Find Your Thing: How Weebert’s World Was Born from a Breakdown
Mental Health Awareness Week 2025 | Theme: Community
This Mental Health Awareness Week, we’re pausing to share something personal and honest. Weebert’s World, our children’s brand built around scrap-built robots and imagination, didn’t start with a business plan or investor pitch. It started with something far more human: a mental breakdown.
After 45 years of working in demanding, high-stress environments in both military and civil aviation, Andy, my husband, co-founder, and the creator of The Berts, reached his breaking point. Years of pressure, responsibility, and internalised stress took their toll. He had a breakdown.
He sought medical help, and the medication gave him space to breathe. But something was still missing. Andy didn’t take to mindfulness apps or traditional counselling. What helped was something far more hands-on, and unexpected. He went into the garage.
He started making things. Quietly. Slowly. With no plan in mind. And as the days passed, the things he made started to look more and more like robots. Made from scrap. Built from bits that others had thrown away. For Andy, this was more than a hobby. He called it “meditation for engineers.” And those robots became The Berts.
Andy had found his thing.
We took what had been the darkest time in our lives and turned it into something full of hope. Something that now sparks the imagination of children across the UK. That’s how Weebert’s World was born.
And me? I found my thing too. I started writing stories about the Berts, scrap-built robots with big personalities and even bigger hearts. I get lost in those stories. If I’m anxious or overwhelmed, writing frees me. It helps me make sense of the world and gives me space to breathe. I didn’t realise until later that this too was a form of mindfulness.
One of our stories, Digbert loves to garden, was inspired by these real-life feelings. (It’s available free on our website) In the story, Digbert feels overwhelmed. With the help of Barbara the flying sheep, he learns to notice five things beginning with the letter B. It’s a gentle strategy that helps him feel grounded again, a practical mental health tool wrapped inside a warm adventure.
This year’s theme for Mental Health Awareness Week is community. And that’s exactly what we’re building through Weebert’s World. A place where children are encouraged to play, explore, and express themselves. A place where grown-ups can reconnect with creativity and talk honestly about mental well-being.
We’re not high-flyers. We’re bootstrapping this business from the ground up. We’re just like you, or the person next door. And that’s the whole point. Mental health doesn’t discriminate. It touches everyone, whether you’re a parent, grandparent, child, teacher, veteran, or engineer.
Andy has given me permission to share his story because he wants to help others. Especially those who might not look like they’re struggling. The “strong ones.” The “alpha men.” He wants them to know: you’re not weak if you ask for help. You’re brave. And it’s good to find your thing.
Maybe your thing is drawing, gardening, fixing engines, baking, or making music. Maybe it’s writing stories or building robots out of scrap. Whatever it is, find it. And if you’ve already found it, protect it. Make space for it. Let it support you.
And as parents, grandparents, carers, and educators, let’s help our children find their thing too. Let’s build resilience early. Let’s make space for creativity, imagination, and emotional awareness, because those are the real building blocks of mental strength.
This week, we encourage you to look after your mental well-being, support those around you, and be part of building a kind, creative community, like the one we’re growing here at Weebert’s World.
With love,
Lotty (& Andy)
Weebert’s World — Where Imagination Sparks Resilience
