About Me — Keith P.G.
A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.
Bloody hell, where to start? I’m currently sitting on the floor of a beautiful static caravan, nestled in the sopping-wet Weardale countryside. It’s pitch black outside and the sound of rain on the roof is like white noise. I’m at peak relaxation.
I’ve spent the last hour….or maybe two, finally setting up my Medium profile; making my profile picture look just so and ensuring there aren’t any typos in my bio. The internet connection is terrible here so rather than wasting yet another night watching YouTube videos I decided to start my Medium journey instead.
I’m a 42-year-old father of three, I work as a retail manager currently, a job I fell into because of the 2020 COVID lockdowns but I’ll get back to that later.
School was……forgettable — not for any particular reason, it wasn’t particularly traumatic, but like many others, I wasn’t geared up to learn that way.
My Childhood and Teen Years
I was born and grew up in the northeast of England. My parents separated when I was 6, a traumatic experience for a little lad and eventually went to live with my dad, step-mam and step-sister when my mam moved abroad.
I had a fairly “normal” childhood, we weren’t poor but we certainly weren’t rich.
The northeast and Teesside specifically is still one of the poorest places in the UK. Successive UK governments have shafted us for generations; from the mine closures in the 70s to the dismantling of the steel industry in the 90s. My parents were all very hard-working and provided for us despite life’s challenges.
School was……forgettable — not for any particular reason, it wasn’t particularly traumatic, but like many others, I wasn’t geared up to learn that way. I finished school with below-average GCSEs while being told by the teachers that failed to inspire me, I could have “achieved so much more”.
Naturally, I left school without giving vocation much thought. Most of my friends were the same, a generation of uninspired minds released into the big wide world to fend for themselves. Some friends would go on to forge successful careers in banking or insurance etc, some would forge successful careers selling cheap cigarettes to people on council estates and some sadly are no longer with us whether that be through drink, drugs or both. Life can be a strange journey. I realise this now looking back on my own journey.
My late teens were fairly eventful. I moved out at 16 and had my own place to call home. I worked in a local busy town bar that paid peanuts but I enjoyed the nightlife. This, however, meant that I didn’t have a lot of extra income to spend my weekends in nightclubs like a lot of my friends at the time. I preferred to stay in my little flat and play music on my decks. This, I soon realised, would be the vocation I had been looking for.
Safe to say I chased my dream and DJed in some amazing bars and clubs, met some of the most important people in my life today and also became a father for the first time.
Chasing Dreams
At 21, I was working as a shelf stacker in a local cash & carry (think Costco or Walmart). A dead-end job that I hated. I was still living alone and still DJing in my spare time. I finally decided it was time to follow my dream of becoming a “proper DJ”, you know one that got paid to do it and not just spin records to nobody in a small, empty apartment. So I did, I jumped on a plane and took myself to Spain to ply my trade as a DJ.
The seven years I lived there definitely warrants its own story (I may well write that one day, keep a lookout for it). Safe to say I chased my dream and DJed in some amazing bars and clubs, met some of the most important people in my life today and also became a father for the first time. After a while however, I felt it was time to move back to the UK after meeting my now wife and step-daughter and realising I couldn’t spend the rest of my life partying every night.
I also love to hike and wild camp in the most beautiful and remote parts of the UK.
Coming Home
I returned to ‘Old Blighty’ in 2010. Harry our son came along in 2012, a mere six weeks before my wife and I got married. I won’t lie, going from DJ to the average 9–5 life was a massive challenge for me. I had spent the best part of a decade working (partying) through the night whilst most people were tucked up in bed. It made getting up at 6 am on a cold British winter’s morning to get to a job I wasn’t interested in a real fucking slog. It culminated in a severe bout of depression, another event I could write a book on.
I worked in call centres and eventually taught myself coding and worked as a Web Developer until 2020. I was working for a security company running their website and social media and was told the day the UK went into lockdown that I was being let go. As I was technically self-employed at the time I didn’t have much choice.
That brings me to the last three years where I have carved a career in retail and I’m currently a manager for a large retail company. My family take up most of my spare time (as it should). I also love to hike and wild camp in the most beautiful and remote parts of the UK. I still spin the tunes (back at home again) and send my poor family mad with whatever fad I am currently obsessed with, it’s like I have a creative itch I’ve not been able to adequately scratch since I quit my career as a DJ
And there you have it, just me on this new Medium ride! I’m here to share my thoughts, my quirks, and all the things that make me, well, me. I’ve got this itch for exploring endless interests — they say variety is the spice of life. So, as I journey forward, tapping away at my keyboard, I’m not after much — just a bunch of like-minded people to connect with and maybe a chat or two about the wild twists and turns life throws our way. Let’s keep this adventure rolling!
