Free Your Mind With LKJc – Mark Stephen Pooler, You Can Create A New Desired Reality

Hello and welcome to Free Your Mind. Let's talk about it with LKJ. I would like to advise the listeners that this is a highly sensitive show. My guest today has a remarkable life story to share with the listeners today and truly is an inspirational gentleman, and my pleasure to have this gentleman on the show. My guest today is Mark Stephen Puller. Mark has a remarkable story. He has survived the type of hardship most of us may only come across in movies. Mark had been bullied from a young age, including primary school. He combated a severe drug addiction and even cheated death. Mark now works tirelessly to help others overcome adversity and bring out the brilliance that shines in each and every one of us. So I'm going to introduce you to Mark this morning, and we're going to take him back and recapture the mental health that he endured as a child to, at the age of 21, after almost cheating death, decided to stand tall. He fell, yes he did fall, yes he did have addictions, but this gentleman had every right to be born, he had every right to be able to live a journey without being bullied, without his sexuality coming into this. And nobody has the right to inflict mental health pain on anybody because that pain cuts so deep and there are scars. And for many people have depression, have many other issues that they take from childhood into adulthood. And with Mark, this intense mental health suffering that he endured as a small child is a remarkable story and one not to be listened to lightheartedly. But I do hope that any listener that may be enduring any such mental health issues listens to this show and this remarkable gentleman that after cheating death got back up, rose from those ashes and stood on his feet and began to balance his life. So Mark, hello and welcome to Free Your Mind with LKJ and to take us on this immense journey that you've endured. Lady Kendall, thank you so, so much for that lovely introduction. I'm really excited to be on your show and I'm really looking forward to a really great conversation that hopefully will inspire people that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Yes, most definitely, because when we are in that darkness, in that deep despair, we can't see no light, you can't see no way out. And for you, Mark, in that moment When you woke up in that ward with your chest shaven, paddleboards being, you know, marked where they'd been on your chest, where they had fought desperately to bring you back to life, can you take me from, if we may start, from that room If you may, I know it's very hard when we open up and we have to go back because of stress, post-traumatic stress. We have to be very aware that when we are going back, that we take this with caution, slowly, and not to be too emotional for it. And if any of that part is emotional then I'm sure the listeners and also will understand because this is quite a remarkable journey and who Mark Stephen Puller is today. So I will let you speak to the viewer and listener now to go back to that room, if we may. Gladly. So, 21 years old, my life had really spiralled out of control at that point. I was a severe drug addict to crack cocaine and heroin, and by this point there were not many drugs that I hadn't have taken or tried. It started at the age of 15, drug taking, soft drugs to start with, but fast forward to 21, I woke up in hospital My chest was all shaven where shock pads had been used on me to bring me back to life. I had bruises all over my arm where adrenaline had been pumped into me to bring me back to life. And I also had a really upset mother and stepfather at my bedside wondering what the hell has happened to their son. I'd been out on a party night out with friends, tried a new clubbing drug, having the time of my life one minute, and the next minute I woke up in hospital. And at the time, my mum was saying to me, do you know you have collapsed and died? But because I was heavily intoxicated on drugs, what the hospital had given me to get me back to life and the drugs I'd been taking prior, I didn't even believe I had collapsed and died. I actually was saying, "You're just saying that to scare me." I just didn't believe I collapsed and died. I just thought I'd collapsed and the ambulance took me away. But I was living a bad life, Lady Kendall, that was going nowhere. Oh, and from being there, the way you feel, and you can feel the emotion still in your voice, that the pain is still there, no matter how many years have passed, when we've taken you back to the room, that in disarray, of the room, your parents, etc., standing there. And not so much disarray, but disbelief that I've been having a good time, you know. I'm out, I'm partying, I've tried a new drug, you know, because obviously the drugs that you were taking were not giving you the mental block that you wanted to block out these deep dark emotions and feelings that you had inside that it just wasn't— with crack cocaine, everything, it just wasn't. You started on recreational drugs to then go forward onto these hard drugs, and hard drugs and any drug will kill you, you know. So when you're there at the age of 15 and going on, and you, as you've said, through that part So when we're looking in your teenage years, obviously with the changes, hormonal changes in yourself, the changing balance of yourself, the testosterone that are coming in, kicking in, trying to find in your mind who Mark Stephen Poole was, you led you to start recreational drugs that then sped out of control to end up on heavy drug such as crack cocaine. But even being on crack cocaine was still not suppressing that hard