👋 Meet Adrian Close
From Silent Struggles to Global Leadership trainer

My wife and I at the top of Mount Toubkal (Jebel Toubkal), the highest point in north Africa - Atlas Mountains

Multi-award-winning business owner

Leadership trainer

Author

Mentor

Husband and Dad

• Volunteer D of E Supervisor and outdoor leader

• Eternal optimist

• Adventurer

… and once upon a time, a teenager who couldn’t read out aloud in class.

Confidence didn’t come naturally to me.

At school, I struggled. Not with the work 🤔, but with believing in myself. I couldn’t speak up in front of people, never read in class, and spent years hiding behind a mask of false confidence by hanging out with the wrong crowd. It was easier to act tough than to admit I was scared. Scared of being judged. Scared of failing. Scared of not being enough.

I drifted through school and into college with no real direction. I couldn’t even speak to people outside my age group - and speaking to girls? Forget it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.

Everything began to change when one person believed in me.

She was older than me and had once struggled with many of the same things I was facing. She didn’t judge me or pretend to have all the answers. She listened, understood, and helped me take small, realistic steps towards feeling more confident.

One of the biggest things she taught me was this: if you want to grow, listen to people who are already where you want to be and are willing to share how they got there. That mindset changed how I saw everything.

That’s what a mentor does. They support you, encourage you, and help you see what you’re capable of, without trying to change who you are.

Her belief in me sparked something I hadn’t felt before. Step by step, my confidence grew. Now, through this online programme, I want to offer that same support to you.

🌱 The Long Climb

I studied Sports and Leisure Management for three years, joined the Territorial Army, drove armoured vehicles, and even trained overseas. You’d think I’d be confident by then - but I was only 19, still finding my way.

A summer season at Butlin’s in Skegness helped me grow. Then I took a leap of faith and spent a summer in the USA counselling troubled teenagers and young adults at a summer camp in California. I was becoming someone I could be proud of.

But life had more tests in store.

When I was 22 I lost my job, income, car - all in a couple of weeks - and ended up homeless.

The only work I could get was cleaning floors in leisure centres. But because of the journey I’d already been on, I now had resilience. I cleaned with pride. Soon, I was back coaching sports and lifeguarding poolside - slowly rebuilding my life, and myself.

Me in my 'Reds'

My wife and I at the top of Kilimanjaro, the highest freestanding mountain in the world

🚀 From the Poolside to the Podium

Eventually, I moved to London to learn how to run pubs and restaurants - very big ones. I worked hard, led teams, and won multiple national awards for leadership and innovation. That shy teen had come a long way.

Today, I run a global leadership and management training consultancy (Ultimate Leadership Training Ltd), working with organisations of all sizes to help people unlock their potential - just like I learned to unlock mine.

I’ve written three books, available on Amazon. I’ve climbed some of the highest peaks in the world, including:

• Piton des Neiges 3,069 m (Reunion Island)
• Toubkal 4,167 m (highest peak in the Atlas Mountains, North Africa)
• Huayna Picchu 2,693 m (Inca Trail, Peru)
• Kilimanjaro 5895m (the highest freestanding mountain in the world)

But my proudest adventure? Becoming a dad to two amazing children. I see their challenges in this always-on, social-media-heavy world - and I remember mine.

That’s why I created Bravory.co.uk.

My work with teenagers and young adults did not start with Bravory.

It started many years ago, in real places, with real young people, facing real challenges.

When I was around 20, I spent a summer in America working on a Camp America programme. The camp supported children who had experienced very difficult and damaging early life experiences. These were young people who needed safety, trust, structure, encouragement and adults who could show up consistently for them.

That experience stayed with me.

It taught me that young people do not always tell you what they are carrying. Sometimes they show it through behaviour, silence, anger, avoidance, humour, confidence that looks fake, or confidence that seems to have disappeared completely.

It also taught me something I still believe today:

Every young person needs someone who sees more in them than they currently see in themselves.

Later, while working in a sports hall, I ran a Hooked on Sport summer camp. The aim was not just to keep young people active. It was to help them build confidence through sport, teamwork, challenge and encouragement.

I was a trampoline coach, but the camp included many other sports and team-building activities. Some young people arrived unsure, hesitant or reluctant to join in. But through movement, laughter, practice, support and small successes, you could see something begin to change.

