For me, life is about synergising – taking all of the different elements, people and places, and putting them together to create something that is immeasurably more fulfilling and wonderful than it would be if focusing on the individual parts.

I am an entrepreneur, professional coach and trainer, Tae Kwon Do practitioner, family man, music fan, constant seeker of a better self, and crane operator.

Born and raised in Arbroath, a small fishing town on the East coast of Scotland, I left school at 16 with little to show for it. After spending two years as an apprentice joiner, and realising that dovetail joints and I were not really compatible, I joined the British Army as an 18-year-old. Once my initial eighteen months of basic and trade training were out of the way, I successfully completed P Company to become an Airborne soldier with 9 Parachute Squadron Royal Engineers.

After leaving the army in 2000, I became a crane operator. This led to a wide variety of experiences up and down the United Kingdom, such as erecting and dismantling tower cranes, putting up roller coasters (including the UK’s fastest: ‘Stealth‘), carrying out lifts airside at major airports, changing flare tips at an oil refinery, and operating the crane for the Guinness World Record of ‘Most Bungee Jumps in One Hour‘ at Tower Bridge in 2010.
With this experience, I decided to give the benefit of my knowledge and experience to others through becoming a trainer.
Since 2010, I have been delivering training to people in all roles associated with the use of cranes and carrying out lifting operations, such as planners, operators, supervisors, signallers and riggers. This led to my founding of the company SWL Training Limited in 2014, within which my team and I are working on revolutionising the way that training is delivered to the lifting industry.

Outside of my professional life, I try to have as many fun times as I can with my family. Visiting theme parks being a particular favourite and our holiday to Florida in 2016 being a highlight.
To satisfy my own desires, I practice in Tae Kwon Do with the Taekwondo Association of Great Britain (TAGB); in which I have won championships at regional, national and world level for my belt categories, and will be going for black belt in 2018. To complement my Tae Kwon Do, I enjoy a lot of physical training and try to keep a ‘reasonably’ healthy diet.
Although, I don’t go to as many gigs as I used to, I enjoy a wide range of music; particularly music that is written from the heart of the artist, rather than primarily for the wallet of the listener.
However, my biggest obsession is self-improvement and helping others to become the best version of themselves. Audiobooks in the car, printed books at home, peer groups, masterclasses, courses and being a Tony Robbins fan, and attendee of his UPW seminar in London, all add to my ability to contribute to the well-being of others.

My blog posts will be a mixture of the above, with a view to adding a sprinkle of inspiration and positivity to those who are kind enough to take the time to read them.