What A Difference A Day Makes: Taliban battle made me realise what matters in life

After building a strong following in Belfast and Bristol, Juice Jar CEO Sam Shephard opened the brand’s first store in the Republic, on Dublin’s Dawson St, this spring. By mid-July, it had welcomed 62,000 customers and served 15,000 açaí bowls

Juice Jar Founder Sam Shephard, pictured at the Juice Jar flagship store on Dawson Street, Dublin. Picture Brian McEvoy

I joined the Royal Marines as an officer in 2011. We did 64 weeks of the longest, hardest training in Nato. 

The prize for passing out was the top six going straight to Afghanistan. I was one of the six — on a plane 12 days later, December 2012.