The Story of Kyne is really the story of Ray Staines, our founder. In his own words:

From an early age, I had two separate and conflicting identities.

At 14, I could build a radio transmitter and understand Einstein's theories of relativity, but at school I was in the lowest sets for everything and couldn't pass an exam to save my life.

This created a profound confusion that developed into behavioural problems and alcohol and drug abuse. At age 21, I suffered a severe psychotic breakdown.

Although this hurt like hell, it was a blessing in disguise; a reset moment that turned my life around. In a rare moment of clarity, I realised that from this low point, the only way was up and that I faced a stark reality: either swim against the tide or sink like a stone.

So I swam...

By age 39, I had developed several successful businesses and decided to enrol as a mature student at Falmouth Marine School. That was when I was diagnosed with dyslexia and language processing disorder. Given the high marks I was achieving (I even got 100% marks in physics for a couple of assignments), I realised that I Could Have Been a scientist or an engineer if the door hadn't been closed by undiagnosed dyslexia.

I found out I wasn't alone:

• According to the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) 80% of dyslexia goes undiagnosed in our schools.

• One in five school leavers struggle to read and write (National Literacy Trust)

• 7 million adults have very poor literacy skills. (National Literacy Trust)

• 57% of the prison poulation have a reading age of 11 or lower. (Ministry of Justice)

• According to the OECD illiteracy costs the UK economy £37 billion.

Realising the size of the problem, I decided to use my personal experience to make a difference. The rusult was Kyne.