pain, darkness, despair inside your brain was just controlling your whole body to take a new drug to give you this happy buzz up. Obviously the pressure on your heart, everything that drugs do, you know, what they do to your body to blank you out. And to have been on crack cocaine and take another drug, you are very, very lucky. As your parents are saying, you almost died. So during that time where your heartbeat was slowing. Your brain was closing down. The veins in your blood, the pulse rate was slowing and slowing, and life was leaving you in that room to taking you on at the age of 21 that no more would there be Mark Stephen Pillai here. Mark Stephen Pillai who had endured so much pain, that was trying everything to block it. And even though the love of your parents in that room, wondering what's happened to their child, their own heartache and despair in, "How could I stop this?" What could they do? Their power as a parent was not strong enough to have stopped you going out. And saying, no, I can do this. No, I don't want to listen to anybody. The pain you endured in that room. So being in that room where they've said to you, Stephen, you almost died. And by some form of miracle, God had given you a second chance. Because when we do believe, as I believe, there is a place we cross over. So you got to those heaven gates, as I would Express, in to cross you over to take that final breath when you're almost there, and that gate where you decide whether you can come back. What people have said, they've had, um, you know, out-of-body experiences in death. They've almost died, almost seen themselves there to come back. You were being taken to that gate to say, his arms are open, I will receive you, and you will receive no more pain. Do you cross over? But he didn't allow you in. He didn't allow you into those gates because you wasn't a bad person. You wasn't a cruel boy. You had life, and he'd given you life for a reason. And that reason, because When we are gifted with life to our parents, we all have a journey. Yes, we all make mistakes, but that's what makes our journey of learning and love and legacy last. For you, Stephen, he sent you back because— and whether you can remember that or not, there was a message given to you because from that room You changed, didn't you? Take us now from that point, from your parents' data, to taking us on what you did after that. I know we're going to go back, but I don't want to force you mentally back in a whole transition if you're being hypnotized back. I'm trying to keep the balance of the mental ability that we have in our speaking here so that we are balanced going through this, because I don't want to take you down too deep, but I want to free your mind. And slowly we're going to free this mind and open it up, and also for the listener, because it is sensitive and a highly sensitive show. So that's why we're taking this easy. So we are there now, and to that point where you left off and said, your parents said you're almost dead, and your disbelief. What happened then, Stephen? Very well put together how you just made that great conversation of what happened to me, and you summed that up beautifully, Lady Kendall. Firstly, the point you made I didn't have any self-worth. I didn't have no direction for my future. I used to go out partying and take drugs because it gave me that little bit of confidence to be myself, to be more open with who I was, because I didn't have any goals for the future. I didn't have no direction that I was heading towards because of my low self-worth, my low self-confidence. By this point, I was already suffering with stress, anxiety, and depression. Now, the story does get a little bit worse, Lady Kendall. When I left the hospital, I signed myself out of the hospital. I was in the car with my parents. They were taking me back home, and because I had no direction in my future, low self-esteem, low self-confidence, I played up to them and made them drop me off at a house party with all the friends that I were with. The night that I collapsed and died, and I went to a house party with the sticky pads still on my chest from the heart machines, back to a house party, and I carried on taking ecstasy the same day that I had just died. That was how low my self-esteem and low self-worth I had of myself to carry on drug-taking the same moments that I've left the hospital after just having a cardiac arrest. But there was a hope at the end of the tunnel. A few days after that, I was in my bedroom taking crack cocaine. And my mom come in my bedroom, she caught me taking crack cocaine, and she grabbed the crack pipe off me. She ran outside with the crack pipe, chucked it down the drain, and she did one of the best things she could have ever have done for me. I didn't think that at the time. But she kicked me out of the family home. So all of a sudden I had to start looking after myself. I had to grow up really, really quickly. So it had gone from me having all my ironing done for me, having the meal every day, 3 times a day, being looked after at a family home to— I had to find my own first apartment. I had to start looking after myself, and I really grew up quickly. Now, I give up crack cocaine and heroin straight away. All the strong drugs I give up using the power of my mind. I didn't see a medical assistance. I didn't see a I went through the hot and cold flushes, all the pain, cold turkey on my own, and I gave up crack cocaine and heroin using just the power of my mind. Just for the listeners out there, I would advise if you are going through addiction, always seek medical assistance. Never suffer alone, even though I did it alone. The doctor is there to support you. I just want