When life got tough, Sid Batty bought a stuffed duck named Quack to remind him that there was hope. He never imagined it would spark a global conversation about men’s mental health. He chats to Kate Stevenson about their journey so far
It was an ordinary day when Sid first decided to pull his small duck from his backpack and document their travels together. His plushie, named Quack, has now seen more of the world than most people, including Italy’s coastlines, the streets of Paris, and Silverstone’s F1 circuit. Wherever Sid goes, Quack goes too.
THEIR INTRO-DUCK-TION
At first glance, it’s probably an unusual sight: a grown man photographing a plush toy perched on a ledge. But for Sid, Quack isn’t a gimmick: he’s helped the 24-year-old navigate some of the hardest moments of his life.
“It was about two or three years after I was first diagnosed with social anxiety, depression and OCD,” remembers Sid. “I’d just had knee surgery and was told I couldn’t play football again. Football was my escape growing up. Then I went through a breakup, my degree got tough… and it felt like everything was crumbling.”
In the middle of that chaos, he walked into a shop and bought a stuffed duck. “I thought, ‘I’m going to buy something to symbolise a new start, a new hope. Whenever things get tough, I can look at him and remember why I got him.’”
At first, Quack sat quietly on Sid’s shelf. Then, a few years later, Sid decided to go solo travelling: “Growing up, I was always scared of being alone,” he explains. “I used to cry when I was on school trips. So, when I decided to go travelling after uni, I thought, ‘Why don’t I bring my stuffed animal with me? It’ll be like a piece of home on the go’.”
GETTING HIS DUCKS IN A ROW
Slowly but surely, he began taking photos of Quack in every destination. They were only Polaroids at first but, over time, he made Instagram posts too. “Originally it was just for me and my family,” smiles Sid. “I never planned to go public. It was only for the memories.”
When he finally shared Quack’s story online, the reaction was instant. “Everyone was so overwhelmingly nice,” recalls Sid. “No one was looking down on me. They all just wanted to know more.”
Not every moment with Quack is as easy though: “When I was inParis, getting a caricature done of us, I remember everyone staring. It was the first time I thought, ‘Ok, people are definitely judging me’.”
But he’s learned to let that go. “If I don’t know their name, why should their opinion bother me?” Sid says with a shrug. “I know what I’m doing and why I’m doing it.”
That attitude has become central to Sid’s message. His posts now reach hundreds of thousands of people, and his openness about anxiety, OCD, and self-doubt has made him an unexpected voice for men’s mental health. “It’s not about getting rid of mental health issues – yours or mine,” he reminds me. “It’s about managing them the best way you can.”
However, he admits that sharing his life so openly online sometimes brings its own pressure. “I still get anxiety every time I post something,” explains Sid. “The videos I make are either to help people, or to make them smile. So, when I’m having a bad day, I don’t want to share that. But then I think, ‘Ok, let me go do something I enjoy, and make a video out of that’.”
QUACKERS IMPACT
If you’re finding it hard to imagine the impact one man and his stuffed animal can have, this might sum it up: “A couple of months ago, a woman messaged me to say she’d booked her first solo trip after seeing my videos. She said she was bringing her daughter’s teddy with her daughter’s ashes inside – to show her the world.” Sid pauses. “That one made me cry. That’s when I realised this is bigger than me and my duck.”
Still, Sid accepts that he’ll always feel some judgment for being open about mental health, and for carrying a stuffed animal in public. “Once you accept you’re going to be judged, that’s half the issue,” he reasons. “The bigger problem is men feeling like they’re alone, which is just not true.”
“The thing is,” Sid continues, “I’m just a regular guy – I love football and going to the pub with my mates. But I also have this platform I can use to help other men. Because sometimes people need a reminder that things will get better.”
So, wherever Sid and Quack go next, you can be sure of one thing: they won’t just be taking photos. They’ll be reminding people across the world that hope can travel far.