Sid Batty: 'I travel with a stuffed duck to feel less alone'
An social media influencer who gained popularity by traveling the world with a stuffed duck has said he hopes to "make a difference in a positive way" on mental health awareness. Sid Batty and Quack have gained attention after the 24-year-old from Onchan posted a video about his travel companion that amassed two million views in a day.Having bought the duck during a difficult time, Sid takes the toy along with him when traveling to feel "less alone".He said Quack was a "symbol" to demonstrate "everything will be ok" and his page aimed to show followers that it was "OK to be a man or a boy with a teddy".
Sid said he had been diagnosed with depression, social anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder a few years prior, and had found the rehabilitation process following knee surgery in January 2023 "very difficult".He said it was at that time he went to buy something to make himself "feel better" and saw Quack, who described as "humble, outgoing and bubbly". But for the first 18 months after that he kept Quack in his room as he felt ashamed of having a stuffed animal, before deciding to take his toy companion out and about with him.Reflecting people's reactions he said: "I do get a lot of stares, but I realised that not everyone who stares is automatically thinking negatively."
"Nowadays with social media, the average person's mental health is probably not as good as it used to be because the comparisons are always there," he said."I guess I am just trying to make a difference in a positive way", he said, adding that suicide was the biggest killer of men under 50 in the British Isles.He said even if his actions did not prompt his online followers to follow suit, he hoped they would "feel less anxious in being alone with what they want to do" after seeing him with Quack."Nothing makes me happier than sharing my story and helping people by doing so", he said.The 24-year-old was invited to attend the Bafta Film Awards in February and took Quack with him, making the duck the "first teddy on the red carpet". "If someone told me a year ago that I would be attending the Baftas with my duck that I kept in my room as I was ashamed, I wouldn't believe them," he said.
Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
17 minutes ago
- The Sun
Made In Chelsea's Jessica Woodley reveals she's pregnant with first child as she shares bump pic
MADE In Chelsea star Jessica Woodley has revealed she's pregnant with her first child. The 30-year-old took to Instagram to share a snap of her growing baby bump and said she and partner Mark Logan are "waiting with open arms" to meet the little one. 1 Jessica said: "Motherhood. "Thankyou for choosing me my sweet child. "It is an honour to grow you. You are SO LOVED. You are my Guru now." Fans rushed to comment on the happy news, with one writing: "Amazing news. Welcome to the best, and most exhausting experience." Someone else said: "congrats Jess. Gonna be the best mumma ever." And a third added: "I'm so so happy for you angel!!!! The next season is so bright with this little mini human arriving!!!" Topics Made in Chelsea
Daily Mail
26 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Meghan Markle comes under fire for posting snap similar to one shared by Kate Middleton in 2019
Meghan Markle has been accused of copying her sister-in-law Kate Middleton, as her new As Ever post looks very similar to a snap shared by the Princess of Wales. The Duchess of Sussex teased her recent launch via the As Ever Instagram account with a snap of her on a swing in a sunny garden and the simple caption: 'No more sleeps.' However, the picture is reminiscent of one taken by Kate in a garden she designed for the Chelsea Flower Show in 2019. And this is the only criticism Meghan has been hit with since promoting her As Ever merchandise. She may have set the tills ringing, but her new apricot spread has been savaged by critics within hours of going on sale. Champion jam-maker Donna Collins said: 'It's a real disappointment that Meghan is selling a fruit spread, which is what you make when your jam fails. In the jam industry a spread is what we call something that didn't work. 'It can have the best ingredients, but if I had a jam that was too runny, I'd slap a label on it and call it a spread. There's no excuse for this. It should be perfect.' Popular: The As Ever website showed that nearly all of the new and restocked products, including the apricot jam were already sold out The ingredients list mentions conventionally grown apricots, dried organic apricots, organic pure cane sugar and fruit pectin. Collins said: 'Why should she include conventionally grown apricots, which will have used pesticides?' 'And why is she using pectin, which is a gelling agent, unless it's because her spread was too runny? Most spreads don't use pectin. 'Her apricot spread sold out in minutes, just like her earlier raspberry spread, which may mean they only made a small batch. 'I don't know who's making her spread, but we all know it's not Meghan. It sounds like they really don't know what they are doing.'
