Danny Tolhurst.

Danny Tolhurst, 44, is a former Royal Navy Mine Clearance Diver and offshore saturation diver who now works as an Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) Client Representative and Offshore Construction Manager. His career has been built on resilience, determination and refusing to let his beginnings define his future.

Danny left mainstream education at just 13 after struggling with ADHD and hyperactive behaviour. He was sent to a specialist education unit and, with little direction or support available at the time, entered the construction industry and completed a roofing apprenticeship in London.

Looking for greater purpose and structure, Danny joined the Royal Navy as a Mine Clearance Diver in 2005, beginning a career that would take him around the world.

During his military service, Danny worked in mine clearance and explosive ordnance disposal, both underwater and on land. His work included deployments and operations in Iraq and Africa. Alongside bomb disposal, he developed extensive experience in underwater engineering and served as a junior military diving instructor and physical training instructor.

After leaving the Royal Navy in 2013, Danny moved directly into the commercial offshore industry. He worked internationally as an air and saturation diver in some of the world's most demanding environments, including the North Sea, Middle East and Africa.

Danny refused to allow his lack of conventional education to limit his future. He returned to education as an adult and continued building his professional knowledge and qualifications. His studies and training have included postgraduate-level education in construction and project management, alongside qualifications in occupational health and safety, lifting operations and temporary works.

Today, Danny combines nearly three decades of practical experience with specialist knowledge in offshore construction, safety, leadership and unexploded ordnance.

However, Danny's story has increasingly become about more than his professional career.

Following a difficult period in his personal life and mental health, Danny reached out to his friend and Sidekick Initiative founder Rob Prior and admitted that he was struggling. That honest conversation became an important turning point.

Danny now supports Rob and the wider work of Sidekick Initiative, helping to plan activities and challenges, reach people who may be struggling and offer them someone who will listen without judgement. He has completed major mountain challenges alongside Rob and has since climbed Mount Fuji, completed specialist ice training and successfully summited Mont Blanc.

Danny's journey from leaving school at 13 to construction, military diving, bomb disposal, saturation diving, further education and senior offshore roles has shaped his belief that where somebody starts in life does not have to determine where they finish.

For Danny, the next chapter is about using the experiences, mistakes, setbacks and achievements of the past 30 years to help others realise that, even when life takes you somewhere you never expected, it is possible to change direction, rebuild and keep moving forward.