Hiya, I'm Chris.
I've been fixing tech for as long as I can remember. Working out how my own brain works took a bit longer. In 2021, in my forties, I was diagnosed autistic and a lot of things suddenly made sense.
These days I fix tech over live video calls for Currys, co-chair the Disability at Currys Network, film stories for Neurodiversity in Business and write about the things people think but don't say about neurodiversity at work.
geek
Finalist, Role Model of the Year · Neurodiversity in Business Awards 2026
From the repair bench to the awkward questions.
I started out running my own call-out computer repair business in North Yorkshire. In 2013 I joined Knowhow in Newark as a laptop engineer and I've been with the business ever since, through Dixons Carphone to Currys: desktop technician, product researcher, continuous improvement specialist and now Repair Live Technician.
Turns out a brain that loves patterns, processes and getting to the bottom of things is handy when someone's laptop won't switch on. It's just as handy for spotting why a workplace isn't working for the people in it.
For a long time I didn't feel like I belonged. I'd spent years building coping strategies without knowing what I was coping with. The diagnosis didn't change who I am. It changed how I understood who I am, which turned out to be the bigger deal.
I blogged my way through it as it happened. Fixing Me was meant to be four chapters. I wrote three. The fourth is on its way.
Since then I've stopped keeping my head down. I co-chair the Disability at Currys Network, volunteer behind the camera for NiB and, every Wednesday, take one thought people have about neurodivergent colleagues and answer it honestly in Structured Common Sense.
What I'll happily talk about.
For teams, managers, colleague networks and anyone who'd rather hear it from someone who's lived it.
Adjustments, from both sides of the desk
What they are, why they aren't favours and what managers are really worried about when they hesitate.
Colleague networks
Starting one, growing one and keeping it going when everyone's busy, from someone who co-chairs one.
Late diagnosis, told straight
Finding out in my forties, what changed, what didn't and why coping isn't the same as costing nothing.
Video that lets people talk
Filming and editing interviews so people can tell their own stories in their own words, as I do for NiB.
A few things you might be wondering.
Why HDD23?
Hard disk drives have fascinated me for years (I even capitalise them) and so has the number 23. Put the two together and you've got a domain name.
100km in one go
In 2015 I ran the 100km Race To The Stones non-stop. I wrote about it at the time.
Prime numbers, for fun
I've written about the Riemann Hypothesis because I wanted to. Twice. Everything from those years lives in the archive.
Want me to talk to your team?
Talks, panels, network sessions, video projects or just a chat about making work make sense for neurodivergent people. I'd love to hear from you.