Founder and CEO Alper Muduroglu shares the personal story behind Peddle My Wheels.

During Mental Health Awareness Week, our founder and CEO, Alper Muduroglu, opens up about his own experiences and what led to the formation of Peddle My Wheels.

I have been flip flopping on whether to write this for a few weeks now. Even though in reality the readership probably won’t hit double figures it still feels exposing and my past life is not something I speak about in public forums. That said, I have been inspired by people who have had similar problems to me and how they have openly discussed them to reduce the stigma and sense of shame attached to their illness. 

It will be ten years this December since I ran the first pop-up second hand bike market and Peddle My Wheels was launched. The idea came in 2012 and at the time I was coming out of a crisis period in my life and I was searching for something to help me. Back then I had no discernible trade or qualifications that kept me tied to a particular career or sector so in a lot of ways I was free to go in any direction I wished. I hadn't worked for anyone for nearly 20 years and the thought of an interview for a proper job terrified me. This plus the fact I had pretty much lost everything at this point in my life made starting a new venture much easier than it might be for other people.

Looking back to that time I am pretty sure consciously or subconsciously I was thinking that starting a business in sustainability and the circular economy would give me financial opportunities so it definitely wasn’t a purely altruistic endeavour. That said, I had two young children and I wanted to do something, however small, about the climate crisis. We were living in the shadow of the financial crash of 2008 which coincided with my own low point and I was questioning capitalism, consumerism and the impact that businesses could have on society.

Rewinding though, my life was very different before Peddle My Wheels. I was a teenager in the eighties just as Margaret Thatcher came into power. I grew up in Bromley, a place where she was idolised and her philosophy embraced. The people I mixed with growing up seemed to be living in a suburban version of the Godfather. It was all designer labels,  personalised number plates and felt menacingly competitive and macho! I reluctantly went along with this and in my twenties I sporadically ‘worked’ as a financial futures trader, the epitome of greed and selfishness in an era driven by greed and selfishness. This was followed by an assortment of business ideas that were largely governed by financial gain. None of this seemed to work for me. I had a schizophrenic relationship with wealth and money. On one hand I desperately tried to get more but on the other I wanted to get rid of it as quickly as possible.

So this brings me to my own experiences of mental illness. At the age of eight my Dad put a bet on the 1978 World Cup for me which won. Not the best bit of parenting it turns out as fast forward a few years and I had developed a serious gambling addiction whilst still at school. My bus fare and lunch money would go into the fruit machines. At weekends I would accompany my elder brother to snooker clubs and pile any money I could get my hands on into the bigger payout machines. By the time I was 18, this had become a full blown gambling addiction and this, mixed with a worsening relationship with alcohol, became my constant companion for the next 20 years. I won’t get into the ins and outs of an addict’s life other than to say it is a dark and lonely place and my experience was that I ended up losing everything as I approached my 40th birthday. 

I decided to mention my addictions, which thankfully ended 15 years ago, not for plaudits as everyone has their own stuff to go through in life but to do my bit to push against the stigma and shame attached to them, particularly gambling addiction. It is one of the most secretive and in my experience misunderstood addictions - ’Why don’t you just stop?’ .Betting companies normalise it through things like football shirt sponsorship..it can't be bad when 5 year olds are wearing a shirt with the name of a betting company splashed all over it but it comes with devastating consequences. It is estimated there are the equivalent of 1-2 gambling related suicides per day in the UK plus of course the family break-ups, crime and severe mental illness.

How did Peddle My Wheels help?

From a personal point of view building Peddle My Wheels has given me a fresh start, a liveable wage, a job that allows me to be creative that I enjoy and most importantly a purpose that is worlds away from my old life. I work with some great people who are committed to what we are doing and the partnerships we have formed with local authorities, community groups, local business, resident groups and of course the many users of our schemes have shown me that doing things the right way and with genuine intentions works from a personal and business perspective. When I go into a meeting now I no longer have a sense of dread or fear of being found out as all I need to do is tell the truth and I have good people around me to flag up when I can go all a bit ‘80s Bromley’ and start forgetting what is important.

To bring this back to Mental Health Awareness Week, I spent years trying to work out my mental illness on my own. I learnt that it is impossible to do this. I was too intertwined with it to be able to see clearly what I needed so asking for help and pushing for it is essential, something that is anathema to many of us (I used to think it was weak). Once you do life gets better. I cannot recognise the person I used to be. I no longer feel defined by my illness and I am free to live life with all its challenges and joys like anyone else.

For gambling addicts or people who know or are worried about potential gambling addicts I am a part of this organisation who do some great work, BetKnowMore or start by contacting the National Gambling helpline who will set you in the right direction.

If you are concerned about your relationship with alcohol then there is help out there. I know the term alcoholic was problematic for me as it was so loaded with imagery and assumptions but if drink is causing problems and you cannot stop then help is needed. If you drop any preconcieved notions, Alcoholics Anonymous is a brilliant resource to help you stop drinking but there are other options available: NHS Alcohol Support.