mortl was born in the Rocky Mountains of Canada somewhere between exhaustion and exhilaration.
But if I'm honest, it started long before that.
I first learnt to pursue, pause, pivot and quit when I was a teenager.
My goal had always been to go to university. Then a difficult period at home derailed my goal and I failed my A Levels. Devastated but with the belief of my mum holding me steady, I paused. Then (and in the face of self-doubt) I pursued my original goal with a pivot: studying to ultimately resit my A Levels whilst working part-time, rebuilding the path on my own terms and learning that confidence follows action.
I didn't know it at the time, but I was living the framework that today underpins everything I’m creating at mortl.
What I also learnt (and will never forget) is that having someone in your corner who can see a version of you that you can't yet see yourself changes everything.
Experience is the best teacher - if you pay attention to it.
My life has taught me that there's no such thing as a straight line and that means there's always the possibility of growth.
I've worked inside large organisations and built my own. Co-founded a fintech, raised investment, lobbied government for law change on financial inclusion twice and won twice. Sat on boards, navigated crises and coached people through the moments that matter most - every one of them a pursue, pause, pivot or quit moment.
I’ve learnt that the quality of your thinking, your self-awareness and your ability to manage your energy under pressure matters more than almost anything else.
Because grit alone - and sustained long enough - leads to burnout.
And that’s a lesson I’ve learnt twice.
My actions were out of sync with what I knew about performance. That misalignment nearly broke me.
Starting work at 7am, 6am, 5am. A missed meal here. A blurry boundary there. A brain that won't switch off. A body that keeps going, until it doesn't.
At the start of 2022, that's where I found myself. Exhausted but still pushing. Driven but drained. Leading, building, striving until I hit a wall I couldn't work my way over.
So I started walking.
Every day. Out the door. One foot in front of the other. No podcasts, no audiobooks, no music. Just me, my breath, and the next step in front of me.
What began as recovery became something else entirely. I discovered endurance and through it, a new lens for everything.
I realised that the same principles that allow ultra-athletes to push beyond their limits apply to anyone working hard towards something that genuinely matters to them. How deeply connected our energy is to our performance. How easily we ignore it when we're building something we care about.
High performance isn't just what happens at the peak.
It's what we do between the highs and the lows.
It’s how we navigate the moments that matter.
Once you've felt the cost of pushing too hard, you don't forget it. And that's why I take high performance seriously.
I'm curious, committed and constantly learning - blending theory and practice from the worlds of endurance, behavioural science and performance psychology.
I believe the ability to manage energy, sustain focus and build resilience isn't just for athletes or founders. It's for anyone navigating a life with real goals, real pressure and real stakes.
My first step into endurance was cycling over 1,000km across New Zealand. Since 29029 in 2022, I've pushed further - hiking Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon, twice participating in the 13 Valleys in the Lake District and this Summer I’ll take part in Alpin8 in Austria.
Taking on ultra-endurance challenges have taught me as much about the mind as they have about the body.
Everything I share through mortl - through coaching, the mastermind, and the resources I create - draws from my lived experience as a coach, a founder, a Board Member, an angel investor and a (very amateur!) endurance athlete.
Am I done? No.
Am I still learning? Absolutely.
And that learning (about pressure, perception, energy and what it actually takes to perform well over the long haul) is at the heart of everything mortl does.
If you're ready to pursue what matters, pause when needed, pivot with intention or let go of what no longer fits - you're in the right place.
High performance on human terms.
That’s what mortl is for.