In his early 20s Alex Partridge was one of the world’s biggest names in social media content.
The entrepreneur founded UNILAD and LADbible in quick succession, which have gone on to become two of the most popular social news and entertainment internet companies in the world.
However, behind the scenes, Partridge was wrestling with a life-long battle with ADHD which he only started to understand when he was finally diagnosed at the age of 34.
Now, a leading voice on neurodiversity, he’s turned his experiences into writing a book – entitled ‘Now It All Makes Sense’ – which he hopes will help other people with the condition.
Speaking to BusinessCloud, he said he first felt different from his peers at the age of six.
“A boy at school told me, ‘Alex, you could be one of the cool kids if you weren’t weird’,” he recalled.
“I was a very anxious child. I felt different and didn’t like being the centre of attention. One day, the teacher pointed at me and said, ‘Alex, do you know the answer to this question?’
“The whole class turned and looked at me. I ran out of the classroom and had a panic attack in the corridor.
“I thought I was having a heart attack. The ambulance was called. The paramedic told me I was having an anxiety attack.
ADHD, dyslexia and autism won’t stop me building £100m business
“My mind has always felt like 10 highly caffeinated squirrels. It made me very anxious.”
At 15 he was misdiagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
“They treated what they saw, which was a very anxious boy,” he recalled. “I was quickly prescribed anti-depressants when I was 16. ADHD was never considered.”
Despite the debilitating impact on his condition, Partridge admitted he probably wouldn’t have started UNILAD and LADbible without it.
“The impulsivity and creativity associated with ADHD is the reason I started the brands that I did,” he said.
“Being able to spot patterns, another trait I associate with the fast ADHD mind, helped me greatly in the landscape of social media.
“ADHD enabled me to hyper focus on social media algorithms. This allowed me to understand what content would have a high chance of performing well.”
Partridge founded UNILAD in 2010 when at university, and started LADbible in 2011, selling to Solly Solomou the following year.
In 2013 he was excluded from UNILAD and successfully took his two partners to court in 2017.
“I have always reacted badly to criticism and rejection,” he recalled. “I learnt about RSD – rejection sensitive dysphoria – and its connection to ADHD.
“My sensitivity to rejection was having a disabling effect on my life and I was looking for an explanation.”
It was only at the age of 34 that he was finally diagnosed with ADHD and his life started to make sense.
“The psychologist said my ADHD was ‘clear as hell’,” he said. “I remember feeling validated. I was excited to learn more about ADHD, in particular RSD, and adopt strategies to better manage it.”
Partridge has become a leading voice on neurodiversity and hosts the hit podcast ADHD Chatter, which has over 500,000 listeners every month.
He believes there are thousands of people struggling with undiagnosed ADHD.
“They should all remember that they are not broken, just different, and that they have always been enough,” he said.
Partridge thinks society – and the tech sector in particular – doesn’t fully understand neurodiversity properly.
“Having a neurodiverse workforce is always going to be a benefit to a business, but the challenges need to be understood and accommodations provided,” he said.
Partridge said he wrote his book – ‘Now It All Makes Sense’ – to help other people struggling with the condition.
“I wanted to write a book a younger version of me could read, and it would be a resource for them to start their journey of awareness earlier than I did,” he said
“I’ve spoken to 150 experts on my podcast. I wanted to condense all of my learnings into one easily digestible book.”
Now aged 36, Partridge said building self-awareness was at the heart of his ongoing management of ADHD.
“We need to understand our own core beliefs and values when you have ADHD,” he said. “It’s easy to jump into a new job, a new relationship or start a new hobby, but unless it’s aligned with our core beliefs and values, we will quit after the honeymoon period has ended.”
- ‘Now It All Makes Sense’ is available on Audible and in all good bookshops.