RIP DAVENPORT, FRGS

I’ve survived abuse, addiction, prison, and fifteen years of brutal online impersonation and stalking.

I’ve served with honour in the military, pulled the living back from the edge, and recovered the dead from unforgiving seas. I’ve stood with families in their darkest hours, sharing grief no one should carry alone.

But my scars didn’t start online. I was born into abuse, bullied for my stutter, and betrayed by allies and those meant to protect me. After exemplary service in the military, life unraveled, failed marriage, mounting debt, and prison for unpaid fines.

I drowned in alcohol, shame, and lies. Addiction nearly killed me. What saved me was movement. Endurance gave me control, clarity, and proof I could keep going when everything said stop. It became my therapy, my rebellion, my way back.

Then came the deepest wound: a stranger stole my name, weaponized my past online, and destroyed my reputation. Employers, friends, even my children, saw it. The internet is global, but justice is local. And truth doesn’t always win.

Now, I speak to audiences about the human cost of trolling, online abuse, and digital defamation, and how to fight back. But I go deeper than awareness. I thread survivor-led advocacy, trauma-aware practice, and the ethics of storytelling into every talk. I show how lived experience can shape research, policy, and public understanding. These aren’t just reflections. They’re tools. They’re acts of resistance.

My message is simple: No one has the right to write your story without your consent. Take control. Write your own.

I don’t just share my scars. I show how to turn them into armour.