Highland footballer turned surfer finds 'safe space' on the waves – and a cure for 'busy mind'
Brora resident Scott Miller, co-founder of Sutherland Adventure Company, tells Niall Harkiss about how sport has helped his mental health
The owner of a Sutherland-based adventure sports company has traded the football pitch for the sea, having hung up his football boots in favour of his “safe space” on the waves.
Thirty-one-year-old Scott Miller, from Brora, has been a keen sportsman all his adult life, but he could most often be seen on the football pitch where he established himself over a number of years as a highly respected amateur player with Brora Wanderers, Thurso Swifts and most recently St Duthus Football Club.
But despite his ability to score goals and to play in front of crowds, Scott was fighting a silent battle with his mind.
“Off the park though, I was very ego-driven, materialistic and image conscious. I needed to look the best and I felt I had to paint a perfect lifestyle, but it felt so fake."
He said: “I struggled with what I would call a busy mind. I could not switch off, and for a long time I fought to ignore a lot of thoughts that would seem crazy to other people. I was having some ridiculous and quite intrusive thoughts. I knew that what I was feeling was not normal.
“But when I was engaged in sport, my mind didn’t have time to think. When you are on the football pitch, you don’t have time to think about what someone might have said to you the other day, or carry around other negative thoughts.
“Playing football was a big help for me, especially the highs of winning and scoring goals - it helps you to be “in the moment”.
“Off the park though, I was very ego-driven, materialistic and image conscious. I needed to look the best and I felt I had to paint a perfect lifestyle, but it felt so fake. I could be sitting at a party talking to someone and my mind would be somewhere else, not listening to a word they say. I was in denial.
“But after some time, I started to look into what I was experiencing. I decided to accept that I had to change everything about my lifestyle.
“I began to experience an awakening around the time I met my girlfriend, Morgan. and since then, I have become more aware of my mind and my spirituality.
“While I still do have a busy mind, I am now able to use mechanisms to cope with that, such as meditation, breathing techniques and cold water exposure.”
Water was to become a theme in Scott’s motivation to change, his “awakening” coinciding with a newfound passion for adventure sports, specifically surfing.
But it was a traumatic experience at a young age that Scott believes was the real catalyst for a life-long affinity with water.
“When I was younger, I had an accident which almost caused me to drown and it feels like from then on I’ve always had a connection with water,” he said.
“As some will understand and appreciate, I feel that you always go back to the thing that nearly took you.
“A few years ago, I went for surfing lessons in Caithness and I immediately fell in love with it.
“The reason I knew it was for me was after the first wave, I popped up onto my feet and it just felt like the most exhilarating feeling in the world.
“It became the case for me that the feeling I used to get from scoring a goal, I now get from catching a wave. When I am on that wave, I am not thinking about anything else.
“I then got into snorkelling, paddle boarding and free diving, and similarly, when doing these activities I am able to leave all my stresses and worries behind - the ebb and flow of the water is incredibly therapeutic.
“The water is my safe space.”
These days, Scott has decided to hang up his football boots to focus fully on surfing and operating his new business, Sutherland Adventure Company, along with business partner Rhionna Mackay.
And he hopes that by introducing people to adventure sports he can help others to also change their lifestyles for the better.
“Everyone should try to do some kind of sporting activity for the sake of their wellbeing,” he said. “If you go out for a 500m walk, being out in nature and getting a sweat on makes all the difference. I just want to try to help and inspire anyone in any way I can.”
Are you struggling with issues of the mind? Please visit mind.org.uk for information on mindfulness, how to practise it and how it can help with mental health problems.