‘I like to get out there and inspire people’

An Old Bradfordian is using his platform as a television presenter and writer to change perceptions around Tourette’s syndrome.

Aidy Smith (2009), who grew up near Chellow Dene Reservoir, is the co-host and producer of the hit Amazon Prime television show, The Three Drinkers, and writes a wine and spirits column for The Independent.

The television personality and journalist was diagnosed with Tourette’s when he was aged seven. The disorder causes people to make involuntary sounds and movements and Aidy’s first symptoms included a twitch on the side of his neck and making whooping sounds, which led to him being made fun of.

While at the Junior School, Aidy enlisted the support of then headmaster, Stephen Davidson, to give an assembly about Tourette’s, which proved a turning point for the youngster’s school journey.

Said Aidy: “When I was at school I went through the worst symptoms of Tourette’s syndrome and kids will be kids. But when Mr Davidson told everyone through assembly what it was like to have Tourette’s, it did change how people viewed me.

“I also found that when I focused on an activity I really loved, like theatre studies, my symptoms seemed to reduce. Being in the Lower and Upper Sixth were my happiest years at BGS. I took theatre studies and I loved the teachers, Anthony Johnson and Sarah Ball, who both had a real impact on me.”

It was through BGS, on a school trip to Philadelphia, that Aidy fell in love with America. He went back to the US as part of his Lancaster University course studying advanced marketing and business management and ended up calling San Francisco home for nearly half a decade. During this time, he began volunteering at an urban winery in Silicon Valley, which led to him to falling in love with wines and spirits and eventually running a media company, called Drink Me.

As his career grew, he became The Independent’s wine and spirits columnist and started working with the leading drinks app, Vivino, as their Global Brand Ambassador, fostering a community of over 50 million users around the world. With good friends, Helena Nicklin and Colin Hampden-White, the trio later came up with the concept for a travel series surrounding drinks that put entertainment before mundane tasting notes. The Three Drinkers was born.

Said Aidy: “The three of us are good mates and we were having a chat and it dawned on us that there wasn’t a TV show about alcohol that put entertainment at the forefront; it was all about swirling glasses and tasting note talk, so we decided to make our own TV series and fund it ourselves.

“Between us, we’d worked in the industry for 36 years, so we had some really good relationships with different brands within the drinks industry. We’d worked with them for years and when we went to them with the idea of funding the show, every single one of them said yes.”

Part one of the first series aired on Amazon Prime in December 2019, with part two following in January 2020. The show is now viewed in over 170 countries and territories around the globe in 39 languages. The trio will be filming the second series this summer. Meanwhile, their award-winning podcast series ‘Bring a Bottle’ is now in its third series across major platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google podcasts.

And, since asking his former headteacher to give an assembly about Tourette’s, Aidy has continued with his mission to educate and inspire others about the disorder, using his increased public profile to do so. His Instagram account (he has more than 40,000 followers on @sypped) features issues which are close to him, whether it’s about good mental health, his experiences of being one of the few openly gay personalities in the drinks industry or having Tourette’s, a disability that is so heavily misunderstood. Future ambitions include making a documentary on the disorder which would feature on terrestrial TV.

Today, however, to watch Aidy on screen, you wouldn’t know he has Tourette’s, although when not on camera the tics are still there when he is stressed or anxious. He explained how his tics seemed to have a cycle of eight months, but years of self-taught cognitive behavioural therapy and self-coping mechanisms had allowed him to reduce them significantly. They will never disappear, but he’s learnt to live with them.

“I talk to a lot of people whose kids have Tourette’s and one of the things I always say is that education is key,” he said. “It’s more common that you think. One in 100 kids has some kind of tic disorder and you have to tell people around you so they can understand.”

Most recently, Aidy has created a series of videos in order to combat anxiety during the pandemic, called ‘Mind, Sense & Soul’. Aptly suited for the surge in mental health challenges many are facing during these times, he shares his tips on how people can live a calmer life through a variety of calming and stress-reduction techniques.

In between growing his production company and on-screen career as a proud Yorkshireman and the UK’s only television presenter with Tourette’s, it’s never a dull moment.

“I like to get out there and inspire people,” he said. “I try to share my tips on Instagram that have helped me cope with having Tourette’s during my life, share what has made me happy, and things that I care about. I’ve always believed that if you’re a nice person and you treat people well then it will come back round.”