Darkness Into Light ambassador Anthony Miller has been a model, TV presenter, wedding planner and is now a qualified barrister.
However, unlike many who experience success, Anthony has chosen to unveil the failures behind his in a bid to encourage others not to feel defeated when things don’t go according to plan.
“Originally my background was media, that was what I always wanted to do” he explains.
However, a tragic death in Anthony’s family made him reconsider his life and decide to pursue a career in law.
Anthony’s nephew Aidan was just four when he died of an aggressive form of brain cancer in September 2011.
“When something like that happens, something changes and your outlook on things change,” recalls Anthony.
“By chance around the same time, I went up to Portmagic with my friend and she asked me about my regrets and mine was never practising law.
“I had no GCSEs; I was expelled from school – I had absolutely zero qualifications whatsoever. But because I’d worked on civil partnerships through wedding planning and within the media, I was able to go straight onto a law degree.”
At the age of 35 Anthony started studying law at Staffordshire University. During his first year he won a mooting competition, beating undergraduate and postgraduate students.
“After that I knew I was where I was supposed to be,” he says of the competition.
He graduated in 2021 with a first class honours degree, placing him in the top 8% of law students in England and Wales, and received the Lord Denning scholarship award.
However, whilst studying Anthony was also diagnosed with ADHD and although he credits much of his success to the positive side of the disorder it was not without its challenges
“I don’t like to generalise but, in my experience with ADHD, your inner narrative can be quite critical. Anything I do I get really stuck in to but I’m constantly battling self-doubt and self-questioning.”
It is because of this experience that Anthony has become a strong advocate for mental health.
“I started using my social media to speak about mental health because I had a following of about 20,000 and I thought if I had a bit of a platform then I should use it wisely,” he says.
“I think it’s really important that people who others maybe wouldn’t associate with having mental health issues speak about them.
“There are very few people who do well in life and remain unscathed, I think everybody has challenges and quite often ambition is driven by insecurity.”
Anthony grew up in the Stiles estate in Antrim during the Troubles. Although he believes this helped him build up his resilience, he claims, “Northern Ireland is a double-edged sword” when it comes to mental health.
“I was born in 1978 so I was growing up at the height of the Troubles and I remember bombs at the end of the street and people getting shot and kneecapped. You can’t live through those types of experiences and not have residue from that,” he says.
“And I think that created quite an unhealthy environment when it came to mental health because it was probably seen as a weakness.”
“But I think post-Good Friday Agreement Northern Ireland has in many ways progressed and because we do have a smaller community, we can get the message out and feed it through much quicker.
“A lot of the charities are instantly recognisable and that means that to a certain extent we are talking about it, and I think that’s a wonderful thing.”
Campaigns such as Pieta Electric Ireland Darkness into Light, which involves an annual sunrise walk, help encourage these types of conversations around mental health whilst also raising funds for local suicide and bereavement support services.
“Events like DIL are so important because we have to ensure that we keep the conversation going and that we don’t fear speaking about things that could be considered uncomfortable.
“And when we talk about awareness, we also need to bring attention to what causes mental health issues so that people feel seen and realise they’re not alone.
“That’s why I enjoy sharing my story because I know that I’ve sat many times in my life feeling lost and wondering how I can move forward so I totally understand that isolating and catastrophising feeling of, ‘Is this it? Is this all I get? Is this all life’s about?’
I was born in 1978 so I was growing up at the height of the Troubles and I remember bombs at the end of the street and people getting shot and kneecapped. You can’t live through those types of experiences and not have residue from that
— Anthony Miller
“But I’ve been a model, dancer, wedding planner, this, that and the other so hopefully that shows that even when I wasn’t sure where I was going there were opportunities to explore.
“My little motto now is, ‘We don’t get one life, we get 365 lives every year to live’, because everyday is a new one. If today’s not so great you have tomorrow and there is light after the darkness.”
Darkness into Light, which is supported by Electric Ireland, returns on Saturday May 11. In Northern Ireland there will be 13 walks happening simultaneously beginning at dawn through to sunrise – symbolising the journey from despair to hope.
“I think what’s really lovely about Darkness into Light is that sense of community,” Anthony adds.
“I am honoured to be an Electric Ireland ambassador for Darkness Into Light. Mental health is something that can affect anyone, at any time, no one is immune, but everyone should be aware that the help and support is out there.
“There is hope and you are not alone – I could think of no better cause to champion.”
