Meet the Team: Jack Broadley

Welcome to the first edition of our new blog series – meet the team! It does exactly what it says on the tin! Gain an insight into the lives of the people who run, support or volunteer for Baggy Trousers UK.

We start the series with our founder Jack Broadley.

1) What does your role involve for Baggy Trousers UK?

I started at Baggy Trousers UK on the 14 August 2014, day one of it being a charity, from idea on a piece of paper that included the goals and aspirations to raise awareness of the battle I’d just been through to hopefully save lives and offer a listening ear to those diagnosed. Since then, I’ve done every role you could think of at Baggy Trousers UK, these days I’m a trustee, I focus on our support services and day to day running of the charity, no two days are the same.

2) Where were you born and where are you from now?

I was born in Ashton-under-Lyne, I spent a short time living in sunny Scotland before heading back to reside in Tameside.

3) What do you do for a job away from the charity?

Since setting up Baggy Trousers UK, I joined an incredible digital agency called Reason Digital that works with lots of pro-social organisations supporting them with their digital solutions providing a better service and support to people they provide services to. I also trained to be an accountant and set up an accounting practice which I’m currently building, and I also work with another charity that raises awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer to teenagers and those in their twenties.

4) How do you take your tea or coffee?

Has to be Yorkshire Tea with 2 sugars and a drop of milk, tea bag has to sit for a little while to brew.

5) Have you had experience of testicular cancer, either first or second hand?

I was diagnosed with stage 2 non-seminoma mature teratoma (a bit of a mouthful). Basically an aggressive type of testicular cancer that spread to my abdominal lymph nodes, this required surgery to remove the testicle and a gruelling 9 weeks of chemotherapy treatment.

6) How often do you check yourself?

Before being diagnosed with testicular cancer I never checked and had no idea what I would have been looking for, I check my remaining nut at least once a month.

7) What did you want to be when you were a kid?

I wanted to be a race car driver.

8) What was the last book you read and the last film you watched?

The last book I read was The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and the last film I watched was The Beekeeper with Jason Statham, another one of his incredible films.

9) If you could swap places with anyone for the day, who would it be and why?

I would probably swap places with an F1 driver to understand what it feels like to be behind the wheel of an F1 car.

10) What is your favourite BTUK blog?

All the blogs we create are incredible (I’m slightly biased), the one that has a special place in my heart is ‘Music for Merrick’. Myself and Jess (our treasurer) travelled down to a fundraiser organised by an amazing family in aid of the work we do, we had the chance to meet Jamie who despite having chemotherapy the same day as the fundraiser, was a ray of sunshine and such a kind and gentle man. The whole team and I here at Baggy Trousers UK were saddened to hear that Jamie passed away a few months after the fundraiser. That blog is now a tribute to Jamie and a piece of his legacy which will remain on the website forever.

11) What is your favourite genre of music?

I enjoy all types of music, but my favourite is probably house music.

12) What’s the best place you have ever been to?

The best place I’ve ever been to has to be Scotland, I enjoy walking in the mountains and thanks to my dad started doing the Munro’s in 2017. I hope to one day follow in his footsteps and climb all 282 of them.

13) What do you hope to achieve with BTUK?

I hope to continue providing support to those impacted by testicular cancer and saving lives for as long as I’m alive. Having somebody to talk to that has been through a similar experience was vital for me when I was going through treatment which is why we have peer support volunteers and people kindly raising awareness.

14) Tell us something not many people would know about you!

I delivered a talk at a teenage and young person’s cancer event about people you meet during your cancer journey who unfortunately pass away. It’s by far the hardest talk I’ve delivered but the response and empathy I received from the hundreds of young people diagnosed with cancer in the audience brought me to tears.

Fancy becoming part of a team that makes a real difference?

Here at Baggy Trousers UK we are always looking for new ways to raise awareness and offer support. This includes welcoming volunteers and expanding on the team we already have. Over the coming weeks we will release a few more blogs in this series, revealing the names and faces behind our charity, and what they do for us.

If you are interested in becoming a trustee for BTUK then we are more than happy to have that conversation. What we do has a real impact on people’s lives, helping those impacted by testicular cancer and going through treatment. It is extremely rewarding and an incredibly important role to raise awareness, release the stigma, and save lives.

For more information contact us using our contact form, or get hold of us on Facebook, Instagram, or X (Twitter).