From Inner-City Streets to Mountain Slopes: Helping Young People Find Confidence, Hope and a Future with Dan Charlish

About this episode:

What happens when you take young people from inner-city communities, many of whom have never left their local area, and introduce them to the challenge, freedom and possibility of skiing and snowboarding?

In this episode, Chris speaks with Dan Charlish, Founder and CEO of Snow Camp, the UK’s only national youth snow sports charity. Since 2003, Snow Camp has supported more than 23,000 young people to build confidence, gain qualifications and access real career pathways.

During the pandemic, Dan also launched Stop.Breathe.Think, a national online mental health service offering free counselling to young people without the wait.

This is a conversation about widening horizons, creating opportunity, building charities that last, and using sport, relationships and mental health support to help young people move towards a more hopeful future.

More about Dan Charlish:

Dan Charlish is the Founder and CEO of Snow Camp, the UK’s only national youth snow sports charity.

Since 2003, the charity has helped more than 23,000 young people from inner-city communities gain confidence, qualifications, and career opportunities through skiing and snowboarding.

In 2013 Dan received the Freedom of the City of London for services to youth work and in 2024 he was awarded the Pery Medal by the Ski Club of Great Britain.

Snow Camp has also been recognised multiple times as a top UK apprenticeship employer, reflecting Dan’s commitment to creating real pathways for young peo-ple to thrive on and off the slopes.

During the Covid pandemic, Dan launched Stop.Breathe.Think, an online national mental health service provid-ing free counselling to young people without the wait. The service has delivered over 25,000 counselling ses-sions to young people to date.

Dan lives in Hove, UK with his wife Amanda and children, Chloe and Rory.