David Galbraith.
My story matters because my mission is shaped by empathy.
My lived experience allows me to work without judgement and to understand the environments, pressures, and challenges many young people face.
The Galbraith Foundry is a community-based intervention supporting young men and children who need structure, guidance, and a sense of direction.
We have worked alongside schools and organisations in some of the most challenging situations — from supporting children displaying extreme violence, to helping young men experiencing suicidal thoughts, trauma, exploitation, or harm from others.
Our mission is to empower people to protect themselves, develop resilience, and promote health across the most important areas of human life: body, mind, and environment.
My role is not only to support young people directly, but also to support professionals through training, consultation, and the development of safer, more effective environments.
Through the integration of martial arts, psychology, mentorship, and behavioural development, I believe we can create meaningful change within individuals and communities.
The Galbraith Foundry model is unique in that it can be tailored to individual needs while co-existing within schools, communities, and professional support systems.
About
My Story
Origins
Prior to my arrival into this world, both of my parents came from extremely challenging upbringings.
My father, born in 1945 in the aftermath of World War II, was born into homelessness. Throughout his childhood, his family wrestled with poverty, instability, addiction, and the harsh realities that often accompany them.
My mother, despite having a home, grew up as one of eight siblings. Tragedy touched the family early when one of her brothers died at just eight years old after falling from the back of a van.
Before meeting each other, both of my parents left Glasgow in pursuit of a better life. My father moved south searching for work, while my mother was fleeing domestic abuse from a previous marriage.
Despite the difficult hand they had been dealt, they both did their best for me.
Environment
We still lived within one of the most deprived areas in the UK — an environment where mortality rates mirrored those found in war zones.
Those statistics were not abstract to me; they reflected my lived experience.
Some of my earliest memories involved extreme violence, and over time that environment became a defining theme in my life.
Violence became normalised. Survival became instinctive.
Eventually, it all came to a head when I was 18 years old and stabbed six times in the back, neck, and head.
Alongside brushes with the law and failed relationships, I realised something had to change.
Truthfully, that process of change is a lifelong commitment — one I am still pursuing to this day.
The Search For Change
Martial arts taught me discipline, accountability, and the value of earning things through hard work.
It developed my self-awareness and showed me that many of the problems I faced could only be solved by me.
Psychology taught me that old wounds can heal, and that the patterns which once shaped us can also be reshaped.
Through my exploration of martial arts, psychology, nature, spirituality, and self-discovery, I found a remarkable fusion of tools that strengthened one another with compounding effect.
Together, they helped me better understand what creates genuine health, resilience, purpose, and fulfilment.
Why The Galbraith Foundry Exists
My life’s purpose is now to share what I have learned with those who, much like myself, did not always have access to the right guidance, opportunities, or support.
I believe a postcode should never determine the quality of knowledge, mentorship, or opportunity available to a person.
The Galbraith Foundry was created to provide structure, mentorship, discipline, self-awareness, and direction to those navigating difficult environments and complex life circumstances.
Through the integration of martial arts, psychology, mentorship, and personal development, the Foundry aims to help forge stronger individuals, healthier communities, and more hopeful futures.
This is not simply about coaching.
It is about transformation.
It is about helping people discover that their environment does not need to define their identity, and that adversity can become the very thing that forges strength, meaning, and purpose.
Nominations
REMOTE FOUNDRY-PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING
THE MARTIAL WAY
A ranked martial arts system where skill is built, tested under pressure, and refined through discipline
A behaviour-first system designed to build discipline, reshape identity, and develop control through consistent action and safe pressure testing.