Transforming

Passionate about wellbeing and encouraging healthy active lifestyles for learners

In 2020 I began a health and fitness transformation to try to get fit by 40. By 2018 I had reached a XXL+ size (living an unhealthy sedentary office-based lifestyle, never before active). In lockdown I reset my lifestyle and followed the disciplined ‘Rich Roll’ regime: going plant-based, alcohol-free, and taking up running and fitness for the first time.

Transforming

I went from never moving and over-consuming, to trying the Couch to 5k app, and managed to complete the challenge. Then… I just kept on going! Encouraged by my former colleague and client, fellow sober vegan runner Hear’say star Suzanne Shaw, we attended the National Running Show 2023, where I met world famous “Ultra Marathon Man” Dean Karnazes. I asked Dean where I should run my first marathon, and he recommended either New York “for the crowds”, or Athens “for the history”. I opted for the latter, and realised too late that Dean had failed to mention the small detail that most of the Athens Marathon is uphill (!). This was a baptism of fire… but I made it! After the 2023 Athens Marathon I set about to run the (thankfully flatter!) York Marathon in 2024, in aid of Save The Children for those affected by war.

I documented my journey with the York Press and on a podcast special called Transforming meeting best-selling author, cold-water therapy guru, “The Iceman” Wim Hof who I interviewed alongside super-influencer Neil Henry, each followed by over 10 million followers across podcast platforms, with our live ice-dive challenge with Wim reaching an audience of over 100,000+ on Facebook in 2022. Meeting Wim felt like a life changing experience, with uplifting inspiration and wisdoms shared that I carry with me to this day. Also in 2022 I co-produced and co-hosted the World Vegan Day Insta-Live where we welcomed some of the most-followed influential plant-based vegan and wellness advocates in the world, from DeliciouslyElla’s Ella Mills to EarthlingEd which raised money for Ed Winters’ Surge Sanctuary charity.

I remain an advocate for the importance of exercise and wellbeing (especially among nature), and love games and sports (including skiiing and climbing) and to lead hikes and treks in nature, having climbed The Three Peaks.

Love of Literature and Language

And to circle back to my first love and the subject I now teach (World Literature and English Language), I prefer no better way to de-digitise than to read a good book. Some of my favourite writers being classic authors Margaret Atwood, Octavia Butler, Charles Dickens, Aldous Huxley, Kazuo Ishiguro, Franz Kafka, George Orwell, Phillip Pulman, Benjamin Zephaniah and contemporary authors Marjorie Blackman, Ted Chiang, Bernadine Evaristo, William Gibson, Matt Haig, R F Kuang, Jenny Offill, Sayaka Murata, Gabrielle Zevin and my favourite author of all time Haruki Murakami, whose entire canon I have read. I also love to read non-fiction with (in addition to health, fitness and veganism) a keen amateur interest in futurist studies (Yuval Noah Harari, Max Tegmark), AI and EdTech (Mustafa Suleyman, Ethan Mollick), language and linguistics (Noam Chomsky, Steven Pinker), international studies (Erin Mayer, Yanis Varoufakis, John Mearsheimer), existentialism (Robert Sapolsky, Donald D Hoffman) and beginner’s quantum physics (Michio Kaku) while my favourite podcasters are Lex Fridman and Rich Roll. My wide varied interests I hope may make me a good fit to teach the International Baccalaureate’s holistic, wide-reaching and bespoke curriculum.

I love good book after a long run almost as much as I love comparing book reviews with students whose reading and literacy I like to encourage, as well as physical activity and fostering wellbeing.

I used to be unable to run for the bus (in fact, I rarely tried, and more often than not, I ordered an Uber!) but now I like nothing more than to live on foot, and kick a football around with my teenage son, Man City fan, Charlie (pictured left).

Click here to read more about my Charity & Volunteering work in the community.