Three years ago, my life felt as though it belonged to someone else. Stuck in an 8-5 job, 5 days a week, breaking my back to line someone else’s pockets, losing a grip of a passion for filmmaking that I never followed up; I was in a rut, to say the least. That was until I discovered walking.

Having before considered owning hiking boots or a backpack, the transformation that hiking provided me not only had a positive effect on my health and well-being, but it also steered me away from the self-deprecating negativity that had been holding me back these past years. All of a sudden, with a healthier mind and positive attitude, I began to swap the debilitating “why me?” thoughts with the positive thoughts of “what next?” and took control of my own life one step at a time.

With my friend Nathan, we took to the challenge of conquering the big three peaks of England (Scafell Pike), Wales (Snowdon) and Ben Nevis (Scotland), with regular training on our home turf of Dartmoor, documenting our adventures on our YouTube channel Summit or Nothing, a channel that would feed the hunger in me to create film and video. Three years on, I have walked over 100 square miles of Dartmoor, hiked up numerous mountains in the UK and have completed over 200 miles of the South West Coast Path and have camped in some of the most amazing locations the UK has to offer. And the best part? That this is just the start!

Not only have I felt the benefits of walking, but now, my family, too, have taken to the outdoors, and walks on Dartmoor and around the countryside have become a great way for us to create some precious memories. Hiking, the Great Outdoors and the running of our YouTube channel has helped to motivate and steer my life in directions that I would never have foreseen, but that have ultimately carved a new path for me to follow, and one that seems to open new doors for me every day.