Hi, I'm Hamish
I help men struggling with drink and drugs to build healthier habits and get unstuck.
When you're stronger, happier and healthier, it doesn't just help you – it helps everyone around you.
I believe that each and every one of us holds huge potential. More than we realise. My mission is to help you tap into this.
My story
In 2020 I was diagnosed with late-stage HIV – also known as AIDS. It was the start of my recovery from 20 years of compulsive substance use and addiction.
My struggles with mental health began aged 11, when I survived a hijacked plane (the fastest rate of descent that any passenger plane has ever recovered from). It was the first of a series of traumatic events that had a lasting impact on my life.
As a result, I lived with chronic stress for 20 years and, from 13 years old, used drugs, alcohol and sex to numb my pain.
Like too many people – especially men – I didn't always talk about the struggles I was going through. I was what some would call a "functioning addict" – and I learned to hide it, very well.
From smoking weed every day at school, to secret bumps in pub toilets in my teens and 20s, and more recently, smoking crystal meth while working 9 to 5.
I spent many years deep in the rave scene, surrounded by ecstasy, ketamine, cocaine and more. This progressed onto crystal meth, GHB, etc. Drugs and sex always went hand-in-hand for me – and this got progressively worse until the time of my diagnosis.
People always used to comment on how skinny I was. Or how tired I always was. And no wonder. I'd often get through weekends with a couple hours sleep and quite literally a bite to eat. Then, come Monday I'd dust myself off and go back to work.
There were periods of my life that weren't as bad. And other times when I was completely reckless. I thought I was in control. But I never was, really. It's a slippery slope.
What was mostly fun & parties eventually descended into using on my own, lying to myself and others, and spiralling into debt. I'd hop from using one thing to another, or all at once – often walking the line between life and death.
I lost friends along the way, through living this lifestyle. It could have been me on several occasions.
Before anyone begins the life-long journey of recovery from addiction, there's often a crisis of some sort. My diagnosis was exactly that. After my HIV diagnosis, I spent four years mostly sober. But I relapsed – a lot.
I spent a lot of time in therapy, in 12-step recovery groups and reading self-help books. But it wasn't enough to stop me from returning to compulsive behaviours, again and again.
Eventually in 2023, I started working with a coach. And then another. And then another. I had three different coaches at various points that year; two life coaches and a recovery coach.
I went from relapsing, feeling unable to change, losing trust in myself and feeling hopeless about my ability to maintain recovery – to feeling totally at peace with abstinence and excited for my future.
Coaching made all the difference for me. And it can for you too.
Ultimately, my aim is to help you do in 4 months what took me 4 years.
Living with HIV
My coaching experience
Living with HIV
Since just a few weeks after being diagnosed HIV-positive in 2020, I've been undetectable.
This means I'm on successful treatment and cannot transmit the virus, in any scenario.
Undetectable = Untransmittable
U=U
49 out of 50 people diagnosed with HIV in the UK cannot transmit the virus. [gov.uk 2023 report]
That's 98%.
My background
My coaching experience
Living with HIV
I grew up in seven countries in Asia, Africa and Europe and have lived in England for 25+ years. London is my home town.
Since 2002: I taught myself to DJ from 13 years old and have been collecting vinyl ever since (an eclectic mix). I have DJ'd at many hundreds of music events across the UK & internationally.
In 2008: I had a breakdown and dropped out of university. This was my first real recovery. My drug use continued, but I learned resilience. I eventually graduated elsewhere in 2012, with a degree in Music Tech. I kept DJing as a side hustle.
From 2009-2024: my main career was in the UK charity sector, in fundraising, through which I generated millions of pounds in income for a range of causes. Mostly humanitarian and most recently mental health.
My coaching experience
My coaching experience
My coaching experience
In 2017: I completed my first formal coaching course.
From 2017: I gained several years' experience coaching as a line manager.
In 2020: after my HIV diagnosis – without realising at the time – I began coaching myself; intensively reading self-help books and journaling day and night. Both of these practices continue to this day.
In 2023: I had three coaches change my life, completed my first formal coaching certification and started recovery coaching others.
In 2024: I started training in mindfulness-based addiction recovery (MBAR).