Tobias Gutteridge - Former military career to CEO (Extreme Sports Brand)
“My success definition has changed greatly since I was 24.”
“If you’re feeling stuck or staring down the barrel of a future that isn’t right for you, it does take bravery to make a change. The hardest part is taking that first step. Then all you need to do is keep putting one foot in front of the other.”
Overview of earlier career.
At the age of 24, I loved my career. Everything looked bright and rosy. I enjoyed the work and the people. I felt fulfilled as a person. I was living the dream.
Tobias Gutteridge - CEO Bravery
The trigger for change?
I was in Afghanistan on operations and was shot through the neck. A bullet hit the base of my skull at the top of my spinal cord. I was paralysed from the neck down. My career ended right then and there.
My recovery period took about 2 years, learning how to breathe and talk again, both on a ventilator. It took a really long time, then it took about a year or so to get ready to come back into society - housing, medical equipment etc.
After a year in the community, I was still so young, I knew I just couldn’t sit around all day. I needed a purpose and some fulfillment I needed a new career. I was still young enough to achieve these.
I knew my circumstances would make starting a new career harder, but not impossible. I then started to think about what I wanted to do.
First steps
I enjoyed my military career and started to think along the lines of what else I enjoyed in life that I could potentially build into my new career.
I was very into outdoor sports and enjoyed helping people. I began to think through how I could even get a job or a career putting these two elements together.
I decided very early on that an extreme sports brand would fit nicely with all my aspirations. A brand that has a message, a fantastic story and is involved in extreme sports clothing and equipment, but also a brand that would donate a % of its profits to help others.
Having a brand like that would mean something, a badge of honour, a different kind of badge of honour.
I needed to revisit my education so that I could learn the necessary skills that my military career had not prepared me for in business. I went right back to the drawing board and re-did my GCSE in Maths so that I was able to get into college to do 4 A levels - including business studies. I went onto university to do a degree in Business Studies with Operations and Project Management.
What Tobias learned
You need to know the direction you want to follow, you can learn everything else.
I knew that I wanted to start my own business and be involved directly in the business industry, I was particularly interested in the entrepreneurial side of business. I went to university to learn the skills required and to get a full understanding of what I was getting myself into.
Learn and implement as you go.
During my time at university, I was able to implement what I was being taught in business to build a better business plan, develop my marketing strategy and the importance of all things related to building a business correctly.
You have to keep focused on the long-term vision.
Once I had decided that I wanted to create a business I created a short term, middle term and long-term vision to keep me focused on where I needed to go and where I wanted the business to be, but in a controlled and realistic manner.
Whilst focusing a lot on the short term and middle term visions I always kept a keen focus on the long-term vision and used that as my motivation. I had already invested 6-7 years before I got to the starting point. By this I mean being able to have a product-based business that was ready to sell to the public and start to make a turnover.
Even with a good plan, setting up a successful business isn’t as easy as everyone thinks.
There is an exceeding amount of hard work that needs to be done before you can even think about selling a product or providing a service to the public. The hours and the sacrifice that will have to be put in and made will far exceed your expectations. I often work late hours and cancel personal engagements on a frequent basis.
Control in life is important
It’s important to take control and responsibility for your own life. You are the main driver in your life, you direct which way your life will go.
My success definition has changed greatly since I was 24
I’ve always been driven towards success.
In the military success is deemed on how far up the command chain you can get in terms of promotion. My definition now is more defined in personal growth and achieving personal goals in life.
I want the business to be a success in terms of generating profit so that I can feel like a successful business owner and hold my head up high in the business world. I also see success as once you start a project you do not stop until it is finished .
I also deem success as having enough means to support others in their journey. The company I have created will be a success once it has enough means to support others.
If you’re feeling stuck or staring down the barrel of a future that isn’t right for you, it does take bravery to make a change.
It’s like stepping off a cliff, the hardest part is taking that first step. Then all you need to do is keep putting one foot in front of the other. This is the philosophy I have taken in my journey so far and it has held me in good stead.
A selection from the Bravery extreme clothing collection.
How it feels on the days Tobias wakes up and knows he’s made the right decision?
When I wake up in the morning, I go off my instincts, I always follow what my heart is telling me.
It’s a fantastic feeling to wake up and know you have made the right decision, you feel fulfilled and in a good place mentally and physically. This feeling is how you know you are doing the right thing.
My gut is driving me to do the hard yards which I know will be worth it in the end.
Bravery - extreme clothing range.
Learn more about Tobias and his Bravery Brand
Bravery – Extreme clothing for the brave
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Ges Ray on leaving corporate life in his late fifties. "I am retirement age but the sky is my limit.
Rosanna Clare on leaving teaching behind and creating her own leather business. I didn’t want to become one of those teachers who didn’t care. I’d reached my now or never moment.
