About Me

The Story Behind Elysium London

I’m a young Pakistani Muslim man, born and raised in South London. I’ve lived through the very inequalities that flood today’s headlines; youth violence, poverty, air pollution, and silent, generational health disparities. But I was lucky.

My father came to the UK in the 1970s and, through sheer determination, built a business from nothing. His travel agency – King’s Travel, still sits on Tooting High Street today. I was raised inside it. By the age of 10, I was answering phones, handling bookings, learning how to serve clients, and absorbing the grit and rhythm of running a small business. That front desk was my first school, a lesson in community, character, and survival.

By 2020, I was training as a financial advisor and working in estate planning when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The markets collapsed. The world shifted. And I realised I was building a future that didn’t match the fire inside me. So I walked away.

That same year, I joined Centric, a Black-led community research organisation with a radical mission: to train people from overlooked communities to become researchers in their own right. To flip the research dynamic. To generate data that told the truth. Over the next few years, I helped scale Centric into a nationally recognised model of inclusive, community-led research.

I trained hundreds of people across the UK. I brought in significant funding, much of it invested directly into the communities I grew up in. I partnered with NHS trusts, universities, and major funders. I helped design multi-million pound strategies. But the most important work wasn’t in the boardroom. It was on the pavement, walking the estates, sitting in community centres, listening to people who rarely get asked. Through that work, I realised this problem wasn’t just about data, it was structural.

I saw underfunded charities led by brilliant leaders burning out under systems not built for them. I saw researchers with good intentions still missing the mark. I saw institutions trying to do better, but too disconnected from the realities on the ground. And I saw a gap, a missing link between lived experience and institutional power. So I built Elysium London.

Elysium is a direct response to what I’ve lived and learned.

It’s a research and strategy consultancy that helps institutions, charities, and social ventures design inclusive, credible, community-rooted research that doesn’t just tick boxes, it builds trust, and drives change. From the front desk of a travel agency to the strategy rooms of the NHS, I’ve sat on both sides of the table. I know what it takes to bring insight to life and to make it matter.

Through Elysium, I now work with public bodies, research institutions, and grassroots changemakers to:

• Build inclusive research strategies
• Deliver high-integrity participatory research
• Train internal teams to work with communities, not on them
• Shift insight into action that strengthens credibility and drives equity

This isn’t about good intentions, it’s about better outcomes. I’ve made it my life’s work to turn insight into action, and to help others do the same Whether you’re building something new or trying to shift something long-standing, I’d love to support your next step.