JCIP #276 - James Roffey - Part 3

In episode 276 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with James Roffey. James is a personal trainer and semi-professional footballer. He was previously the business owner of his personal training brand ‘The Mental Health PT’ but due to personal and business reasons, has rebranded and relaunched it as ‘Ultimate Body and Mind’. James first came on the pod in JCIP #183 where he discussed his journey into personal training and his struggle and recovery from a long-term eating disorder, which was triggered by three major life events. Since then, a massive amount has happened in James’s life, positively and negatively. For the former, he signed for non-league club Sheffield FC, only for the team to sign a professional goalkeeper the day before the transfer window shut and make him the number two goalkeeper at the last minute. As a 36-year-old, James needed to play minutes and had to leave the club and join another team as a result. For the latter, he has separated from his wife, which became messy and caused James severe mental health difficulties. During this separation, James discovered he was infertile because of a genetic condition he had called Klinefelter syndrome which, according to the NHS website, is characterised by boys being born with an extra X chromosome, so for James he has XXY, as opposed to XY for other men without the condition. It’s important to state that the X chromosome is not a "female" chromosome and is present in everyone. The presence of a Y chromosome denotes male sex. Symptoms of Klinefelter Syndrome in childhood can include: shyness and low self-confidence, problems with reading, writing, spelling and paying attention, mild dyslexia or dyspraxia, low energy levels, and difficulty socialising or expressing feelings. In teenagers, it is characterised by growing taller than expected. Finally in adulthood, as James tragically discovered, it is characterised by infertility as well as low sex drive, smaller testes and erection problems, which James bravely admits on the podcast but originally attributed it to his eating disorder. Kleinefelter Syndrome is also recognised as a Difference in Sexual Development (DSD). James also began suffering from cluster migraines because of the stress of his marriage breaking down, as well as a myriad of other events happening which we can’t discuss on this podcast. James’s uncle also tragically took his own life in 2024 after trying to take his own life previous to that three times. James says his uncle was let down by the system; the healthcare system for not providing adequate care, and the family court system as his uncle separated from his wife and claims he was parentally alienated from his step-children by his ex-wife. In Part 3, we discuss James’s business rebrand and why he did it, a deep dive into his marriage breakdown, his infertility diagnosis, drama in his football career and how he took himself from rock bottom to where he is now. Infertility is one of the most stigmatised experiences one can feel as a man for obvious reasons and we are very proud of James for the bravery he has shown on this podcast to discuss it so openly and courageously for all of the men who live with Klinefelter Syndrome in the UK, which is currently as high as 1 in 600 in this country. As always, #itsokaytovent You can find out more about Ultimate Body & Mind here: http://www.ultimatebodyandmind.com You can follow James on social media below: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theultimatebodyandmind/ You can listen to Part 1 and Part 2 of James' journey below: Part 1: https://soundcloud.com/venthelpuk/jcip-183-james-roffey-part-1 Part 2: https://soundcloud.com/venthelpuk/jcip-183-james-roffey-part-2 Support Us: Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpuk GoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/f/help-vent-supp…ir-mental-health Merchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shop Music: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk