My Story

You may be here because you have a read the intro on the homepage…

Then let’s rewind a few years from that moment, to give you a more rounded view of things.

From an early age I learnt that I could do anything I set my mind to.

At 10, after four years of staring at Bruce Lee posters, I walked into my first martial arts class.

That quiet confidence it gave me the ability to protect others from bullies and carried me through everything that followed.

By 18, I'd already opened my first hairdressing salon.

Not working for someone else - my own business.

Ran it for two years.

Then sold it to fund the adventure of a lifetime.

The Creative Professional Era

Returned to study Photography and Video Production for 3 years in Edinburgh and then two years as assistant to a commercial photographer.

I transitioned into PR and Press for national newspapers. But I spotted a gap - the early internet could revolutionise music photography distribution.

Created my own Music Photo Agency, syndicating live music images worldwide.

Built the technology to get pictures to desks faster and track usage for billing.

Sold it to a bigger agency, then became Picture Editor at a national newspaper for six years.

Office politics got old.

Time to reinvent again.

The Elite Barber Era

Opened the barbershop. But this wasn't just cutting hair - I was building a brand.

• Fully booked months in advance

• Work published in 26 countries

• Presented hair collections on the biggest UK stages

• First Grand Master Barber in Scotland

• Developed SVQ Level 2 in Barbering for Fife College

• Started my own barber academy

• Travelled the UK teaching barbering, customer service, and business

• Achieved my ultimate goal: presenting on the main stage at Salon International

Every goal I'd written on my list 10 years earlier - achieved.

The Tech Transition

Even at the height of barbering success, I was planning the next reinvention. Retrained in IT Risk Management and Cyber Security while still running the business.

Why? I'd been embracing tech since the 80’s - my Sinclair ZX81 days - built my own PCs, had a hacker phase and could always saw the next wave coming.

Got job offers immediately and sold the barbershop business.

I was the guy who could do anything.

Serial entrepreneur. Creative professional. Elite craftsman. Tech innovator.

Then one kick changed everything.

The Moment Everything Broke

The day I stepped up at a major karate tournament.

Age 49. I threw my signature roundhouse kick.

The move that had been my power technique for decades.

The fastest, strongest kick I possessed.

Done thousands of times since I was 10.

One moment I was invincible.

The next, I was on the mat with my knee destroyed.

It wasn't just a physical injury. It shattered my identity as the man who could handle anything. The provider. The capable one. The guy who reinvented himself successfully across multiple industries.

The Slow Descent

Depression doesn't hit overnight.

It's a slow poison - and research confirms this gradual onset is typical for men (Mental Health Foundation, 2019).

Still trying to run the barbershop while hobbling around on a damaged knee. The travel for teaching and events became nearly impossible. The physical pain was constant, but the mental erosion was worse.

Then COVID hit in March 2020.

Barbershop forced to close. Nine booked events for 2020 - all cancelled overnight. Massive income loss. I couldn't provide for my family. The man who had built and sold multiple successful businesses was lying in bed, feeling like someone had stolen my batteries.

But here's what people don't understand about successful people who hit rock bottom - it's not just the circumstances. Research shows it's the complete loss of identity that creates the deepest depression.

The Final Blow

In December 2020, my friend took his own life.

I was already struggling with depression, starting to climb back from the darkest period. But this hit like a sledgehammer.

Lying in bed that December, staring at the ceiling: "What's the point?"

I understood why those statistics exist.

The Breakthrough

It was a cold January morning. My bike was broken, so I grabbed the dog and some walking shoes - not even proper trainers. I just needed to get out of the house.

I started walking the muddy Fife Coastal Path.

One foot in front of the other.

Somewhere along that path, walking turned to jogging.

Jogging turned to running. Two hours later, I was 14km away.

Soaked, exhausted, covered in mud. But something had reignited.

"F*** me... I'm back!"

The Discovery

As the weeks went by and I ran and exercised more and more, I realised I had discovered something…

You can't think your way out of rock bottom. But you CAN move your way out.

So I did some research… a lot of research actually.

Neurobiology research proves why this works because movement fires neurochemical changes in the brain.

It increases endorphin release, with moderate intensity showing greatest effects and endocannabinoids cross the blood-brain barrier, reducing anxiety and creating feelings of calm within minutes.

A Different Starting Point

Traditional therapy starts men at the bottom of the well: "Tell me about your problems, your childhood, your trauma." But this fails most men.

There's a different starting point:

"I know you're feeling bad. Let's move a bit and see if that helps."

Energy and sleep change and improve first. Then confidence follows.

Talking comes naturally once you feel better in your body.

The Proof

That chaotic run, later turned into me running a marathon for suicide prevention.

£3,000 raised for Samaritans - every £5 funds a potentially life-saving phone call.

Then I set the ultimate test: 10 highest mountains in the UK in 4 days.

Seven months of training through the brutal Scottish winter.

And standing on Ben Nevis summit, having raised another £2,500 , tears streaming down my face, I knew I'd proven what works - Movement as Medicine - Activate your body’s built-in healing system.

That same year I cycled coast to coast across Scotland in just over 12 hours. Another £1,000 for Samaritans.

Total impact: £5,500+ funding hundreds of suicide prevention calls.

The Return to Form

My dad - a roof tiler who stayed fit his whole life until cancer struck - passed away in the summer of 2024 after a 7-month battle. That knocked me off track again.

Put on weight, felt shit about myself.

I decided: "That's it. Get back in control."

Minimum 5k runs every day. Some 10k, some 15k, some 20k.

Building an aerobic base while processing grief through movement - exactly what research shows works best.

In August 2025 I completed my first 50k ultra marathon.

That was a tough one!

In the final 5k..

When my body should have been broken.

I found what exercise physiology calls "second wind".

The neurochemical surge that kicks in during exercise.

My MissioN

Now I run that same coastal path where I had my breakthrough.

Some days I pass the bench where I used to sit when I could barely walk.

Now I run along it happily,and celebrate how far I have come.

But it's not about me anymore.

The statistics are clear: Men account for 75% of UK suicides.

We're failing half the population with approaches that don't work for how men are wired.

If I can share my experience to stop one person from taking their own life, it's worth it.

Every workshop I run uses evidence-based methods.

Every man I can help discover that Movement IS Medicine, could inspire someone else to make that choice.

Because here's what I've learned through multiple reinventions, devastating falls, and hard-won recoveries, all backed by research:

Your lowest point isn't your final destination - it's your launching pad.

Movement tells your body "we're still here, we're still fighting"

And from that - everything becomes possible.

“One Step Stronger - Live Longer”