'I travel with a stuffed duck to feel less alone'

Sid and Quack have gained social media notoriety in the last six months

A social media influencer who gained popularity by traveling the world with a stuffed duck has said he hopes to "make a difference in a positive way" on mental health awareness.

Sid Batty and Quack have gained attention after the 24-year-old from Onchan posted a video about his travel companion that amassed two million views in a day.

Having bought the duck during a difficult time, Sid takes the toy along with him when traveling to feel "less alone".

He said Quack was a "symbol" to demonstrate "everything will be ok" and his page aimed to show followers that it was "OK to be a man or a boy with a teddy".

Sid said he had been diagnosed with depression, social anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder a few years prior, and had found the rehabilitation process following knee surgery in January 2023 "very difficult".

He said it was at that time he went to buy something to make himself "feel better" and saw Quack, who described as "humble, outgoing and bubbly".

But for the first 18 months after that he kept Quack in his room as he felt ashamed of having a stuffed animal, before deciding to take his toy companion out and about with him.

Reflecting people's reactions he said: "I do get a lot of stares, but I realised that not everyone who stares is automatically thinking negatively."

Sid and Quack were invited to attend the Baftas in May

"Nowadays with social media, the average person's mental health is probably not as good as it used to be because the comparisons are always there," he said.

"I guess I am just trying to make a difference in a positive way", he said, adding that suicide was the biggest killer of men under 50 in the British Isles.

He said even if his actions did not prompt his online followers to follow suit, he hoped they would "feel less anxious in being alone with what they want to do" after seeing him with Quack.

"Nothing makes me happier than sharing my story and helping people by doing so", he said.

The 24-year-old was invited to attend the Bafta Television Awards in May and took Quack with him, making the duck the "first teddy on the red carpet".

"If someone told me a year ago that I would be attending the Baftas with my duck that I kept in my room as I was ashamed, I wouldn't believe them," he said.