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growing up in the middle of a war zone or terrible<br />
suffering, yet I somehow could not find my way - my little<br />
path. I think we’re very bad in our society at channeling<br />
youngsters, particularly young guys and finding a path for<br />
them, especially when it’s not obvious.<br />
If someone isn’t university-bound, many<br />
teachers, and even some parents simply lose<br />
interest.<br />
Exactly.<br />
It’s not<br />
automatically<br />
school to<br />
college to<br />
university<br />
for every<br />
single person.<br />
Society<br />
doesn’t assist<br />
you or get<br />
involved if<br />
you don’t fit<br />
that mound<br />
and that’s<br />
something I<br />
feel incredibly<br />
bitter about.<br />
I had to find<br />
my own way.<br />
How did<br />
you do that?<br />
A lot of luck. Hitting rock bottom and deciding that<br />
ending my life was not the thing to do.<br />
You considered suicide?<br />
Yes. Yes, I did.<br />
How did you elevate yourself<br />
out of such a dark<br />
spiralling depression?<br />
It was a very physical act,<br />
the act of just putting one<br />
foot in front of the other<br />
and going on a little bit of<br />
an adventure to Scotland on my<br />
own and finding myself - physical selfconfidence,<br />
and that gave me emotional confidence and<br />
the outlook to start applying for jobs after being on the<br />
dole for quite a while.<br />
How did you progress from post boy to<br />
Publicity image from ‘The Americas. with Simon<br />
Reeve.’ BBC<br />
I think we’re very bad in our<br />
society at channeling youngsters,<br />
particularly young guys and finding a<br />
path for them, especially when it’s<br />
not obvious.<br />
15<br />
investigative journalist? The Sunday Times must<br />
have noticed a great talent within you.<br />
Honestly, I don’t think so. I think they just gave me<br />
opportunities and I took them. It’s massively important<br />
that I remember that I lived in London and I was able to<br />
stay with friends and family whilst working as a post boy,<br />
whereas if I’d been living in Hull or Inverness it would<br />
have been much harder for me as I had no contacts in the<br />
media, nobody in my family has ever gone to university,<br />
I don’t come from<br />
a connected<br />
family, so it was<br />
geographic luck<br />
and employment<br />
luck.<br />
I think you’re<br />
being very<br />
humble,<br />
because<br />
many people<br />
would’ve got<br />
the job as post<br />
boy, clock<br />
watched and<br />
completed<br />
only the tasks<br />
necessary of<br />
them.<br />
Well, that’s the<br />
thing. I worked<br />
hard, I volunteered,<br />
I said yes, I approached the job as a blank canvas, I<br />
didn’t think anybody owed me anything and as a result I<br />
think the staff were more willing to take chances on me<br />
and allow me to try things. When you’re starting at the<br />
bottom, like I did, you must be open to possibilities and<br />
put yourself out there. I quite quickly realised that.<br />
That must have been difficult considering your<br />
mental health <strong>issue</strong>s when you started the<br />
job.<br />
Yes, every morning I struggled to get<br />
there. I would throw up in the mornings,<br />
I couldn’t eat when I was there … I was<br />
riddled with nerves, but quickly, on the<br />
job, things started to change, my confidence<br />
started to lift, things started to get easier.<br />
That’s a very uplighting story that I’m sure will<br />
help many who are struggling.<br />
Well, human beings are the most extraordinary creatures<br />
- they’re capable of astonishing transformations. Anyone
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