News Stories

A Story of Overcoming Abuse, Disability and Racism

By Roxana D. / 2019-01-31

Disabled with polio from the neck down aged 5, Mark Esho was told he would never walk again. Although he partially recovered, he had to battle against an abusive father and discrimination as a black and disabled person. But not only did he survive, Mark thrived!

 ” I was born in Leicester and enjoyed a normal childhood until, without warning, at the age of five I contracted polio. I literally went to bed a healthy child and woke up fighting for my life. I was one of the last people in the UK to contract polio and it was a severe case that left me hospitalised and paralysed from the neck down. The doctors said I would never walk again and my chance of survival was only 10%.

Despite my poor prognosis, I did survive. After many trying years in the hospital I managed a partial recovery, though I was confined to a wheelchair – a huge blow to my independence. I have since regained most of my upper body strength and am able to walk with callipers but I still consider myself disabled as with one leg fully paralysed, the other leg at 25% and one arm at 50%, I’ve only got one limb at 100%.

Unfortunately, my problems were just beginning. It was hard for me to come to terms with my disability at such a young age, and how it would affect my until-then normal life. My father on the other hand could not accept it at all. As a result I had to endure a shocking degree of physical and psychological trauma on top of my disability, which continued for most of my childhood. I had moved back to Nigeria at that time and my father would wake me up in the middle of the night with no explanation and take me out into the wilderness where a witch doctor would try to ‘cure’ me in horrific and painful ways. My father also wouldn’t let me use my wheelchair and when my callipers broke he refused to replace them.

All these trials made me stronger and I was determined to make something of myself. I knew I was capable of more. I returned to the UK and went on to university achieving a Masters degree in business administration (MBA). Equipped with this I decided to tackle the job market only to find that my disability continued to be held against me, and being black I faced open discrimination over and over again. After years in dead-end jobs, a charity finally gave me a chance and I became a manager there.

Unfortunately this brief period of stability didn’t last. In 1999 I developed post-polio syndrome. Not many people realise, but 30 to 40 years after the original instance of the disease, 80% of polio victims begin to experience muscle ache and chronic fatigue. After working so hard and fighting discrimination to secure a job, the illness forced me to quit.

However, there was a silver lining because it allowed me to develop my interest in the Internet. I had always had an entrepreneurial streak and had set up a brokerage as a teenager where I could exchange comics and adventure books with the other students. In 2000 I saw another opportunity and set up my first company, Easy Internet Services. I was completely broke and had to use using a credit card as cash flow, but I had done my research and was convinced that it would work so I took the gamble. We were one of the first companies to offer SEO services in the UK when it was very poorly understood and I ended up working for the likes of big companies like the Guardian, Co-op and Amstrad. In 2004 I noticed a gap in the web hosting market and started my second company which is based in Bournemouth. At the time people thought I was mad, but it is now the largest free web hosting provider in the UK.

I’ve been invited to meet the Prime Minister as part of a campaign to get more businesses to employ disabled people. This is a cause I am passionate about as I believe they bring a lot of skills to any role they take on. I have taken this approach in my own businesses and I also advocate for flexible and remote working. I’m a DWP partner and I have won various business awards. Last year I released my first book which discusses my story and how these difficult experiences shaped me. It is called ‘I Can. I Will’ and it became a No.1 best-seller on Amazon within 24 hours of launch.”

 
 
Check out Mark’s story by buying his book!
     
 
 
 

About Post Author

Roxana D.

See author's posts

You may also like

153 thoughts on “A Story of Overcoming Abuse, Disability and Racism”

  1. I would like to thnkx for the efforts you’ve put in writing this web site. I’m hoping the same high-grade blog post from you in the upcoming as well. In fact your creative writing abilities has encouraged me to get my own website now. Really the blogging is spreading its wings rapidly. Your write up is a great example of it.

  2. There are some interesting cut-off dates in this article but I don’t know if I see all of them heart to heart. There may be some validity however I will take maintain opinion till I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we want more! Added to FeedBurner as well

  5. Howdy! I could have sworn I’ve been to this site before but after reading through some of the post I realized it’s new to me. Anyhow, I’m definitely happy I found it and I’ll be bookmarking and checking back frequently!

  6. Its such as you learn my mind! You appear to understand a lot about this, like you wrote the e book in it or something. I think that you could do with some to pressure the message home a little bit, but instead of that, this is magnificent blog. An excellent read. I will certainly be back.

  8. Howdy, i read your blog occasionally and i own a similar one and i was just wondering if you get a lot of spam comments? If so how do you protect against it, any plugin or anything you can advise? I get so much lately it’s driving me mad so any help is very much appreciated.

