Michael Josephson MBE is a charity campaigner, successful businessman and mental health awareness advocate who has dedicated himself to supporting young, underprivileged people.
A traumatic childhood included the loss of a his mum just before his tenth birthday, and challenging, abusive experiences of living in care afterwards. As soon as he could, when he was sixteen, he left the care system. Unfortunately, like many young people who have experienced childhood trauma and abuse, the problem was not solved quickly. In order to manage the pain of what had happened to him, Michael began to self-medicate using alcohol and prescription drugs – mostly tranquilisers.
Whilst living in Manchester, Michael became a regular on the vibrant social scene, his larger than life and generous character gathering him lots of friends, partying and drinking as most young adults do. However, the demons of his past were not far behind and things caught up with him. On the 28th of December 1998, Michael attempted to take his own life by jumping off a motorway bridge. Prior to jumping, he was sitting there for three hours, 60ft high. He didn’t want to jump, but thought if he didn’t, people would think he was attention-seeking, put in prison, or institutionalised again. He broke more-or-less every bone in his body, spent months in hospital and had to learn to walk again.
This was Michael’s rock-bottom moment. He vowed to himself whilst lying in hospital that when he left he would not only turn his life around, but that of other children and young adults who had also had their lives affected by traumas and circumstances outside of their control.
Since then, Michael has raised millions of pounds for charities that support young people. His last ball in Manchester alone raised a staggering £1,204,488, beating last year’s record-breaking £1,063,872, which was the first million pound charity gala in the North West. He has supported hundreds of charities over the years, however he is particularly involved with Variety, the Children’s Charity, where he is Chair of Patrons. He also became Chief Barker of the charity in January 2024, a position Michael feels very passionately about.
Michael also has a hugely successful business, which he was able to build from the ground up after his stint in hospital. His personal life is a rich and happy one. Michael married Lindon Kellett in 2012 and they live in Alderley Park, in Cheshire.
In 2016 Michael was awarded an MBE from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for his services to charity, and in July 2024, was made an Honorary Doctor of Social Science for outstanding contribution to charitable work from the University of Bolton, becoming Dr Michael Josephson MBE.
His is a story of survival, of putting one foot in front of the other and trying to make each day as good as it can be – both for himself and for those around him. In this website he will seek to help others who want to achieve similar things.
