An ex-Royal Marine from Verwood is aiming to set a Guinness World Record while raising money for mental health support.
Matt Howe plans to attempt the most weight lifted by bicep curl in a continuous 24-hour period later this year.
The attempt is taking place at the Mason Hall, Ringwood, on 30th May 2026.
Matt served in Afghanistan before later becoming a police officer. During his time in the force he experienced serious incidents, including being first on the scene at a suicide.
He said those experiences had a lasting impact on his mental health and led him to seek help.
Matt explained that lifting weights became an important way of managing his mental health and coping with difficult experiences.
He said: “I was seeing dead bodies every couple of weeks.
Matt added ‘Previously I used to suck it up, it’s not a manly thing to do to talk about it. Now I’ve learned to talk about mental health.
After leaving the force he trained as a personal trainer and now uses his fitness background to support others.
If successful the record will be approx 120,000 kg lifted.
He hopes the challenge will raise awareness of mental health support and funds for PTSD UK.
