West Brom legend Darren Harris is delivering words of inspiration

At aged just 15 months, Harris was diagnosed with Bilateral Retinoblastoma - a rare type of eye cancer which forced the removal of one eye, while the sight in the other gradually deteriorated over the next 20 years.

Yet Harris has embodied the art of defying the odds over the course of a remarkable career.

While totting up a record 157 caps for England's Blind squad, Harris also twice competed at the Paralympics in two completely different sports.

Now aged 51, Harris tells the story of his unique journey to audiences far and wide as he hopes to inspire others.

He said: "I've never really been a long-term goal setter. I was never one of those people who would think, where am I going to be in five or ten years time?

"I was very much in the moment. Let's see if I can be better tomorrow than I am today but now when I look back, it's quite extraordinary what I achieved."

He made his debut for England in 1996 and was named captain in 2002, before helping the team qualify for the Athens Paralympic Games in 2004.

However, Great Britain were barred from taking part, as the other Home Nations besides from England wouldn't sanction them to play.

Instead of accepting defeat, Harris, who already owned a black belt in Judo, began training full-time and was able to compete in the Beijing Paralympics four years later.

As if that wasn't remarkable enough, Harris later achieved his goal of representing Team GB in blind football on home soil at London 2012.

"For me being a Paralympian was something that symbolize success, it embodied excellence and it personified perseverance," he continued.

"I knew that's what I wanted to be just because I just saw how reacted and responded to those other Paralympians. They didn't focus on their disabilities, they focused on their ability.

"It was eight years in the making and I was thinking I was going to go but then that was taken away from me. I was gutted, I was captain of the team and I remember writing to the chief executives of the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish FAs.

"I don't think they all responded and the ones that did just said no and I thought that was the end of my dream but I found a way."

Harris, who now tells his story as a motivational speaker, has recently become an ambassador for Spabreaks.com's 'Real Men Relax' campaign.

And he highlighted the importance of raising awareness for mental health and for men to be able to openly discuss their own emotions.

He said: "It's very rare that you get the opportunity to reflect. You're always thinking about what's the next step?

"Sometimes it's good just to think, 'I am happy where I am actually'. I am going to pause, reset and go again.

"But if you never recharge the better then you're going to suffer with burnout and run out of fuel.

"Real Men Relax is all about that. It's about people learning to look after themselves in a positive way.

"I know I always jump in a sauna or a steam room and just kind of unwind that body and just chat about life, football or whatever topic come to mind.

"It's just that social environment where you're around like-minded people who're trying to better themselves but we're just comfortable in each other's presence.

"I think all men would benefit from learning to talk honestly with each other past the bravado of what men normally talk about.

"What's really going on? How are you really? Actually, I am struggling today, and it's ok to admit that and have that freedom to be honest with others, but most importantly with yourself."

Darren Harris is an ambassador for Spabreaks.com's Real Men Relax campaign which aims to highlight the reasons why men should go to the spa. To find a selection of spas for men go to: https://www.spabreaks.com/categories/men