Welcome all to my funding page!

My Story:

I will try to keep as concise as possible as I am famous for waffling and a lot has happened! I’ve had a pretty unique route into and through elite sport and I have had experiences that have been beyond my wildest dreams.

All About The Music

I didn’t really do sport as a youngster apart from a bit of football until I was 10 and picked up again when I was 16. Throughout secondary school I was all about the music and was going to be the greatest guitarist of all time (always had humble aspirations). A few years after picking up football again and flunking school, I managed to secure a scholarship to Reinhardt University in the USA to play football. I wasn’t a great player (the phrases ‘barn door’ and ‘touch of a..’ were thrown around frequently), I was just very quick.

Talent Spot

Fast forward to being spotted by a sprint coach (by now 20 years old and a pub chef), and through a twist of fate in 2010 (volcanic ash cloud grounding all flights to America), I stuck around in the UK to see if my once-rapid legs could cut it on the big stage with proper training. The ash cloud grounding my flight to America turned out to be truly fateful and after 9 months of training I went from not being ranked in the top 1000 sprinters in the UK to ranked in the top 30 overall and top 5 for my age category. After a training relocation to Brunel University, under the tutelage of the one and only Linford Christie, I improved again and again, becoming globally ranked for the 100m and 200m and culminating in a sponsorship deal with Puma. I ran for England, GB and raced the fastest man in history at the 2013 Anniversary Games. All of this was incredible preparation for a growing career in athletics. Sadly for me after this intense 3 year period of improvement, injury started to rear its head and my journey re-routed to the oft-trodden path of the rehabbing athlete. These times proved overwhelmingly challenging and despite a brief return to form in 2016, I pulled up at a race in Lisbon with yet another hamstring issue. These gremlins would plague me to the point of me struggling to ever regain the confidence to let my body fly. I know there are plenty of sprinters with the same, difficult experience.

Sporting Transfer

Bobsleigh saved me without a doubt. After the disappointment of 2016 I trialled successfully and transitioned seamlessly into the GB Bobsleigh set-up, a sport and team I came to love. After appearances at World Cups, World Championships (the scene of my first crash) and some great performances, I made my Olympic debut in 2018 in Pyeongchang. This experience was equal parts incredible and disappointing. The Olympics will always be a magic environment, but I am a competitor and went there with strong ambitions to medal. Sadly this was out of our reach for reasons I won’t go into here!

Get The Stabilisers On

Post-Games I embarked on an audacious bid to prove myself a world-class track cyclist due to my physical ability on the bike. This very challenging journey has been paused to enable me to drop back into the bobsleigh set-up this winter to help keep our 2022 Beijing Olympic journey on track. To that end, I’ve made the difficult decision to set up this crowd funder as I can’t do this for free and we are unfunded! Beyond our season aspirations (fast starts, medals on World Cup and at World Championships, that will always and forever be the goal) I want to continue as part of this set-up and find a way to capture the public imagination with how incredible bobsleigh truly is. There aren’t many sports that require you to have all the bravery of conquering the nerves that present during elite-level competition, as well as the bravery to actually do something death-defying.

Sponsorship

The sponsorship I need is to help me with this season, as well as future proofing for upcoming seasons. It will cover training costs, travel, food, equipment and much more. I don’t mind if I don’t hit it, whatever comes in will help in some way – large or small. Everyone who donates will get a follow on Instagram, shoutout on my stories (if you want) and a thank-you package (signed photos, a snapshot PDF of my training programme, and a letter of thanks). Beyond that I will do my best to post as much interesting content as possible and if there happen to be any large donations I will message you personally to work out how best to thank you (I do a lot of school talks, coaching camps for kids, corporate coaching and personal training etc).

Final Note

I have worked harder at this career and dedicated myself in a way I could never adequately put into words. Sport, as I have learnt, is 90% disappointment and 10% glorious high. The highs come for those who persevere through the hard times and are rich reward for that suffering. Without sport, and as a 21 year old beginning athletics, I nearly slipped through the net and never would’ve known what I was physically and mentally capable of. It has brought me pain, joy, friendships, heartbreak and everything in between. I want to continue setting that example to the next generation and show the ones who might also have slipped through the net, that this career is out there and it can be yours if you’re willing to put the work in. I will never give up on this short career as long as my mind and body are willing. If any of you out there fancy joining the journey, I’ll be very pleased to have you.

Cheers

Plus – many of you saw me on The Chase and that didn’t bloody work so lets give this a go.