to make that clear. And that's why I'm a big advocate of the thoughts that you put into your mind are so, so important because we create our own realities. And so it's really important that we focus on positive uplifting belief systems. And that's what I did. I started really educating myself on the power of the mind. I'm a big believer in the law of attraction. I read my first law of attraction book age 21. And another big thing that is so, so important, Lady Kendall, associations, people will either lift you up or they will drag you down. I give up crack cocaine and heroin because I got kicked out of my family home. I moved all away from the associations that were dragging me down, all the drug dealers, all the people. If I may just pause on that point for the listener. You have had this experience and now you've gone back, and that same day, as you said, it was still there. Even though you had nearly lost this part and been given this second chance, you went straight out to the point where your mother just mentally herself physically could not endure watching any more pain of her son destroying herself to throwing that crack pipe out and literally throwing you out from where you did have a home, which was— you, you were cared for by your mother. She was ironing your clothes, she was doing everything for her son, and her own mental anxieties and thoughts through that, as other parents will be going through, and what are they doing wrong, how can they fix it, how can they do that. But the shock of almost dying on its own wasn't enough. But it was enough for your mother and your stepfather to say, "We can't do this anymore. We can't help you. Nobody can help you. You've just got to get out. We cannot live like this." They can't torture their own mind anymore that you had gone and had to walk alone. So was it— did you take any drugs on that first day being thrown out of the house, or did you decide when you were thrown out that was it? How many days did it take you from being thrown out to the reality that then said, I am not, I'm not doing this? You went cold turkey, which is extremely difficult, and I'm very pleased, as you said, the support Don't try and do it alone. It's very, very difficult. So you had a very powerful mind, and that's why you survived, because of the power of your mind. You know, you, you were strong in your journey to do that. So to even kick crack cocaine and ecstasy, everything that your body would have been craving with your hot sweats, your cold sweats, alone. Where was you sleeping? Where did you go? How did you do this? So that's actually a really great question, Lady Kendall. As soon as I got kicked out, my dad put me up for a couple of weeks. He helped me to find my first studio apartment. I did give up crack cocaine and heroin immediately, and I never went back to it. But I just must correct you, it was a very slow road to recovery. For another 7 or 8 years, I did still carry on going out partying and taking party drugs like ecstasy and amphetamines and cannabis. It was a, it was a slower road to recovery. But I did kick crack cocaine and heroin, which are the real strong drugs. So I did give up those immediately once I was kicked out, had a break, went to my dad's for a couple of weeks, found a studio apartment, cold turkey. But it was a slow road to recovery, and I did still go out partying and clubbing and taking party drugs on the clubbing scene for around 7 to 8 years, to answer your question honestly. No, I, I'm very grateful for your honesty in doing that, because there may be listeners saying, how, how did you manage this alone and going out to do that? But by kicking the harder drugs, using the softer substance We're still taking that edge off and blocking that pain. I'm going to now leave that part there at the moment because I want to take you back so we can find what went wrong to lead you to even— from a family that, you know, you had a mother and everything, and that cared for your stepfather, and obviously the love of your father, and the family support. In childhood, we look back as counsellors, psychologists, and we try to assess. We try to help and assess and see ways forward and to look at what did go wrong and how to put things right if we possibly can. Now, when was you born? What month was you born? I was born in September 1981. I'm a Virgo. A Virgo. Lovely, thank you. And then from being born, when you was born, and you know, naturally your mum, did she breastfeed? Did she bottle feed? I can't answer that question, but I do think she breastfed, yes. Okay, right, lovely. They're just questions, um, people and the listeners may wonder why, um, it's just just building up a picture. So for me, that bond, whether you're bottle-fed or not, you still have that bond. But naturally, from being born, being put onto your mother's breast, you know, you're still encased with this mother's arms. It's coming through. So what stage did you feel that things were wrong, you know, because for the viewer, Mark is gay and very proud of it, and so he should be, because we are all entitled to be whatever sex we want, whatever colour we are, whatever gift of life is given is a very important gift and a gift that is very precious and one that is nurtured through love from a small child and growing through. When you was 2, 3, you know, I'm going to take you back to that, okay? You know, from the brain, from our sensory skills that we are taught, you know, from when we speak and going to 2D sensory skills, then going through as we grow up, you know, obviously with our mind now growing and understanding and becoming a person, and our personalities start showing through what we do as children and going through. So