Meet the Founder

Like so many who have served in the Armed Forces, Ryan Yates has suffered with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Having spent seven years in the elite 4/73 (Sphinx) Special OP Battery R.A. unit, Ryan’s military life included a range of conventional and clandestine combat experience, which involved two operational tours of Afghanistan.

During the start of his recovery, which he kept very private, a number of Ryan’s colleagues who he’d served alongside committed suicide following battles with their mental health.

This prompted Ryan to go much more public with his recovery, in the hope that other people suffering with similar issues would see it and reach out for support. He began taking therapy sessions as part of an effort to put more energy into overcoming his demons and took to Instagram to show a real-time perspective of his recovery.

With the outreach initially coming from people he knew, Ryan’s platform steadily grew as increasing numbers of new people heard the message. He started hosting live mental health Q&As every Monday, before going on to host mental health bootcamps. These bootcamps would consist of free – but intense – workouts, which would be followed by a fellowship-style meeting in which everybody could talk openly, honestly and anonymously.

As the bootcamps grew in popularity, Ryan’s profile also grew, and he began doing motivational talks in gyms, as well as regularly hosting live shows on the SHINNy SHOW LIVE Facebook page, a page dedicated to mental health and addiction recovery with nearly 200,000 followers.

Today, through Veteran’s Army, Ryan Yates takes his efforts of helping former service people a step further by providing a safe haven for veterans all over the UK and a place where they can learn about life after service and how to navigate through it in a positive manner.