A man who grew up on a council estate and is now flying high with a multi-million pound business has revealed how he did it.
Lee Savage, 33, grew up in Northern Ireland with his two older siblings and his parents.
He spent five years working in a local factory before he was able to follow his dreams and become a full-time martial arts coach.
He established his own business, Savage Martial Arts, which has started to expand - globally.
It now boasts academies throughout Ireland and more to come across the UK, in Spain and in America.
Lee, from Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, told Belfast Live about his journey to success and what has kept him going the past ten years.
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"I grew up on a council estate and had a really great upbringing," he said.
"I went to a local school in Carrickfergus at Downshire, didn't get the best of grades but went down the engineering route.
"My dad and brother are both engineers, and I thought that was where I wanted to go.
"Before that, my dad put me into martial arts at the age of four, so I got very good at it and would compete a lot. I never gave that up - it's been my passion from a very young age.
"I left school and went to tech then did a few engineering courses, and got an apprenticeship in a local factory to become a maintenance engineer.
"If I'm honest, I spent five years doing that, and literally hated every second of it.
"I was teaching martial arts on the side as a hobby. The day I passed my apprenticeship, it was the day I handed my notice in.
"I had it hidden in my locker for the past two years just waiting for the day I would qualify because I don't quit anything so wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't pass my qualifications.
"Back then, in 2011, I handed the notice into my manager who asked what I was planning to do, which factory I was going to be in, and whether I had a new job lined up.
"I told him I was going to go and teach martial arts full-time and he literally laughed in my face and told me my job was safe there and that I'd be an idiot to leave. I just said I wanted to follow my passion."
Despite not knowing anyone working full-time as a martial arts coach, he took a chance with some second-hand equipment and hasn't looked back.
Lee said: "I left and was out on my own. I started out with a second-hand gym bag, second-hand gloves, and second-hand equipment as it was all I could afford.
"I began teaching. I invested in a van and built up quite a large martial arts after-school programme. It took me nine months to get into my first school. I rang up every single Monday to my local schools and asked if they had any space for me to come in and teach.
"I phoned them that many times, they used to phone me first thing on a Monday to tell me not to call them. I kept phoning and persevered."
After his teaching became a success, Lee went one step further and opened his first martial arts academy in Carrickfergus.
This was followed by a second branch in Bangor, and a third in Belfast.
"We transform thousands of lives," the dad-of-two added.
"When people think of martial arts they think punching and kicking, but what we focus on is life skills.
"We help young people develop confidence, focus, we have letters that go into their teachers to make sure they're getting the grades they should in school.
"No matter how good you are at martial arts, it doesn't mean you'll get a black belt. You have to live with black belt excellence as we say."
In the 10 years since starting Savage Martial Arts, Lee has transformed the lives of thousands of children through the sport.
They stick to the motto "building a better world and better community one black belt at a time", which relates to everyone involved in their martial arts community.
He said: "One of my head instructors, he was one of my first students when he was eight years old. He came up through the ranks and his mum wanted him to go to university, but he wanted to teach martial arts.
"When he was 18, his mum phoned me and said would I tell him to go to university. I was always telling him you can do whatever you want in life. We always say 'yes I can' so if you say you can, you can.
"He did go to uni for one day, then he left and I offered him a full-time job, and his mum phoned me six months after to say thanks and that he's never been happier.
"It's been a lot of hard work. Looking back, it doesn't feel that long ago I was working in a factory. If you put the work in, you get it out - I feel really blessed."
