A Personal Journey

Introduction

My name is Adam Whittaker, and from as far back as I can remember, I've seen the world differently. I never quite fit the mould, not at school, not in the systems that shape most lives. Where others accepted, I questioned. Where others saw routine, I saw patterns, possibilities, and a deeper connection waiting to be understood.

Raised by my grandparents, I was immersed in the living world from the very start. They taught me their generation's values; love, kindness, toughness, and understanding; alongside the simple arts of baking, brewing, and gardening. Breaking everything down to its source, from raw ingredients to the finished thing, revealed the quiet miracle of how things grow, change, and come alive through human hands. That connection to nature was instant and lifelong; I was hooked.

Those same grandparents left an imprint that runs deep in my DNA. Every day, I carry their lessons with pride and gratitude, a constant reminder of where I come from and what truly matters.

My own journey was anything but straightforward. I left school young and built myself through experience, not instruction. While other people were learning from books and classrooms, I was learning from the sky, the sea, and the land. I shaped who I was by testing myself in places where there are no shortcuts, no excuses, and no safety nets.

Adrenaline and endurance sports gripped me early. I didn't chase them for the rush. I chased them because in those worlds you can’t hide from yourself. They force you to face fear directly, especially when something goes wrong. And things do go wrong. Mistakes aren’t mild; they’re drastic, sometimes life-changing, sometimes life-ending.

Those environments became my teachers. They taught me how to read chaos, how to stay calm inside panic, how to feel everything without losing control. They taught me to understand fear as information, something to respect, manage, and channel rather than run from. Over time, you learn a strange kind of clarity: when pressure rises, the noise falls away, and you stop guessing who you are.

Every discipline sharpened a different edge of me: control, commitment, endurance, humility, and balance. And the more you refine those edges, the more another truth emerges, when it's time to act, you become scalpel-sharp and extremely precise. There’s no room for doubt or hesitation; you learn to move with absolute intention.

Those years didn’t just make me resilient. They made me purposeful.

And that purpose is what shaped HEADTURNED: two platforms built from lived experience, forged in high-pressure environments, driven by a belief that when it matters most, you must be able to cut through chaos and act with clarity.

A Personal Journey

Drive and Passion

Trust is built when you can see the person behind the work. That's what I look for in every relationship and every project; shared values, honesty, and the courage to act.

Now, I'm directing my knowledge and experience toward a higher purpose; humanity, life, and nature. I bring unwavering focus, passion, and drive to this mission, and with your support we can safeguard animals and restore the compassion our shared world deserves.

A Personal Journey

Introducing Paul Ingram

Paul is not only a highly accomplished software engineer but also one of my closest personal friends and greatest business partners. He's a truly remarkable individual who embodies intellect, precision, and an understated yet sharp sense of humour. An instrument-rated pilot and a tech enthusiast (arguably more than I am), Paul is the yin to my yang, a dynamic pairing built on trust, mutual respect, and a deep understanding of each other's methods.

What makes our partnership so effective is our stark differences. While Paul is the intricate precision guy, meticulously dissecting problems with the sharpness of a scalpel, I'm the big-picture creator, the exploded diagram guy, throwing ideas at him like a Jackson Pollock painting, and somehow, he just gets me.

This seamless dynamic works because of the bond we share, a bond that allows us to free-flow ideas, combine our strengths, and craft solutions that neither of us could achieve alone. Paul's unique ability to translate my ideas into structured, precise outcomes is not only a testament to his skills but also to the trust and understanding we've built over the years.

A Personal Journey

Standing on the shoulders of giants

I find myself standing on the shoulders of giants. Two extraordinary visionaries helped the world see what had always been there, yet too easily ignored. Jacques Cousteau and Sir David Attenborough shaped my understanding of our planet's living systems more than anyone else.

Through them, I didn't just watch wildlife; I learned to read it. Their work turned curiosity into evidence, beauty into warning. Decades of film, research, and storytelling revealed both the richness of life and its steady decline, species erased, habitats poisoned, oceans warming, forests falling in silence. That combination of wonder and alarm has stayed with me ever since; it sits behind every decision we now make with the HEADTURNED Foundation.

Their legacy is a challenge as much as an inspiration. If they could devote their lives to helping us see the truth, then the least we can do is act on it, using technology, science, and human collaboration to rebuild connection, restore balance, and leave more than just an archive of what once was.

