Humz: 'I carry the United energy with me every day'

“I don’t even know where to begin! My earliest memories of football are Man United. I’d say my best memory growing up was the 2007/08 Champions League final. Just watching that with my dad. 

 

“That was actually the latest I’d ever stayed up at that point in my life. So I remember being like: ‘Oh my god, it’s past my bedtime.’ Then obviously we beat Chelsea on pens, so I just have tonnes of memories growing up. Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez, it was just pure energy and it made me, in my own life, feel like a winner. 

 

“I carried that United winning spirit into my everyday life, and it was just magical being a United fan growing up.”

“Ronaldo is like my number-one hero. He’s still my phone background. To me, he just epitomises hard work, discipline and the United way. So, I feel like he really embodies that. And, of course, Rooney as well. I would say those two were my main heroes growing up.”

 

“My music is all high energy, passion, trying to make a difference, motivate people, lift people up, it’s all that, and that is what I took from Man United growing up. That high-energy style of play, watching Rooney, Ronaldo, Tevez, boom, boom, boom, boom.

“That’s what my personality is now: very high energy. It directly influenced my music as well. If you listen to it, you will know. You feel like you want to go out and run a few marathons.”

“It’s the most important thing. Music is my way of exercising my creativity or sharing my creativity, but overall, my bigger purpose here is to really have a positive impact on the world and change the world, and the way I see myself doing that is telling my mental-health story. 

 

“For many years, it was game over for me, so to be able to put myself back together naturally through things like meditation, playing football and even going to United games… there was a time where I had really bad social anxiety and I couldn’t face being in public situations. The only interaction I had with other people was going to United games; if I didn’t have that and watching the games at home with my family, I would have been on my own. So Man United helped me through those dark times.

“So, answering your question, my main purpose is to have that impact, and most people know me through the mental-health stuff, which I absolutely love. Being able to weave in the worlds of mental health, music, football, fashion... it’s magical and it’s a dream come true that I can do that.”

“I can’t put it into words. You’ll make me cry if I really went into it, I’m serious. But I worked so hard. My number-one dream in those dark times, to bring myself out, was to collab with my boyhood club and, specifically, it was to do the kit launch because that’s the biggest thing.

“I really can’t describe how many times I’ve visualised this moment, dreamt of this moment. Even yesterday, my parents were like: ‘We’re so proud of you and we’ve seen how hard you’ve worked for this.’ To see it all unfold, I can’t actually put that into words.”

“Oh my god, it’s the Sir Jim era, bring it on! As Erik ten Hag said, eras come to an end, in terms of our rivals. It’s now the Sir Jim era, the start of a new one, and I have full faith. That’s what being a United fan is: it’s that togetherness and that faith and knowing that we’re bouncing back. I feel like we can feel it in the stadium; there is that bounce back in the United fans.

“I was there at the cup final and that was the turning point. Everyone in there knew we’ve just beat them and now this is our moment. So, bring on the next season. Sir Jim, Erik ten Hag, all the boys, starboys, Mainoo, Garnacho, Hojlund. We’re going all the way.”