Ryan’s connection to Trent College, and the fond memories he formed of his time at school, began long before he joined as a pupil in 2007, as his Mum Althea spent several years as Head of Marketing during the early 2000s.  While he admits he was never the most academic or “traditional career-driven” student, Ryan has built a life he’s proud of, blending his professional and personal passions.

“I can honestly say I absolutely LOVED my time [at Trent] and, amongst many things, some of my fondest experiences are being able to play rugby for the First XV in Sixth Form amongst some truly fantastic players, and eventually being one of the top try scorers in my final year - and beating the Boys’ High School, obviously!”

(Ryan pictured back row, centre)

After leaving school, Ryan pursued Filmmaking at Leeds Beckett University, graduating with a 2:1 in 2016. After exploring a few jobs, he found his niche in the Marketing Team at the University of York, a role he genuinely enjoyed before moving into the HM Prison & Probation Service and now, Ryan works as a Project Officer for South Yorkshire Police.

While Ryan’s career path may not fit a conventional mould, it is his personal fitness journey that stands out. Inspired by the PE and rugby culture at Trent, and particularly by his coaches and mentors Adam Benstead and Guy Hope, Ryan has dedicated himself to pushing his physical limits.

“Mr Hope was my First XV rugby coach and also taught PE classes, and Athletics in the summer term. Together with Chris Gray, they made a fantastic rugby coaching duo in my final year!”

“It was Mr Benstead who introduced me to the science behind sport, and how that just as important as the training itself.
His advice really shaped how I approach fitness now – and of course, I’ll never forget his booming voice across the Astro!”

Their guidance has stayed with Ryan long after he left Trent.  Ryan recalls: “As well as rugby coaching, I’ll never forget Mr Wright’s eccentric Politics classes and Mr Taylor’s coaching in Year 10, helping us to progress far in the Daily Mail Cup”.   Those teachers, coaches and mentors clearly left a lasting mark on Ryan’s approach to personal challenges.

Ryan continued with regular fitness during his university years and beyond, with regular gym sessions, but he progressively took on more ambitious goals.  In 2019 he started running and completed his first half-marathon. 

By 2021, he was running 20 miles, spontaneously deciding one day after work to see how far he could run until he stopped! A few weeks later he ran again, this time 21 miles. In 2022, he completed a 30-mile run but decided it was time to take on some alternative challenges.

During 2023, Ryan set himself weighted run challenges, including half marathons, first with a 7.5 kg backpack and in 2024 he ran 15 miles with a 10kg backpack.  He says: “For that one, I had to dig deep!”

He then set up a self-named challenge in the ‘RyanMan’, by doing as many press ups and pull ups as he could, in one day.  He managed 385 pull ups and 800 press ups!

None of these were official competitions, just evenings and weekends of dedication, discipline, and self-improvement.  Although he had set himself a goal to achieve a 55kg weighted pull up in 2025, he completed this personal milestone by the end of 2024.  And despite, at that time, saying that he would not try anything heavier having incurred a neck injury, this year he committed to increasing the weight! 

Not satisfied with setting himself the increased weight challenge, Ryan has even applied for some “silly but fitness related” Guinness World Records, hoping to combine personal achievement with charity fundraising, and awaits news of whether he has been accepted.

“For me personally, Trent taught me to be a well-rounded person,
and that if you're going to give something a go, give it all or nothing.”

Ryan now lives in Leeds with his wife Elsie.  They married in May 2024, with two OT friends as Ryan’s “unofficial best men”, Ben Smith and Brad Matthews.

Ryan says: “There's a certain amount of personal resilience I must give myself credit for but, no word of exaggeration, when I'm really digging deep, when I'm halfway through a challenge and just want to give up and 'cut things short', it's my old rugby coaches I can hear in my head.  My continued fitness has given me a lot of personal confidence that has transferred into other aspects of life, and I owe Trent a LOT for that."

Would I still be into fitness if I'd never gone to Trent? Probably, yeah.
Would I be as fit or determined to keep pushing myself? Absolutely not.
I owe a lot to the school, and to all those teachers and coaches”.

Ryan’s story is a reminder that success isn’t only measured by grades or conventional careers, it’s also about passion, perseverance, and the mentors who guide you along the way. 

In one final fitness challenge for 2025, Ryan came 5th overall, 1st in his age group (30-34), in the Keighley Parkrun, held at Cliffe Castle in the hometown of his in-laws, where he was joined by his young nieces who ran alongside for part of the route “that was great fun!”. 

We look forward to checking in with Ryan in 2026 to hear all about the Guiness World Record(s) he hopes to break!