Our first official tour is now over and we can sit back and reflect on what we have achieved and think about all of the great people we have met.

Seattle was our last stop and it really reminded me of England – especially the weather! Duane from Seattle Quake Rugby looked after us and we had great accommodation all weekend.

I was able to watch some rugby at the Magnitude Tournament as well as meet lots of the players. Well done to Quake first team for winning the Magnitude Trophy. Great standard of rugby.

The day before the tournament we visited Microsoft and I spoke in the corporate world headquarters. Very impressive facilities. Huge! It’s a whole town in it’s own right!

In the afternoon we went over to University of Washington and I spoke to students, coaches and staff about my journey from rugby player to advocate for equality. I was then on a panel with three others, one who was Dave Kopay, the first NFL player to come out back in the 70’s. He was a great guy and we got on well. The panel took questions on bullying and it was interesting to hear other people's views. I actually at one stage ended up asking questions of the other panellists. Not sure how that happened!

We are now on a flight to Los Angeles for business meetings and then on to NikeTown in Portland, Oregon on Thursday where we will be appearing in their flagship store in the evening. That should be fun!

We had a comment on our facebook page today about why we were basing the Foundation in the US as opposed to the UK and the money raised in the UK should stay there. For clarity, StandUp is a global brand addressing the global issues of bullying and homophobia. It has been set up in the US because that is where the skillset has come from to make it happen. It’s as simple as that. We will be working all over the world in time, and will soon be working with partners in the UK as well as the US. It is early days but our work will be naturally directed to the areas where we are needed.

So I will soon be flying home to the UK to see my girls. I have not been away from them for this long before so I am looking forward to seeing them. It has been an amazing tour and I would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard.

Cheers!
Ben




Photo Credit: Val Mohney

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