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Duty happy bloke

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Duty happy bloke

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Freedom Starts Here! Alcohol Removal
Positive Psychology

Former Commando
Mountaineer
Ultra Runner

27/10/2026

Not everything needs six weeks.
When I started coaching, I thought everyone needed the full programme. Six sessions. The whole process.
Some do. It’s proper work, and I’m proud of what people build in that time.
But over the last few months I’ve noticed something. Someone comes in carrying a thing that’s been sat on their chest for months. Sometimes years. We get it out on the table. Name it properly. Work out the next step. And in one or two sessions, it shifts.
I’ve watched people walk out lighter than they walked in. Not because I fixed them. Because they finally had space to hear themselves think.
Here’s the thing. Getting help shouldn’t feel like signing up for a mortgage. Loads of people put it off because they think it’s all or nothing. Big commitment, big money, admitting something’s properly wrong.
It isn’t. Sometimes it’s one honest hour with someone who’s been there.
So I now do single sessions. One hour, one to one, online or in person in Chester. A proper working session, not a sales chat. If that’s all you need, brilliant. That’s a win. If you want to keep going, what you’ve paid comes off the full programme.
Not sure either way? There’s a free 30-minute chat first. No pitch. We’ll work out what makes sense for you, and if I’m not the right person, I’ll tell you and point you to someone who is.
You don’t have to wait until it’s all falling apart to talk to someone.
Link in bio, or just drop me a message.
D x

20/10/2026

7 years. A tour of Afghan. And I walked out the door without knowing I was ill.
I did 7 years in the Royal Marines. Proud of every day of it.
Towards the end, I’d get this horrendous feeling going back to “work.” A knot in my stomach that got heavier every time. I couldn’t explain it, so I did what a lot of us do. I didn’t talk about it. I drank.
Told myself I was fine. Told everyone else I was fine.
It was only after I’d left that it became clear. I had PTSD, and the drink was how I’d been keeping it quiet. Nobody around me saw it. I didn’t see it either.
Here’s the thing. I’m glad I left. Leaving put me where I am now, and I wouldn’t change that.
But I left for the wrong reasons. I wasn’t making a choice. I was running from something I didn’t understand.
That’s the bit I want you to hear. If you’re going to leave, leave because it’s right for you. Not because something’s eating you alive and you haven’t looked at it yet.
Things are different now. There’s far more awareness around mental health and drinking. Putting your hand up isn’t the end of your career. It can be what saves it.
Since then I’ve worked with a lot of serving and former soldiers on some seriously complex stuff. From the tip of the spear to high command. Every time, I see a bit of who I was.
I’m not a pusser’s bloke, so I’ll say it straight. If you’re struggling, you are not finished. Sort it first. Then decide.
Don’t make the call I made, for the reasons I made it.

19/10/2026

Last week I moved the last of my gear from down south up to my house. The hardest part to move, though, wasn’t in the van.
For 39 years I’ve seen my Grandma and Grandad pretty much every week. Apart from my time away in the Marines or up a mountain, they’ve always been there, and a lot of who I am is down to them.
Last week I turned up unannounced and got to spend the best part of a day doing our favourite thing: shooting the s**t around the table and putting the world to rights. I was chuffed to find 2x 20kg bags of coal waiting to be moved. When you’ve been someone they can rely on, it’s hard not being there anymore.
But it was never really about being useful. They’re my friends. Over the years we’ve built something that goes way beyond the usual. I can talk to them about anything, and anyone who knows them gets it.
Grandma’s still turning out amazing pottery and selling more than ever. Grandad’s still on the constant quest for the ride, and still building his models.
They taught me that a life of purpose, doing what you love, will always beat chasing money in ways that don’t line up with your values. If the money comes from doing what you love, great. But that’s not the point.
I was upset driving home in the rental van, because I miss them. Luckily they’re visiting next week.
When you’ve been brought up by people like them, it’s hard to have a hard day. I’ve travelled the world, seen some s**t, done some s**t, and still, walking in, getting the kettle on and having a biscuit around that table is where I’d always rather be. ❤️

13/10/2026

I talk about patterns a lot, especially in history. And I’m seeing one again.
2003: over a million people marched in London against the Iraq war. They got mocked. Then came years of growing division, with the far right on one side and extremism on the other.
2026: men dressed in black, faces covered in balaclavas, out on our streets. Same anger. Same pattern.
History is rarely kind to the people in masks, the people cheering for war, or the people who’d turn away a boat full of families.
I’ve been told “history won’t look good on you, Dan.” I’ve had stick for backing the RNLI and for being “a bit gay.” (Nothing wrong with being gay. And some of the hardest men I know love fancy dress.)
But I’ve seen war. So I’ll always pick the side that wants peace and integration.
There are bad actors everywhere. But the pattern is clear: division makes money.
Don’t get played. 🌍

05/10/2026

Adventure. The Journey. That’s what drives me and has for a long time. I would argue that’s what my time in the Marines was about. Go do big things, have fun and don’t take it too seriously 🙏 Do it with people you Love

30/09/2026

I’ve been ignoring something for a long time.
After almost every big job, someone says the same thing to me: “How are you so calm?”
Clients who come to me for coaching say it too. They got in touch because they knew I’d run a tree company, and because they’d seen how I handle pressure.
I heard it. And I kept ignoring it.
Here’s why.
In 2020 I had a theft and a fire that hit the business hard. It was one of the toughest periods of my life. Afterwards, without really noticing, I started playing down my time in the trees. Sometimes I left it out completely. It felt easier to leave that chapter closed than to look at it.
But that chapter is a big part of who I am.
I’ve been a soldier and done some incredibly hard things. I built and ran a tree company. I’ve lost a lot and had to rebuild. I’ve trained to help people. And all those years of big, heavy, high-pressure work taught me how to stay calm when everything’s on the line.
That calm didn’t come from nowhere. It came from getting things wrong, learning from it, and going back up again.
I was never trying to be anything other than myself. But I wasn’t being fully honest either, because I left out the parts that hurt.
So from now on I’m not hiding any of it.
What matters to me is helping people become the best version of themselves. That means being a better climber, showing up for your family, having a life outside work, and running your business without it running you.
What I have to offer is everything I’ve learned the hard way: the failures, the lessons, and the thinking that keeps you calm on site and off it.
If that’s useful to you, you know where I am.

25/09/2026

Big week climbing trees, sorting Tenders 🌳 , coaching clients, catching up with an old friend/mentor and a great podcast guest to round off the week. Now to get into N.Wales in the Camper. Have a great weekend. We press on 🫡

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