Meet the team

Lawrence works one2one with many top celebrities, supermodels and sporting individuals, helping them to achieve peak mental performance and to remove negative barriers. He also has a huge wealth of experience in working with audiences to improve their betterment of life. Having studied the intricacies of Motivation and how to apply it in the workplace, he has spent many years teaching large numbers of people to use a set of mind-tools that are guaranteed to ignite and invigorate them in their corporate and personal lives.

Such is his success, he has been recruited by over 500 companies around the world (including blue-chip names like: Microsoft, Vodafone, AstraZeneca, HSBC, British Telecom and Tetrapak to name but a few), to change the mind-sets of their work force.

Lawrence has also been helping phobics for many years to overcome their various phobias including the fear of public speaking and the fear of flying.

Such was his success, he has been a regular guest on many National TV and radio shows and was commissioned to star in his own prime-time TV special on Channel 4 called ‘Fear of Flying’, where he successfully cured a large number of the UK’s most extreme phobics who could not fly.

Lawrence's presentation style is very unique and he firmly believes that learning should be fun, so be prepared for an interactive & dynamic evening!

Aviation man “from the ground up”. From an early age, Chris’ passion was flying. When he was less than two weeks old, he flew from his home near Teesside to London and by the age of 12, he had the opportunity to fly in a seaplane. He took to the controls and starting flying “solo” at the age of sixteen and the passion for flying is still in abundance 30 years later. Chris joined Go Fly in 1999 and the company was taken over by easyJet in 2002.

Chris is currently leading Fearless Flyer at easyJet and is a Line Training Captain based in Bordeaux where he’s responsible for the training of new pilots when they join the airline, as well as recurrent training of existing pilots. “I find my job hugely rewarding – with nearly 4000 pilots and 330 aircraft, easyJet is an exciting place to work! Having started the Fearless Flyer product with Lawrence and Mark in 2012, I am absolutely committed to helping people fly FEARLESSLY.” Chris flies typically 10 days a month and has two grown-up children.

During his career as a Captain, Chris has met many nervous passengers and has probably been asked just about every question possible about aviation. So with all this wealth of knowledge and experience, Chris will definitely answer any question you may have about aeroplanes or flying.

Mark has been in the events industry for over 20 years and was the Managing Director of Grandstand Group which he founded in 1994. In 1997 he secured the rights to the Horse of the Year Show which he successfully ran at Wembley Arena and then the NEC Arena, Birmingham until he sold his interest in the company in 2009. 

During his time in the business, he developed a fear of flying. This culminated in him avoiding a flight to visit a client and advising his business colleagues to go without him and having to lie to them by saying he was ill!! Realising this affected his business (not to mention family holidays!), he decided to do something about it. After various failed attempts to cure his nerves, he was eventually introduced to Lawrence Leyton who gave him a number of techniques to help him overcome his fears. And overcome them he did! So much so that Mark has since travelled the world for business and pleasure (which was a huge relief to his wife and his children) without the stress or anxiety he had previously experienced. 

As a result of this, Mark initiated a meeting with easyJet and Lawrence and the Fearless Flyer course was born. 

He is absolute proof that you can overcome your fears!

Click HERE to watch an interview with Mark (in the cockpit of a light aircraft during a bumpy day!) explaining how he overcame his fears and explaining how the course can help you!

Following her first flight on a passenger aircraft at the age of 11, Maria dreamt of becoming a pilot!

Having been born and raised in Spain, she soon discovered that the influx of lady pilots into the aviation world was almost unheard of over there, so she set off to the UK with the sole intention of becoming a pilot. At her earliest opportunity, having saved some money, she undertook her Private Pilot’s Licence at Shoreham airport and shortly afterwards progressed towards her Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence.

Initially, Maria become a Flying Instructor in Sussex and then left to join the world of commercial aviation flying Turboprops and then subsequently jet aircraft.  Maria has now been with easyJet for over 15 years, initially flying the Boeing 737 and then the Airbus. She has been a Captain for over 11 years and now has more than 12000 flying hours experience. She is also a Safety Auditor Officer and has recently been awarded a Master of Science in Air Safety Management and is a qualified AAIB investigator. She is part of the Pilot Recruitment Team with easyJet and a Simulator Flight Instructor (TRI), teaching pilots to fly the A320.

“I love flying both as a pilot and as a passenger and being part of the Fearless Flyer Team gives me a great opportunity to share my passion for flying and to help you all to overcome your concerns, worries and fears that you might have about flying...so that YOU can spread YOUR wings.”

