You know I love metal, right? And you know how excited people get when they see themselves on TV? Well I’m excited to say that I’m the pink shirt crowd surfer in this official Bloodstock festival photo from August this year. That’s all! 🤘. In fact NO, that’s not all.

One of the main stages at Bloodstock is called the Sophie Lancaster Stage. The reason?

“This entertainment and Live Music Stage was named in tribute to a young girl who was brutally attacked along with her boyfriend in 2007 while walking through their local park in Bacup, Lancashire. Sophie and her boyfriend were singled out, not for anything they had said or done, but simply because they looked and dressed differently. Unfortunately, Sophie later died in hospital following the injuries from this vicious and unprovoked attack.”

So why the pink shirt?

“Bloodstock will take a moment across the festival weekend to celebrate and elevate the amazing work of Sylvia Lancaster OBE, the pioneering fundraiser and educator who established The Sophie Lancaster Foundation.

At Sylvia’s funeral earlier this year, she had requested that everyone attending wear something pink, as this was her favourite colour. So in honour of Sylvia, at this year’s festival on Sunday, Bloodstock are asking people to wear an item of pink in acknowledgement of Sylvia’s truly phenomenal work, which has been life changing for many in alternative subcultures.”

Respect diversity. Be different. Metalheads are some of the nicest people I know. If you judge their books by their covers and disapprove, I suspect you are reading them all wrong 🖤.

Shout out to my pink shirt wearing buddies from Bloodstock Robin Lyons and Stephen Cragg 🤘💙

#metalhead#diversityandinclusion