About Home Office Hero
From Rugby Fields to Remote Work: Why I Help Professionals Master Home Office Life
The Early Years: Small Village, Big Dreams
Growing up in Trebanos, a tiny Welsh village of just over 1,000 people, rugby wasn’t just a sport—it was religion. With a dad who played for the local village team and occasionally for Neath RFC, and two brothers who both represented Wales at schoolboy level, the game was literally in my blood.
I was the youngest of three scrum-half brothers, constantly chasing the shadow of my middle brother Robert, who went on to earn 54 Wales caps and tour twice with the British and Irish Lions. The pressure was real, but so was the dream: to pull on that red jersey and represent my country.
The Professional Years: Living the Dream (Almost)
For 10 years, I lived that dream as a professional rugby player. I toured with Wales to Argentina, represented Wales A, and played for clubs like Neath, Swansea, Dragons, and Scarlets.
In 1999, I was selected for the Wales World Cup preparation squad—the breakthrough moment I’d worked my entire life toward.
Then, within days of returning from Argentina, everything changed.
The Accident: When Dreams Shatter
A devastating car accident involving our taxi and a police car changed everything. Tragically, one officer lost his life, and another was seriously injured. I sustained multiple fractures to my left arm, requiring surgery, plates, and a bone graft that left me with a 15-inch scar.
But the physical scars were nothing compared to the emotional ones. I never returned to my pre-accident form. The player who was on the verge of representing Wales at a World Cup became someone fighting just to make starting lineups. Years of accumulated injuries—ankle surgery, dislocated shoulders, broken bones, grade 3 MCL tears—had taken their toll both physically and mentally.
I retired at 33, feeling like a complete failure.
The Wilderness Years: Lost and Searching
Post-rugby life was brutal. I drifted from job to job, started multiple businesses that never got off the ground, and struggled with prolonged anxiety and depression. My first marriage ended in divorce, partly due to the trauma I’d never properly processed.
The only constant was my faith and my move into coaching—first with my local team Trebanos, then Swansea RFC, and now Gowerton RFC. If I couldn’t achieve my rugby dreams, maybe I could help others achieve theirs.
Finding Purpose: Business, Family, and New Beginnings
After years of struggling through the wilderness period, life began to shift. My wife Hayley and I went through the emotional rollercoaster of IVF treatments, and in May 2014, our beautiful son Shaw was born—a moment that redefined what success meant to me.
A few years later, in 2018, I started my digital marketing agency, finally finding a business model that began to work. Then Covid hit, and like many parents, I found myself juggling client calls with homeschooling, trying to grow a business while being fully present for my family during lockdowns.
Suddenly, I was a business owner working from home while trying to be the dad I wanted to be. The challenges were immediate and overwhelming:
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- Build boundaries that actually stick
- Create productive home office environments (even at the kitchen table)
- Advance your career while working remotely
- Manage the mental and emotional challenges of isolation
- Integrate work and family life without sacrificing either
The Turning Point: That Movie Night
The real wake-up call came during a family movie night with Shaw. A client demanded urgent website changes during our sacred father-son time. For years, I would have dropped everything and rushed to my laptop.
That night, I said no.
I protected our family time, and something shifted. I realised that all my rugby setbacks, business struggles, and personal challenges had taught me something valuable: sustainable success comes from building systems that work with your reality, not against it.
The Mission: You Don't Have to Figure This Out Alone
Talking with other business owners, solopreneurs, and professionals at school gates and sports clubs, I realised I wasn’t alone. So many of us were fighting the same battles in silence—trying to balance ambition with presence, productivity with wellbeing, professional growth with family time.
That’s when it hit me: the biggest lesson from my rugby career wasn’t about individual achievement. It was about the power of team support, open communication, and having systems that work when pressure mounts.
I've Been Where You Are
I’m not selling you theory from an ivory tower. Every strategy I teach comes from real-world experience—the messy, imperfect journey of someone who’s made plenty of mistakes and learned from them.
Setbacks Are My Specialty
Most coaches talk about success. I talk about how to bounce back when things don’t go according to plan. Because that’s real life, especially when you’re juggling remote work and family responsibilities.
Systems Over Willpower
After years of trying to “power through” challenges (hello, rugby mentality), I learned that sustainable success comes from building systems that work even when motivation fails. That’s what I teach.
Authentic Vulnerability
I share the struggles alongside the strategies. Not because I enjoy being vulnerable, but because isolation is the biggest enemy of remote workers. When you know you’re not alone, everything becomes more manageable.
What I Do Now
Today, I help remote and hybrid working professionals, business owners, and solopreneurs master the unique challenges of working from home while being present for their families. Through practical tools, proven systems, and a community that gets it, I help you:
- Build boundaries that actually stick
- Create productive home office environments (even at the kitchen table)
- Advance your career while working remotely
- Manage the mental and emotional challenges of isolation
- Integrate work and family life without sacrificing either
My Approach
I combine the resilience lessons learned through professional sport, the systems thinking developed through business challenges, and the empathy that comes from being a working parent. No fluff, no false promises—just real solutions for real people navigating the beautiful mess of remote work.
Beyond Work
When I’m not helping remote workers thrive, you’ll find me coaching rugby at Gowerton RFC (once a rugby player, always a rugby player), spending time with Shaw and Hayley, or planning our next family adventure.Â
I’m a big believer in visualisation, maintaining physical fitness, and the power of simply showing up—even when you don’t feel ready.
The Bottom Line
I’m not the finished article. I’m still figuring things out, building better systems, and learning from setbacks. But that’s exactly why I can help you—because I understand that success isn’t about perfection. It’s about progress, persistence, and having the right support when things get tough.
You don’t have to navigate remote work challenges alone. Let’s tackle them together.
Ready to transform your remote work experience?
Start with my free Work-Life Boundary Assessment below to discover exactly where your biggest opportunities lie, then explore the practical tools and strategies that can help you thrive at home while advancing your career.
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Want to connect directly? I’d love to hear your story and challenges. Send me a message at contact@home-office-hero.com
