My Story
When I first discovered Shadow Work nearly 20 years ago, I carried a lot of buried anger and grief. Experiences of growing up abroad, going to boarding school, and the tragic death of one of my best friends had impacted me deeply.
I slowly began reclaiming the parts of me I'd shut down or locked away – exploring the protective patterns I'd created to fit in and be seen as the one who could hold it all together. I became interested in Rites of Passage, and what it means to be a man.
I spent a decade working with young people who felt left behind by society – all with huge potential but getting in lots of trouble and mostly feeling angry and lost.
In 2008, I helped establish ABandOfBrothers, a charity supporting the hardest-to-reach young men. The missing piece was 'community'. A place where men, young and old, could do their inner work and support each another to live healthier, more purposeful lives.
What I've learned along the way is that lasting change doesn't come from endless personal development. It comes from meeting ourselves more fully, making peace with our past, and having the courage to become who we really are.
Or, in the brilliant words of Howard Thurman: "Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
