My Story is My Evidence. My Structure is Your Proof.
This is more than an 'about me' page. This is the full brief on why 'The Unpolished Path' methodology works. Our credibility is built on four core pillars that create a coaching practice of 'Evidence-Based Empathy': the deep, authentic understanding of someone who has walked the path, combined with the structured, validated proof of a professional who knows how to build a future.
Pillar 1: The "Why"
This is not a theoretical practice; it is a methodology forged in the crucible of lived experience. My personal journey includes a decade-long battle with addiction, the loss of a high-status career, a criminal conviction, and incarceration. Having personally experienced the shame and systemic barriers, I connect with clients with a deep, resonant empathy that is impossible to learn from a textbook.
Pillar 2: The "How"
Empathy alone isn't enough. Lived experience provides the 'why,' but a demonstrated commitment to professional development provides the 'how'. This is the evidence that proves our methodology is not just a story, but a structured, effective process for transformation. This commitment is validated by my Professional & Personal Credentials as well as my commitment to Formal Training & Therapeutic Rigor.
Pillar 3: My Professional & Personal Credentials
Sustained Sobriety & Accountability: Maintained continuous sobriety since October 22, 2022, a commitment corroborated by multiple voluntary, clean toxicology reports from LifeLabs. This is the foundation of my personal and professional integrity.
Community Leadership & Service: Have served as the Chair & Secretary for the AA home group, The Port Elgin New Beginnings Group, since January of 2023. I actively sponsor individuals in their recovery journey and, while incarcerated, took the initiative to start and run weekly AA meetings on my range, providing crucial support to fellow inmates.
Proven Professional Resilience: Since re-entering the workforce, I have demonstrated exceptional leadership and management skills by quickly moving up the ranks in a new and demanding industry. I progressed from a Parts Advisor to Service Manager, and am now the Store Manager, responsible for all operations of the dealership, proving that a successful professional comeback is not only possible but can lead to even greater responsibility.
Successful Navigation of the Justice System: I have successfully navigated a complex two-year legal process while maintaining full-time employment and rebuilding my life. This journey of accountability and resilience culminated in achieving early release on parole and abiding by all restrictions with zero breaches, demonstrating a profound commitment to a new way of life.
Demonstrated Leadership & Applied Success
ICF-Accredited Coach Training: Currently enrolled in Thriving Coach Academy's Life Coaching program, an International Coaching Federation (ICF) recognized institution. I am actively tracking all educational and practical hours to achieve the ACC accreditation from the ICF, ensuring my practice aligns with the highest ethical and professional standards in the coaching industry.
Evidence-Based Rehabilitation Framework: My approach is modeled on a rigorous, documented rehabilitation process. This is grounded in 22 hours of intensive, specialized psychotherapy with a leading expert, Dr. Liam E. Marshall, focusing on dynamic risk factors, cognition, and self-regulation.
Objective, Low-Risk Profile: My personal transformation is validated by objective, third-party assessments. This includes a comprehensive Forensic Psychological Assessment of Risk by Dr. George Stones, which resulted in low scores across the board.
Comprehensive Therapeutic Engagement: My commitment to mental fitness is ongoing. In addition to my work with Dr. Marshall, I have successfully completed a comprehensive relapse prevention program with Grey Bruce Health Services and engaged in over 20 hours of continued psychotherapy with addiction specialist Alexa Burns, R.P., to ensure a deep and holistic understanding of the recovery process.
Formal Training & Therapeutic Rigor
Pillar 4: The "Difference"
Our coaching is informed by a unique cognitive profile identified in formal psycho-educational evaluations. Assessed in the 'Superior range' for Fluid Reasoning, I have an exceptional ability to see patterns, comprehend new information, and apply novel concepts to new situations. This is the engine of our coaching: the ability to see the path forward that others might miss and guide clients to new insights with remarkable clarity.
This is Not Just a Story. It's a Methodology.
The combination of these four pillars creates a coaching service that is uniquely positioned to serve you. We offer the authentic empathy of someone who has walked the path, combined with the credibility of a structured, validated process. This is a proven, evidence-based methodology for transformation.
My Story: The Unpolished Path
My story is one of a double life, born from a lifelong feeling of unworthiness. For years, I chased external validation wherever I could find it, and for a long time, I found it in the bottom of a bottle and the thrill of a high-stakes career.
