Pair give up alcohol to mark anniversary of tragic death
STAG parties, rugby tournaments and weddings would normally be occasions to avoid for anyone who had given up alcohol to take part in a "dryathlon".
However Andrew Horler and Enzo Di Battista will be facing every kind of event sober after going on the wagon for a whole year.
They are attempting the challenge to mark the tenth anniversary of the death of Mr Di Battista's brother, who collapsed and died while on a night out in Wales on March 1, 2003.
Mr Horler, 28, of Ruddington, has already endured one stag do and has two more to attend before December 31 – as well as at least three weddings.
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"Going on the stag weekend has definitely been the biggest challenge so far because there was a big group of us socialising and drinking for a lot of the day – the kind of thing I'd normally lap up," said Mr Horler, who previously drank an average of about 20 units a week.
"It is pretty tough. I wouldn't say I was a big drinker before but I would probably go out every weekend and have a few beers so it's been a bit of a shock.
"But the more I progress the less I miss it – I feel healthier and more alert and certainly don't miss the hangovers."
Mr Horler, who works at Co-Formulate Ltd, Biocity, decided to get involved in the challenge to support friend Mr Di Battista.
The pair, who met at the University of Nottingham, started at midnight on New Year's Eve and have so far raised £583.85 in sponsorship.
It is going so well that Mr Horler might even stick to soft drinks. "It's been really eye opening," he said. "I probably won't drink on a weekend like I did before. It's really changed my outlook on alcohol."
For Mr Di Battista, who now lives in Wales, the motivation for going dry came from his brother Licio.
He had been on a night out in their home town Llanelli where he had been drinking and taken the drug ecstasy. On his way back he tried to jump a wall, fell, went into shock and died.
Mr Battista, who works as a dietician and is in the final year of a PHD, said: "He was on a night out and, because of the social scene he was in, ecstasy was a part of that.
"With it being the anniversary and ten years being a significant amount of time, I wanted to something in his memory that was a bit different and quite challenging that would keep Licio in people's minds."
For Mr Di Battista the hardest part for him was a weekend away with rugby fans.
"It's a cultural thing and I suppose a lot of people do end up drinking because of social pressure," he said.
"Raising the money for charity and my brother makes me determined to complete this.
"But if something else came out of it I would like people to feel they have the freedom to not drink and show them that it is okay to just go out and have a good time."
Both Mr Horler and Mr Di Battista are also running the Welsh Half Marathon and the Ikano Robin Hood Half Marathon to boost the grand total raised.
All money raised will be donated to Alcohol Concern.
To sponsor them go to: www.justgiving.com/Andrew-Horler
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