  13. Hello just wanted to give you a quick heads up.

    The text in your post seem to be running off the screen in Chrome.
    I’m not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with browser compatibility but I thought I’d post to let you know.
    The layout look great though! Hope you get the problem
    resolved soon. Kudos

  14. Hi! This is kind of off topic but I need some help from an established blog.

    Is it very difficult to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty fast.

    I’m thinking about creating my own but I’m not sure where to begin. Do you have any tips or suggestions?
    Many thanks

  15. Its like you read my mind! You seem to know a lot about this, like
    you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you just
    can do with a few p.c. to pressure the message
    home a little bit, but other than that, that is excellent blog.
    A fantastic read. I’ll certainly be back.

  19. Hello, i think that i saw you visited my website thus i came to “return the favor”.I am trying to find things to improve my web
    site!I suppose its ok to use some of your ideas!!

  20. Hello very cool website!! Guy .. Excellent .. Superb
    .. I’ll bookmark your blog and take the feeds also?
    I am glad to search out numerous useful information here
    in the post, we’d like develop extra techniques in this regard,
    thank you for sharing. . . . . .

  24. Hi would you mind letting me know which web host you’re utilizing?
    I’ve loaded your blog in 3 different browsers
    and I must say this blog loads a lot faster then most.

    Can you suggest a good hosting provider at a fair price?

    Cheers, I appreciate it!

  25. Wonderful work! That is the kind of info that are supposed to be shared across the web.
    Shame on the search engines for now not positioning this publish higher!
    Come on over and seek advice from my site . Thank you =)

  26. I’m extremely impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your weblog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Either way keep up the excellent quality writing, it is rare to see a nice blog like this one today..

  27. Great V I should certainly pronounce, impressed with your website. I had no trouble navigating through all tabs and related info ended up being truly simple to do to access. I recently found what I hoped for before you know it in the least. Quite unusual. Is likely to appreciate it for those who add forums or something, web site theme . a tones way for your client to communicate. Nice task..

  29. Magnificent beat ! I wish to apprentice while
    you amend your website, how can i subscribe for a blog website?
    The account helped me a acceptable deal. I had been a little bit acquainted of this your broadcast
    provided bright clear idea

  38. The ‘Ice Maker Market’ research report provides a succinct analysis on the recent market trends. In addition, the report offers a thorough abstract on the statistics, market estimates and revenue forecasts, which further highlights its position in the industry, in tandem with the growth strategies adopted by leading industry players.

  39. I think that everything said was very logical.
    However, think on this, suppose you wrote a catchier post title?
    I am not saying your information isn’t solid., however what if you added a headline to possibly get folk’s attention? I mean A Story of Overcoming Abuse,
    Disability and Racism is kinda vanilla. You ought to look at Yahoo’s front page
    and watch how they create article headlines to grab people to open the links.
    You might try adding a video or a related pic or two to
    get people excited about what you’ve got to say. In my opinion, it would make your posts a little bit more interesting.

  41. That is very attention-grabbing, You are an excessively professional blogger. I’ve joined your feed and look forward to looking for more of your excellent post. Also, I have shared your web site in my social networks!

  42. Stay balanced. As an entrepreneur, you need to be constantly processing new information, adjusting your plan, and making decisions.”
    If you are exhausted and 100% monopolized by work, you won’t have the perspective and insight that you need to guide your venture in the right direction. Sleeping, exercising, and having a life outside of work is critical for your endurance as a human information processor and decision maker.”

  43. In 15 years as an entrepreneur, I’ve made many mistakes and I’ve seen a lot of entrepreneurs do them too. My answer is two-part since these are equally as important.”
    Falling blindly in love with an idea. Entrepreneurship needs passion, but love can be blinding. Many entrepreneurs believe in their idea so much that they fail to validate it. They tend to dismiss negative feedback on their products or neglect collecting some. And they end up missing product/market fit.

  44. Overcoming that requires taking some distance with the idea and applying intellectual honesty. My advice is to talk to potential customers or users from day 1 and for every day after that: never stop collecting feedback. We’re now 25 people on the team at Scoop.it, but I still answer support tickets and take sales calls because there’s nothing as real and valuable than a direct conversation with a customer.”
    Thinking that ideas are more important than teams. I hear a lot of first-time entrepreneurs tell me ‘I have a great idea for an app; I just need to find a technical co-founder to code it.’ But successful startups iterate their original idea constantly based on market feedback. Sometimes they even radically pivot like Paypal or Slack. Only great teams can do that, so the execution is much more important than the original concept. And it’s easier to change the idea than it is to change the team.”

