Aaron Abbott has dedicated his professional life to the education sector, managing teams and working in partnership with Further Education providers across the UK to support their staffing and recruitment needs. However, while building his career, Aaron was privately living through a significant gambling addiction that began at just 16 years old, during the vulnerable transition from school to college.

Unwilling to speak openly about the severity of his struggles—particularly to his mum—and weighed down by the stigma surrounding addiction, Aaron battled mostly in silence for over 12 years. During this time, he lost more than £250,000 and experienced serious mental, physical, and financial harm.

Today, Aaron is driven by his lived experience to make a difference. In addition to leading content creation and workshop delivery, he oversees Against The Odds from both a strategic and operational perspective, remaining deeply involved in all aspects of the organisation’s work.