They Thought I Was a Bad Kid… They Didn’t Know I Was Broken | Jake Bowman | Episode 15 - Part I

What if the “bad kid” everyone sees is actually a young person carrying years of trauma no one knows about? In this deeply personal episode of The Shift Handover, Jake Bowman shares the story behind the behaviour that, for years, caused people to label him as angry, difficult and troublesome — without knowing what was happening behind closed doors. At 26 years old, Jake has already lived in 26 different accommodations. Growing up in an abusive and neglectful home environment, Jake describes how school became an escape and how, at around 14, he entered the care system carrying years of experiences that even his social workers didn’t fully understand. For the first time, Jake opens up about how that trauma manifested itself through anger, destructive behaviour, drugs, trouble with the police and a desire to build a reputation as someone nobody could hurt again. As he explains: “They just thought I was acting out. I was naughty… I was just getting labelled.” But underneath that behaviour was something very different: “Really and truly, I was just someone who was broken.” Dan Sharpe, Marc Smith and Jake explore how childhood experiences can shape behaviour later in life, and why understanding what happened to someone can sometimes be just as important as looking at what they have done. Jake also speaks honestly about trust issues, fear of abandonment, self-sabotage and the impact his past has had on his relationships — while recognising that trauma doesn’t remove personal responsibility for the way our actions affect other people. The conversation then turns to some of the things that helped Jake begin changing direction, including counselling, anger management, boxing and eventually faith. Jake shares the extraordinary circumstances that led him to church during one of the lowest periods of his life, and how an experience there challenged everything he previously believed. Ultimately, this is a conversation about much more than Jake’s past. It’s about trauma, identity, accountability, faith, second chances and the possibility of becoming someone different from the person your experiences once convinced you that you were. As Jake puts it: “People always tell me I’m a good person, I’ve just done bad things… and I believe that now.” And perhaps one of the most important lessons from the conversation: “If my story could help people… then why should I not share it?” In Part 2, Jake returns to The Shift Handover to talk about another chapter of his story: how vulnerability as a teenager led to him being groomed and exploited through a County Lines network, and how those experiences eventually shaped the work he wants to do today. Subscribe to The Shift Handover for real stories, honest conversations and perspectives from across the UK security industry. Content Notice This episode contains discussions of childhood abuse, neglect, drug use, suicide, mental health and other sensitive subjects. These experiences are shared to encourage understanding and awareness.