‘Lewis was a truly amazing person’
Tributes to personal trainer who died after mental health struggle
TRIBUTES have been paid to a beloved personal trainer who died following a battle with mental health issues.
Lewis Kirby died on Good Friday after struggling with borderline personality disorder (BPD), anxiety and depression for several years.
The 28-year-old lived in Farnworth, near Bolton, and ran his own business, Push Through Fitness.
Paying tribute to him, Lewis’s best friend Chelsea Nicholson said: “We had been best friends near enough all our lives.
“He wore his heart on his sleeve and would do anything for anyone.
“Nothing was too much trouble. If somebody needed something he would be there, whether he knew you or didn’t.”
She added: “He was just a big teddy bear. He was truly an amazing person, my rock in some of the hardest of times. He was not my brother by blood but brother by heart.
“Lewis was a much-loved son, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin, best friend and friend to many. We will love him unconditionally forever.”
After finishing his studies at George Tomlinson School, in Kearsley, Lewis went on to qualify as a personal trainer before setting up his own business.
Mrs Nicholson said Lewis had spoken ‘quite freely’ about his mental health struggles and his death came as ‘a shock.’
She now wants to continue his legacy by raising money for several charities close to his heart and planting a memorial tree with a plaque.
A Just Giving page has been set up, which has so far raised more than £5,000.
To raise further funds, Lewis’s friends are also taking part in a 100kg tyre flip up and down Rivington Pike, and will also be carrying a weighting stretcher up.
A 10-mile midnight walk is also planned to help raise awareness of borderline personality disorder.
The fundraising page set up in Lewis’s memory can be found here - www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/chelsea-nicholson