• They stood a little taller
• They joined in a little more
• They tried again after getting something wrong
• They began to realise they could do more than they first thought
• That is where confidence often begins, not in a lecture, but in experience

For 10 years, I also volunteered as a supervisor for a local school, supporting students through their Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expeditions.

Those expeditions were a powerful reminder of what young people are capable of when they are trusted, supported and given responsibility.

• They had to plan routes
• Work as a team
• Make decisions
• Solve problems
• Keep going when they were tired
• Encourage each other
• Deal with things not going perfectly
• Take responsibility for themselves and the group

At the start, some were nervous. Some doubted themselves. Some wanted adults to give them every answer.

But over time, something changed.

• They began making decisions.
• They began trusting themselves.
• They began supporting each other.

They began saying, without always using these exact words:

“I can do this.”

That is the part I love.

Seeing confidence grow in real time.

I have also worked with schools across the UK, delivering leadership training for school prefects. These sessions help young people understand that leadership is not about a badge, title or being the loudest person in the room.

Leadership is about behaviour.

It is about responsibility, trust, communication, example, courage and the ability to influence others positively.

In one school, we took the work even further and helped the students create an anti-bullying campaign, this became their movement and legacy to the school. The students did not just talk about leadership. They used it. They created something that mattered in their school community.

That is what young people can do when they are given the right support.

They do not always need to be told what to think.

Sometimes they need to be trusted to lead.

All of these experiences have shaped Bravory.

• Camp America taught me the importance of trust, safety and seeing the person behind the behaviour

• Hooked on Sport showed me how confidence can grow through activity, challenge and encouragement

• Duke of Edinburgh expeditions showed me what happens when young people are trusted to make decisions and take responsibility

• School prefect leadership training showed me that young people can lead, influence and create positive change when they are given the tools and belief to do so.

Bravory brings all of that together.

It is a confidence-building programme for teenagers and young adults who need help developing self-belief, courage, communication skills, resilience and independence.

• It is not therapy

• It is not counselling

• It is not about trying to “fix” young people

• It is a practical training and personal development programme designed to help young people understand themselves, recognise their strengths, take small brave steps and begin building evidence that they are capable

Because I know what it is like to lack confidence.

I know what it is like to doubt yourself.

And I also know that confidence can be built.

• Not overnight
• Not by pretending to be fearless
• Not by becoming someone else

But through the right support, the right tools, and one brave step at a time.

That is why I created Bravory.

To help teenagers and young adults start writing their own Brave Story.

To help parents see hope where they may currently feel worry.

And to help young people realise something that can change the direction of their life:

They are capable of more than they think.

💬 Why Bravory?

• Because I know what it’s like to feel invisible

• To doubt yourself

• To think, “I’ll never be confident like them”

But I also know how to turn that around - and I can show you how.

Bravory isn’t about pretending to be fearless. It’s about becoming brave - one small step at a time. Just like I did.

Ready to write your own brave story?

Let’s begin - Click Here to Start Your Journey

Some Organisations Who Have Benefitted From Our Training:

Why Confidence Matters at Every Age

Confidence isn’t just for teenagers - it’s a lifelong skill. But the teenage years are where the journey often begins. It’s a time of discovering who we are, making choices that shape the future, and learning how to navigate life’s challenges.

Whether you’re a teen finding your identity or an adult facing new goals, responsibilities, or transitions, confidence is the foundation that helps us thrive. It shapes the way we:

   - Handle pressure and uncertainty

   - Build healthy, supportive relationships

   - Make decisions with courage

   - Recover and grow after setbacks

In a world filled with comparison and constant change, confidence acts like an inner anchor - keeping us grounded, resilient, and true to ourselves.

Without confidence, potential stays hidden.
With it, possibilities open up.

Confidence allows us to believe:

🌟 “I can.”
🌟 “I matter.”
🌟 “I’ve got this.”

And here’s the truth: confidence can be built at any age.

For teenagers, developing self-belief now creates strong foundations for life.
For adults, confidence keeps evolving - helping us grow, adapt, and lead ourselves well no matter what stage we’re in.

Confidence isn’t about being the loudest voice in the room. It’s about knowing your worth and having the courage to show up as your authentic self.

The earlier we nurture it - and the more we practise it - the stronger we stand, at every stage of life.

My wife and I at the highest point of the Atlas Mountains in north Africa - Mt Toubkal