Paul O'Brien ADI

Paul spent more than 20 years in retail convenience management — running a Co-op and then four Tesco stores — before deciding that coaching people was the part of the job he actually loved. Teaching people to drive lets him do exactly that, with a work–life balance that lets him enjoy his young family.

Learners describe him as calm and patient — the sort of instructor who never raises his voice and never makes you feel silly for asking something twice. Nervous learners, and those who've had a bad experience elsewhere, get on especially well with him.

Away from lessons, Paul is an F1 fan (with Belgium and Hungary already ticked off the race calendar), a Half Ironman finisher, and a golfer whose name has made it onto the Harborough Golf Club honours board. His dream garage would start with an Aston Martin DB9.

He's also the creator of our free browser Driving Sim — it lets you get a feel for the road before your first real lesson.