This Scottish soccer fan walked more than 3,500 miles to Boston for men's mental health charity

How far would you go to watch your home country play in the FIFA World Cup?

In addition to those pricey tickets, maybe pay a couple thousand dollars for a plane ride and a hotel? Drive down to the closest stadium near you? Possible, albeit expensive.

How about walking more than 3,500 miles across the United States in 109 days? Because that’s what Scottish soccer fan Craig Ferguson has done.

The 22-year-old from Paisley, Scotland, has walked from Los Angeles to Boston since late February, all while wearing a kilt. He’s passed through places like Arizona, Ohio, Colorado, Washington D.C. and New York City. And on Friday, June 12, he ended his journey at the Boston Common around 2 p.m.

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“I’m wired a little bit differently,” Ferguson told WBUR. “I love adventure; I like going and doing some crazy sort of things. The idea of walking very far distances and going on an adventure and seeing new places is very appealing to me.”

Not only did he make the trek to watch his home country Scotland play their opening match against Haiti on Saturday — Scotland’s first World Cup appearance since 1998 — but also to raise awareness on men’s mental health. He started this challenge, which he’s deemed the “Tartan Trek”, to honor his best friend’s dad, who died by suicide seven years ago.

“ What I’ve always wanted to showcase to guys is that showing emotion, having a hard time and just being a human is not a weakness; it’s a superpower, if anything,” Ferguson said.

Part of the challenge was to raise £1 million, or about $1.3 million, for the charity Scottish Action for Mental Health.

“There’s been so many times where I had so much self-doubt and thought, ‘Who are you to think you can raise a million pounds? There’s no way we’re ever gonna do that,'” Ferguson said. “It seemed too ambitious.”

Earlier this week, Ferguson was only about half way to his goal. But on the morning of June 11, Ferguson received a call from Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney. He wanted to congratulate Ferguson for doing this challenge, and as a gift, he said the Scottish government would donate a whopping £400,000 to the charity.

“It was probably the last sort of confirmation that I needed,” Ferguson said. “What started as that 20-[something]-year-old boy who wanted to go and walk to try and make a little bit of change, to getting recognition and real change and real funding from a government-level of the country that I’m proud to be from. It was the final nail in the coffin for me that all of this was all worth it.”

As of 11 a.m. on June 12, Ferguson raised over £1,058,000 — and counting.

It’s not the first time Ferguson’s done this sort of challenge. Back in 2024, he walked from Glasgow, Scotland to Munich, Germany for the UEFA European Championship. But he said this challenge in America has been different.

Throughout this journey, he was able to meet Scottish celebrities like singer Lewis Capaldi and comedian (funnily enough) Craig Ferguson. He even got the chance to do the coin toss in Scotland’s pre-World Cup friendly match against Bolivia in New York City.

“Did I think we would’ve been shaking hands and sharing a beer with the likes of Lewis Capaldi and different legends? No. I would’ve had no idea that any of that stuff would’ve come up,” said Ferguson.

As thousands of people watch and support him online, Ferguson said he hopes this inspires other people to take on these challenges not just for an adventure, but for a good cause.

“I want people to take away just a little bit of hope, a little bit of inspiration that there [are] people out there who are willing to do big, long things for the sake of other people,” he said. “I’m not saying go out and walk across America, but to put yourself second and to do things to try and better other people. I think it’s such a key part of humanity.”

This article was originally published on WBUR.org and via the New England News Collaborative.

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