In 2019, I reached a milestone birthday, and had a huge celebration with family and friends.

It seemed I had the perfect life.

Retired, travelling all over the world, I had amazing experiences including Running with the Bulls, Everest Base Camp, Cuba, Macchu Picchu, the Camino, crossing Asia overland from Beijing to Istanbul, and more.

Then it all started to unravel.  

Shortly after my birthday, a serious cycling accident left me with a dozen broken bones, multiple plates in my ribs, and months of recovery. A short while later, my second marriage ended.

At a time in my life when I thought I should have all my shit together, I felt lost and confused, and disconnected from who I really was.

People who knew me thought I really did have it all together. That is what I projected, but it wasn’t what I was feeling, even before this all happened.

I knew I had to make different choices about how I was choosing to live, and to take more responsibility for the gaps in my life, and in my happiness.

What followed was a deep personal journey of reflection and growth. Along the way, I came to realise that one of my greatest struggles was vulnerability. I had spent much of my life being capable, resilient and self-reliant, but I was far less comfortable being open about my fears, doubts and imperfections. About who I really was.

I still have not mastered vulnerability. I know that I am a work in progress, and that I still get it wrong sometimes.

But I am discovering the freedom, connection and self-acceptance that can happen when we stop pretending.

I see this struggle in many successful men. Men who have built businesses, careers and families. Men who are respected by others but who sometimes feel unseen themselves.

Men carrying questions, disappointments and uncertainties that rarely find their way into everyday conversation. Men who, despite the trappings do not have the life and connections they would like.

The Real Table was created for men like this.

I am not the expert with all the answers. My aim is to create a trusted space where honest conversations can happen, where meaningful connections can grow, and where men can discover that they are not alone in what they are carrying.