#Essex: Internet sensation Josh Clayden came close to depression due to skin condition

A local internet sensation who has amassed a strong fan base through social videos has spoken of how he battled depression after developing a skin condition. He developed ACNE, a condition that can leave skin with spots, oily and very painful to touch.

Josh Clayden, the 18year old star told us in an exclusive interview “I have had acne for about 1-2 years now and one day I was out and it just blew up, my skin inflamed and I went ill, I had to go to hospital and get seen urgently”

  PICTURED: Josh a year ago with ACNE.

Josh who splits his time between Essex and travelling around the UK for meet & greats and supporting various charities through celebrity football matches spoke about how he didn’t ‘want to go outside’ and lost confidence due to the bullying that began at that point of his life.

“I had very bad skin for months on end after that” Josh said, “I got depression and bullied, it wasn’t just from strangers who looked at me awkwardly but it was also some people I thought where friends and where close to me who would look and whisper whenever I got into a room”

Despite all these setbacks and the depression the Witham based star remained positive still continuing his charity work and supporting as many people as possible.

Josh with friend Brad Mattison

Josh went in to talk about how he rose above the challenges “I thought I’ll never get clear skin again. I tried everything from cream to tablets, my last option was to go on these nasty tablets, they gave me depression, anxiety and I felt really low. I surrounded myself with good mates and they always kept me smiling.”

Now moving on from this sad era Josh wishes to inspire other young people who might face any condition to have someone to turn to. The aspiring actor told us “My point is no matter how bad your skin is or whatever challenges you have, no one is perfect, luckily enough my skin has cleared up loads”.

The aspiring model has already secured masses of work for the New Year and he tells us he is “looking forward to the challenge coming up ahead”.