At 14, Paddy’s world was thrown into chaos. By 21, he found himself at rock bottom. Then he came to Venture Scotland.
Over the past 25 years, Paddy has transformed his life, finding hope, resilience, and purpose through support, self-discovery, and sheer determination. 25 years on from his time at Venture Scotland, we spoke to Paddy about his inspiring journey…
Looking back, I had quite an unsettling time at 14; my parents split up, and I changed schools the same year. I ended up leaving school when I was 16.
I wasn’t old enough to get into pubs, so my group ended up in parks taking drugs. After a while we were able to get into a club in Edinburgh that was 8pm-8am on a Friday and Saturday night; once we could get into those spaces, the addiction set off. As the addiction took hold, work started to fall through and I needed to find a way to satisfy my addictions, so I’d find myself nicking stuff, and it just spiralled out of control.
After a few years of addiction, and offending, I was at rock bottom and turning 21, I was in adult prison. That was okay when you were younger as nobody noticed you, but by 21 I was in danger from an ex-girlfriend’s family who were a bit notorious. Every day was a struggle, and I’d got to the stage where any contact with criminal justice was a return to custody.
Trying to get out of a community I’d been in for 5 years was hard; I wasn’t safe, and through withdrawal, I wasn’t sleeping so in a very practical sense, going to the Bothy with Venture Scotland removed me from that. At a time when I spent every day worrying, I remember falling asleep with the relief that I didn’t have to worry when I was in Glen Etive. And even when I was coming back, that natural exhaustion that led to good sleep made me feel so much calmer.
The best thing about Venture Scotland for me was that it let me see the possibilities – it helped me believe that there was something else I could be doing other than going back to how things had been; that thought was the most terrifying for me.
Venture Scotland’s support wasn’t quick. No short-term programme is going to ‘fix’ anything, you’re still the same person, even when you’ve been removed from that community, it’s going to take time to work through everything that’s happened to you. There are no quick fixes. But VS gave me that time, I never felt pressured, people were kind and genuine and supported me with different opportunities, and I eventually got accepted into college. Once I’d done my HND they told me that it would get me straight into my 3rd year of Uni. No one had ever suggested that I’d be able to go to Uni before – and none of that would have happened without Venture Scotland.
Unfortunately, because of my PVG, whilst all of my peers were discussing becoming PE teachers and personal trainers, I was terrified about disclosing all this stuff from my past. So, I turned to addiction support work because I knew that they wouldn’t be bothered by my experiences. I did continue with volunteer coaching though – I started with Boxing because there were lots of people from a criminal justice background there already.
And then one day, I put my PVG in and it came back totally blank because the 15 years had passed! For the first time, I had no barrier to doing what I wanted to do! It felt like such a huge relief because it’s something that had hung over my head for so long! Now I can get different jobs or volunteer with my daughter’s running club as a coach because I don’t have that barrier anymore.
And I was finally able to do my Personal Training and set up my business. I built it so I can be around in the evenings and weekends because my daughter is my priority now. I enjoy making sure that she has all the opportunities – from going to a good school to taking part in all the Duke of Edinburgh and outdoor adventures, residentials – everything. My experience of Venture Scotland has had a big impact on her, too – and she loves it!
Resilience is just putting one foot in front of the other; you can only address that next wee bit and that’s what Venture Scotland showed me. These skills are relevant throughout the whole of life. You continually refine yourself, bit by bit – and I could still work on, 25 years later, some of the things you’re working on with young people, today. These skills and the awareness that Venture Scotland is building, never just comes to a stop; it’s never finalised and that’s it. You’ve always got the next challenge to face.
Things have been difficult in my life, and I’d love to go back in time and change the behaviour that led me to have those consequences – but then, I wouldn’t change anything that led me to having my daughter, now.
