Oly Newton

(he/him)

Oly Newton

LightsOnXP

Founder

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Oly Newton is a mental health speaker and founder focused on using lived experience to drive meaningful change in workplaces and communities. As Founder of LightsOnXP, he delivers high-impact programmes that help organisations build healthier cultures while funding support for young people across the UK. Drawing on his own experiences with mental health, Oly works with organisations to reduce stigma, encourage early intervention and create lasting cultural change. His work combines storytelling, training and community impact, helping businesses connect purpose with measurable social value.

Sessions

Oly Newton

Sam Thomas

Max Marshall

Tanya Marwaha

The Power of Storytelling: The Voices We Needed When We Were Younger

Oly Newton will open the session by sharing his personal story, a journey shaped by early warning signs from the age of 7, living with severe OCD, battling anxiety and depression, navigating ADHD, and reflecting on losing over a decade of his adult life to mental illness. Four years ago, he set out to put himself in the most uncomfortable position possible, standing on stage and sharing his story in the hope it would help him regain control of his life. Since then, he has shared his story with some of the world’s largest organisations. One thing Oly did differently from the start was build a model with purpose. Every time a corporate booked him for a keynote, he asked them to sponsor a school. Through his own journey, he knows early intervention is vital, and that real stories can create the conversations that so often go untold. Through this approach, he has delivered sponsored talks and programmes to over 80,000 young people across 190 schools in the UK. He will then be joined on stage by a panel of changemakers, including Tanya Marwaha, a multi-award-winning lived experience practitioner, strategist and international speaker specialising in youth mental health, equity, cultural competency and inclusive leadership, Sam Thomas, entrepreneur, podcast host and founder of You Alright Mate?, and Max, all united by a shared mission to impact 1 million young people by 2030.

Oly Newton

Sam Thomas

Max Marshall

Tanya Marwaha

The Power of Storytelling: The Voices We Needed When We Were Younger

Oly Newton will open the session by sharing his personal story, a journey shaped by early warning signs from the age of 7, living with severe OCD, battling anxiety and depression, navigating ADHD, and reflecting on losing over a decade of his adult life to mental illness. Four years ago, he set out to put himself in the most uncomfortable position possible, standing on stage and sharing his story in the hope it would help him regain control of his life. Since then, he has shared his story with some of the world’s largest organisations. One thing Oly did differently from the start was build a model with purpose. Every time a corporate booked him for a keynote, he asked them to sponsor a school. Through his own journey, he knows early intervention is vital, and that real stories can create the conversations that so often go untold. Through this approach, he has delivered sponsored talks and programmes to over 80,000 young people across 190 schools in the UK. He will then be joined on stage by a panel of changemakers, including Tanya Marwaha, a multi-award-winning lived experience practitioner, strategist and international speaker specialising in youth mental health, equity, cultural competency and inclusive leadership, Sam Thomas, entrepreneur, podcast host and founder of You Alright Mate?, and Max, all united by a shared mission to impact 1 million young people by 2030.