WATCH: Inverness man with MS looks to inspire others with never give up attitude
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A never give up mentality shines through the determination of Matthew Green to push his body to achieve feats some others haven't even tried.
Matthew was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 2012 when he was just 21-years-old.
The diagnosis came two years after the loss of his mother, and a year after the birth of his first-born daughter.
The 31-year-old, who is born and bred in Inverness, has since shown that it is all mind over matter and looks to inspire others through the power of fitness.
Before being diagnosed, he experienced serious problems with his vision that needed correcting with particular glasses that were prescribed by a specialist. After eventually correcting itself, he noticed that he was losing functionality in his right leg and hand, as he would start to drop light objects. These symptoms would go away, but then come back.
After realising something was going very wrong, Matthew decided to visit a doctor then received his diagnosis.
He has gradually lost most of the ability to use his right side, with the symptoms now being permanent. He can now only walk with an assisted frame, and is sometimes forced to use a mobility scooter.
Matthew admits that it was a challenging period in his life, especially as his right side weakened in the five or so years following diagnosis.
"My fitness has gotten worse alongside my health with the MS, so I thought I'd come to the gym to see what I could achieve," he said.
He chose to obtain a personal trainer, who worked at the Forge Gym in Inverness, so that he could remain fit and gain as much strength as possible – despite the strain that the disease was putting on his body.
"The Forge has brought me out of a dark place and introduced me to a community we call the Forge Family," Matthew said.
"Since I started here, we have invented something called the counselling corner where we get things off our chest and try our best to help each other out with our problems."
As well as the gym, Matthew also described his two children as his "blessings in disguise".
After starting by just attending the gym two or three times a week, Matthew now tries his best to go five days a week.
"I would advise others with MS to try fitness," he said. "Take that step out of your comfort zone, you will not regret it but don't compare your first step with someone's seventh step, your own journey is what matters."