Scott has had a passion for aviation since childhood, kindled by visits to the Red Arrows as a youngster when his father worked on the Hawk jets.  At age 16 he flew solo in an Air Cadets glider, then progressed to eventually instruct others to fly.  After graduating with an Aeromechanical Systems Engineering degree he joined the Royal Air Force.  During his service Scott flew 10 different types including the Puma Helicopter and Tristar airliner.  After 18 years he retired from the RAF and started a new career in commercial aviation based at London City Airport.  He joined easyJet in 2018 and is based at London Luton Airport as an Airbus A320 Captain.

When not working Scott is a keen light aircraft pilot and instructor. He is also a display pilot, flying the historic aircraft of the Shuttleworth Collection.  He can often be found at the helm of either a First World War fighter or 1930’s Tiger Moth. 

He is married to Cherie, has two teenagers daughters and a Westie.

“I have a great love of flight and enjoy sharing this with people.  I really enjoy being part of the Fearless Flyer team and helping people over come their fears to get back in the air.”

Richard first became fascinated with flying when he was at school and gained an RAF Scholarship, where he flew solo for the very first time on aerobatic Cessna aircraft at Compton Abbas airfield near Shaftesbury.  Further RAF sponsorship followed whilst he completed an engineering degree at university, and then he joined the RAF full-time, flying a variety of aircraft, ending up on the C130 Hercules aircraft, otherwise known as ‘Fat Albert’.

Trained previously as a ‘tactical’ flight instructor, Richard taught things like low-level formation flying, air dropping of parachutists and their equipment - both by day and by night - along with air-to-air refuelling and fighter evasion.  However, after a really interesting 17 years full-time in the RAF, he decided to move on to pastures new.  But after living in Canada for a time, supporting his wife’s own training, and 3 years working in the NHS, the lure of flying again proved too much, and he found himself a job in commercial aviation flying Airbus jet aircraft, eventually joining easyJet in 2017, where he is currently a Captain based in Bristol.

When not flying, Richard is found juggling the demands of a busy wife working for the NHS with making sure their four children are in the right place at the right time with the right equipment!  However, given the opportunity, he is also partial to a blast on his bike on the local bike trails or exploring the beautiful West Country.

Richard comes to the Fearless Flyer programme with a real passion for using all the different aspects of his previous and current experience, both inside and outside aviation, to help people like you overcome your fears, allowing you to fulfil your dreams of future flight.  He is definitely looking forward to working with you to achieve that very soon!

My name is Captain Martin Jones and I am based at London Luton Airport. I am truly passionate about my job. I find it the most exhilarating experience to settle into the cruise of a flight over Europe with the spectacular views I experience.

Talking of experience, I have amassed over 15000 flying hours, the majority of which have built up flying for easyJet. Prior to this, I spent five years flying cargo aircraft and I have also previousy instructed student pilots.

When I’m not flying, I enjoy sailing and any activities that get me outdoors.

But if the weather is nice and it coincides with my days off, then I do love to fly for fun with my family and friends in a four seater aircraft that I share with colleagues.

Having joined the Fearless Flyer family, I must say that I feel such an immense pleasure empathetically passing on my knowledge to anyone who feels anxious about boarding an aircraft and helping them overcome their fears, and I very much look forward to helping you to overcome your fears too when you join us for a course!

I am Captain Kate Newton and I have been working for easyJet for nearly 10 years.

My passion for aviation started from a young age, I had lots of strong aviation role models around me while growing up as my father was a pilot in the military and later joined the commercial world. I remember walking around my house as a child wearing my dad’s flying helmet - which obviously was far too big for me!!

Before flying I went to university and completed a sports coaching degree and it was at that time that I started to play rugby and a few years later I was lucky enough to be selected to represent England and I played for the national team for a couple of seasons and then made my switch to flying. 

I absolutely love helping people and the idea that I can help you overcome your fear of flying fills me with such joy and happiness, I can’t wait to answer any questions you may have that cause you worry, and to offer you reassurance about to any of the noises or movements you hear or feel while on board your experience flight.

I am Captain Paul Elsworth and I am delighted to have been with easyJet for 24 years. 

My flying career spans 42 years flying, 18 years as a long haul pilot around the world on some of the largest commercial airliners and the past 24 years flying the latest Airbus A320 family for easyJet. I absolutely love my job. It's all I ever dreamt of doing since being a small child and I consider myself extremely lucky to have left school straight into commercial flying. 

In fact my own son was so inspired by my love of aircraft that he became the youngest commercial pilot in the world.  

I am one of the most experienced pilots in easyJet with almost 30,000 hours airborne on all types of aircraft. I am privileged to fly to many of the destinations in the network and I am looking forward with great enthusiasm and empathy to welcoming you all on our fabulous Fearless Flyer program. 

I'm Captain James Briggs and my passion for aviation began when I was 8 years old, watching planes take off from Manchester Airport with my Dad, back in the day when the viewing areas were on top of the departure gates, and you could see right into the flight decks! This sparked a lifelong interest.

