About Me
A developer with a story, not just a stack.
My journey into tech started in the late 80s at a small telecoms company in Warwickshire, where a rare training opportunity with British Telecom set me on my path. By 1990 I was a telecommunications engineer in London, and through the years that followed I ran two mobile phone shops, worked across the industry, and in 2000 decided to bet on myself. I've been self-employed ever since, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Now based in Devizes, I've swapped soldering pager circuits for writing Laravel applications, but the passion for technology has never wavered. I also have a coding companion called Jarvis. He plays by my rules, laughs at my jokes, and I sack and rehire him several times a day. AI is part of my daily toolkit and I'm not afraid to say it, but make no mistake, every line of code gets my eyes before it goes anywhere.
Avebury, Wiltshire
My Journey
Over 25 years of building things.
1986 to 1988
BCH Communications & BT Training
Started at BCH Communications while still at school. Left school in '88 and completed YTS with a unique split between college and British Telecom training in Birmingham.
1990
Telecommunications Engineer, London
Turned 18 and caught the train to London. Handed a pager, given accommodation and transport, and thrown into the deep end. An incredible experience, though much of the work remains under NDA.
Mid 1990s
Mobile Phone Shops
Left London and opened two mobile phone shops, riding the ownership boom until Pay As You Go and supermarket flip phones changed the game.
2000 onwards
Going Self-Employed
After several roles and a few rounds of redundancy, I bet on myself. Went self-employed and never looked back. Building web applications and client relationships that last.
2015 to Present
Devizes, Wiltshire
Moved to Devizes with my two sons. Continued growing the business, embracing new technologies including AI, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
Tech Stack
The tools I use every day.
Laravel
PHP Framework
PHP
Backend
JavaScript
Frontend
Livewire
Reactive UI
MySQL
Database
Tailwind CSS
Styling
Laravel Forge
Deployment
Digital Ocean
Hosting
GitHub
Version Control
Vite
Build Tool
AI Tools
Daily Workflow
HTML / CSS
The Foundations
Previously worked with Adobe Dreamweaver, Interakt, and various early web frameworks. Constantly learning, always staying current.
Beyond the Code
Not just a developer.
The Open Road
When I'm not at my desk, you'll probably find me out on the open road. I have a side gig delivering new and used vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes on behalf of dealerships across the country. It's the perfect way to decompress between web projects. Nothing clears the head like a long drive with no one asking you to "just move that button two pixels to the left."
Curiosity Never Stops
I'm a lifelong sci-fi fan (obviously), and someone who genuinely enjoys learning new things. Whether that's a new framework, a new driving route, or a new way to solve an old problem. Curiosity has kept me going for over 25 years in this industry, and I don't see that changing any time soon.
Want to work together?
Drop me a message. No hard sell, just a friendly chat.