A Scottish soccer fan is finishing a cross-country walk from Los Angeles to Boston in a bid to raise money and awareness for men’s mental health ahead of the World Cup.
And 22-year-old Craig Ferguson’s very long walk — over 100 days, in a kilt — paid off for his cause, raising over £1 million, or more than $1,300,000, for Scottish Action for Mental Health, which calls itself the country’s largest mental health charity.
We spoke to Ferguson as he approached Boston on Thursday, just before he reached the major milestone, and after enduring injuries, storms and thousands of miles as he crossed the country on foot on what he called “The Tartan Trek.”
His aim was to reach Boston in time for Scotland’s first World Cup match in 28 years, being played in Foxborough Saturday against Haiti. The journey, similar to ones he’s done before, honors a friend’s father, who died by suicide.
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“To kind of have that dream be kept alive and to look and say, ‘We can do this,’ I mean, it gets me emotional just thinking about it to be honest,” Ferguson said.
The Scottish government recently announced a major contribution to the campaign that brought Ferguson close to his fundraising goal.
Ferguson previously walked from Scotland to Germany ahead of the 2024 European soccer championship, then set his sights on a 3,200-mile journey for the World Cup.
“Centering that around one of the biggest sporting events, it’s the perfect way to do it,” he told us. “I think the people that are watching are the exact kind of guy that we need to get that message across.”
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Craig Ferguson in a Boston suburb on Thursday, June 11, 2026, as his walk across the country to raise money and awareness for men’s mental health was nearly complete.
He’s expected to complete his journey Friday afternoon at the Boston Common.