A fundraising star from Hitchin has shared his rollercoaster of a year, from raising £7,000 for local charities to being interviewed by BBC Breakfast's Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt.
Like most of us, Nick was juggling work, home schooling and lockdown anxiety last May - before he decided he wanted to boost the mental health of colleagues, family and friends.
As an established, award-winning mental health campaigner, Nick already had some experience in discussing our emotional wellbeing.
Having lived through his own experiences of anxiety and even suicidal thoughts, Nick was well placed to realise that lockdown could have an extremely negative effect on all of us – and was determined to bring everyone some smiles.
But he knew he wanted to do something that would be universally accessible for people of all ages, so he decided to turn up to work's Zoom calls in fancy dress costumes.
For every working day of May, Nick turned up in 20 different fancy dress costumes - raising £3,600 for four charities and attempting to set a Guinness World Record in the process.
"It was about having a bit of fun and bringing some positivity into my home and work," he said.
"Fancy dress is universal and it breaks down barriers, creating a connection even when we aren't able to meet people in person. It brings a smile to people's faces.
"The impact on colleagues was immediate and obvious, so I thought why not continue doing this, give something back to my community and try to build something?"
And build something he did. After dressing up again in December, with the support of Fancy Dress of Hitchin, Nick raised a further £3,000 during his 12 Days of Christmas challenge.
It was this latter fundraising that caught the eye of national media outlets - including BBC Breakfast, where millions of people tuned in to see Nick's interview with Naga and Charlie.
But Nick almost didn't make it to this stage - he admits he thought the fancy dress had "run its course" after his summer fundraising efforts.
"I had been corralling the press, national and local, since May and hadn't really got anywhere. It was a really hard slog, nationally it never really broke through.
"Funnily enough, all it took was a phone call. I had been emailing BBC Look East over and over, and I'm of the generation where we actually pick up the phone. As soon as I actually spoke to a real human, it started to snowball into something much bigger.
"By next week I was a featured story on the BBC news website, was interviewed on Radio 5 Live and was preparing for an interview on BBC Breakfast. It was incredible!
"Friends and colleagues were so supportive, but my kids didn't seem that interested," Nick jokes.
"I'd been featured on Look East, but I explained to my kids that Daddy was going to go on TV again. My seven-year-old daughter just looked at me with a bored expression on her face."
Fast forward eight months and we're still under strict lockdown rules - with charities, organisations and the NHS publishing vital mental health advice and tips.
Nick praises his colleagues for being "so supportive", and says he has "genuinely changed the way we talk about mental health now".
And the future's looking bright for the fancy dress fundraising challenge too.
After seeing Nick on BBC Breakfast, the world's biggest costume manufacturer and supplier, American-based Rubies, has picked up on his story and is working with him to supply more costumes in the future.
Reflecting on his whirlwind 2020, Nick said it was "great to figure out this was my purpose".
"I'm still working to raise awareness and try and drive a change," he continued.
"It's not about me looking silly, it's about the difference I can make to people who hear my story.
"I've been on a journey personally these last six months. I hope I've taught people that even if you're an introvert or anxious, don't let it stop you from doing amazing things."
You can still donate to Nick's fundraising efforts at justgiving.com/team/12daysofchristmasfancydress.
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