If I look a little tubby in these pics, I’m not – promise. The lighting was terrible that day. And it's common knowledge that cameras instantly add a stone. But I digress.

When I worked as a journalist, I always felt that the way PR was ‘done’ was wrong. I figured that PRs tend to make the worst PRs, and that journalists make the best PRs, as they understand the media and know what a story is. So like most areas in my life, without knowing what the hell I was doing I started up my own PR agency. Quite to my surprise, it worked. Well when I say it worked I mean we’re still solvent and have an ever-growing roster of great clients.

But seriously, I think the real reason for our success is that we talk to our clients in a language they understand, avoid all the corporate fluff that other PR firms go in for and always get serious results. We’re brilliant at what we do, have some seriously bright people here and simply will not tolerate ‘average’. I mostly work in the background now and on our sister agency, Newspage.

I am the unassuming and modest member of the Rhizome team, working quietly in the background, ensuring that Rhizome purrs along like a Persian cat with cream-covered whiskers. Away from work, you’ll find me in some Costa or other in Bath, panting like an Alsatian dog with heatstroke and partaking in a little military fitness training.

I find my most creative feature ideas pop into my cerebellum when I’m knocking out burpees in six inches of mud, with a retired army captain shouting in my ear: “Number 67, you call that a burpee? You look more like the last turkey on the shelf you poor excuse for a man.”

Oh yes, and before I made the worst/best decision of my life, and jumped onboard the Rhizome train, I dabbled in a little medicine, accountancy and television production, before finally finding my calling in the world of PR. Did I just say that?

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Like every journalist, my career began with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. If you think that sounds boring, you’re right: it’s well boring (which, as it happens, is the mechanical process for drilling boreholes). That’s an engineering joke.

Countless hours of calculus, fluid mechanics and designing bolts (no, really) persuaded me to take the plunge and retrain as a reporter. After four years at local and regional papers I found myself in my dream job: writing headlines for The Sun, a role I enjoyed for 13 years.

Writing tabloid headlines is the purest form of storytelling there is. You have two words, sometimes one, to convey to readers what a story is about and whether it is worth reading. Fail to grab them, and they move past to the next tale. Write a great page one headline and you’ll sell more newspapers.

When advising clients, it’s all about the story. We don’t write press releases just for the sake of it. We don’t write press releases just to take your money. We’re here to find a story that will get you and your business into the media.

End of story.

When I left university in 2017, I had the world at my feet. Sadly my laces were tied and I had no clue what to do. All I knew is that I wasn’t quite ready to hang up my party shoes in London just yet.

Some of my friends had gone into PR and journalism and the industry caught my eye. I loved writing, had an interest in learning about what makes a brand tick and had an affinity for Samantha Jones from Sex and the City. PR made sense. I fell into Rhizome’s embrace with open arms and, as they say, the rest is history.

I still get a kick out of sending out a press release and waking up the next morning to discover hundreds of hits (OK, that's on a good day, admittedly) but I also love the feeling of securing coverage for a client in their one dream publication.

Originally hailing from Yorkshire, I’ve become accustomed to having my accent mocked by Southerners over the years. That’s the price you pay for coming from the best region of England. Away from my desk I love travelling, cinema trips, overpriced coffee shops, house music and trying not to come across as a desperate hipster.