Illustration:© Craig Clements-Rushbrooke aka Ashryn77
Craig Clements-Rushbrooke
A Bertolotti Warrior who loves to write poems and music lyrics.
The Voice Behind Ashryn77 Craig Clements – Music, Hope & the Bertolotti Journey Some people find music through a dream of becoming famous. I found it through survival.
My name is Craig Clements, and I write and release music under the name Ashryn77. For almost twenty years I worked in Children's Services, supporting young people through some of the hardest moments of their lives. I always believed that if you listened carefully enough, every behaviour had a story behind it. I never imagined that one day I would become the person searching to be heard. After leaving work through ill health, my life changed dramatically. Years of chronic pain, multiple spinal conditions, Bertolotti Syndrome, disability, declining mental health, and a long battle with gambling addiction left me questioning who I was.
The life I had built disappeared far quicker than I ever expected. Like many people living with Bertolotti Syndrome, I spent years trying to understand why I was in so much pain. There were times I questioned myself more than anyone else ever could. Finding answers wasn't simply about receiving a diagnosis—it was about finally understanding that what I had been living with was real. That journey led me to an incredible community of patients around the world.
Through people like Temmy Radcliffe, and through the work of Dr. Arthur Jenkins and the Jenkins Classification, I found not only knowledge but validation, hope, and the reassurance that our voices matter. When life gets ontop of me, I start writing. What began as a way of emptying my mind became therapy. Poems became songs. Songs became conversations. Conversations became healing.
As Ashryn77, I've written songs about recovery, mental health, disability, chronic pain, family, addiction, grief, hope, and resilience. Every lyric comes from lived experience. Every song tells part of my story—or the story of someone whose life has touched mine. Music gave me back something chronic illness had taken away: Purpose. Today my mission is simple. If one song helps someone feel less alone... If one family understands Bertolotti Syndrome a little better... If one person finds hope where they thought none existed... ...then every word was worth writing. Ashryn77 isn't about perfection. It's about truth. It's about turning scars into stories, pain into purpose, and reminding people that even after life turns everything upside down... We can still rise. Still I Stand.
©Craig Clements-Rushbrooke