About me

Angus Kennedy

Angus Kennedy is a bestselling British author, speaker, media personality and the world’s first anti-self-help guru. Once dubbed the “Real-Life Willy Wonka”, he rose to media prominence as Britain’s leading chocolate expert through his work as editor of Kennedy’s Confection magazine and founder of the London Chocolate Forum. Now known as Mr Negativity, Angus is challenging the toxic positivity peddled by the self-help industry with his upcoming book, The Positivity Trap — a radical call to stop pretending that life is great and start embracing reality as it really is.

Angus Kennedy is a British author, public speaker and former chocolate industry insider now on a mission to call out the billion-dollar positivity and self-help industries.
Once dubbed “the Real-Life Willy Wonka”, Angus – the former editor
of Kennedy’s Confection, the leading
trade magazine for the sweets
and chocolate industry – became
a fixture in the global media,
appearing on BBC, ITV, Channel 4,
Bloomberg and Al Jazeera, among
many others. He also founded the
London Chocolate Forum, now one
of the world’s largest gatherings
of chocolate professionals.
But after a series of personal
setbacks including career loss,
divorce and near-homelessness

“

It’s time we stop trying to fix ourselves, because we’re not broken… the world is!

Angus Kennedy

Overview

  • The Chocolate Years
For over 30 years, I edited Kennedy’s Confection, a global trade journal for the sweets industry. I tasted chocolate for a living, travelled the world, appeared on TV, and built a career most people would envy. But behind the glossy surface, I was crumbling. It looked like a dream job—but it wasn’t my dream. I was smiling for the cameras while silently falling apart. That double life forced me to ask one question that changed everything: Why do we pretend we’re okay when we’re not?
  • Breaking the Spell
I pretended to be happy for over three decades. I followed the rules: stay positive, be grateful, don’t complain, think happy thoughts. Manifest it. Journal it. Visualise the dream. But when the dream didn’t come, I didn’t question the system—I blamed myself.

It wasn’t me. It was the culture.

And once I saw that, I couldn’t unsee it. I believe we need to stop sugarcoating pain and start telling the truth. Healing doesn’t begin with another affirmation—it begins when we finally admit how we really feel.
  • The Positivity Trap
Now I’m writing my ninth book, The Positivity Trap—a bold, no-nonsense manifesto that exposes the toxic lies of the self-help industry and the cult of positivity. This isn’t another “you’ve got this!” pep talk. This is a wake-up call. It’s the start of a global truth-telling movement—with a new book, a major live event, and an online program designed to help people stop pretending, start feeling, and finally live free
  • Still Human
I live in Kent, UK with my five amazing kids, far too many books, and just enough chocolate to keep things ironic. Yes—I still love it. Because I’m still human. Just like you.

My Journey

  • Early Years – From Loss to Survival

I was born in Archway, North London. Life was relatively normal until, at just 10 years old, I lost my father unexpectedly. Everything changed after that. My mother, heartbroken and overwhelmed, turned to alcohol—and I had to grow up fast.

By the age of 11, I dropped out of school to care for her. I failed all my exams and was labelled a write-off. But even then, without parents to guide me, I had something else: an unshakable belief that life could be different.

  • Carving My Own Path

Somehow, against the odds, I found my way through. I eventually rowed for England and won at Henley. I became a father to five incredible children. And in 2022, I started over once again—this time, rediscovering my voice through writing.

 

My career began in publishing at age 19 and spanned more than 30 years. I became known as the world’s leading chocolate expert—travelling the globe, appearing on television, and living a life many would dream of. But beneath it all, I wasn’t living my dream. I was successful on paper—but deeply unhappy.

  • End of a Cycle

In 2021, everything came crashing down. During COVID, the publishing business declined, was eventually sold, and I lost my job. My 25-year marriage ended. We sold our home. I found myself financially wiped out, alone, and, at times, without a place to call home.

  • 50 Years of Bad Luck—or a Wake-Up Call?

After decades of trying every self-help tool I could find, nothing truly worked. I planned everything—and almost nothing went the way I wanted. The world felt broken, angry, and disconnected. But I realised it wasn’t just me.

So I stopped trying to “fix myself” and started listening to something deeper. I stopped tuning into the wrong influences and started tuning into the truth. And that changed everything.

  • Speaker & Truth-Teller

Through it all, I discovered something I truly love: inspiring others by telling the truth. Whether I’m speaking at schools, colleges, or live events, nothing moves me more than connecting with people and reminding them they’re not alone.

I don’t speak to impress—I speak to connect. To show that no matter how far down you fall, there’s always a way back up.

  • Today

I’ve rebuilt my life from the ground up—not through self-help or forced positivity, but through brutal honesty and bold reinvention. I started a property development and building company in Kent—not because I was “happy and grateful” but because I was finally real about where I was going.

Everything I once planned failed. Most of the things that worked weren’t planned at all. That’s why I created a new philosophy, captured in my book: The Positivity Trap.

It’s working—after 30 years of setbacks. And all because I finally turned my back on the idea that I needed to be fixed.

  • My Mission
Today, I dedicate my life to what I believe is the most urgent conversation of our time: helping people break free from the illusion that they’re broken. We’ve lost control of our own lives—and it’s time to take it back. My mission is to help humanity stop living on autopilot and start leading with truth. To reclaim what makes us human—and to build a better world, one brutally honest conversation at a time.

This is the Re-Human Race. Let’s win the race and make it happen
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