Clinically Dead for 2 Minutes & 42 Seconds: Tom Lockyer on Cardiac Arrest, Mental Health & Football

Joining Talia this week is professional footballer Tom Lockyer for an honest conversation about surviving cardiac arrest, trauma, resilience, and discovering who you are beyond football.

Tom's career took him from being released by a professional academy at just 15 for being considered too small, through non-league football and spells with Bristol Rovers and Charlton Athletic, before spending six years at Luton Town and helping the club reach the Premier League. But his life changed dramatically after suffering cardiac arrests on the pitch.

Tom opens up about collapsing during Luton's Championship play-off final at Wembley, later being diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, and then suffering another cardiac arrest while playing against Bournemouth in the Premier League. He recalls waking up surrounded by paramedics and discovering that he had been clinically dead for 2 minutes and 42 seconds.

The conversation goes far beyond football, exploring the delayed impact of trauma, anxiety, identity loss, and the challenge of rebuilding your life when the career that defined you is suddenly taken away.

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