Our fantastic four have been ‘choosen now’ to inspire people

As part of its Choose Now campaign, leading soft drinks company, Boost Drinks carried out a province-wide search to find inspiring individuals who would become its Boost Society and shine a light on the Choose Now ethos of living life to the full.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The Choose Now initiative is aimed at motivating and encouraging people to make every day count, live life to its full potential and fulfil their dreams.

Lucy Manby, brand manager, Boost Drinks explained: “Following a social media search looking for members of the Boost Society, it’s fair to say that we have been blown away by the response!”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The search unearthed eight amazing people who have become familiar faces on Boost Drinks social media channels as well as at numerous Boost events. A ‘fantastic four’ members of our Society have given an even deeper dive into their lives and how they carry the Choose Now attitude through life. They are entrepreneur, Joshua O’Hagan from Belfast, mum of six Edel McFlynn from County Londonderry, NHS worker Jordan Patterson from Ballynahinch and model Abbie Parkinson from Kesh in County Fermanagh.

Edel McFlynn (40) from Co LondonderryEdel McFlynn (40) from Co Londonderry
Edel McFlynn (40) from Co Londonderry

Lucy continued: “The stories that our final eight men and women shared with us outlined how they juggle their multiple passions, jobs, education and homelife to inspire others to live their lives to the full. They’re all from different places, have different backgrounds and ages but they have one thing in common, they’re living their lives to the full. Boost Drinks is very proud to be working with these talented, committed and passionate people.”

Edel McFlynn (40) has an Instagram page called Mumlifewith6, is a beautician and is training to become a nurse at Ulster University, Magee Campus. Just one of those things would be enough to keep most of us busy but she’s also a mum to six children, a wife to joiner husband, Shane, and they have a Golden Retriever called Lucky.

Edel said: “Life is pretty full on at our house. Getting six kids washed, fed and dressed every morning teaches you the importance of a routine. When I saw that Boost were looking for people with passions and a side hustle, I just knew I had to get involved. Marrying my two passions, photography and family, allowed me to share some snaps and people really responded to their honesty. Today I’ve got a really engaged community online and being part of the Boost Society allows me to share my life experiences with my followers to inspire them and show that you can pursue your passions despite what life throws at you.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Fellow Boost Society member, Joshua O’Hagan, 28, recently opened Intent gym in Ballyhackamore to help people get fitter and improve their mental health.

Abbie Parkinson (24) from Kesh in County FermanaghAbbie Parkinson (24) from Kesh in County Fermanagh
Abbie Parkinson (24) from Kesh in County Fermanagh

His story today is a far cry from his teenage years, growing up in a working-class area of Belfast, he explained: “At the age of 16, I was 16 stone, I was failing my exams, and I faced regular bullying. In fact, I deleted all the photos of myself as a teenager, as I couldn’t bear to look at them. I regret doing that now as I’d like to compare that person to the man I have become, we’re two very different people. By being part of the Boost Society I hope to inspire people to Choose Now and not settle out of fear or thinking ‘what if’– just go for it.”

Abbie Parkinson, 24, created the upbeat food blog, Hungry Hot Mess, which has over 21,000 followers on Tiktok. She’s a trained actress and was a Miss Northern Ireland 2021 finalist.

Abbie, continued: “Being part of the Boost Society has given me a platform to talk about healthy eating and let men and women know that it is possible to win at life whilst juggling lots of different things. I have even started my own Podcast, ‘Sugar, Spice and All Things Nice’, which is a safe space for people to be honest about life’s many trials and triumphs.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Jordan Patterson, 24, works full-time as an Environmental Officer for the Belfast Trust. She’s also juggling a masters, volunteering, and training to be a PT, and that’s not all. In true Choose Now style, Jordan also loves surfing.

Joshua O’Hagan (28) recently opened Intent gym in BallyhackamoreJoshua O’Hagan (28) recently opened Intent gym in Ballyhackamore
Joshua O’Hagan (28) recently opened Intent gym in Ballyhackamore

She said: “I was introduced to surfing when I lived in Australia. I instantly fell in love with it and when I returned to Northern Ireland, I realised that Portrush was an excellent place to ride some waves – it’s now my favourite place in the country to surf. In fact, I love it so much, that I volunteer for the Wave Project in Portrush during the summer which uses surfing to help young people improve their emotional and physical wellbeing.”

Lucy Manby, brand manager, Boost Drinks, added: “The Boost Society are making the most out of every situation in life and truly embracing the Choose Now ethos. They’ve got side hustles they are passionate about and are pushing themselves to succeed at whatever it is they love doing. Their determination and spirit just shines through and that’s what Choose Now is all about.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

County Down woman, Jordan PattersonCounty Down woman, Jordan Patterson
County Down woman, Jordan Patterson
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.

You can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Thank you