Introduction

On the morning of his 40th birthday, Sope Agbelusi handed the microphone to his wife Shireen. What came back: marriage at 22, two children by 23, a mortgage against a salary under £12,000, years he calls his diamond shaping years.

The diamond shaping years

"There's a lot of things that got chiselled off me really, really quickly. I was forced to either sink or rise to the challenge." He kept repeating to his wife: it is not always going to be this way.

Running as the space where the decisions got made

"Every single major leap I've taken in my last ten years, I think they all came when I was running."

The pause at 14 that became the rebirth of who he is

Running from his name and nationality as a teenager, until a quiet moment of stillness reconnected him to a simpler identity.

Stepping out of the shadows at 40

He ran an anonymous Instagram quotes page for two years. Now he's learning to talk more, be seen more, and find mentors of his own.