Break Point

Ex-Special Forces' soldier and member of the Directing Staff on Channel 4's hit show SAS: Who Dares Wins, Matthew ‘Ollie' Ollerton tells his story for the first time. Ollie's military career began at the age of 18 . He joined the Royal Marine Commandos and toured operationally in Northern Ireland and in Iraq for Operation Desert Storm. He then spent six years in the Special Boat Service. Here he rose to team leader, before working in Iraq as a private security contractor and carrying out charity work in South-East Asia. This work included freeing children from a trafficking ring in Thailand.

“Everyone has the capacity for incredible achievement, because it's only when it's crunch time, when you're down to your last bullet - when you're at breakpoint - that you find out who you really are.”

The book revolves around, Ollie's ‘Break Points'. Here are some:

Surviving a freak childhood attack, run-ins with the law as a teenager rebelling against a broken home

He faced the gruelling SAS selection process on one leg, with a busted ankle and the finish line nowhere in sight

He was under heavy fire from armed kidnappers while protecting journalists en route to Baghdad.

He found himself at the bottom of a bottle, with a family in pieces, unable to adapt to a civilian lifestyle, yearning for a warzone.

His struggles with anxiety and depression.

he book starts with Ollie's life in the Special Forces. He outlines what drives him, how his ‘Break Points' have moulded him into the person he is now; someone who inspires and helps others. There's no doubt Ollie has had an amazingly interesting life. The book manages to get the balance right. It not only describes his military escapades but also his personal struggles. As with the books by Ant Middleton and Jason Fox, Ollie makes you think about your life choices. It also makes you think what you could be differently.

In summary, Break Point is an honest and gripping read from the start. An honest, raw, and inspirational account of a life. Ollie never wallows in self-pity times as he tells us the vital lessons he has learnt. Ollie now spends his time as a corporate training entrepreneur for his company Break-Point. He is also an ambassador for the Royal Marines Charity and a director of the mental health charity StrongMen.