My Story

Hi, my name is Danny

If you have found this page, I am sure you already know that either our stories — or mine and one of your loved one's stories — share many parallels. This is great, because I don't need to dwell too long on them.

In brief: I went through a massive upheaval in my life which ended a long relationship and saw me struggling with addiction and dependency to multiple substances. It took me years, but eventually I achieved sobriety and entered into recovery.

When I got there, I was surprised to learn my real struggle was only beginning. Getting clean was just the tip — staying clean, becoming productive and contributing, giving service and finding purpose as a person in recovery became my biggest challenges. Most importantly, I also needed to have fun again, belong to a community again and build a new identity that wasn't built around dependency or recovery.

This is when I discovered hiking and outdoor adventure. I joined a hiking club, started hiking alone, and I was amazed by how it transformed my life. I was never bored. I was working on my fitness. I was regulating my emotions. And I became a member of an incredible community of high-value people that embraced me where I was in my recovery — and never framed me within any fixed identity of an addict or a recovering addict.

I grew from strength to strength within that community and have now qualified as a mountain guide, alongside completing a degree in counselling.

My hope is to establish a community and run guided hikes for others in recovery programs or facing their recovery journey alone. By facilitating nature immersion in one of the most spectacular hiking regions on earth — whilst also allowing for the processing of deep emotions, teaching regulation skills and introducing people to dynamic supportive communities — I aim to help others achieve their recovery goals and build thriving, dynamic lives after addiction.

So, if this sounds like it could help you, please reach out and join my community, come on a hike or a walk. Don't worry about the fitness or fitting in! As with many aspects of addiction and recovery — "the only thing stopping you, is you."

Catch you on the trails.