  45. The most painful mistake I see most inexperienced entrepreneurs make is not delegating tasks effectively. I actually came from a nursing background where bad delegation meant someone could lose a limb–or worse, their life. The nurses that didn’t delegate would be busier, risking careless errors from trying to make up time by cutting corners. Business owners try to do the same thing.”
    I advise entrepreneurs who struggle with this problem to first get their tasks organized and written down. I like Asana for this. The tasks that they find themselves adding repeatedly are tasks that they should think about delegating. At the end of the month you need to send out invoices, add numbers to your analytics spreadsheet, etc. Find someone else to do that. The hours you save by outsourcing these types of tasks will help you focus on the things that only you can do–like plan the strategy and direction of the business.”

  46. Often I see first-time entrepreneurs struggle to organize and process feedback. When starting a company, you’ll get feedback from everyone: your early users, potential customers, investors, friends, and even your second cousin twice removed.”
    I’ve found it incredibly helpful to have a framework in place to systematically collect, prioritize, and implement product features based on customer feedback–both from customers you have, and the customers you want!”

  47. Hola! I’ve been following your site for a long time now and finally got the courage to go ahead and give you a shout out from Porter Tx!

    Just wanted to say keep up the fantastic work!

  48. First of all I want to say fantastic blog! I had a quick question that I’d like to
    ask if you do not mind. I was curious to find out how you center yourself and clear your thoughts prior to writing.
    I’ve had difficulty clearing my mind in getting my thoughts out.
    I truly do take pleasure in writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are
    generally wasted simply just trying to figure out
    how to begin. Any ideas or tips? Cheers!

  49. Fantastic post however , I was wanting to
    know if you could write a litte more on this subject?
    I’d be very grateful if you could elaborate a little
    bit further. Many thanks!

  50. Having read this I thought it was extremely
    enlightening. I appreciate you finding the time and effort
    to put this article together. I once again find myself personally spending
    a lot of time both reading and leaving comments.
    But so what, it was still worthwhile!

  51. I am really inspired with your writing abilities as smartly as with the structure to your blog.
    Is this a paid subject matter or did you modify it yourself?
    Anyway stay up the nice quality writing, it is uncommon to peer a great weblog like this
    one nowadays..

  52. I’m now not certain where you are getting your information, but great topic.
    I must spend a while studying more or figuring out more.

    Thank you for fantastic information I used to be looking for this info for my mission.

  53. Very great post. I simply stumbled upon your weblog and wished to mention that I have really loved surfing around your blog posts. After all I will be subscribing on your feed and I am hoping you write once more very soon!

  56. Whats up very cool site!! Guy .. Excellent .. Superb .. I’ll bookmark your web site and take the feeds additionallyKI am glad to search out so many useful information here within the post, we need develop extra techniques in this regard, thank you for sharing. . . . . .

  57. Hi, i read your blog from time to time and i own a similar one and i was just wondering if you get a lot of spam comments? If so how do you protect against it, any plugin or anything you can suggest? I get so much lately it’s driving me mad so any support is very much appreciated.

  58. Copper Concentrate Market unveils a succinct analysis of the market size, regional spectrum and revenue forecast about the Copper Concentrate market. Furthermore, the report points out major challenges and the latest growth plans embraced by key manufacturers that constitute the competitive spectrum of this business domain.

  59. Global Nephrostomy Catheters Market 2020 research provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications, and industry chain structure. The Global Nephrostomy Catheters market analysis is provided for the international markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status.

  60. Global Electric Fuse Market is valued at approximately USD 3.50 billion in 2018 and is anticipated to grow with a healthy growth rate of more than 4.24 % over the forecast period 2019-2026. Electric fuse is a component used to safeguard the electrical components from the high voltage current. The fuse separates and melts if there is an accident of the unnecessary rise in the current flow.

  61. I’ve been browsing online more than three hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It’s beautiful price enough for me. In my opinion, if all webmasters and bloggers made excellent content as you probably did, the net might be much more useful than ever before.

  67. Heya are using WordPress for your blog platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and set up my own. Do you require any html coding expertise to make your own blog? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

  74. Hello! I could have sworn I’ve visited this site before but after browsing through many of the articles I realized it’s new to me. Nonetheless, I’m definitely happy I stumbled upon it and I’ll be book-marking it and checking back regularly!

  80. I’m extremely impressed with your writing skills and also with the format on your weblog. Is that this a paid subject or did you modify it your self? Anyway stay up the excellent quality writing, it is rare to look a nice blog like this one these days..|

  81. I keep listening to the reports lecture about getting free online grant applications so I have been looking around for the top site to get one. Could you tell me please, where could i acquire some?

