A former Sunderland academy player, dropped from its youth development squad, has opened a gym to help others in the same position.
Ross Colquhoun, 27, joined the Academy of Light at nine years old, and said it was devastating to be released when he was 19.
He said the identity shift once he stopped pursing football was "really difficult to deal with".
Robin Nicholls, academy manager at Sunderland AFC, said the club always strives to do better, and its understanding of "welfare and the social issues has really increased over the last 10 years".
Mr Colquhoun set up The Training Club in 2020, an all-male personal training gym which supports members with both their physical fitness and mental health, including other ex-academy footballers.