When looking for a good life coach it is always useful to look at their background, this includes their personal history as well as their qualifications!

It is all very nice for a coach to have a certificate to show that they have studied and passed the exams, but have they got the life experience to back it up?

Here I will tell you exactly how much life experience I have to support my qualifications in a brief biography.

• Born - July 1965 (age 45).
• Siblings - 4 brothers (1 older & 3 younger) and 1 sister (younger).
• Originally from - Knutsford, Cheshire, England
• Now residing - South Manchester.
• Married - Twice  - 1st marriage 1988 to 2005, 2nd marriage 2006 to present
• Children - 1 daughter (20 years old) & 1 son (17 years old).
• School - Broadoak Comprehensive School 1976 to 1981 (I left with "O" levels in Maths, Physics, and Biology).
• College - South Trafford College of Further Education 1981 to 1983 (I left with "A" levels in Biology and Pure & Applied Mathematics, also "O" level English).
• Her Majesty's Armed Forces (1983 to 1986) in the Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers.
• Emergency services - (1987 to present day) in Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service.
• Coaching - Diploma in Personal Performance Coaching (2008).
• Radio presenter - My live radio show Music 4 Life began in January 2010.
  

I was born into a working class family in the Cheshire town of Knutsford and for the first 3 years of my life I lived with my parents, older brother and my grandparents in a village just outside the town.

My father was a truck driver, my mother a housewife and we lived in a rented house which was owned by the local authority.

During my childhood I experienced many things which taught me a great deal about life and especially about facing and dealing with adversity!

• At primary school - I was persecuted by my first teacher for being left handed! 
• At secondary school - I was bullied by some of my fellow students for having red hair and being a good student and good at sport (mostly running and swimming)!
• At home - being constantly pushed by a very strict father to excell at sports and academic subjects (we were constantly training and competing).
• In the army - I was picked on severely by more senior ranking personnel & l had responsibilty for taking care of a platoon of armoured vehicles.
  
• In the Fire & Rescue Service - I learned to deal with very high pressure and sometimes life threatening situations... also I have been responsible for delivering training to partner agencies such as the police, local authority, community groups, schools, and individuals of all agegroups! I also qualified as a Physical Education Officer.

In addition to the bullet points above I was also a shop (supemarket) worker, a farm labourer, and a builders labourer on a part time basis whilst I was at college and between leaving the armed forces and joining the Fire & Rescue Service!

It is also worth mentioning that I have been homeless and penniless twice in my life and that in 1998 I suffered a nervous breakdown (due to post traumatic stress and other serious personal  circumstances)... and yet here I am a living example of how a human being can overcome adversity and succeed!