Ambassadors of Lupus UK
Lupus UK is honoured to have the support of Ambassadors who lend their name in support of our cause, and help to generate media coverage for the charity, or bring in donations.
Khiry Rowe-Hopkins
Khiry is a lupus advocate, committed to empowering individuals through the sharing of his own personal journey. He is passionate about supporting the lupus community and those facing challenges and has an active involvement with Kidney groups, counselling training and Lupus Europe. Alongside this, Khiry also manages a Saturday football team.
Khiry’s lupus journey started in 2009 when he was 18 years old, after unexpectedly becoming unwell with symptoms that changed his life drastically. Having once been a lively, energetic teenager known for his vibrant spirit and sense of humour, Khiry felt he had become a scared, fed-up, embarrassed shadow of himself. Today, he channels those experiences into advocacy, using his platform to support individuals living with lupus and autoimmune conditions. Through honest storytelling, Khiry aims to demonstrate that a fulfilling and meaningful life remains possible despite certain challenges he may face along the way.
Khiry discovered Lupus UK around three years ago, but his advocacy journey began much earlier. In 2019, after having three heart attacks, Khiry created an Instagram page to document his journey with lupus and other personal challenges. What started as a personal outlet quickly grew into a powerful source of inspiration for others.
Khiry says: “I am very excited to become an ambassador for Lupus UK, something I have hoped to do for a while. I have been a proud volunteer over the last three years and contributed to key awareness initiatives, such as the diagnosis awareness video for World Lupus Day in 2024, Autoimmune Awareness Month and Lupus Awareness Month. I have enjoyed giving talks both in person and online, and over the past six months, I have started a lupus support group. Lupus UK and my platform have enabled me to make many connections in the last couple of years with people who share similar journeys. It has been gratifying to receive messages from members of the lupus community who have found comfort in my posts and videos – often at a time when they have needed it most. I am passionate about continuing to make a meaningful impact and empowering others, hopefully making their journeys a little bit easier.”
You can learn more about Khiry via his socials on:
KOMAL DADLANI
Komal is a Yoga Educator: Hatha Yoga, Meditation, Ayurveda & Vedanta. She first turned to yoga as a result of a Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) in her lower limb, which was eventually diagnosed as part of a wider set of lupus symptoms. As a keen health enthusiast, she was unable to use her leg for running and weightlifting as she had been accustomed to, let alone wear a nice pair of heels for a night out! Yoga helped her to reacquaint herself with movement and enhance proper blood flow, as well as reduce swelling and reoccurring pain from the blood clot.
Yoga, which had been introduced to her as a child through her Indian upbringing, began to take a leading role in her life as she began to encounter a wider spectrum of symptoms, such as ITP (immune thrombocytopenia), hair loss, depression, and severe lichen planus pigmentosus. It was the steadiness and “slowing of things down” during her yoga practice, that brought to light the intricate connection between her thoughts and her lupus flares.
She was encouraged to journey deeper into meditation, Ayurveda and yoga philosophy, which now conform the pillars upon which she relies on for managing her disease and optimising her reliance on medication.
Yoga has taught her that healing begins with one’s full acceptance of one’s body as it is. Followed by willingness to adapt to what one’s body is capable of, non-judgmentally. Frustration and rejection of one’s symptoms feeds illness through negative emotions. Meditation and yoga philosophy provided her with the necessary input for this self-love and acceptance.
18 years on from when she experienced her first blood clot, she has survived a bi-lateral pulmonary embolism, a peripheral blood clot in her right arm and a second DVT in her left leg, this time, an extensive 50 cm ilio-femoral one, which left her severely incapacitated. Each time she has clotted, she has been obliged to stop moving for several months and has been faced with the fear of an unknown future in regards to her yoga practice and recovery.
She vividly recalls the moment at St. Thomas’ Hospital when she was warned of irrevocable/permanent swelling and imminent ulcers that she would experience as a result of the reoccurring DVT. It was the practice of acceptance and even-mindedness instilled through the practice of yoga, that inspired her to “keep moving”, even if it meant going down from a 90 minute practice, to a 10 minute session or having to go “back to basics” on a regular basis. Eventually, though it might have taken months or years sometimes, she built herself back up again, each time.
