The person behind the project
Former Queen’s Royal Lancers
“What I have been through is part of my story. It does not have to be the end of it.”
The expedition ledger
Chapter 01 / The beginning
Growing up in Shirebrook meant learning early how to navigate uncertainty. I was a child trying to make sense of a world that could feel unpredictable. I learned to be tough, protective and self-reliant — sometimes before I knew how to feel safe.
The story starts with honesty
Chapter 02 / Service
Royal Lancers service helped shape an enduring belief in loyalty, duty, resilience and looking after the person beside you.
“Service did not finish for me when I left the uniform behind.”
Chapter 03 / Life after service
The challenges did not follow a neat timeline — and this film will not pretend they did. Relationships brought love, conflict, regret and lessons about trust, fear, boundaries and accountability. Being a father has remained one of the deepest motivations to become a better man. Grief, addiction and moments of crisis demanded changes that determination alone could not bring.
Not blame — responsibility, self-understanding and the courage to change
Chapter 04 / Understanding
An ADHD and complex PTSD diagnosis gave me language for difficulties I had experienced, and a starting point for working with them more consciously. ADHD: understanding attention, impulses and patterns with more compassion and practical strategies. Complex PTSD: beginning to understand how earlier experiences could shape responses to stress, relationships and safety.
Not an excuse. Not a label that limits potential. An opportunity to take responsibility with greater awareness
Chapter five / A turning point
09 April 2024
The day my mother, Julie, died.
09 April 2025
The beginning of my recovery.
“I cannot change my past. I can decide what I do with the life in front of me.”
Chapter six / Purpose
Faith, recovery, counselling and the support of good people have helped me see possibility where I once saw only problems.
“Perhaps my gift is helping people who have lost hope recognise that their own light hasn’t gone out.”
My aim is to bring people together, not to stand above them.