Betrayed, Burnt, & Bitten · Operation Shredline

Nov 5 (edited) • 🔔 #Wins

Betrayed, Burnt, & Bitten

So… what started as a simple trip turned into a full-blown 7,000-mile odyssey of chaos, corporate betrayal, laughter, concrete floors, dodgy food, burnt skin, and mosquito bites the size of grapes.

Went to see my YouTube coach in Austin Texas, and all seemed good in the world, a new city for me and warm sunshine in the last weeks of October, unheard of in England.

✈️ Austin, Texas — The Warm-Up

When I finally landed in Austin, I was excited, tired and awake when the whole city slept, half-zombie. But boy what a city! Austin’s got this brilliant energy, live music on every corner, barbecue that smells like heaven, and people who actually smile at you (madness, I know). It’s not at all like the UK, it's louder, it's hotter, it's beautifully strange, even the homeless group I found under a bridge loved to listen to me and offered me some kind of broth, all that and with better brisket what was not to love. My 1-2-1 coaching with Vendy went so much better than expected too.

It was the perfect warm-up for what was to come: Cancun. And that’s where everything changed.

✈️ Dallas, Texas — The Betrayal

I left the calm, picture-perfect hills of the Cotswolds, where even the sheep look relaxed, to head off on what I thought would be a smooth little getaway. How naïve of me. Somewhere between Austin and Cancun, the travel gods decided to have a laugh and made Dallas happen. My “short” transfer flight via Dallas turned into a 24-hour survival challenge on the hard concrete floor of the airport, rude, and noisy municipal workers, a pick pocket who thought I was asleep, ejected from the airport with no boarding pass or signal by a dickhead security guard, and with limited fucks given by American Airlines (now forever known as Wankers). No bed. No blanket. No dignity. No food. No luggage. Closed Bathrooms. 3 hour long queues, and the last stale cheese sandwich that tasted like regret.

The food? Awful. The airline? American Airlines — Awful never again! The experience? Character-building… apparently.

By hour 20, I’d started to question my life choices, my airline choice, and possibly my will to live. But somehow, through sarcasm and grit, I made it through.

🌴 Cancun — Chaos, Fun, Calm, and Connection

From the second I arrived, Cancun hit me with sunshine, turquoise seas, and the kind of heat that makes you forget what trousers (pants) are. And then came the real magic — two absolute legends, Danielle and Saul, made me feel like an old friend from out of state. Danielle flung her arms around me and started questioning me at one hundred miles an hour, just like long lost friends do. I don't think she took a breath for the first 15 minutes of our short journey. It made me reflect on my long lost wife Claire who was a world class chatterbox, they would have clicked for sure as both such beautiful souls.

Together, we crammed more laughter, adventure, food, and fun into a week than I thought humanly possible. One of Saul's first conversations in person was abruptly ended by a big wave that washed him back to shore, I looked at Danielle and neither of us was capable of rescuing Saul. We were in stiches of laughter, so a good job he didn't need it but the timing was perfect, bang, mid sentence but don't ask me what we were talking about, that is at the bottom of the ocean now.

I swam in ocean water so warm it felt like my bath water back home and just as soothing like a nature’s hug. Walked on beautiful white sand so soft it could’ve been baby powder. Watched colourful fish swim by me so close I could touch them. Ziplined through the trees like a confused Tarzan. Swam in cave pools that made me feel tiny and alive all at the same time and we had the whole place to ourselves most likely 25 acres of caves and parkland bathed in sunlight, perfect.

And yes, I got absolutely eaten alive by mosquitoes in the evenings. I would have been less at risk lighting a fire in firework factory. But did I care? Not even slightly, didn't really notice until I got home I was on such a high. Because in between all that chaos, I was laughing until my ribs hurt, feeling free, feeding my face and my soul, and remembering what real joy feels like.

🍦 Food, Friends, & Faith

The food. Oh, the food. We ate home-cooked meals that would make Michelin chefs weep. The Protocol Victoria Sponge is a must have on all your recipes guys, it was amazing. We dined on a lagoon at sunset, the sky glowing pink and gold with the perfect company and atmosphere. We even hit an all-you-can-eat steak house buffet (Portuguese or Brazilian I forget), which quickly turned into an Olympic sport. The places to eat were so cheap we all ate out for the same price i pay for me at home it was quite a culture shock, I even asked if this was correct the first time, had to be a typo on the till?

And yes, I was on holiday for the first time in four years so I had a few cheat scoops of ice cream, well more than a few. Being honest I loved the Danielle milkshakes better but fuck it when in Rome eat gelato I say, because after 24 hours sleeping on concrete, I damn well deserved some. Danielle had a birthday party held at her friends coffee shop which was amazing, didn't understand much of the conversation or the happy birthday song but I joined in anyway and Gabby turned up, we chatted like old friends and he was such good company.

@Gabriel Belmont

you missed out on your cake and milkshake (Protocol Approved) so I had your share 🤪.

We went shopping, fed monkeys and wild animals straight from our hands, and somehow ended up in church, for me the first time in 15 years. And that moment was special and met so good souls who trusted me with their vulnerabilities, so overwhelming. Unexpectedly grounding. A quiet pause in the excited madness. A little reset for the soul, reflection on my anger issues, the guilt of why god chose to take both my beautiful soulmates, my first love, my grandson Oscar, my younger brother, anyone of whom were worth ten of me any day of the week.

❤️ What This Trip Taught Me

If you’d told me before I left that I’d sleep on a cold floor, get burnt to a crisp, scream down a zip line, and still call it one of the best trips of my life, I’d have laughed at the mad person sitting in the corner licking the windows. But that’s exactly what it was.

This trip reminded me that the best moments aren’t perfect, they’re messy, funny, spontaneous, mad, unpredictable, but so full of life. The layovers, the laughter, the bites, the sunsets… all of it came together to remind me why I do what I do. To live fully, wear my heart on my sleeve, forgive quickly, connect deeply, and not take life or myself too seriously.

So here’s to adventures that break your plans but fill your soul. To people who turn trips into lifelong memories. To saying yes when you could’ve said no. And to the sacred truth that I am never, ever flying American Airlines again. 😂

Back home now, still smiling, still sore and peeling, and still scratching. 🦟☀️Thank you to my amazing host and friends for life

, and the lovely

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