Brave Dave

Hi, I'm Brave Dave! I'm a mountain leader, web developer and firefighter. I love the mountains, especially Snowdonia in North Wales, and I love leading people up and over the peaks. My favourite thing as a leader is seeing clients become more and more confident in their own abilities as we progress along a route. Mountains are an amazing place to be, and my job is to make sure you get the most out of the experience, all whilst keeping you safe.

A big percentage of my clients over the years have come to me because of my YouTube videos. I've had a YouTube channel since 2005 to which I've uploaded all sorts of adventure videos for many years. It's not monetised, and views and subscriber counts have virtually no bearing on my life; my channel is just a place to store the videos I've made and share them with anyone who's interested. I've posted most of my videos onto my NeedALeader profile too, so feel free to check them out!

The type of adventure which gained the most attention on YouTube by far is freight hopping; more specifically my freight hop across Canada in 2016 (entitled "Big Fat Freight Hop"). This accounts for about 90% of my YouTube subscribers. It was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure but I won't be doing it again. These days I'm far too sensible :P

I have made countless videos about my mountain escapades, some of which show me doing quite dangerous things (for example, Grade 3 scrambles). I can't stress enough that the dangerous stuff is what I do when I'm alone or with a competent buddy. I NEVER put my clients in danger, or lead them up a route that they're clearly not capable of doing. I just wanted to make this clear because in the past there has been some confusion.

In 2022 I joined the Fire and Rescue Service. I'm dual-contract which means that I'm an on-call firefighter as well as a wholetime one. I can't get enough of it! Being a firefighter is the best job in the world.

Oh, and if you're interested, I got the nickname "Brave Dave" in 2001 at university when I used to climb up to my room on the second floor via the brick balconies on the outside of the building. It was a good five meter drop onto concrete and was dumb as hell to do, but fortunately I didn't slip and fall (else I wouldn't be here typing this right now). As the Internet became more of a thing in the early 2000s I used "Brave Dave" as a username for most online accounts, and it stuck! So now you know.

So that's me in a nutshell! If you would like me to lead you on a mountain adventure then see what I offer, get in touch today and let's make it happen!