‘My past no longer defines me’ – Michael Branch’s incredible comeback from jail to changing lives

Twelve months ago, Michael Branch created a running group designed to help promote positive mental health. Social Striders Liverpool is still going strong one year later – with runs starting at 8am every Sunday morning on Otterspool Promenade. The initiative was the latest step forward by a former Everton star who, after conquering the difficulties of his past, is working hard to improve the lives of some of Merseyside’s most vulnerable. As first told last summer, this is his story.

Even in small group settings, the anxiety would strike Michael Branch. He had grown up performing in front of huge crowds and thought little of it. But in the first days of his new life, in an office overlooking the football ground he once called home, speaking to a handful of colleagues would spark panic.

That was several years ago now and the former Everton starlet’s confidence in himself has largely returned. It has taken a long time to rebuild it – he is a different person to the teenager who once had Goodison Park bursting with excitement. The long journey from then to now has, at times, been torturous with the highs of Premier League goals followed by a descent that ultimately took him to prison.