Kent teenager with rare medical condition hosts podcast with Olympian Dame Kelly Holmes
Watch: ITV News Meridian's Sarah Saunders went along to meet Malachi
A teenager from Kent with a rare condition has started a mental health podcast to support others who are struggling - with a bit of help from Dame Kelly Holmes.
15-year-old Malachi Tyler from Tunbridge Wells has been blind since the age of two after a number of tumours grew on his nerves.
After struggling with his mental health, Malachi decided he wanted to help others in similar situations, which gave him the idea for his Malavision podcast.
Just months after the first episode hit the airwaves, Malachi was joined by a very special guest - double Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly, who won the 800m and 1500m at the Athens Olympics in 2004.
The athlete, also from Tunbridge Wells, discussed her own mental health struggles with Malachi.
The teenager said that his condition became more challenging to deal with as time passed.
Malachi said: "As I got older it really took an effect on my mental health. Then I realised that I'd bottled everything up and I needed to get my voice out there.”
He added that he was 'speechless' after learning that he was due to host a gold-medal-winning guest, after the pair were put in touch by the Pickering Cancer Centre.
The centre holds a special place in Dame Kelly's heart after they supported her mother.
And the local hero was particularly impressed by her young interviewer.
She said: "Malachi is brilliant. He's so articulate and really confident. When people have a story of their own and they're willing to share, I think that really helps inspire other people.”
She continued: "I decided that if I was truthful about my journey... it might help other people. So I tell people about my depression and breakdown which I had before I won the two gold medals.”
"And for me, that was more powerful to say that I'd gone through that and won two gold medals, than (to say) I was just a good runner.”
Thanks to Malachi's podcast, both his and Dame Kelly's stories have now reached an even wider audience.