did you always know that you were gay? Is that okay to address it in that way for you? That's absolutely perfect, Lady Kendall. That's another great question which I'd love to answer. So I would say from the age of 2 to 3, I always remember I was either on my mum's lap, she would be playing with my ear. I'd either be on my dad's lap and holding his face. I had an obsession with holding his cold cheek. So I know as a child I was always loved, but my mum and dad they were just not right for each other. They both were not angels to each other. I remember they had proper fights from a very, very young age, and I do remember a lot of fighting from my mum and dad when I was young, but I always knew I was loved. I remember at the age of 5, it was the first day of primary school. I remember my mom licking her finger and rubbing my cheek, getting dirt off my face. And I remember I never wanted to go to school, but I remember from the first day of school I always felt different to everybody else. Within a few days, I remember I would see all the children playing with each other and I would always be the one sat on my own. And I remember a few days into primary school, I started to get picked on, and I did start to get called Puff, gay, at primary school. And at the time, I didn't know what they were referring to. I didn't know my own sexuality. At that age, you're not even thinking like that. But I remember I would be called Puff the Magic Dragon, gay, And I just remember, why are they calling me names? Why am I sat on my own? And hurt people do hurt people. And I remember because I was getting bullied, I would then probably start picking on a few of the girls that were weaker than me in primary school. And I'm not a bully myself, but I just remember through the whole of primary school, I was just bullied. I was on my own and I was very, very suffering through all of those years. That's awful because obviously— awful. That's not even a word that could be used in this context with the amount of bullying that you endured from your first day at school with your mum looking at you. We've all had that with your mum, you know, puts out her tongue, licks her fingers and goes, "Off you go now, proud, off you go. There's my little boy going off." You had witnessed domestic violence in your house. Yes. And remembering that, probably curling up in the corner while the fighting goes on. Yes. The, the tug of war of love between each parent, which they both love you and support you now, but where there wasn't right, where domestic violence was showing anger and frustration, where this relationship wasn't working. And this little boy curled up in the room, hands over his ears, on his eyes, like 'Please stop, please stop, please stop,' and it would stop. And then one of them would reach to you and hold you and comfort you. And so that's the feeling of love that they had for you. But their love together wasn't working. The balance of scales was not working. This was not the situation for a child, however loved you were, to be placed in. So then to go to school and then receive something that you didn't know when you walk in that— when that child— when you leave your child at that school gate to go in, entrusted into teachers to look and care and have the duty of care for you in that, that the children, like you said, you didn't even know the word 'puff,' what it meant. So for children at that age How would they know the word unless they are in an environment themselves, which I believe in the inner age as we have in sensory skills from naught to 2, when we're going on from 2 onwards, you know, as your brain is forming and coming through, you hear and you're taught by your parents how to say mum, how to say dad. Where is it in those first 5 years that a child is taught Puff? Puff the Magic Dragon? Yes, Puff the Magic Dragon, a fictional character that's used on that. You can excuse it for not calling you Puff the Magic Dragon, but you can excuse a child from thinking, oh, Puff the Magic Dragon or Peppa Pig like that. But when you are called, you're gay, that is a question in teaching as a parent that you are teaching your child. How would they know the word gay unless it is taught? By their peers and should never be put— but not only to be said, this is the word, "Oh, you're gay," but like, you didn't know what that meant, that word. So did that child know what it was? But they obviously grew into a way in their teachings and peers at home to understand as you grew and they grew that they knew that was about sexuality. Yes. They knew you wasn't wanting to be the same as them. There was something different. But at your age, you didn't know. You didn't have the understanding, didn't have the teachings of that. We don't know. We build this. As we're going through life and our hormonal changes and imbalances. And there's a lot to say. Some people say, oh, he was born like that. There was a chemical imbalance. There was a huge debate that can go on that. And we could speak for hours on that. And we don't have hours to talk about that. We will bring you back on the show to answer questions. And if anybody has that, you know, to do a second show on this, Mark, if you'd be grateful for doing that. Because it is so in-depth, this conversation, and we can't rush that. We can't leave views of a rush. This is, this is what it is. I need people to understand, A, bullying is wrong. No form, as a parent or anyone, and I'm very strong and vocal about bullying, bullying harms It harms the mind. And if you are being bullied at even a small age and you are a parent whose child is being bullied, then please seek every single opportunity from that very first moment of bullying