Future Faced

Director

Occupational Health Consultancy Ltd

Marketing Executive

Occupational Health Technician 

The Origin Group

Digital Marketing Consultant

If you've made it this far, welcome. 

Who am I?

Someone that believes success is a choice.
Someone that doesn't want to follow the normal path. 
Someone that wants to become extremely competent in any realm.

Three goals of mine:
Location Freedom - Completed ✔️
Financial Freedom - Under heavy construction 🚧
Time Freedom - Yet to start ⭕

I am gradually becoming an entrepreneur, slowly building many ventures to occupy my time. 

Future Faced Ltd is my first company. 
We offer web design, social media marketing, and personal branding services. 

Always open to new business opportunities, feel free to reach out.

Daniel Jay Lyle

Co-Founder at Unyfy | Use us as your shortcut to success. We focus on optimising your LinkedIn strategy, discovering what sets you apart from your competitors, and converting followers into opportunities. ⚡️

Your next big client just hired your competitor. Not because they're better. Because they showed up and you didn't.

Think about it. While you've been perfecting your service, they've been perfecting their story. Now they own the conversation in your market. Their posts are building relationships with prospects you don't even know exist yet.

By the time someone needs what you offer, your competitor is already the trusted voice in their head. You never even got a chance to compete.


This is the pipeline crisis no one talks about:

Your competitors aren't winning today's deals. They're locking in next year's revenue right now. Every post they write is a relationship you'll never have. Every story they tell is a future client choosing them over you.

The math is brutal: They're building trust with 50+ prospects every week while you're invisible. That's 2,600 warm relationships per year. All yours for the taking. All going to someone else.


We help founders build tomorrow's pipeline through today's stories.

My team and I transform your expertise into narratives that make you the obvious choice before prospects even start looking. No templates. No hacks. Just strategic storytelling that turns LinkedIn into your most powerful sales asset.

The result: You stop chasing deals and start attracting them. Your competitors start copying you instead of the other way around.


Every day you wait, the gap widens. Your future clients are forming relationships right now.

DM me "STORY" to take back your market.

Because your competitors aren't smarter than you.

They just started their story six months sooner.

Matt Wheeler-Barrett

Your circle will either lift you or limit you.

There's no middle ground.

Yesterday's Sunday lunch proved it again.

Four of us around a table. Not complaining about clients or crying about the economy.

We were breaking down real problems. Building real solutions.

One mate's scaling his agency. Another's raising capital. I'm figuring out how to help more founders tell better stories.

Three hours later, we'd made connections that'll turn into deals and solved problems that had been stuck for weeks.

This is what the right people do.

They don't tell you to slow down when you're building momentum.

They don't make you feel guilty for caring about your work.

They don't drain your energy with their own limitations.

I spent years around people who thought ambition was a dirty word.

"Why are you always working?"
"You need better work-life balance."
"Just be happy with what you have."

They meant well. But their ceiling became my ceiling.

Here's what nobody tells you:

The people who say you're "too obsessed" are usually the ones with nothing worth obsessing over.

They're not protecting you. They're protecting themselves from feeling inadequate.

Your growth makes them uncomfortable because it highlights their inaction.

So they try to pull you back down to their level. Make you feel wrong for wanting more.

I'm done with that.

Now I spend Sundays with people who get it. Who push forward instead of pulling back.

The difference is mental.

Old crew: Complained about problems.
New crew: Solves them.

Old crew: "That'll never work."
New crew: "How can we make it work?"

Old crew: Killing time.
New crew: Building futures.

Choose your circle carefully.

Because you'll either rise to their level or sink to it.

Matt Wheeler-Barrett 

Co-founder @ Unyfy | Most people sound like everyone else | We make your story impossible to ignore (and profitable) | DM me “story” to get started.

It all started with 571 Matts in a WhatsApp group.

I promise this is not a joke. There is genuinely a WhatsApp group in Cape Town that I am on.

Last year, we were looking for another copywriter and I thought it would be a good idea to share the job opening there.

That is when I received a private message from Matthew Lee, asking if there was a way he could work with us, as he was eager to get into the working world alongside his studies.

Yesterday, we officially signed a dream client (especially for me, as I have such a passion for this client's business).

And the build-up to that deal being signed was the epic work that Matthew has been doing alongside me, which helped get this deal over the line.

We are now working full-time on this client together.

To anyone studying or to anyone who is looking to get out there, we are working on a plan for you.

Big things coming next year.

