A St Albans sports nut has overcome adversity to set up his own sporting activity business.

Adam Sharp used his inheritance from his two grandmothers to set up his dream business, Rise St Albans, Welwyn & Hatfield, delivering a range of adapted sports activities in health, social care and community settings in the area, including care homes.

Rise sessions are designed to be fun and focus on keeping people mobile whilst encouraging social interaction and mental stimulation. Activities are tailored to people’s physical ability or cognitive capacity.

Adam was diagnosed with a brain tumour at the age of four, undergoing four surgeries and two years of intense chemotherapy. 

Despite his physical limitations Adam always possessed a love for playing sport, taking GCSEs and A-levels in sport, before obtaining a qualification in sports coaching at college.

During a phone enquiry about working with Rise as an activity leader, Adam realised he could actually open and own his own Rise business in St Albans.

Adam works alongside his mum Jos in running and managing the business.

He said: “Working with mum is ideal as she understands what I can and can’t do and we make a great team.

"I organise all the Rise sessions and take care of the music, quizzes and routine admin. Mum helps with scheduling and the accounts. Importantly she also runs the sessions with me and it works really well."

Jos said: "During his studies, Adam had needed additional support and I took redundancy to be able to offer him the help he needed.

"Once Adam finished college, I was looking for a meaningful role that didn’t involve sitting behind a desk.

"So when he decided to set up Rise St Albans, it was the ideal opportunity for me to join him and it’s proved to be a great partnership."

To find out more about the activity sessions offered by Rise in St Albans or Welwyn Hatfield, contact Adam or Jos on 07899 395 941 or email adam.sharp@rise.life.