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Motivational Speaker &
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Many of you may not realise that this is about as personal as it gets for me. The person you see in front of you today; the fit, strong, determined man who produced one of the most outstanding body transformations with the help and guidance of Nick Mitchell, Ultimate Performance (UP), working for undoubtedly the World’s number one private personal training business, is a result of the Army and what happened whilst serving.
As an 18 year old, I graduated from the Army Foundation College in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, then progressed to join the 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment with active service from 1999-2003.
Whilst serving, I was involved in a severe assault, which left me spending the next year in Army Medical Care. Whilst I went on to make an almost full physical recovery, I was however left with significant epileptic seizures as a result of my injuries, and to my great sadness, I could no longer serve in the Armed Forces.
During my time in various UK Military Hospitals, I received not only the best but also the most outstanding medical care possible anywhere in the world. My rehabilitation defined in me the belief that I could go on, despite medical opinion, and still lead a full, active, fit, healthy and strong life, be it away from the Army. I am proud of the career I have carved out for myself with UP since I left the Army, but I know that’s where it all started for me and I am what I am today, in the most part because of what I learned there.
So it is now again my great privilege to be able to give back to those who, more often than not, find themselves in the same situation I was in more than 15 years ago – with life changing injuries and having to find a life away from the Forces.
In December 2017, my partner and I raised over £18,000 for Help for Heroes after taking part in the Help for Heroes Everest Base Camp Challenge. My second fundraising challenge, in 2018, took the form of a 350 mile long cycle ride around the battlefields of France, Germany and Belgium. Find out more about my fundraising efforts for Help for Heroes and what challenge I am planning to undertake next here.
I am currently a guest speaker on ‘Pathfinder’ courses for Help for Heroes, visiting Colchester, Tidworth and Plymouth to spend the day with veterans. My role as a guest speaker is to provide encouragement and motivation through the telling of my own journey through life, describing some of the incredible lows and also fantastic highs I have experienced. It means it can be quite emotional, for me and my audience, but the aim is to leave them on a high, to make them realise that there are better times ahead.