James is a Former Royal Marine Commando, taught officer safety and fitness to the Police and is currently a serving Fireman. He is an experienced mountain leader and endurance athlete. James won the Curtis Palmer Programs Ethos Award in 2021 for helping some of the most ill emergency service workers in the UK achieve what they thought was not possible including helping service users with MND, Cancer, PTSD and CPTSD. James has led 4 Curtis Palmer expeditions and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.