‘People would be shocked to hear I’m lonely’

Adam Bradford, 26

From the outside, you wouldn’t know how lonely I feel. I’m always busy and have lots going on at any minute, but I didn’t have many friends at school and I don’t feel really close to anyone, apart from my parents.

When the Queen presented me with a Young Leaders Award two years ago, for

the social enterprise I started when I was 14, it gave me a huge confidence boost. For a time, I felt popular. I made new friends and people wanted to network with me.

I soon realised it was superficial. People liked me for what I had achieved, not because of who I was. Although I’m not unhappy and do have some friends, my social life is somewhat limited. I’m confident in the business world, but when I step outside of that I become a very different person. I have to plan events and be in the right mood.

Still, people who know me would be shocked to hear me say I felt lonely. I imagine they think of me as here, there and everywhere – loneliness is an internal thing that others don’t see.