  85. I loved as much as you’ll receive carried out right here. The sketch is attractive, your authored subject matter stylish. nonetheless, you command get got an impatience over that you wish be delivering the following. unwell unquestionably come more formerly again since exactly the same nearly a lot often inside case you shield this hike.|

  88. Howdy I am so glad I found your webpage, I really found you by accident, while I was searching on Bing for something else, Anyways I am here now and would just like to say thanks a lot for a tremendous post and a all round thrilling blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to read it all at the minute but I have book-marked it and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read much more, Please do keep up the superb job.|

  90. This is the perfect website for anyone who would like to understand this topic. You realize so much its almost tough to argue with you (not that I personally will need to…HaHa). You certainly put a fresh spin on a subject which has been written about for decades. Great stuff, just wonderful!|

  91. Today, I went to the beach front with my children. I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She placed the shell to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear. She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is completely off topic but I had to tell someone!|

  97. It is the best time to make a few plans for the future and it is time to be happy. I’ve read this put up and if I may I desire to counsel you few fascinating issues or tips. Maybe you could write next articles regarding this article. I want to read more things approximately it!|

  102. Do you mind if I quote a couple of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your weblog? My website is in the exact same area of interest as yours and my users would truly benefit from some of the information you provide here. Please let me know if this okay with you. Cheers!|

  110. We’re a group of volunteers and opening a new scheme in our community. Your website offered us with valuable info to work on. You have done a formidable job and our whole community will be grateful to you.|

  111. Hey, I think your blog might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your blog in Chrome, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, awesome blog!|

  113. After looking at a few of the blog posts on your web site, I truly appreciate your technique of blogging. I added it to my bookmark webpage list and will be checking back soon. Please check out my web site as well and tell me your opinion.|

  114. Simply want to say your article is as surprising. The clearness in your post is just great and i can assume you are an expert on this subject. Fine with your permission let me to grab your RSS feed to keep updated with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please keep up the enjoyable work.|

  115. I’m really loving the theme/design of your website. Do you ever run into any browser compatibility issues? A few of my blog visitors have complained about my blog not operating correctly in Explorer but looks great in Firefox. Do you have any solutions to help fix this issue?|

  116. Greetings! I’ve been reading your weblog for a long time now and finally got the courage to go ahead and give you a shout out from Humble Texas! Just wanted to mention keep up the good work!|

  117. Hey There. I found your blog using msn. This is an extremely smartly written article. I’ll make sure to bookmark it and come back to learn more of your helpful information. Thank you for the post. I’ll definitely return.|

  120. I will right away seize your rss as I can not to find your e-mail subscription hyperlink or newsletter service. Do you’ve any? Kindly permit me recognize so that I may just subscribe. Thanks.|

  121. Simply wish to say your article is as surprising. The clarity on your put up is simply great and that i could think you’re knowledgeable on this subject. Fine with your permission allow me to clutch your feed to keep up to date with impending post. Thank you one million and please carry on the gratifying work.|

  126. I just want to say I’m newbie to blogging and site-building and absolutely savored your web page. Probably I’m planning to bookmark your blog . You amazingly have tremendous posts. Thanks for revealing your web site.

  127. Howdy very nice blog!! Man .. Excellent .. Superb .. I will bookmark your web site and take the feeds also? I’m happy to seek out numerous useful information here within the submit, we need work out more strategies on this regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . .|

  131. Hello, I think your website might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your blog site in Chrome, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, superb blog!|

  133. Hi there, just became aware of your blog through Google, and found that it is really informative. I am going to watch out for brussels. I will be grateful if you continue this in future. A lot of people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!|

  137. I don’t know whether it’s just me or if perhaps everybody else experiencing problems with your site. It looks like some of the text in your content are running off the screen. Can somebody else please provide feedback and let me know if this is happening to them too? This may be a issue with my internet browser because I’ve had this happen previously. Thank you|

  139. I just want to say I am new to weblog and actually loved your website. Most likely I’m going to bookmark your blog post . You really have outstanding well written articles. Thanks for sharing with us your web site.

  140. Its like you read my mind! You seem to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you can do with a few pics to drive the message home a little bit, but other than that, this is great blog. An excellent read. I will certainly be back.|

  141. I have been surfing online more than three hours as of late, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It is pretty worth enough for me. In my view, if all site owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the net will probably be much more helpful than ever before.|

  150. Its like you read my mind! You seem to know so much about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you could do with some pics to drive the message home a bit, but instead of that, this is wonderful blog. A great read. I will definitely be back.|

  153. Someone necessarily assist to make seriously articles I’d state. This is the very first time I frequented your web page and so far? I surprised with the analysis you made to make this actual submit amazing. Great job!|

Leave a Reply