I AM David
My core belief in life is honour and integrity. I am David, and wherever I live, love, or meet others and expect those values to be respected and upheld. If I have no honour or integrity, then I have nothing.
My parents were Eileen and Edward Ellis, who taught me that nothing in life truly matters if you do not live with love in your Heart and honour in your actions. That foundation has shaped every chapter of my life.
Who am I?
I am a simple man with simple principles. Not the sum of my achievements. I am not my past, or my mistakes, nor am I what I do, or know, and I am certainly not what I own.
To be truthful, I am simply David.
I was not a bright student at school. The beatings and bullying I endured from both teachers and fellow students did little to encourage growth. I was, and remain, an introvert. My career path was not a carefully designed strategy; it was a chance — and for an introvert, that path was often demanding.
I left school at fifteen with no qualifications. By nineteen, I was a qualified barman — at a time when bartending was a recognised trade in Ireland — and had earned a diploma in Business Management. It is remarkable how education changes when you love what you are learning.
At twenty-one, I opened my first retail store, transforming it into Dublin’s first 24-hour grocery shop. I failed. Not from lack of effort or commitment, but from lack of experience. I returned to hospitality, progressed from bar management to hotel management, and eventually opened my first restaurant — a long labour of love where I often slept on a pull-out bed in the lounge. It succeeded, but the lease did not last. I moved on, opened again, failed again, learned again.
By twenty-five, I had failed in business many times — and learned from every one of them.
From a young age, a belief lived within me: I can do it. I can be what I choose to be. When I followed my Heart, I often succeeded. When I over-analysed and listened to fear, I struggled. Failure breeds fear; fear breeds further failure. Escaping that loop is one of life’s great disciplines.
At twenty-five, I returned to hospitality in a senior management role within a leading hotel. Three years later, I stepped into consultancy — first under employment, then independently. My own consultancy became the turning point of my business life.
Over the decades, I have owned and operated businesses across hospitality, retail, consultancy, and holistic services. Each venture, whether successful or difficult, deepened my understanding of resilience, leadership, and human behaviour.
My greatest professional achievement has been The Shack Restaurant in Temple Bar, Dublin. In 1996, I took over The Chicken Shack and transformed it into The Shack Restaurant, now regarded as one of the finest traditional Irish restaurants in the city.
Yet business was only one dimension of growth.
As my journey deepened, so did my interest in human insight, universal energy, and quantum theory. I became increasingly committed to congruence — living truthfully and without manipulation. I made a personal vow never to lie, manipulate, or harm others in pursuit of ambition or identity.
In 2000, I qualified as a therapist, combining lived experience with academic study to help clients reduce stress, manage anxiety, and rebuild self-belief. I believe that through non-judgmental, empathetic listening, people rediscover that they already possess the tools to disengage from fear and move forward without shame.
Alongside this, my love of food never faded. A passionate chef and confessed foodie, I take pride in creating dishes enjoyed by guests from around the world. In 2013, I wrote Cooking with The Shack Restaurant, now in its second edition — a collection inspired by childhood memory, family tradition, and refined hospitality.
Today, I oversee my restaurant in Dublin while mentoring emerging entrepreneurs and supporting individuals one-to-one through challenges of confidence, depression, addiction, and personal transition. The greatest reward is witnessing human growth — watching individuals step into their own potential.
My writing reflects this same journey.
I write from lived experience, not theory. My voice is reflective yet assertive, principled yet personal. Whether exploring business, hospitality, resilience, or heart-led living, I examine not only what happened but why it mattered. Themes of honour, accountability, integrity, and self-awareness run through my work. I do not write to instruct, but to invite reflection.
Conviction-led. Experience-shaped. Heart-guided.