ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - An Albany State University employee is using his personal mental health experiences to help students open up about their own challenges through a podcast called “Fueled by Pain.”

Ja’Quan Riggins founded the podcast after his own mental health struggles led to hospitalization, with the idea coming to him from a hospital bed when doctors told him he might need a kidney transplant.

“The first inspiration or thought about this brand came from the hospital bed it came actually after the doctor came in and told me that if the medicine didn’t work to calm my kidneys back down and get them back to the concentration level they needed to be in I would have to go on the transplant list and that’s where fueled by pain was created and it was created out of fear for other people to go through the exact thing that I just went through,” Riggins said.

Along with the podcast, Riggins hosts events that give young people at Albany State a space to discuss mental health. He said the work is not about recognition but about helping students.

“Those messages I literally just got one at 2 am saying ah man the post that you just made helped changed my life I’m watching you, you may not know it but I’m looking at you and it’s those messages that keep me going knowing that I’m impacted somebody that I can’t even see that I don’t even know, that I haven’t even met yet and those are the lives that’s the reason that’s the purpose that’s what I’m grinding for,” Riggins said.

ASU student Jaiden Stepney said he is learning through the programs.

“It builds character, it’s a lot of discipline involved, and I love that they came out they way to show that to Albany St. University, and we want to give a big shoutout to Fueled by pain,” Stepney said.

Riggins said his next steps include securing sponsorships, continuing to partner with Albany State, and releasing merchandise.

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