Dean is only 22 but he’s already qualified as an actor, fitness instructor and personal trainer. He moved to London from the South East after leaving a difficult family situation.
When he was forced to give up the room he’d been staying in he found himself on the streets. To make matters worse he had his bag, laptop and passport stolen while sleeping rough. However none of this stopped him from completing his training course at a gym – and being inventive: “One time, I tried to sleep at the gym and decided to hide in a cupboard until they closed”, he recalls, “but I suddenly realised the room was being used for a meeting and at the end someone opened the cupboard and discovered me and found out I was homeless.” He was expelled and kicked off the course. “But”, he smiles, “the next day I was allowed back and even got an apology!”
Dean began acting when he was 17. He misses the atmosphere of the theatre and would love to go back to it. Who does he admire as an actor? “Tom Hardy because he avoids being stereotyped and recreates himself all the time and Johnny Depp.”
Dean says that since arriving at the Shelter he has grown up a great deal and been able to take more responsibility for himself. “If I hadn’t come here, I don’t know where I’d be”, he reflects. He says it’s also changed his view of homeless people, and he believes many of his fellow guests have great potential. He’s even acted as a personal trainer for some of them. However Dean is determined to leave; “I want to take my life back”, he says. He’s hugely passionate about fitness, training and nutrition, and he spends his days looking for work. One day, he’d love to own his very own gym. While being a successful actor, of course.