----

P.S. Tag your favourite Matt.

Co-founder @ Unyfy | Turn your story into real revenue.

Everyone thinks you need to be understood by everyone.

But I actually prefer being misunderstood.

Early in my journey, I tried desperately to fit in. I thought it mattered if everyone liked me.

Proper waste of energy, that was.

Because honestly? I don't get people who bang on about their big ideas at every networking event but never actually do anything.

I don't get people who treat others like shit just to feel important.

I don't get people who mock others for having a go.

But here's what took me ages to realise - I don't need them to get me either.

Not everyone will understand you. And that's actually brilliant.

When you're misunderstood, you stop watering yourself down. You don't compromise on stuff that matters. The right people find you anyway.

When you're misunderstood, you get comfortable being uncomfortable. You build thicker skin. You try things others won't even consider.

When you're misunderstood, you stop asking for permission. You create without worrying what they'll think. 

You bring ideas that make people go "that's mental" - until it works.

Look, I spent years trying to fit in.

Now I focus on my path. My goals. What actually matters to me.

The right people? They'll get it.

And those who don't?

They were never your people anyway.

Founders are about to torch their personal brands with ChatGPT.

(Most of them do not even realise they are holding the match.)

Everything is starting to look the same.

Same prompts.
Same frameworks.
Same so-called high-performing hook lists.

LinkedIn is turning into one giant copy-and-paste parade.

But here is the twist:

The founders with messy, imperfect, badly written content are the ones breaking through.

Not because the writing is good.

But because it is theirs.

Meanwhile, the polished AI-crafted posts are disappearing into the background noise.

Why?

We have hit peak polish.

Everyone sounds so professional that professional now means absolutely nothing.

It is like everyone moved into identical glass apartments
and then wondered why nobody stands out.

Here is the uncomfortable truth:

If your content sounds like ChatGPT,
your audience assumes your thinking does too.

Founders cannot afford to look replaceable.

Look:

The posts that are taking off right now are not the perfect ones.

They are the ones with texture.

1. The founder who admits they nearly shut the business down.
2. The founder who talks about losing a client.
3. The founder who confesses they were completely winging it.
4. The founder who shares the part everyone else hides.

Authenticity is not a vague instruction to be real.

Authenticity is this:

Nobody else could have written it.

And here is the part founders do not want to swallow:

AI is not killing originality.
Founders are, because they are trying to sound smarter than they actually are.

Give it ninety days.

Every predictable founder will sound identical:

Same tone.
Same cadence.
Same safe leadership lessons.
Same recycled personality.

But the founder brave enough to post something raw, something slightly chaotic, something a little unhinged, will wipe the floor with everyone who played it safe.

Because perfect content builds attention.

Imperfect content builds allegiance.

I have tested both.

Every time I publish something too polished, too safe, too clever, it dies.

Every time I publish something real, full of stress, panic, mistakes, and the occasional bollocks, the pipeline fills.

Not because it is smart.

But because it is unmistakably human.

Here is the truth:

Your competitive advantage is not better prompts.

It is a stronger pulse.

Your unfair advantage is not polish.

It is personality.

And the irony?

AI has made humanity rare again.

And rare always goes further.

⸻

Ready to turn your messy reality into a founder-led brand people actually feel?
DM me STORY and let us build something real.

The hidden reason your LinkedIn content isn't landing:

(It's not the algorithm, mate)

You're too busy trying to impress.

When you should be trying to help.

Here's why your posts are getting ignored:

1. You're flexing instead of helping.
2. You're posting success when people crave struggle stories.
3. You're building vanity metrics, not real relationships.

The result? You're invisible. Background noise.

Here's the shift:

Stop polishing your image.

Start solving their problems.

What's your audience struggling with RIGHT NOW?

What costly mistake can you help them avoid TODAY?

When you post for them (not your ego), everything changes.

Trust builds. Loyalty follows. Revenue happens.

Because influence isn't about looking successful.

It's about being useful when it counts—and staying human always.

If you lean too heavily on AI, your content starts looking like wearing Birkenstocks with socks in the middle of summer.

(It just doesn't look right)

No offence. You do you, bro. 😆 

But here's what's properly mental about AI-fed content:

It doesn't sound like you.
It doesn't feel like you.
It doesn't smell like a real human.

Imagine this:

Someone follows you online for months. They love your "voice." Then they meet you in person and... bloody hell, you sound nothing like your posts.

