Nick first began serving as a Royal Logistics Corps Driver in the British Army back in 1999. His job took him across the breadth of the globe, serving countless operational tours in places such as Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. Nick, unfortunately, saw many horrific and traumatic things, leaving him both mentally and emotionally scarred. After 14 years of service, Nick decided to leave deployment and return to a ‘normal’ life. Nick then channelled his time into his chauffeur business, founding Purely Platinum in 2014. Aiming to provide the very best transportation solutions for high-profile clients, Nick quickly became the owner of a £1/4 Million business after just two years of operations. Unfortunately, during this time Nick was battling with his inner demons, and in 2016 he suffered a mental breakdown, attempted suicide and was ultimately diagnosed with PTSD.
After suffering immensely from poor mental health and mental illness, Nick was fortunate to overcome such adversity and recover to good health. In a bid to understand the workings of the mind, Nick decided to study Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Mental Health First Aid and Neuro-Linguistics Programming. Passionate to help others that were struggling with mental health, Nick founded 360 Wellbeing and became a mental health consultant. Armed with his personal experiences of mental health and the life lessons he learnt as part of the British Army, Nick began to help organisations large and small to develop wellbeing strategies for their workforce.
Keen to further the reach of his mental health consultancy, Nick later went on to found First Step Forward. Pivotal to mental health, Nick established this social enterprise in a bid to help people with self-awareness, self-care and self-help. Providing help and advice, Nick wanted to empower other veterans who have been affected by the high-pressure environments of military service to manage their lives after leaving service. An advocate for positive change, Nick has also completed countless charity fundraising work throughout his career. He has raised an astonishing £75, 000 for charities worldwide, organising events such as 1000-mile bike rides for D-Day commemorations and the first Basra half marathon. Nick also ran immensely successful mental health campaigns during 2018 and 2019, creating the hashtags #Realmentalk and #Timetolisten which impacted 250,000 people.
Now dedicating his time to speaking full time, Nick emphasises the need to talk about mental health by founding Talk Mental Health CIC. Whilst part of the Army Nick frequently delivered public speeches, delivering to audiences of over 1000 people which has built his confidence and proficiency as a motivational speaker. Nick runs countless presentations that train both the public and private sectors on the importance of mental health awareness and talks of his journey with Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Chronic Spinal Pain. Previously having delivered at universities, networking events and community functions, it is evident that Nick’s speeches are suitable for a range of demographics. An ambassador of Global Goodwill, Nick continually raises awareness of the struggles of mental illness and advocates the need for a better understanding of such a prevalent topic.