But my early career steered me in a different direction, when I joined the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and served 15 years as a firefighter and instructor. I thrived in high-pressure situations and even trained soldiers in Bosnia.

My journey into aviation began in 2002. I was introduced to a pilot through a friend and after recognising I was an aviation enthusiast (AKA plane geek) he offered to take me for my first flying lesson. Under his expert instruction I gained my private pilot's licence at Blackpool Airport. Recognising my natural aptitude, he encouraged me to go for a commercial licence. However, I needed to build my flying time first. This took me on an adventure flying up and down the American East Coast!

Achieving my commercial license at Leeds Bradford Airport was a pivotal moment, unlocking doors to professional opportunities. Thomas Cook marked my initiation into the airline realm, paving the way to my current pride and joy at easyJet, where I've thus far dedicated 17 fulfilling years of service.

So, as you can see, I’m passionate about aviation and I really enjoy helping our Fearless Flyers to understand just how safe our industry is, so that they can love flying as much as I do. 

Mark has always been flying something, flying radio controlled aircraft at a young age and then joining the RAF Air Cadets, where he learnt all about aviation and flew his first solo flight. Mark is still in the Air Cadets as a Senior Gliding Instructor and Flight Safety Officer at his local Volunteer Gliding Squadron (VGS) in the Cotswolds. The VGS gives young people their first experience of flying and teaches them to fly gliders solo, with the hope that they will follow a career in aviation.

Degree educated in Electronic Engineering, Mark finished up his ‘ground career’ as a Chartered Senior Design Engineer for Motorola. The big break into commercial aviation for Mark, came with a new start up airline at Swansea Airport called Air Wales. Starting on small, nineteen seat turboprop aircraft, moving up to the larger ATR aircraft where Mark achieved his first command.

A move across the Bristol Channel saw Mark join easyJet at Bristol Airport, where he has flown to nearly all of easyJet’s destinations and clocked up over 14,000 hours of flight time in the logbook.

He is married to Claire and has two sons and a daughter. Having enjoyed flying gliders, Mark’s daughter Hannah is soon to be starting commercial pilot training and hopes to follow in her father’s footsteps!

“Our Cabin Crew often tell me about nervous passengers and when we are on the ground I always invite them to visit the cockpit. Here, I can show them what we do and answer any questions that they may have. There is no such thing as a silly question!”

I am Captain Adam Mills and I can remember as far back at the age of 7 telling my parents I wanted to be a pilot. That vision of flying large jets for a living fuelled me to pursue my first flight at the controls of a light aircraft at the age of 16 where I initially started for my Private Pilot's Licence (PPL). 

Prior to working at easyJet I served in the army for 4 years where I fixed the Challenger 2 tanks, which certainly came in useful with the technical side of the job now as well as those important leadership skills. 

I attained my flight licences with a flight school which took me to New Zealand for 9 months and the rest was completed back in the U.K. over a period of 11 months. 

After completing flight school I successfully applied for a position at easyJet and I have been with them now for over 10 years and accumulated over 6000 hrs of flying experience. I’m currently based at Liverpool which is a short commute from my home county of Cheshire. 

I’ve really enjoyed my time with easyJet and can’t imagine working for anyone else. Over the years I’ve met many anxious flyers and helping them continue their journey with us in confidence has been most rewarding, and I look forward to meeting those of you who join us through the Fearless Flyer course so I help to build your confidence too, so you can start to enjoy flying as much as I do. 

Pablo is Spanish Architect who moved to London in 2011 to pursue his dream to work for an internationally renowned architecture practice. Since 1998 he had suffered from a fear of flying after a very turbulent flight from Miami to Madrid. As a result Pablo had to resort to travelling by train all the way from Spain to London in order to avoid flying and his phobia impacted on him both professionally and personally, as he was unable to fly for work or to visit his friends and family back home!

 It took 16 years for Pablo to pluck up the courage to do something about his phobia and as a result, in 2014, he participated in our Fearless Flyer course in Gatwick. By his own admission he was so nervous at the start of the process that he walked into the ground course with tears in his eyes, but by the time he completed the ground course 3 hours later, he felt ready for the flight. And after 16 years of being grounded, he took to the skies fearlessly and now there’s no stopping him! Since attending the course he has taken over 400 flights (428 to be precise) to various destinations all around the world and now averages an impressive one flight per week and he has even worked on the design of a major international airport. He is now also one of our course ambassadors and regularly comes back to our Gatwick course to share his experience and join the course participants on both the ground course and the experience flight.

He says “it is unbelievable how easy it was to get rid of my phobia and it has had such a positive impact in my life. So I’m delighted to be a Course Ambassador so I can come back and share my experience with other people and show them how it is actually possible to overcome a fear of flying. If I can do it, anyone can!”