A Little Bit About Me!

Hello Everyone,

My Names Benjamin-Ashley I’m 35 years old and I am “The Gay Bipolar Adventurer”. Welcome to my website, I decided to build this blog to share my life with anyone who wants to follow along…….

Currently I live with my partner Andrew in the City of York in North Yorkshire. Both me and Andrew love the outdoors and take every opportunity possible to Travel. That doesn’t mean that it is always abroad, we travel extensively within the UK as well, the UK is an absolutely beautiful Country.

We are also very lucky to have a second home on the Orkney Islands right at the top of the Scottish Coast, some of the images on this website are from Orkney which if you were to ask me to move there tomorrow I would start packing straight away…

The website will cover everything I like doing from Travel to Art, Talking about Mental Health and how it still is a huge problem in 2025 to talk about coming out and living life as a Gay Man or Women, especially Trans in 2025 in the United Kingdom. One thing that I am passionate about is Technology and how it can aid you when you are travelling and off on your adventurers, from Power Banks to Cameras.

Part of my blog will be reviewing Products and Services that aid you when you are off on your adventures, and this will form part of the blog where I give you a real honest review of Products and Services. I will let you know what are the best products out there that suit various adventures. If I am sent a Product or a Service to review even though they may gift me the Product/Service I will give you my honest review and I will put them through their paces and see if they offer what they say they do and whether they are suitable not just from a POV, but from a cost point of view; as I believe that not everyone can afford the best so I will do my best to give you alternatives for your budget.

Also, if you have any Products or Services in mind and you would like me to look into then do not hesitate to get in touch and I will do my best to source the Product or Service and give you my honest opinion. Just send me an email to bwhitworth@thegaybipolaradventurer.co.uk or use the contact form to ask your questions.

Something else that I am planning on doing is producing my own Podcast, now I know there are many of them out there but I think their is a space for me and my community. So I already have my equipment to do it but there are a few things I need to put in place before starting it. So, as soon as its ready to go, you guys will be the first to hear about it and where you can go listen to it or even watch it. Again, if you have someone you would love for me to interview/have a conversation or interview with then please reach out to me by emailing at social.media@thegaybipolaradventuer.co.uk.

I also have another couple of projects I am working on and also yet to start. One of them is a children’s book that is LQBTQIA+ focused to try and explain that not all families have a mother and a father, they can have two mothers, two fathers depending on how they identify of course, and this book is using the animal kingdom to try and help young minds understand that the animal kingdom is a complex structure and not as simple as some people try to make it sound.

The other project that I want to do is purchase a second hand long wheel based van and convert it into a camper. I have always wanted to travel extensively throughout the UK, I have been to many places within the UK but even though we are a tiny island there is a lot to be discovered and having a home on wheels 1. Cuts down on costs e.g. accommodation and 2. You can park up pretty much anywhere which gives you access to some places people only dream about. Obviously I have a Fiancé and he has a full time Job and I do not, but this means in the week I can take myself off and explore and come back to Yorkshire for the weekend, but Andrew is an Ecologists which means in spring and summer he can be out in nature doing surveys but sometimes he is tied to a desk on his computer. So, when he is just on the computer he can come with me as I plan on having Star link Broadband which means as long as we can see the sky we can have high speed broadband and he can work from the van. This project is a little way off but I have started looking for suitable vans that are out there.

So, if you are someone who Van Life’s then please get in touch and share your stories, the Pro’s and the Con’s, we could even collaborate and meet up and do a Podcast episode together or just a simple video/interview and we can share it with my followers/subscribers.

One thing I have been able to do is create a pretty thick skin and being part of the queer/LQBTQIA+ community and also having multiple mental health disorders means that comes with Hate and Ignorance and I am sure I will receive my fair share but I can honestly say it really doesn’t bother me at all. What these Keyboard warriors forget that leaving a comment or watching my video benefits me as my content will just become stronger and will reach a wider audience. Now, I’m not saying that I want these types of people on my Social Media but I’m just making it clear that I won’t lock myself away in a cupboard rocking due to their comment or content.

I am still recovering from 1. breaking my back where I have had 6 operations on it to fix it and stop the pain, to breaking my leg in 12 places to having Pneumonia turning into Sepsis where I was put on a Life Support machine to try and save my life as they only gave me a 50/50 chance of pulling through. BUT I DID IT!

Something I never realised was how strong I am as a person, but my Momma was right I AM!

Some of the content on here will be from before when I was well but as I’m getting better, I am starting to push my self more and more. When I had Pneumonia I had to be put on High dose Steroids which meant I gained so much weight, but over the past year I have lost 43kg and it feels great, just another 30kg to go until I hit my goal.

My qualifications are all base around conservation and genetics and I have a real passion not just for the great outdoors and adventurers but for wildlife here in the UK and abroad. One thing I always get asked is what are my political views. Its quite complicated to answer that question. I am a member and supporter of the Green Party, as you can tell by the photo of me and former Green Party leader Natalie Bennet but mainly my politics is a mixture of parties and I just believe in the right thing by this country and its people. I can easily pick various policies and manifestoes from various parties that I agree with and disagree with; and I’m hoping that with my Podcast I can attract guests that can put their point of view across and question them to why people should be members or even vote for that party or individual.

One thing I do know as a scientist is that there is a climate crisis and we are running out of time to come up with initiative ways of combatting the acceleration of climate change. I think that most people don’t understand that climate change has happened for millennia but ever since the “Industrial Revolution” we have increased the speed of which climate change is happening. So, I am for any one who has an innovation, idea or even a bill/policy that can help and I support whole heartedly the Earth Shot Prize that HRH The Prince of Wales has created as I believe in technology and innovation we can make a huge difference to the habitat we have destroyed and the various species we have affected, but I do want to make it clear that in my opinion there is no one exactly to blame and we need to work together to find solutions.

I will be making videos telling you all about my views on various topics and what I’ve been through over the past 35 years and give you more context.

By all means go to the contact section of my site or send me messages on my Social Media and I will try and answer as many as I can or email social.media@thegaybipolaradventurer.co.uk, but also if you’re interested in being within my content or on my podcast then please get in touch by emailing collaborations@thegaybipolaradventurer.co.uk.

As I write this I’m at our apartment in Cardiff, our first adventure of 2025 and remember if you want to get in touch then use the Contact form page or email info@thegaybipolaradventurer.co.uk.

Over and Out, Benjamin-Ashley xx