Listen to this articleBelow is our recent interview with Simon Gilham, the Founder of xgilham:
Q: Simon, can you tell us something more about the xgilham?
A: The motivation and driving force behind launching @xgilham on TikTok and Instagram was to help people create perspective in life and provide a sense of being “not alone” in the thoughts, emotions and situations we all experience.
The Coronavirus pandemic suddenly presented the reality of a new life that I had never envisaged within my lifetime or my children’s lifetime. The early days were a real struggle to understand and cope with what was materialising. Forced to live a new dictated life under an unknown timeline left me feeling confused, a little sad and above all else helpless. To overcome these feelings, the first thing I tried to do was to volunteer and try to help…my way of not feeling so helpless. I signed up as an NHS helper, however, I didn’t feel like I was helping enough or reaching enough people.
As the weeks went on, I could see the impact the isolation and fear were having not only on myself but also on my children, family, friends and work colleagues. I could see mental health was becoming a prominently discussed symptom of the pandemic…one that had always previously been a little taboo. I started to reflect on my own feelings and search deep for happier memories to help keep me focused and strong. This journey took me to look at old photos, listen to music and watch movies that I had not experienced for years. The movies with their life stories and underlying life messages really seemed to help. This was the catalyst for me starting to gather quotes and sharing them with my family and friends…. @xgilham was born. I started to post videos on TikTok with quotes and emotions that I felt would resonate and help people in daily life situations and it soon became very clear that this was having a huge positive impact on people. The page grew to 2 million followers in the space of a couple of months and I was receiving hundreds of messages and emails from people saying that my content was saving lives.
I think it’s very important that we must all remember that life is full of ups and downs and that through connection and sharing with others who have gone through or are going through similar thoughts and emotions, we can get through the downs and elevate the highs.”An important aspect of my relatable quotes and emotions is also humour. Daily life challenges can be scary, and that sense of fear can make negative emotions a big obstacle in life. A bit of humour in life makes those moments less scary and less consuming. If I can make someone’s life just that little bit better, even for a moment, then that for me makes my work worthwhile.”
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Q: Any highlights on your recent announcement?
A: 18 months from the launch of xgilham on TikTok and I’ve managed to grow a wonderful community of 6.6 million followers and a safe place and community for people to feel less alone.
Q: Can you give us more insights into your offering?
A: The content I post is aimed at helping people through tough times that we all encounter in life, whether it be relationship challenges, anxiety, loss or any other element of mental health. In essence, we all at times feel we are alone in our suffering and my posts draw people together that are going through the same suffering or emotion and in turn, it makes them feel less alone. A problem shared is a problem halved as the saying goes.
Q: What can we expect from your company in the next 6 months? What are your plans?
A: My ultimate goal is to keep growing the awareness as much as possible to help as many people as possible, “If I can make someone’s life just that little bit better, even for a moment, then that for me makes my work worthwhile.” I’m also in discussions about growing the awareness through other media offerings such as online TV channels and possibly a book/audiobook.
Q: What is the best thing about your company that people might not know about?
A: In my opinion, the best thing about xgilham is that it uses social media in a very positive way. I hear so much negativity about social media and how it can negatively affect peoples mental health and I feel that what I am doing is actually really adding value to the social media experience and that is my soul intention.
