Introducing the MS MINI MINI

Our supporter Nicholas Martin has set himself a rather unusual challenge to raise money and awareness for the MS Trust – and it involves a very MINI MINI! Here, Nico tells us about what he’s got planned and why supporting the MS Trust means so much to him.

In 2015, my mother was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS. For years we thought the constant fatigue and headaches were the result of bad sleeping habits and a poor diet. It wasn’t until she started talking about a constant tingling sensation and other symptoms did we realise there was a much bigger problem. When she was eventually diagnosed with MS, it was kind of a relief… because all the symptoms finally made sense.  Sadly though, the symptoms have only become worse over the years, and she was later diagnosed with secondary progressive MS. I wish there was something I could do to help my mother, but I've come to realise that the best thing I can do is help raise money and awareness for the MS Trust.

The MS Trust have done an amazing job supporting my mother with plenty of useful advice, and an MS nurse has always been there for her when she needs it most. Sadly though, there are many people around the country living with MS who aren’t as lucky, as there are simply not enough MS specialists to provide the support for everyone who needs it. It’s great to see the commitment the MS Trust has to changing this, and it’s only made possible through fundraising efforts. My sister and her husband showed their support by running the London Marathon. I felt inspired and knew that I wanted to raise money and awareness too, but the idea of running a marathon is not something that appeals to me. I knew I wanted to do something car related (I have a YouTube channel dedicated to cars), so in 2018, I organised the very first MS Charity Drive, a 24hr scavenger hunt for car enthusiasts. Everyone who took part enjoyed it, and although it was only a small group of us taking part, we ended up raising around £2,000. That's when I knew that I was onto something special.

So what next? Just as a bit of fun, I bought a little pink toy MINI second hand with the intention of using it for a YouTube video, and at the time only planned to do a simple upgrade to make it go a little bit faster. However, when I drove it around at some car related events, it certainly turned heads and made people smile when they saw a grown man riding around in a little pink MINI. It didn’t take long to realise the potential that it had to raise money and awareness for the MS Trust, especially if I can make it go faster.

The plan is to modify the little pink MINI to reach speeds in excess of 25mph (it currently only goes 3mph!) and set some records in the process. On top of that, to help spread awareness, I intend to change the colour to blue and stencil spray the MS Trust logo onto it.

I’ve been given the green light to do some official speed runs during one of the most popular performance and modified car events, The Fast Show at Santa Pod Raceway, which is happening on 29 March. The MS Trust will be joining me at Santa Pod, and the MS MINI MINI will be on display at their stand. I hope it will draw in the crowds and allow people to learn more about the project and the MS Trust. At some point during the day, I will be hitting the drag strip with it in front of the crowds to find out just how fast it can go, and attempting to set a top speed record.

My goal is to raise at least £10,000 by the end of the year, and in order to help spread awareness, I plan on attending plenty of other events throughout the year. It may be a very small car, but I'm hoping it's going to have a BIG impact.