because it tortures a child, a child that already is being tortured like yourself with domestic violence. You may have a child— I'm not saying that all children that come from domestic child abuse are bullied, and it's all different. When you put bullying in a circle and we can spear off on different angles and what is causing this bullying, trying to build a picture of why this person is being bullied, we break that down to find out. For you in primary school, eh, which is very, very shocking. It's shocking at any age, but to be 5 years, 4 and a half, 5 years of age, to walk into a school and subject to bullying that continued all the time through primary, where you was meant to learn, you was there to be taught education, to understand the teachings of your life journey, learning fundamental subjects to help you with your maths, with your English, history, the culture, everything. Then it will take you on into secondary school. And adolescence is a damn sight harder than being a child at the age of 4 and a half going through primary school, because you, you're learning at the age of 7 and going on, your mind is now growing, you're inquisitive, you'll find that too when you get to your teens and going through that and then to go into secondary, it's just awful. And I will repeat these words again, if any child or parent listening to this show has a child in primary school, stop it now. If they're not listening to you, go further. Speak out. Your voice is the voice that will help that child in that very, very moment, in that small age of 5, 6, 7, 8. Stop that there. Stop it before their brain goes off. And as so many people will listen and say, I'm trying, I've gone to the headmaster, I've gone to here. The focus of bullying has to stop. It's bad enough and horrific in secondary, and I hear lots and lots of horrific stories like that in there. But for you, Mark, you were subject to domestic violence as a child from the age of 2, to then walk into a primary school and be subjected 2 years of abuse before you even went into— so you've got all this emotion, all these scars, you're young, you're a young little boy and everything's all scrambling around in your head, but you've taken that into adolescence and into secondary. So by moving on to secondary, then you've had this— did anything change or did this bullying continue into primary, from primary school into secondary. So firstly, just to touch on your point about sexuality and when you're younger, I was always different, Lady Kendall. So even at the age of 4 or 5, I'd be putting on my mom's high heels, playing with her makeup, and doing cartwheels at primary school like all the girls were doing in the field. So I do believe I had gay tendencies from when I was born, whether that means I was born gay or— I don't know the answer to that, but I did stand out a little bit because of my mannerisms and the way I would act a little bit. So I went to secondary school, and I purposely chose a secondary school from that no one from primary school was going to, and it was great at first. I didn't get bullied for the first couple of weeks, but as time passed, there was one girl from my primary school that had come to the secondary school, and I remember she started the gossip of calling me a 'poor fool gay' at secondary school, so it spread again really quickly at secondary school, and the bullying was a lot worse at secondary school. I remember walking home from school one day and one of the hard lads of the class just came and kicked me in my back for no reason. I had to run the 2 miles home because of being kicked in my back. It was constant every single I did have a few of the popular girls at secondary school who took me under their wing, so I would always be hanging around with the popular girls, and that did save me a little bit. But Lady Kendall, because of all what I was going through, my education suffered because I started to play up, because I realised by making people laugh than being the joker in class. It calmed down the bullying. So I left school with a really, really bad education. I always joke, if you put all my GCSE results together, they would spell the word fudge. So my education really suffered because of the bullying, Lady Kendall. I'm extremely sorry that you had endured such pain and heartache, you know, coming up to leaving school to do that, that then obviously with everything on that going through, and obviously with the— you didn't have the grades for education going there, being the joker, the funny guy, that was these feminine things. I see that you went into your role obviously with the femininity side that you had, that you enjoyed doing from a small child. You went into hairdressing to express your creative side that you love. So you found a job that was very much in fitting with where you could find happiness, create hair, make people feel glamorous, make people feel wonderful and going off. And, and the, the, you know, having that freedom to express yourself through this work. Way. And you built a good hairdressing business, didn't you, at that time? Again, another great point I'd like to make: from the age of 9 to 15, I also started dancing. Now, it made the bullying worse because I was going dancing, but my mom understood how It made me feel great going to dancing lessons. It built my confidence so much doing that. I would go to competitions all over the country in Blackpool, London, Breen, and I became a championship dancer. My mum used to spend hundreds of hundreds of pounds, the costumes used to cost £500 at a time. I don't know how my mum afforded it, but my mum just wanted to help me to grow and to not be going through what I was going through. But you're