Apathy is the enemy of creativity. As the summer season kicks in it is all too easy to find ourselves on autopilot. Whether boiling our brains on the Northern Line, or navigating the mental gymnastics of summer childcare logistics, summer can be a difficult time to maintain momentum. For creativity and curiosity to thrive we need rest and inspiration. Be it recommending a book, a breathing method or developing a craft, this summer BITE is asking leaders to share how they are making the space to nurture their creativity and find their pace.

Martin Walker, Founder of Walker agency, shares how this summer, the Walker agency have been doing the 600 for 600 Summer Challenge to raise awareness of SUDEP (sudden death in epilepsy).

This July the whole agency is getting involved in a Challenge which gets us out and about exploring our beautiful coastline and countryside, at the same time helping to keep fit and sharp. And it’s all for a good cause.

We lost our beautiful daughter Amber to SUDEP last year. She was just 22 years old - talented, creative, funny, kind and caring, and just starting to find her way in the world, after years of suffering seizures regularly throughout her teens.

Through that whole period, not one Consultant, GP or specialist nurse told us of the phenomenon that ultimately took Amber’s life. If they had she might still be with us today.

On 1st July we launched our 600 for 600 Challenge - 600 minutes of additional combined walking, cycling, running or swimming by team members, for every single day in July.

And everyone has got right behind it, some ditching their cars and walking, dog walking or cycling to work, some sea swimming before, after work or even at lunchtime – it helps that we’re 5 mins walk from the beach!

We live and work in a lovely area, but all too often, the pressure of work means you don’t get to take advantage of what’s right there on your doorstep – the Challenge has changed all that, and will almost certainly change behaviours going forward. And that will have a positive impact on energy levels and creativity.

We’re pretty close knit as a team, with people staying an average of 11 years with us – we’re also in Campaign Magazine’s Top 100 Places to Work. But if anything the Challenge has brought us even closer together as a community, and created some new friendships, through shared activities.

We’re doing the Challenge to raise awareness of SUDEP (sudden death in epilepsy), a condition which affects 1 in 1,000 epilepsy sufferers, and leads to 1,200 deaths every year, mainly in young adults. Half of these are thought to be preventable with increased awareness and education, hence 600 for 600.

It wasn’t until after Amber’s death that we became aware of SUDEP Action, an epilepsy charity which is doing everything it can to spread the word. They are calling for more open discussions by clinicians around SUDEP, so patients are in possession of all the facts, and aware that striving for full seizure control is crucial.

They have been incredibly supportive at a distressing time, and we plan to help them going forward, keeping Amber’s name alive at the same time.

We’re half way into the Challenge and averaging over 600 minutes a day of additional exercise between us, and were 58% of the way to our target of 18,600 minutes in July.

We’re planning a final 60 minute walk together on the seafront for 31st July to celebrate completing the Challenge.