My Story

Everything I know about humans…I learned before I ever set foot on a stage."

The Early years

At 10, I walked into my first martial arts class. Four years of staring at Bruce Lee posters had finally tipped into action. That quiet confidence it gave me, the ability to read an opponent, anticipate a move, stay calm under pressure, never left me.

By 18, I'd 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

Then sold it to fund the adventure of a lifetime.

The Creative Professional Era

Back in Scotland, I studied Photography and Video Production, then spent two years as an assistant to a commercial photographer before moving into PR and press for national newspapers.

Then I spotted a gap. The early internet could revolutionise music photography distribution. So I built a photo agency from scratch, syndicating live music images worldwide, with technology to deliver photos to desks faster and track usage for billing. Built it, grew it, 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

I opened the barbershop. But this was never just about cutting hair.

A barber's chair is one of the most intimate spaces in a man's life. Men sit down and talk. Really talk. About their marriages, their fears, their failures, the things they'd never say anywhere else. For nearly 30 years across every incarnation of my career in this industry, I was the person people opened up to.

I learned to read microexpressions before I knew what they were called. I learned to hear what wasn't being said. I learned that trust is built in the first 90 seconds, or not at all.

The barbershop was also where I built a serious brand. Fully booked months in advance. Work published in 26 countries. Presenting hair collections on the biggest UK stages. First Grand Master Barber in Scotland. Developed an SVQ Level 2 in Barbering for Fife College. Started my own barber academy.

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

The Moment Everything Broke

The day I stepped up at a major karate tournament.

Age 49. A major karate tournament. I threw my signature roundhouse kick. The move I'd 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. The provider. The capable one. The man who'd reinvented himself successfully across every industry he'd ever entered.

Depression doesn't hit overnight. It's a slow poison. COVID arrived in March 2020 and closed the barbershop overnight. Nine booked events were cancelled. Massive income loss. The man who had built and sold multiple businesses was lying in bed staring at the ceiling.

Then in December 2020, a close friend took his own life.

I understood why those statistics exist.

The Tech Transition

Even at the height of barbering success, I was planning the next move. I'd been embracing technology since the 80s, Sinclair ZX81, building my own PCs, an early hacker phase. I could always see the next wave coming.

I retrained in IT Risk Management and Cybersecurity while still running the business. Got job offers immediately. Sold the barbershop.

This is where everything I'd learned about people stopped being background noise and started being the job.

Because in cybersecurity, humans are the vulnerability. Not the systems. Not the software. The people. And I'd spent decades understanding people in a way most security professionals never had to.

Then one kick changed everything.

The REBUILD

A cold January morning. Bike broken. I grabbed the dog and walked out onto the Fife Coastal 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.

That run eventually became a marathon for suicide prevention, then 10 of the highest mountains in the UK in 4 days, then a 50k ultra marathon in August 2025, over £5,500 raised for Samaritans along the way.

But more than the physical recovery, I was studying. Reading everything I could about belief, behaviour, influence, decision-making, and what actually changes how people think. I trained as a hypnotist. I went deeper into the psychology of persuasion and social engineering. I started speaking at cybersecurity conferences.

Because what I'd lived through wasn't separate from my professional work.

It was the foundation of it.

My MissiON

Humans are more adaptable and resilient than they believe. I've lived that truth across multiple reinventions, industries, and comebacks. And I've learned that understanding how people actually think, decide, and believe isn't just useful. It's transformative.

I help organisations and teams harness that insight. Whether it's understanding social engineering, managing organisational risk, or building genuine resilience in your people, the answer is always human. I speak at international cybersecurity conferences. I host One Step Stronger, a podcast about mental fitness for men who look fine but are quietly struggling. I'm a trained hypnotist who understands belief and persuasion at the deepest level. And I've spent nearly 30 years reading people, from a barber's chair to corporate boardrooms to the toughest moments of my own life.

That's why I know what's possible when you truly understand how humans work.

Enquire About Speaking