Empowering the next generation

Growing up as a curious child in Bolton, Lee Chambers wanted better for himself and his family.

As someone who is autistic, Chambers is passionate about neurodiversity and how it can be embraced — not so much as a disorder but more as a positive point of difference.

He has experienced some significant challenges in his life. But Chambers believes they have helped
him become successful.

Now a psychologist, entrepreneur and speaker with a number of awards behind him, he hopes to inspire the next generation to succeed.

Being the first in his family to go to university, Chambers immersed himself in academia.

“I’m almost glad for that adversity in my younger life because it’s kind of helped shape me and take me on some pathways that have given a lot of growth for me,” he said.

“I learnt a lot about myself during my time at university. It helped me think more critically, and embracing a bigger city gave me more vision of the diversity of people from around the world.”

Shortly after graduating with an International Business degree from Manchester Met in 2007, Chambers was accepted on a graduate scheme at the Cooperative Bank and had big dreams of building a career in finance and leadership.

Unfortunately, things took a turn a few months later as the credit crunch hit.

“I moved back in with my parents as I couldn’t afford to live in the city,” he explained. “From there, I ended up working in local government and used the money to set up the video game business, Phenomgames.”

At the age of 22, Chambers started trading from his parent’s house and watched as his company grew big across Europe over five years.

Life-changing event

Things were going well for Chambers. But then his life changed abruptly in 2015.

He was planning to step down from the business to spend more time with his son, who was 18 months old, and wife, who was expecting their second child, a daughter.

Overnight, he lost the ability to walk. His immune system ended up ‘switching off and attacking his body.’

Chambers had to learn to walk again. But he never gave up hope.

He said: “My daughter was my motivation. She was born during my recovery, and I was determined to get back on my feet.

“I managed to walk a mile unaided a month before she took her first steps, and that made me think about the bigger scheme of things and what I could achieve.”

Chambers took a step back from the business to be a stay-at-home dad and also used the time to study for a MSc in Psychology at the University of Surrey.

“When I became ill, I had financial security. But if I were an employee, I would have ended up on sick pay, worried about paying my mortgage and keeping a roof over my kid’s heads,” he said.

“I want to make sure other people don’t end up in that position if it’s possible, and, if they do, they can feel empowered to support themselves.

“Once I completed my masters, I spent a little bit of time out in the US researching and working on how I could help make businesses better and people within them empowered from a health perspective.”

It was just before Chambers’s daughter started school in 2019 when he decided he wanted to make a difference and set up his second company, Essentialise Workplace Wellbeing.

The company looks at different aspects of wellbeing and inclusion in the workplace through training.

He said: “I’m really focused on how we use virtual reality as an immersive experience to help people appreciate what it’s like to be in someone else’s shoes.”

Leaving a legacy

Chambers’s work has been recognised around the world. He has won several awards for his businesses and recently received the US Kavli Fellowship from the National Academy of Sciences. He was the only Briton selected this year and the first Black British scientist ever to receive the Kavli Fellowship in its 33 years.

While some people like to set themselves goals, Chambers feels they would stop him from ‘exploring fields where often the most interesting opportunities come from.’

But he is doing a lot of work around allyship and has recently set up a mentoring scheme for Black STEM graduates, which he hopes to grow in the future so he can impact the next generation.

He said: “My legacy won’t be me winning awards. It’ll be the people who’ve been through my mentoring winning awards that’ll have a lasting impact. That’s when I’ll feel like I’m making a difference.

“If you can showcase the impact you’ve made by others getting recognition, that would mean more."