Honouring a Life, Raising Awareness: Andy’s 24-Hour Burpee Challenge

Andy McEwan is undertaking an incredible challenge this April to raise funds for the Electrical Industries Charity and promote mental health and suicide awareness.

Andy lost his mother to suicide on 17 April 1996, so this challenge marks the 30th anniversary of her passing. To mark the occasion, he’s set himself the extreme task of completing as many burpees as possible in 24 hours – no sleep, no shortcuts, just one movement repeated for an entire day.

The Meaning Behind the Movement

Why burpees? That’s the question Andy says he gets asked most.

“Burpees were the hardest thing I could think of,” he explains. “I wanted to choose something difficult to share the message that nothing will ever be as painful as losing somebody to suicide.”

Doing burpees non-stop (with the exception of a couple of bathroom breaks) takes a lot of preparation. Andy has been training since he announced the challenge in April last year, and six months in, he completed 2,100 burpees in a six-hour session.

A Family Effort

Andy’s three sons, aged 13, 6 and 4, are loving supporting their dad.

“My oldest is looking forward to staying up and doing an all-nighter on the day,” laughs Andy, “and my younger kids have loved it, too.”

Andy says the mental side will be the toughest part of the challenge.

“I’m 100% convinced my mind will tell me to quit,” says Andy, “I’ll be working on taking it minute by minute for every minute of those 24 hours.”

Lessons From the Challenge

Andy’s advice to anyone looking to complete a similar challenge?

“Take it one minute at a time. Don’t think about the outcome – just focus on the process.”

Choosing to take on this challenge has not only raised awareness, but has also been a source of personal pride.

“It’s encouraged people to check in on each other,” Andy says, “and personally, it’s been great to show my kids what’s possible if you put your mind to it.”

With Thanks

Andy would like to thank Tony Boyle and the team at Aico for supporting him since day one, as well as his shirt sponsors, Marshall-Tufflex and Scolmore.

Andy will be completing his 24-hour burpee challenge on April 17. You can donate to support his efforts here.