The Sun
33 minutes ago
- The Sun
Desperate Bonnie Blue is broken & destroying industry… only she can save herself, says ‘world's richest' OnlyFans star
BONNIE Blue is a broken woman who is single handedly destroying the porn industry, OnlyFans mega star Sophie Rain has told The Sun. Influencer Sophie, 20 - who claims to rake in £3.2million a month on OnlyFans - has blasted her rival for "harming the image of the platform" through her controversial sex stunts. 9 9 9 9 It comes after The Sun revealed that Bonnie has been banned from OnlyFans and is set to lose her massive "£600,000 a month" pay. The content creator - who shot to fame by allegedly bedding 1,057 men in 24 hours - had her page pulled due to breach of terms after her "extreme challenges" were said to have "crossed a line". Bonnie - whose real name is Tia Billinger - has faced heavy criticism over her content which often targets who she calls "barely legal teens". One of those who is far from Bonnie's biggest fan is the self-proclaimed world's richest adult content creator Sophie. The pair became embroiled in a public feud on social media with US-based Sophie firing several barbs across the Atlantic. An X post saw her say: "I hope one day she [Bonnie] realises the trauma she's causing herself and so many women." A second remark from Sophie saw her fire a direct shot at Bonnie as she shared a screenshot which appears to her raking in over $76 million (£56 million) through OnlyFans subscriptions. It was shared alongside the caption: "76M without banging 1000 men in a day." Sophie has now opened up on the personal argument and told The Sun exactly why the 25-year-old from Derbyshire needs to be stopped. She said: "What people need to understand is sex workers and OnlyFans models come in many different fonts. "The issue is, the public sees us all the same. "They group us all into one single category, and when someone as big as her is promoting these gross acts, it leads many to believe someone like me is doing similar content to what she does." A passionate Sophie continued: "I am all for someone expressing themselves on OnlyFans how they want, but it gets to a point where it's harming the image of the platform as a whole and the girls who are within it." In a statement to The Blast, Sophie also hit out at Bonnie for the way her stunts harm women in the industry. She told them: "It's no longer women empowerment. It's shock value, and she's making a joke out of all of us." Bonnie has claimed to earn £600,000 a month on OnlyFans in the past - meaning across a year she could make over £7.2million per year. She has hit headlines with a number of sick stunts across the past few years. One saw her ask college boys to sign up to an event to see who could give her the best orgasm - with a pledge to pay for the tuition of the "winner". 9 9 9 Bonnie was also slammed for "promoting rape culture" and labelled "vile" for announcing what she called " Bonnie Blue 's petting zoo". This stunt was seen as the final straw for OnlyFans as they axed Bonnie from using the platform shortly after it was revealed before the event ever took place. Despite taking aim at Bonnie's sick antics, Sophie was quick to say she doesn't want to be the reason why she was banned. She insisted she actually wants to "give her a hug" and believes the controversial creator deserves to have a "chance to redeem her herself". Sophie added: "She seems like a broken person. "I think deep down she realises that this path she's going down is wrong, and I hope she saves herself. "I want to give her a hug. I think she's being misguided to do things she simply is only doing for money." Bonnie has also been shunned by others in the adult entertainment industry. And fellow blonde bombshell Lilly Phillips has also blasted her in the past. The pair used to be friends but the bond was quickly shattered after Bonnie suggested Lily had ''stolen'' her idea to beat the world record and bonk 1,000 in one day. Who is Bonnie Blue? BORN in May 1999, Bonnie grew up in a small Derbyshire village, and attended the Friesland School in the village of Sandiacre. She has two half-siblings - a sister and a brother - who have always remained out of the public eye. She never knew her biological father, and considers stepfather Nicholas Elliott her dad. Bonnie also became something of a dance star in her local area, and competed in the British Street Dance Championships alongside her sister back in 2015. She once even had a part-time job at Poundstretcher as a teenager. After finishing school, she began working in recruitment. In October 2022, Bonnie married Oliver Davidson, who she had started dating when she was just 15. Once they were married, they moved to Australia, where Bonnie continued working in recruitment. However, it was in Australia that she decided to pursue a different line of work, and tried her luck as a 'cam girl' - crediting Oliver for giving her the confidence to enter the adult entertainment world. She quickly made a name for herself in the industry, and was soon making £5,000 a week. But while her work life was going from strength to strength, her relationship was crumbling, and she and Oliver split after almost a decade together. She moved over to OnlyFans following her cam girl success, and once again found fame on there. She quickly became a favourite on the site, especially thanks to her "niche" of sleeping with young male students - such as when she bedded 158 students during Nottingham Trent University's freshers week in September 2024. Bonnie is now estimated to be worth millions, and makes around £600,000 a month on OnlyFans. Her family are also supportive of her work, with mum Sarah Billinger even claiming she's her daughter's PA, and helps clean up after Bonnie's events - as well as handing out condoms to young clients. In January 2025, Bonnie claimed to have broken the world record for the most amount of sex in 12 hours, after apparently sleeping with 1,057 men from 1pm to 1am at a secret London event. 9 9
