process of getting charity status so that Tony can travel to schools, colleges, businesses and military organisations and raise awareness of mental health by delivering presentations.

The big vision for the charity is to open mental health retreats across the country where people can have a number of weeks away from their problems and find the space they need, with expert help, to start to work through them.

Support

If any of this rings true for you or you’ve been touched by Tony’s story and would like to show your support, please take a look at It’s OK not to be OK’s pages on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Tony would love you to purchase a t-shirt to help put IOKN2BOK on the map or to get involved in any way you can.

It’s OK not to be OK’s first official fundraiser is on 17 August 2020, when Tony and IOKN2BOK’s official celebrity partner, Darren Day, will be doing a skydive with the group of ladies who came up with the idea.

If you would like to find out more about IOKN2BOK or talk to Tony directly, please contact him via the Facebook page.