Instant doubt.
Instant disconnect.
Instant "who the hell is this person?"

And trust is the whole point.

Look:

Your posts aren't there to make you look clever.

They're there to build credibility. Create familiarity. Make people think "I get this person. I'd work with them."

But that only happens when you actually show up.

Not your ChatGPT prompt.
Not your AI assistant. 

YOU! 

Here's the uncomfortable truth:

AI can support your writing. Help you think. Give you structure.

But the moment it replaces your voice? Your stories? Your screw-ups? Your opinions? Your messy thoughts? Your humour? Your rough edges?

You're not building a personal brand anymore.

You're building a template.

And templates don't build trust.

Know what does?

1. The story about how you properly failed that pitch.
2. The experience where you made a complete fool of yourself.
3. The personality that admits you googled "what is a funnel" last week.

People follow you because they see themselves in your chaos, not your ChatGPT subscription.

I tested this myself.

Posted something polished last week. Properly professional. Could've been written by anyone.

Dead silence.

Then posted about how I didn't double-check that our VAT payment went through and got slapped with a massive fine.

Pipeline filled.

Why?

Because one was real. The other was just noise.

So yeah, use AI as a tool.

But let your voice do the heavy lifting.

Because if your content doesn't sound like you...

Why should anyone trust you?

⸻

Ready to stop hiding behind templates and build something real? DM me "STORY" and let's make your voice impossible to ignore.

Don't post about your new business on LinkedIn.


Not yet anyway.

I see this constantly. Someone launches something new, immediately starts banging on about it in every post.

"We help X do Y!"
"Excited to announce our new service!"
"Here's what we can do for you!"

Meanwhile they've got zero proof it actually works.

Proper backwards, that is.

Here's what nobody tells you:

Your audience doesn't care about what you're building. They care about results. And if you haven't got any yet, you've got nothing to talk about.

Now look, building in public is brilliant. Sharing the journey, the lessons, the behind-the-scenes of developing your product. That works.

But announcing you can help people before you've refined your offer and got the data to back it up. That's where it falls apart.

Before you post a single thing about your new offer:

- Test it properly. Even if that means giving it away for free.
- Get actual feedback. Not "yeah mate, looks good" from your mates.
- Collect the data. Screenshots. Testimonials. Real numbers.
- Understand your ICP's actual problems. Not what you think they are.

Use LinkedIn for conversations first. DMs. Comments. Genuine curiosity about what's keeping your ideal clients up at night.

That's research. That's product development. That's building something people actually want.

The posting can wait.

Because when you finally do talk about your business, you'll have something real to say.

Not "we can help."

But "here's exactly how we helped."

That's the difference between noise and credibility.

Yesterday I got a message that took me straight back to a factory floor.


A few years ago, David Grobler took me around the ACEPAK factory.

I was bricking it.

He was properly respected in business. Also my mate's father. I wanted to impress him so badly.

We walked through the factory and he said something I'll never forget:

"Matt, you get your first few clients, and you make sure you hold on to them. Hopefully, like Acepak, we'll be able to say we were part of the initial success of your agency."

That stuck with me. Properly stuck.

A few months later, David passed away.

I think about that walk every second day. Not exaggerating.

Those words became the thing I measured everything against. Are we holding onto our clients? Are we doing what Dave said we should?

Look, we've lost a few along the way. Growth pains. Systems that weren't good enough yet. That's just the reality of building something.

But we never gave up on the principle.

Yesterday, Nicholas — one of David's sons — sent Nate Levinrad some killer feedback about our work (more so, Nate's killer copy!) 

Soon as I saw it, I thought of Dave.

Still thinking about him now.

Some people leave a mark on you that doesn't fade. David was one of those people for me.

And yesterday felt like proof we're doing something right.

Nobody warns you how brutal building a business actually is.

Everyone thinks they'll hit £15k months straight away. That they'll have this magical lifestyle from day one.

Proper delusional, that.

The ones who make it look easy? They've already done the invisible work. Years of it. While you were sleeping, they were grinding.

Anyone launching in 2026 expecting instant success is about to get a reality check.

Trust me, I've watched this play out enough times.

The smart systems everyone talks about? You can't skip to that bit. You earn them through doing everything the hard way first.

You start by working yourself into the ground. Testing everything. Failing at most of it.

That's when you finally understand what leverage actually means.

If building a business was simple, your mate Dave would have done it already.

He hasn't.

