A group of men gathered in a Runcorn café to sit and talk about mental health.
Curt's Coffee Club is named after Keelan's friend Curt, a "brilliant" young man with a "heart of gold" who sadly took his own life.
His death on March 7, 2018 devastated delivery driver Keelan, sending him into a spiral that landed him in rehab that October.
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Keelan, from Runcorn, told the ECHO: "That was possibly one of the worst days of my life. I just went into a spiral after that, trying to cope by just drinking myself into oblivion."
A friend called him that day telling him to go to Curt's house.
Curt's girlfriend called him as he arrived to the sight of a police car outside. She told him that his friend was dead.
Keelan said: "It just seemed to all be a blur from then. I was devastated, absolutely devastated. I can't describe the feeling."
For months he drowned himself in drink.
His friend Paul, the co-founder of Curt's Coffee Club, saw fragments of his downward spiral when he visited home during his four-year stint in the army.
Along with Keelan's family, he convinced Keelan to get help and go to rehab, where he stayed for three weeks.
Keelan, 24, told the ECHO: "It was a long drive down there to Luton.
"My grandad and my mum took me down, and I remember I was just trying to hold it together. I was trying to just brave it really.
"There were a few people in there that looked a little bit worse for wear, and I was looking at myself in the mirror saying, 'Look, this is where you are, try and make the most of it'."
He added: "It's difficult, especially when your mum and your grandad, who are two important people in your life, are seeing you off.
"You feel like you let them down. All guilty, the remorse and the shame comes in a little bit, but it's an opportunity to help yourself.
"Being in there and seeing different levels of what drink and drugs can do, it's a big eye opener, and it's a big wake up call.
"I was first introduced to what a meeting was through going somewhere where you can speak, where anonymity is important.
"Whatever you hear in the meetings, whatever you say, it's private, so you feel at ease.
"And there are people in there who are just like you. Sometimes worse, sometimes not as bad.
"You can all relate, you've all got a common problem, and you all just want to get better.
"It's better to know that you're not on your own in a situation, which is why the coffee club is a great tool to use for people to just come together.
"No one has to really speak, but they can just sit there and listen to the stories.
"I'm going to do a share next time, so I'm going to tell people my experience, and hopefully people will get a better understanding. Maybe people will get something from my story and the turnaround that I've made."
Keelan is 18 months sober now, after a few ups and downs along the way.
He'd heard of other young men who've taken their own lives in Runcorn, where he said drink and drugs are part of life.
Men accounted for three quarters of suicides in 2020, with 15.4 men taking their own lives for every 100,000 people in the country.
In 2019, the male suicide rate in Halton reached the highest level in two decades.
Keelan and Paul hope Curt's Coffee Club address this by supporting men's mental health, and they're both taking a mental health first aid course so they're better equipped to help.
The pair were blown away by the interest in their coffee club, with 26 people turning up to their first meeting on Saturday, January 22.
Keelan said: "We're really happy, kind of shocked at how quick it has picked up.
"We know that we're doing a good thing and we were positive about it, but we didn't expect it to be this good so soon."
The group will meet every fortnight at CHI Community Café on Castlefields Avenue East, Runcorn WA7 2NY
Everyone attending the one-hour session gets a free tea and coffee, and Keelan and Paul get to go home knowing they're doing good in the community.
Keelan told the ECHO: "There's no better feeling than the feeling you get from helping others.
"Just to be able to help one person, just to be able to let somebody else know that they're not alone with the situation, it's empowering.
"It's better than what any drink can give you."
He urged people to open up to others about their problems, saying: "Speak to people. Try your best to reach out, as uncomfortable as it is.
"If you ask for help, you're a brave person, and it is the best thing to do. It takes a brave person to ask for help.
"Once you do, it becomes easier. You can't do things on your own, so the more you speak to people, the more you'll get from it."
