Doing it for Baby C

A Gatwick driver - who shot to viral fame appearing in a commercial alongside Brazilian football legend Ronaldo - is utilising his social media profile to spread awareness of men’s mental health.

As England number one Jordan Pickford prepares for the knockout stages of the 2024 European Championships in Germany, Jake Caldecourt is making saves closer to home.

Jake, who has previously worked as a postie in Brighton for almost a decade at Royal Mail, is the goalkeeper of Sands United in Brighton & Hove. The team come together with a shared common goal.

‘A lot of us have lost a child, suffered a miscarriage or had stillborn,’ explains Jake in this film. ‘For us, we all play with our child’s name on the chest – mine is Baby C – and it’s a taboo subject a lot of the time for men.

‘I probably went five years without talking about it before Sands United.

‘Now, we have the pride that we walk on the pitch and they’re on our chest, the opposition ask questions and we’re happy to speak about it – it’s an incredible thing.’

Jake’s social media presence helps spread the word, too. As @thesundayleaguegk on TikTok he posts videos that can reach millions of hits, often shot from a GoPro in the back of his net to see British Sunday league football in all its glory.

‘The content and the following for me is a memory for me to look back on, to see the growing of the club and myself as an individual,’ said Jake.

‘It’s crazy to think when I first started there may have been two or three people watching, or you might get a few hundred views, to now being in the thousands and some videos close to millions – it’s nuts to think people are willing to watch me stand there and save a goal!’

His social media presence helped secure a once-in-a-lifetime memory for Jake, who became the butt of the joke from “the original Ronaldo” in this viral advert. Keep watching until the end for Jake’s star take! And don’t worry – he did get his selfie.

‘It was utterly incredible, such a surreal experience and day,’ he explains. ‘You was just in awe of standing there looking at probably the greatest striker ever to grace a football pitch.

‘For Ronaldo he’s someone come along with his iconic haircut and gone, “you’re an idiot, basically!”’

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