You can learn more about Komal via her socials on:
Today, Komal (aka Komi Yogi), has the privilege of sharing her practice with yoga centers worldwide, in UK, Spain, USA and Chile; leading yoga retreats, teacher trainings, yoga classes and participating of large-scale festivals. She hopes to inspire others who might share a similar story, to befriend movement and fitness again, with patience and self-compassion.
She is extremely grateful to have crossed paths with like-minded enthusiasts at Lupus UK, which have provided a platform through which she can channel her wish to be of support and share what have been life-changing tools for her throughout her journey with lupus.
P.S: It took a lot of rehab, but Komal is also back to wearing a pair of heels on a girly night out, pain free!
BETH SMITH
Beth Smith, known in the online realm as Beefaloney (formerly known as Beth Does Beauty) is a passionate lupus advocate, content creator, and long-time supporter of Lupus UK. She creates content on YouTube, Instagram and Twitch talking about her life with lupus while also discussing gaming, beauty and her journey through chronic illness. Beth uses her platform to raise awareness, build community, and help others feel seen, supported, and understood.
Beth was diagnosed with Lupus in October 2015 during her first year of university. Like many people living with lupus, her diagnosis brought significant physical and emotional challenges, including navigating changes to her health, appearance, confidence, and mental wellbeing. Over time, Beth transformed those experiences into a powerful source of purpose, using her voice to share the realities of living with an invisible illness.
Through platforms including YouTube and Twitch, Beth creates honest, relatable content covering everything from beauty and self-expression to gaming, chronic illness, and life with lupus. By openly sharing both the good days and the harder days, she has created an inclusive online community where people feel less alone in their own journeys.
As a proud Ambassador for Lupus UK and dedicated fundraiser, Beth regularly hosts charity livestreams and online fundraising events, combining her love of gaming and content creation with her commitment to supporting others affected by lupus. Her advocacy also saw her become part of Lupus UK’s World Lupus Day 2020 “Lupus is Only Part of My Story” campaign, helping to shine a light on the many different stories behind the condition.
You can learn more about Beth via her socials on:
ALTON BROWN
Alton Brown is a UK based international athlete, coach and mentor in the sport of Karate. Born in the UK to parents of Jamaican heritage, Alton represented the English National Team for a total of 17 years.
By November 2021, Alton ranked #1 for his division within Jamaica, #1 across the Caribbean, Central and South America and #14 in the world all-time ranking. He is a European Champion, multiple World Medalist, English and British Champion.
Alton made history for Jamaica in 2019 as the nation’s first medalist within the sport at a major Continental Championships, highlighting Jamaica as a key qualification contender for the Tokyo 2020 (2021) Olympic Games, a qualification process he successfully represented for a four-year cycle.
But it’s not just about his personal success. Alton was Team Manager for British Universities & Colleges Sport, where he mentored and trained young athletes to success, and today continues to coach young British athletes. Alton is an Advocate for Young People and the role of sport and the creative arts in placing them in the driving seat of what is possible for their lives. Alton is actively working on the development of young people through sport within the UK, the Caribbean and across the Commonwealth through skills development, knowledge sharing and awareness-raising.
Alton has been recognised by the World Governing Body as an athlete who embodies the values of his sport, “putting his Karate skills to the service of those who need them the most” and “using Karate to make a better world”.
Alton is an athlete ambassador for the Jamaican Olympic Association’s national team, where he represents at the highest levels on the world circuit. He also currently works for the Organising Committee for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games as the Head of Youth Programmes & Policy, developing opportunities for young people to benefit from exciting engagement with the largest sporting event to take place in the UK in the last 10 years.
Alton started Karate at the age of 11 in a tiny church hall in East London’s Roman Road. The karate club was a place he truly felt at home and it taught him that he was 100% in control of what he could achieve in life. If he put in the work, nobody could stop him from achieving his dreams. He teaches the same life philosophy to his two beautiful daughters.
Alton has lupus. He was diagnosed in 2011 but had symptoms from 2009. As a competitive athlete, he cannot take steroids and is unused to taking regular medication. Alton says: ‘I take control of my pain and sport gives me a reason to be in pain that I cannot blame on lupus. I generally have at least one flare-up per month. In consultation with my rheumatologist, there was a time when I came off hydroxychloroquine, however now that I better understand (through attending a LUPUS UK event) that my medication is to prevent inflammation, which has longer-term effects on the body, I made the decision to begin medication again. Wanting to live a long, happy and active life with my little daughters was a real driving factor for that decision.
You can learn more about Alton via his socials on: