Steve Talboys was a former Premier League footballer who died suddenly when he was on holiday in Spain with his family two-and-a-half years ago.
The 52-year-old was fit and healthy, he regularly exercised and two years prior to his death, had cut out alcohol.
Devoted dad-of-three Steve committed his time and energy to youth football in his local community, and managed his sons' local football team.
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But in July 2019, he suffered a fatal heart attack, which devastated the lives of those who knew and loved him.
His sudden death was a total shock for his family and friends.
One of his good pals Jim Rainford, from Bramhall, who he started working with 10 years ago, hails Steve as ‘one in a million’.
The former Wimbledon midfielder, who also played under ex-England manager Graham Taylor for Watford, cannot be compared to anyone else, Jim says.
To honour Stixy - as Steve is affectionately known by many after his skinny legs from his Premier League days playing for Wimbledon - Jim is taking on a gruelling 100km trek across the Sahara Desert this year.
It was postponed twice due to coronavirus travel rules, but Jim, 36, who now has a baby son of his own, hopes the challenge can finally be completed this year. You can donate here at GoFundMe.
“People use the phrase ‘one in million’ a lot and it sounds cheesy, but the guy was truly a unique character,” Jim said on the phone, as he played with his 16-month-old in the park.
“He was very charismatic, funny, had great relationships with anyone.
“He was one for a good story, he had so many tales from his football days, people genuinely saw him as one of a kind.”
The pair worked together at Miller Insurance - a sports and entertainment insurance firm - with Jim still based remotely in Greater Manchester whilst Steve was based in Surrey.
The lads would meet at the firm’s London HQ or they would travel together to meet clients and footballers, and would stay in touch regularly with phone calls.
Jim’s five-day expedition is in aid of the Steve Talboys Foundation, which was set up by Steve’s wife Michelle following his passing.
It provides a legacy that continues to promote and develop his vision by supporting children and young people in Surrey to experience the benefits of amateur sport.
The Foundation funds local amateur sports clubs and helps individual children or young people who may be held back by their financial situation from pursuing their sporting goals.
“Sport was his passion,” Jim continued.
“He had three sons who all play for their local football team, which he managed, and one of his bugbears was that the facilities could be a lot better and there should be more defibrillators at these venues.
“Michelle set that up so we could raise funds for local communities and I wanted to do something which is a bit more out there to honour his memory.”
Jim scoured the internet in search of an unusual challenge he could set himself and came across a company that organises desert treks.
If it goes ahead in March, he will soon be walking 20-25km per day across incredibly varied terrain, passing through peaks and dunes in very hot temperatures, up to 35 degrees.
There will be no contact with the outside world, and he’ll sleep in a tent each night, hoping to avoid scorpions and snakes.
“I’m under no illusion as to how difficult it will be but that’s part of why it’s a challenge,” Jim said.
“It’s physically and mentally demanding.
“There will be no signal, no contact, and I saw the positive in that.
“It’s a good time for thinking, reflecting, I can think about Steve and remember the good times.”
He reckons Steve’s reaction to him taking on such a challenge would firstly be jovial.
“‘Are you mad?’ he’d say. Or something funny like ‘have you got enough sun cream?’” said Jim. “But he would value how tough it will be and think it’s a great thing to do.”
Since Steve’s death, new-dad Jim has reprioritised what is most important to him.
He would work most weekends to get ahead for the upcoming week, but he has since put a stop to this to ensure quality time with his family.
“Steve [died when he] was with his family, supposed to be relaxing and enjoying himself, it’s just tragic," Jim added.
“It’s made me value how fragile life can be and that you’ve got to put everything into context.
“I appreciate work is important, and I work hard, but there are problems you will have with work, first-world problems, the reality is that they’re trivial to everything else.
“Time is your biggest commodity, ultimately, you should be spending as much as that with your loved ones really.”
To donate to Jim’s £5,000 target for the Steve Talboys Foundation, you can do so here at GoFundMe.
