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Throughout his life Colin, 63, has always been a keen sportsman, playing amateur football as well as badminton and tennis. However, in his early forties he was forced to stop playing the sports he loved due to problems with his hips which resulted in him needing a hip replacement at the age of 46.

Colin, who grew up in Monkwearmouth, continued to keep active, walking and playing golf, but at the age of 59, he had his second hip replaced.

Being unable to fully partake in the sports he was passionate about affected his mental health and so Colin decided to channel his energy into helping other people in the community with their own wellbeing.

He said: “Sport has always been a big part of my life and suddenly the activities I loved I was no longer able to do. It got me down and effected my mental health and I was left thinking what I was going to do.

"At this point I’d already been doing some work in schools for a friend’s company which promotes healthy eating. Not all children need operations like I’d had, but I’d already noticed many of these kids had there own barriers to being fit and healthy and so I decided that I waned to do something to help.

"It also provided me with a focus to channel my energy away from my own difficulties and allowed me to help others to overcome their own barriers to being fit and healthy.”

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After finishing his apprenticeship in the shipyards, Colin went into sales, before working as a food manager at Marks and Spencer. In 2019 he set up a children’s retail business with his wife Sharon, selling nursery furniture.

However, despite his own health problems, sport remained his passion and something he wished to share with others.

In 2011 he set up the Community Interest Company (CIC) Keep Active NE to take sports activities and coaching in the city’s schools. However, it was following the end of the pandemic in 2021 that the CIC acquired premises at Mind Sunderland Welbeing Hub and Colin was able to focus on “making a real difference” to the health and wellbeing of people in the North East.

With a team of 15 coaches, Keep Active NE now runs six week block sports programmes at around 50 schools at any one time in Sunderland, East Durham and Gateshead

Keep Active NE director Colin Dagg feels keeping active is vital for people's physical and mental health.

Colin said: “The whole idea is to get kids active and be able to take part in different sports and activities. We run over 40 different activities including gymnastics, archery, dodgeball, tennis, badminton, and we even set up assault courses at schools.

"As well as keeping fit, it also allows children to try new sports which they may discover they have talent for.

"Outside of term time we also run holiday camps with 250 children each week, where as well as taking part in activities they also get to experience visits to farms and museums and take part in fishing trips and treasure hunts.

"We are also part of the Holiday Activities Food programme and each child gets a hot meal which is so important for families, particularly at the moment.”

Colin runs many of his adult activity sessions from Mind Sunderland Wellbeing Hub.

The schools’ programme also sees children combine activities with healthy eating, taking part in Creative Kitchen cooking sessions to prepare healthy meals and learn about the importance of nutrition and diet.

Colin said: “After Covid, a lot of children returned to school very unfit and levels of childhood obesity are higher in Sunderland than the national average. Keeping fit is massively important for both physical and mental health.

"Exercising releases endorphins which make people better, but being fit and healthy can also improve confidence and self-esteem and have massive benefits for people’s mental health.

"It also establishes good habits for children to take into adulthood.”

Keep Active NE has now been expanded to support adults in the local community, particularly those who may be struggling financially or dealing with social isolation.

Colin said: “We have various clubs during the week. The youngest participant is 28 and the oldest is 78 and she still enjoys taking part in the touch rugby. We also have a member who attends who is in a wheelchair.

"Participants take part in a range of sports which can be adapted to meet their needs. We also run coking sessions to help people get the most out of their food and to help promote independent living.

"Many of the people who attend live on their own and being able to chat and mix with people often in a similar situation really helps to overcome the problem of social isolation.

"There was one man who came to one of our cooking sessions and it was the first time he had been out in two-and-a-half years and he said being able to mix with people again has really helped his mental health.”

Meet the former Sunderland shipyard worker who set up a 'buzzing' fitness business after undergoing a double hip replacement

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