absolutely right, at the age of 15 I left school. I had the worst attendance in the school because I refused to go, so I ended up in a home and Capital Tuition Centre, where I only had to go to school 2.5 hours a day to do the main subjects: maths, English, and science. I left just before my 16th birthday. I did want to do drama and television, but my mum says, "Get a real job because drama school is really expensive." So what I do now on radio and press, PR, and media coverage, I'm following my passions now, Lady Kendall, because I had to go into a job and get a real job rather than following drama and television, which was really my real passion. But hairdressing was brilliant for me. All of a sudden, I was working with the public I had to learn customer service skills, how to deal with the public, how to speak correctly. So hairdressing was a great thing for me to do. And yes, at the age of 30, I set up my own hairdressing business as a freelance hair stylist and had great success with that. So we've gone, may I say, from 15, from school, and then obviously from the age of 15, we was dancing, coming out and doing hairdressing, etc., learning to speak correctly in front of people, but then opening yourself up to be the joker, going to all the parties, all the fun stuff like that, and the cocaine. So in the actual fact, from the teachings from 15, when you left school, all this pain was there. That was the pain that you had taken and you were taking through into your adulthood with the terrestrial change in your body becoming, you know, as a teenager, you know, your body naturally going through that to coming there. And all this darkness that you had, even though you had expression through dance, drama, and the support from Auntie, you was free. When you got onto that dance, you were free. Lovely. But the reality coming back from off that stage and going into school again was the dark thing. I don't want to do this. It's then after leaving school, as you said, with very, very poor grades, going in doing the hairdressing, expressing the creative side through that. But through that expression of creativity led you on to the creative partying scene that made you then find drugs and then go into a situation where this was blocking out the pain, the party scene, everything like that. And then eventually the kick wasn't strong enough as you were blocking this out and trying to be the joker on the stage, all the drama, everything going there. That led us to that room, that then led us on to you going from that to your father's, to rebuilding your life. And for the viewer, there is a very intense part, but we've only tipped the iceberg, as I would say, in going back to that. So as I said, Mark will be coming back on the show because there is two parts in certain areas that we will explore express and go on, and that can be help other people regarding that. And Mark is the voice that will, and I do hope, shows people this different path. Because as you said, you went and you've got your studio flat, your father's done that, you know, it took 7, 8 years so to actually finally kick the drug, which you did yourself. And again, I must reiterate, sorry, I am a little bit dyslexic, so I do have some problems, as my viewers know, with that. But that's a disability, and disability inequality, we are, you know, we accept. Yes. And I'm grateful for people understanding my disability and that. Now, we have come through where you said, or that hard time, you've done it and still expressing through the professional side of being a hairdresser. And at the age of 30, you built this. From that person that was in that hospital room who started rebuilding his life, you were building, and you were building strong. You had conquered, you know, after 7, 8 years, the freedom of being without drugs. Okay, you have now built yourself, your own little empire in the hairdressing side. Yeah, you love TV, you loved everything on that. So you are on the— on this road where you have shown people that you can change, you can stand, can't you? And you can go through. Yeah. Yes, I would just like to mention All through my addiction, I was a worker. So even though I was an addict, I always worked for top name leading celebrity hairstylists in the UK. So I was used to working with celebrities, doing their hairs. From the age of 18, I was on the salon floor. I worked all through my addiction. On a weekend, I would go out partying and clubbing. But just fast forward to 30 when I set up my own hairdressing business. I did that for a couple of years. I had real success with it, but I still wasn't following my true passion. And I made a big, big life-changing decision where that led me into the world of social media and entrepreneurship. So first I started off in network marketing. I did that for a couple of years. I built a team of 50, recruited into 6 different countries, but then I wasn't following my passion again. I used to see the motivational speakers at events sharing their stories, which has led me into a whole new career. Over the last 6 years, I have grafted and I have become an inspirational speaker. I speak in schools around bullying, drug awareness, mental health, body image issues, sexuality, and I was recently booked by Her Majesty's prison to go in and speak. That was cancelled due to the pandemic, but that will be happening in the near future. And I have also built a PR agency where I do digital media. I'm a radio and web TV host, and I'm also an international number one bestselling author. So I have completely retired from hairdressing And now I have a PR agency. I'm a television radio host and a best-selling author. And for any listener who has just listened to