A Personal Journey

Jacques Cousteau: The Ocean's Advocate

Jacques Cousteau was a pioneer, an explorer, and an advocate for the oceans long before environmentalism became a global movement. Born in 1910, Cousteau was a naval officer who transformed into an underwater filmmaker and inventor. His groundbreaking invention of the Aqua-Lung revolutionised deep-sea exploration, allowing humanity to access a world previously hidden beneath the waves.

In the 1950s, Cousteau began sharing his underwater discoveries through film. His documentaries, starting with The Silent World (1956), captivated audiences worldwide, revealing the vibrant life teeming in the oceans. These works were not just visual spectacles; they were calls to action. Through Cousteau's eyes, people saw the fragility of marine ecosystems and the threats posed by human activity. He was a vocal advocate against overfishing, pollution, and the reckless exploitation of marine resources.

Off-screen, Cousteau's work was equally impactful. He co-founded the Cousteau Society in 1973, which continues his mission of marine conservation today. His legacy endures, reminding us of the interconnectedness of all life on Earth and the importance of preserving our oceans.

A Personal Journey

Sir David Attenborough: The Voice of the Planet

If Jacques Cousteau was the ocean's voice, Sir David Attenborough is the voice of the entire planet. For decades, Attenborough has brought the wonders of the natural world into our homes through groundbreaking television documentaries. Starting his career with the BBC in the 1950s, he quickly became a household name with series like Zoo Quest.

It was in the 1970s and 80s that Sir David truly came into his own with his iconic Life on Earth series. These documentaries showcased the dazzling variety of life on our planet, from the depths of the rainforest to the peaks of the Himalayas. His work is characterised by meticulous research, breathtaking cinematography, and a narrative voice that combines authority with compassion.

Sir David's influence extends beyond the screen. He has become an outspoken advocate for urgent action on climate change and biodiversity loss. His recent works, including A Life on Our Planet (2020), serve as both a testament to the beauty of the Earth and a stark warning about the consequences of inaction. Sir David's enduring passion and unwavering dedication continue to inspire people of all ages to care for our planet.

A Personal Journey

A Personal Connection to Nature

I've never understood human cruelty, toward animals, toward each other, or toward the planet we all share. Even as a child, it felt wrong. I would sit for hours in the garden, watching bees and butterflies move from flower to flower, hedgehogs shuffling through the borders, birds filling the air with movement and song. That wasn't a hobby; it was my normal.

When I go back to those same kinds of spaces today, the silence hits hard. The sky feels emptier, the hedges are still, and the "background" of life I grew up with has thinned to almost nothing. Children are growing up seeing far less than we did, and they think that quiet is normal. But it isn't. It's a warning.

We've normalised destruction, pollution in our seas, toxins in our soil, and suffering hidden behind the food on our plates. Decade after decade, the decline has been recorded, measured, and too often ignored. The loss is not just of species or ecosystems; it's of empathy, balance, and belonging. If this generation accepts emptiness as normal, what will the next one inherit?

This is why the HEADTURNED Foundation exists: to break that cycle. To take the anger, grief, and love that come from seeing what's been lost, and turn them into something practical. To awaken awareness, to challenge indifference, and to reconnect humanity with the living world, before what's left becomes only a memory.

A Personal Journey

A Call to Action

When I think of visionaries like Jacques Cousteau and Sir David Attenborough, I'm reminded that change has always begun with a single voice, someone willing to care enough to act. Their work showed us that passion, when guided by purpose, can ignite a movement that transcends borders and generations.

What I saw in the world, cruelty, neglect, and the quiet suffering of animals both wild and domestic, made it impossible to stand by. The HEADTURNED Foundation was born from that realisation: to protect every creature that needs our help, to restore the wild places they call home, and to remind humanity that compassion is not weakness, it is strength.

Our mission is simple but urgent, to end needless cruelty, champion rewilding practices that heal ecosystems, and inspire people to coexist with the life that sustains us. From forests to oceans, from the smallest sparrow to the proudest elephant, every action we take ripples outward and rewrites what the future can be.

You can be part of this. Volunteer, share our message, make choices that protect rather than harm. Support initiatives that give animals and nature a voice. Together, we can restore balance, revive hope, and rebuild a world where all living beings can thrive.