MY STORY
At 16, I believed my life was over. Prison taught me something different.
WHERE IT BEGAN
I grew up surrounded by crime, violence and negativity. It became normal. I had no real direction and couldn't see the consequences of the choices I was making.
THE SENTENCE
At just 16, I was sentenced to life in prison under Joint Enterprise. I went from being a teenager to facing the possibility of spending much of my life behind bars.
ROCK BOTTOM
I believed my life was over. My freedom was gone, my family was on the outside and my future looked completely different. I had a choice: let prison define me, or decide who I wanted to become.
THE TURNING POINT
I made a decision that would change everything. I couldn't change my past, but I could change what happened next. I picked up a book and started rebuilding myself.
EDUCATION CHANGED
In custody, I completed 37 qualifications and 7 diplomas. Education didn't just give me certificates — it changed how I thought, what I believed was possible and the future I could see for myself.
PRISON TO PURPOSE
I travel the UK inspiring thousands of people to change how they think, act and perform.
I couldn’t change my sentence.
I couldn’t change where I was.
I couldn’t change my past.
BUT I COULD DECIDE WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.
I chose education.
I took responsibility.
I changed the way I thought
One decision didn’t change everything overnight.
It changed the direction I was heading.
That’s why I do what I do today.
At school, I never attended sports day. I believed I was rubbish at sport and fitness, so I never gave myself the chance to find out otherwise.
That changed in prison. I studied health and fitness and gained qualifications in the very subject I had once believed I was worst at.
After my release, I turned that learning into a successful career, becoming an award-winning personal trainer and helping others build their strength, confidence and belief in themselves.
“The subject I thought I was worst at became the subject I excelled in.”
That is the power of education in prison. It helped me discover an ability I never knew I had — and gave me the foundations to build a future around it.
Nobody is coming to
save you.
Learning gave me options and
rebuilt my future.
People rise when someone
believes in them.
Sometimes one sentence changes
a life forever.
Walking, talking
billboard of reform
and rehabilitation.
– Former British
Prime Minister
I defy you to spend just
10 minutes with Adz and
not be inspired.
— Hannah Jones,
Ministry of Justice
50% of our hard to
reach learners re-engaged
with education after
Adz’s workshops.
– Tony Winstanley,
HMYOI Brinsford
Today I help people realise that one conversation,
one decision and one opportunity can change everything.
If we're going to change tomorrow,
we have to have a conversation today.
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