I knocked on that door… so can you

Investment analyst Reggie Nelson backs more mentoring for youngsters hit by the pandemic. Thomas Kingsley reports

- Thomas Kingsley

REGGIE NELSON, the investment analyst and BBC podcaster from east London, has backed our appeal to upskill jobless young people and get them into work, calling it “especially needed” because they have borne the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Before his rise to success, Reggie, 26, dreamt of becoming a footballer. His contingency plan was to work as a postman. Growing up in an economically deprived area, he said a lack of visible career options left him and his peers with limited aspirations. “Everyone either becomes a footballer, a musician, or a criminal — and when you’re younger you try all three,” he said.

“I tried the music — I was never good at music — and my mum was never going to let me be a criminal, so those two options were exhausted and football was the one thing I thought I had a talent at, so I thought, let me pursue it.”