----

P.S. Missed my free hook doc? Get it here: https://lnkd.in/djNXzZhv

"You need to rest on weekends."

That's what everyone keeps telling me.

But here's the thing - I tried that.

Spent years forcing myself to "switch off" every Friday at 5pm. You know what happened?

I'd sit there watching Netflix, pretending to relax while my brain solved work problems anyway.

Proper waste of a weekend, that was.

Some people genuinely recharge by doing nothing. Good for them. That works for them.

Me? I recharge by building.

By finally having time to think without meetings interrupting every thought.

By working on the projects that actually matter, not just the urgent ones.

The corporate world convinced me this was wrong. That working weekends meant I was broken. That I needed "better boundaries."

But after 2.5 years building Unyfy, I've learned something:

Your energy doesn't follow a Monday-to-Friday schedule.

Some Saturdays I work 10 hours because I'm buzzing with ideas.

Some Tuesdays I work 5 hours because my brain's fried.

I follow my energy, not the calendar.

And yeah, people judge. They send articles about burnout. They worry I'm "doing too much."

Meanwhile I'm the happiest I've been in years.

Because I stopped forcing myself into someone else's schedule.

The truth nobody wants to admit?

If you love what you're building, the lines between work and life blur anyway.

And that's not a problem to fix.

It's a sign you're doing something right.

So work weekends if it energises you.

Take Wednesdays off if you need to.

Stop apologising for your rhythm.

The only person who needs to understand your schedule is you.

Perfection is a red flag.


Had an absolute awesome time running a session yesterday for Matt Lakajev's community.

And bloody hell, the penny dropped for everyone in that room.

Had a brilliant conversation with Peter Sorgenfrei during it - he shared something mental. When he's personal, vulnerable and open, his engagement goes through the roof. 

But when he's controversial or playing the good Samaritan? Just impressions, no real connection.

That's when it clicked for everyone: If you want to build a cult community, a group of loyal supporters who'll actually buy from you, you need raw, authentic, personable content. The stuff that makes people go "bloody hell, that's me."

Here's what's properly mental:

While everyone's polishing their LinkedIn presence until it shines like a new Ferrari, the founders actually winning? They're showing up with mud on their boots, brave enough to admit they nearly torched their business last month.

Think about it. When someone only shows you their highlight reel, what's your first thought?

"What are they hiding?"

But when someone shows you the full picture - the pivots, the panic, the proper disasters - something different happens.

Trust.

Real, actual, "I'd work with this person" trust.

Because everyone's failed. Everyone's pivoted. Everyone's had that 3am moment wondering if they've made a massive mistake.

The difference? Most people pretend it never happened.

While the smart ones turn it into their competitive advantage.

Your mess is your message. Your failures are your credibility.

Stop chasing perfection. Start chasing connection.

⸻

P.S. Want to see business owners doing exactly this? I'm absolutely loving the raw, authentic content from Henry Porpora and Amelia Miller.

Follow them to see what real looks like.

We’re striving to build a zero-BS culture in our agency.

During this morning’s stand-up, I told the team that there’s no such thing as a bad idea and that we should always encourage each other to speak up.

I also emphasised the importance of sharing your thoughts openly and not taking it personally when someone sees things differently. 

Challenging each other’s perspectives is exactly what leads to stronger ideas and a stress-free culture. The sooner we spot issues, the sooner we can agree on what’s not working and sort it out.

But none of this works unless leadership sets a genuine example.

If you want a culture where people feel safe to contribute, you have to show that behaviour first.

Work Culture 

My impressions are up by 270% in the last 6 months. Why? I spent more time on my hooks.

(and collected the best ones for you)

Comment "Hooks" or "👍"

Look, I've pulled together all my favourite hooks:

- Vitality hooks
- Humour hooks
- Authority hooks  
- Pain point hooks
- Storytelling hooks
- Personal brand hooks
- Offer/conversion hooks
- Thought leadership hooks
- 14 'promise' hook templates
- 25 general good LinkedIn hooks
- And some of my favourite hooks

Here's what's properly mental:

If you don't grab someone's attention with the first line, they're going to keep scrolling. Your brilliant insights? Wasted. Your valuable advice? Never seen.

Stop them scrolling by bettering your hooks with this document.

Because proper hooks? That's what separates the invisible from the impossible to ignore.

Get it here: https://lnkd.in/djNXzZhv

Questioning your worth? You're probably just in the wrong room.

Spent years thinking I was the problem. Too ambitious. Too restless. Too much.

