How a shy ex-delivery driver got to The Apprentice

A candidate on The Apprentice has said hating his job as a supermarket delivery driver started him on a path that led to a spot on the BBC show.

Frederick Afrifa, 29, moved to London from Milan when he was 12. As a teenager he represented Italy in track athletic events around Europe and he now lives in Milton Keynes.

Between 2020 and 2021 he worked as a delivery driver in the capital.

He said: "I remember there was a shift in particular where it was snowing and I had to handle this van in the snow and I almost crashed. I just sat there thinking 'mate you've got to get out of here'."

Desperate to make a change, he carried out a self-assessment and identified his biggest weakness was speaking and communication, he then focused on improving himself in those areas.

He recalled: "I was a very shy and introverted teenager... I didn't speak any English, I was in south London, I would pronounce words incorrectly and people would laugh.

"I was a professional athlete before and I knew the best way to get good at something was to just do it."

Mr Afrifa contacted local schools and offered to speak to the children about his sporting achievements, he admitted the first was "really bad" but eventually found he was being paid for the work.

Now he is the co-founder of a communication coaching business called Believe in Greatness.

"We've helped people get promotions, we've helped people get businesses... I know we've had some life changing work in our business," he explained.

Mr Afrifa has been hopeful his experiences could be useful during the reality show which sees the winner get an investment in their business from Lord Alan Sugar.

He said: "As an athlete I had to perform at my best under pressure, as a speaker I had to do my best under pressure. On The Apprentice, hopefully, that will be a great skill that will take me far in the process.

"We're going to be under a lot of pressure, my ability to speak and communicate might dig me out of a hole or get me the win in certain tasks."

He was less optimistic his delivery driver background could be as important.

He laughed: "Unfortunately those skills didn't come into play, there was no delivery van driving, but customer service, right? Making sure customers have a good time? No spoilers but we hopefully did that in episode one."

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