Tony’s Story
Claritee would like to introduce Tony, the leading director of our training programme division. With his vast experience serving in the Army for multiple decades and the repercussions of such service impacting his personal life, we are incredibly proud to have such a decorated veteran heading our corporate training sector. Below is Tony’s story, detailing his path to Claritee.
Growing up in Kirkby in the 70’s and 80’s, by my own admission, I have done plenty that I am not particularly proud of but very little I am ashamed of. In my later school years, I lost focus and subsequently went off the rails in terms of decision-making and behaviour. Owing to a string of unfortunate incidents. I left school at the age of 16 with no qualifications. As a result of my early departure with education, I tried my hand at a myriad of jobs ranging from a security guard to a butcher. None of these professions particularly fulfilled me and as the saying goes, “the Devil really does make work for idle hands” and I soon started to become known to the Merseyside Police.
Having always been a man of integrity and honesty, I soon realised that I was wasting my true potential and wanted to make a positive change for the trajectory of my life. In 1989, I decided to leave the familiarity of home and I enlisted with the British Army for the following three years. After being deployed to my first war at the age of 19 and getting married to my wife, Shirley, at 21, I soon began to suffer from what we now know was undiagnosed PTSD. For many years, I drank heavily to try and deal with the effects of the trauma I was experiencing. The truth was that the only effect my drinking had was to suppress my feelings further and put unnecessary strain on my marriage.
“I soon realised that I was wasting my true potential and wanted to make a positive change in the trajectory of my life”
As time passed, the British Army became more aware of the detrimental effects that military service could potentially have on a soldier’s mental health. After another deployment to a war zone and several operational deployments later, I finally sought help in 2013. I spent 18 months in therapy and was ultimately diagnosed with PTSD. During this period of treatment, I didn’t resort to medication or take a day off sick. I am extremely proud of this and it’s due to the incredibly supportive treatment I received from the Army Department for Community Mental Health and its fantastic practitioners, where I was treated at my station in Germany.
After more than 30 years in the British Army under his belt, in a range of Leadership and Management roles, I have recently embarked on my new journey, as a part of the Claritee Team as a Director, whilst continuing to serve as an Army Reserve Officer. The personal struggles I have endured align with the objectives that Claritee hopes to achieve and for this reason, I have decided to dedicate my efforts and time to such a worthwhile, beneficial enterprise.
My lengthy experience as a coach, mentor and training expert speaks to my natural calling which is to help people. Not only have I witnessed first hand, the power of educating oneself on the importance of wellbeing and its maintenance, I have seen countless others change the trajectory of their lives for the better, also. Unlike the archaic corporate training programmes that we immediately visualise as being tedious and unnecessary, I hope to deliver a style of programme that leaves each attendee with a renewed perspective on the importance of their own wellbeing choices.
I feel the most passionate and productive when I can deliver material that speaks to its desired audience. Claritee Corporate offers this to its clientele via our service prior to the training days. It was integral to me that we offer a customised assortment of speakers, experts and workshops tailored to each organisation that we work with. This defining quality that we offer enables us to pinpoint the vulnerable areas within any working team and offer resolutions that can encourage lasting positive change. It is true that a unit’s success is down to each individual component being at the best of their ability, working together cohesively. My vision for Claritee Corporate sees each employee learning how to maximise their potential and improve their overall outlook which in turn, will contribute to a better working collective.
I am proud to say that my marriage with Shirley has endured the struggles and hardships that I have had to overcome. Without her love, care and support, I freely admit that I would not be here today as she has been my rock for over thirty years.