Turns out I was just surrounded by people who thought small.

Every idea I had? "Be realistic."
Every risk? "Play it safe."
Working weekends? "You need to chill."

Heard it enough times, started believing it. I was actually apologising for wanting more. Bloody mental when I think about it now.

Then I changed rooms.

Found this group of absolute lunatics. Founders who'd failed at things I hadn't even dreamed of trying.

Told them my "crazy" idea.

They laughed. Said it wasn't crazy enough.

Same person. Different room. Completely different life.

Look, if you're constantly doubting yourself, wondering if your ideas are too big...

You're not broken.

You're just sitting at the wrong bloody table.

Find one person doing what you want to do. Just one.

Watch your "impossible" become their "Tuesday."

Stop trying to fix yourself.

Start finding better rooms.

graphical user interface, text, application, chat or text message

Can't be arsed to write today.

(But bloody hell, my brother Josh Barrett just made my day)

He wrote this brilliant review of the Checkers Sixty60 advert and I'm properly chuffed.

But here's what's mental:

Most company owners panic when their team starts posting on LinkedIn.

"They're looking for a new job!"
"They're building their exit plan!"
"They're going to steal my clients!"

Absolute bollocks.

Your team posting isn't a threat. It's free marketing you couldn't buy if you tried.

Think about it:

When Josh posts about our work, his network sees it. When Sarah shares a client win, her connections notice. When the whole team shows up? Your brand is suddenly everywhere.

But here's the uncomfortable truth:

If you're worried about your team posting, you've already lost.

Because it means you know, deep down, that you haven't built somewhere worth staying.

Look:

Your job as an owner isn't to stop people posting.

It's to build a culture so good they'd be mental to leave.

The work. The team. The growth. The respect.

Get that right, and their posts become your best testimonials.

Get it wrong, and yeah, they probably are looking.

So encourage your team to post. Champion them. Share their stuff.

Because companies that hide their people? They're usually hiding something else too.

Well done, Josh. Absolute legend.

Head of Operations at Unyfy | We make LinkedIn simple

Today I did the unthinkable.

I watched a four and a half minute ad from start to finish. At 6:30.

Like any normal person, I skip ads as fast as humanly possible. 
But this morning, I didn’t. 

What caught my attention was Dan Mace, one of my favourite South African creators. 

He collaborated with Checkers Sixty60 on a Christmas campaign.
I know, a Christmas ad for a grocery store couldn’t sound more skippable. 

But they pulled it off.

Checkers understands something many brands miss.
↳ You cannot manufacture authenticity.

But you can borrow it.

So instead of trying to make Dan fit into a Checkers ad, they let him make a Dan Mace video that happened to be about Checkers. 

His style. His voice. His story. 

That’s why it worked.
It felt human, creative and personal.
Not like a brand trying to sell, but like a creator telling a story.

It also proves that long form marketing isn’t dead.

People aren’t tired of ads.
People are tired of bad ads that don’t connect.

Amazing to see South African brands and creators doing it right.

I've sat in rooms full of people desperate to sound smart. And the smartest person there? They barely said a word.

Sounds backwards, doesn't it? We're taught that sharing opinions makes us valuable, that contributing more means we matter more.

Proper nonsense, that is.

The best leaders I've worked with don't rush to fill every silence. They ask questions, let others finish, and sit there while everyone else scrambles to fill the gap. And somehow, when they finally speak, everyone listens.

Here's what nobody tells you about listening. It's not passive. It's bloody hard work.

Put your phone away. Actually away, not face-down where you can see it light up. Stop planning your response while they're still talking, because that's not listening. That's just waiting for your turn.

Nod, use small words, and just show them you're actually there. When something's unclear, ask them to explain. "What do you mean by that?" beats pretending you understood every single time.

And here's the bit that takes real practice: sitting in the silence.

Most people can't handle a pause, so they rush to fill it with noise. But the best conversations happen when you let things breathe a bit.

You'll know you're getting it right when people start opening up more, when they come to you first, when they say "thanks for actually listening."

In a world where everyone's fighting to be heard, the ones who listen properly become impossible to ignore.

Who makes you feel genuinely heard?

taplio

The Battle

Daniel Jay Lyle

Matt Wheeler-Barrett

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreMatt Wheeler-Barrett's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Daniel Jay Lyle

Matt Wheeler-Barrett

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Matt Wheeler-Barrett's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreMatt Wheeler-Barrett's LinkedIn Performance