By day, I was a successful Powerline Technician at Hydro One, proud of my dangerous and demanding job. My ego was "the size of a minibus". I was a high-performer in a "work hard, play harder" culture, making a six-figure income and living a life that looked successful on the outside.
But by night, especially during long, lonely stints working away from home, I was someone else entirely. I was a man consumed by loneliness, boredom, and a cycle of alcohol and cocaine use that led to a secret life of infidelity and destructive behaviors. I was trapped in a relationship I was too immature to end, and I used my time away to live a double life, which only bred more resentment for the man I saw in the mirror.
My rock bottom wasn't a single, dramatic crash, but a slow, soul-crushing erosion of my own values. This culminated in an impulsive, intoxicated decision that would bring my entire world down.
The turning point was the cold, undeniable reality of being arrested at my worksite on October 19, 2022. In that moment, the ego, the bravado, and the double life all shattered. After a final 48-hour bender, in a moment of pure desperation and surrender, I chose a new path. I have been sober since October 22, 2022.
What followed was not a passive wait for judgment, but a profound commitment to personal improvement under the most trying of circumstances. For the next two years, from October 2022 to September 2024, I navigated the immense stress of the legal system with the weight of an unknown future on my shoulders. I made a decision: regardless of the outcome, I would use this time to build a new foundation. I dove headfirst into recovery, attending multiple AA meetings weekly, completing a relapse prevention program with Grey Bruce Health Services, and engaging with a team of therapists and addiction specialists. I maintained my sobriety through it all, a commitment corroborated by multiple clean toxicology reports, and abided by every single one of my bail requirements with zero breaches.
This commitment to change wasn't just internal; it was about proving to myself and the world that I could rebuild. In May 2023, I successfully landed a second career as a Wind Turbine Technician for Vestas, a demanding role that required a new set of skills and a positive attitude, which I was determined to maintain despite my ongoing legal proceedings.
This period was an act of radical accountability. It was about showing up every single day—for my recovery, for my new career, and for my commitment to becoming a better man—even when it was hard. I wasn't just waiting for my future to be decided for me; I was actively building it, one right decision at a time.
That choice led me to the next chapter of my Unpolished Path: incarceration. I remember the shock of hearing the words "1 year mandatory minimum," the dehumanizing process of being stripped of my identity, and the feeling of being "nothing more than an animal at a zoo". But it was there, in a cell, that the foundation I had built over the previous two years held strong.
The path since that day has been the hardest and most rewarding work of my life. It has been a rigorous, documented journey of transformation, grounded not just in hope, but in evidence.
It involved a deep dive into my own psychology through a comprehensive Forensic Psychological Assessment to understand my risk and the root causes of my behavior. It involved 22 hours of intensive, specialized psychotherapy with a leading expert, Dr. Liam Marshall, who concluded that my risk for future offending is now "as low as it can possibly be". It involved a comprehensive psycho-educational evaluation with Dr. Paulene Kamps, who identified the underlying, undiagnosed ADHD that had fueled so much of my impulsivity, but also uncovered a "Superior range score for Fluid Reasoning"—an exceptional ability to see patterns and solve problems that has become the engine of my coaching.
This journey of rebuilding culminated in achieving early release on parole and abiding by all restrictions with zero breaches. I have successfully rebuilt my career again, this time rapidly advancing to a Store Manager role with full operational responsibility. I am a leader in my recovery community, serving as the Chair & Secretary for my AA home group. And I am formalizing my expertise through training to become an ICF-accredited coach at Thriving Coach Academy.
I don't share this story for sympathy. I share it as proof.
Proof that your past is not a life sentence. Proof that it is possible to rebuild from the wreckage. And proof that the unpolished path, with all its cracks and imperfections, can lead to a place of profound strength, purpose, and credibility.
My mission now is to use my experience—not as a cautionary tale, but as a roadmap. To provide the evidence-based tools, the strategic guidance, and the authentic, lived-experience empathy that I needed when I was at my lowest.
This is not just coaching based on a story; it is a structured, evidence-based methodology for transformation, delivered by someone who has walked the path.
If you are ready to own your story and build your future, you are in the right place. Let's begin.