you say that, shows how strong Mark's mind is to have turned his life around and to be this inspirational gentleman, but with your kindness and your humbleness as well, Mark. You could have taken the glory as you've had with all the celebrities, and you've built all your entrepreneurship, your business platform. But yes, you have all this wonderful, um, businesses, etc., and TV and speaking, But your passion and your legacy, Mark, is the power to try and help and prevent. And as you were saying about your mental health and coming on my show today is, you know, expressing that to take that person who is listening on this part 1 of part 2 shows, um, that we've gone to that dark we will show in the second part what helped you, what strength did you do, what made you succeed, because people want to hear, how did you do that, which leads us on to a second show as you're going to be doing. But yeah, I have to bow my head in utter respect for the gentlemen that I have interviewed today. For Mark, who through your own voice, you've expelled and expressed the pain that you've had. Lady Kendall, I would just— and you are there today to help this listener. So for me, Mark, it's like I'm just— I'm a little bit dumbfounded, actually. Do you know, from how you've got from this dark place to being so successful? I'm just so happy that God never took you that day, because my God, your voice It's powerful. You're such an inspiration. Oh, thank you, Lady Kendall. It's so important for me, no matter how successful I ever get and how much I rise in celebrity status, I will always use my voice. It's so important that I share my story, because I know if I can just help one person to think differently, to move forwards, that is what I love to do. And I would just like to add, anyone out there, if you are being bullied, if you are suffering with any kind of addiction, never suffer alone. Seek help. From a friend, a mentor, a family member, a teacher, or someone that you trust, who you can confide in. You should never have to suffer alone. Seek help. And also, if you are going through addiction, it's really important you first admit to yourself that you have got a problem, because if you don't admit you a problem, no one else will be able to help you. But the title of our show, No Matter of Your Past or Your Present Circumstances, you can create any future reality that you would like to create. It starts with positive empowering belief systems. Making better choices. And with repetition and taking action step by step, day by day, just little steps, you can create any future desired reality that you would like to create. And it all starts with the power of your thoughts. Exactly, Mark. There's no other way of putting it as you have there, because, you know, your mission is, Mark, to help professionals as well to create brilliance out of adversity. You know, there was a testimonial from a teacher: I have seen Mark Poulet speak. I was impressed by the message of hope. That his story provides. I believe that his story will help to build personal resilience and self-motivation in young if they're given the opportunity to hear it. That's just one of many, many messages of support of what you do in your guest speaking, everything that you do is inspirational. And, you know, I have been honored, as I'm sure every listener of this radio show is honored, that you came on to this show, my show, Free Your Mind, Let's Talk About It with LKJ, is a show that through my own teaching and my own life stories is that enabled me with my own mental health issues and not to be frightened to speak about that. And I have no problem saying that, nowhere near the extent of yours, you know. And wow, you know, as I said, I bow my head in honour of the person that you are. Truly I do. But with the show, my ear is there to listen, and hopefully my voice can support. I hope, Mark, by the connection that we have made today and the joining of your powerful voice to every listener of this show is a voice that does express, that your ear will always listen, and about encouraging and standing on that stage to encourage people to hear your voice, that there is support. As you said, don't do this journey alone, don't do anything alone, look for support. Speak out. You were given a voice to be heard. You are a person. You have the right to live. You have a right to be the person who you are. Nobody has the right to take that away. So, Mark, we are drawing to a close. Of this part 1 will be wonderful to bring back at you for the second part of the show. Because with positivity, it is about being positive. If you've fallen, stand, stand tall and put your shoulders back. Do not be beaten down. Reach for the support, reach out for help, because we've all got a story inside us. And hopefully that story is one that people can learn and listen to. So for myself, I'm going to finish this show on Mark, that will speak now his lasting comments of part 1, to come back on part 2, his final message to the listener. Firstly, Lady Kendall, I really thankful for you inviting me on today. It's been an absolute pleasure. Thank you everyone for listening today, and I would just like to leave you all with, if I can turn my life around with everything in my past, just think how much more brilliance you have within, waiting to be unleashed. Thank you for having me on the show today. Thank you, Mark. An absolute pleasure. And thank you to all the listeners, you know. And if you have any concerns or, or this show has affected you in any way, please call the number and somebody will be there to listen. If you have any questions, please forward them on for Mark and I to address on part 2 of his coming on the show. Thank you.