From the broken pieces,
I shaped a story worth sharing......
Robert Gillett — Beneath The Tracksuit
I’m a spoken word artist, author, and MS advocate. Writing became my release after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 26. What started as survival turned into a voice that speaks through poetry, performance, and raw honesty.
My Journey
At twenty-six, life hit me harder than I could have imagined. One day I was just a lad with dreams, the next I was living with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. The early years were brutal — walking with a stick, losing my vision through optic neuritis, constant falls, months of brain bleeds after an accident. But even with all that, it wasn’t just the physical fight. It was the invisible symptoms, the battles no one could see, that almost broke me.
That’s when writing found me.
I never set out to be an author, or a spoken word artist. I just needed somewhere to put the weight I was carrying. Every line became a lifeline, every poem a way to breathe when the walls were closing in.
Out of that survival came my first books — Thoughts of a Warrior, A Diagnosis Journey, I Don’t Like Poetry. Each page was me spilling truth, refusing to sugar coat the fight. Then came End of Chapter 36, a collection that felt like closing one chapter of my life to step into another.
From the page, the words grew into spoken word. What started as scribbles in notebooks turned into tracks, live performances, and a way to connect with people who needed to hear: you’re not alone in this.
Why I Do This?
My work isn’t polished or picture-perfect — it’s real. I talk about the things most people hide: pain, survival, mental health, resilience. Beneath the tracksuit, behind the forced smile, there’s a story worth telling.
If my writing or music reaches even one person who feels seen, who feels a little less invisible in their own struggle, then it’s worth it.
Thank you for being here.
Stick around, read the words, listen to the tracks, and if they connect with you — share them, carry them, make them part of your own fight. We’re stronger when we tell the truth about what we’re living through.
Feel free to join our online community, to share stories and help support one another.
🧡 Join the Tracksuit Tribe
Beneath The Tracksuit
The Blog
Conversations and Collaborations
Beneath The Tracksuit is more than poetry.
It’s a voice for honesty, connection, and resilience.
I create books, music, and spoken word not only as an escape and release,
but as a way to open conversations that too often stay silent.
Some of my work speaks to disability and mental health, some of it is light-hearted and playful, but all of it is rooted in truth.
This is about reminding people that speaking out matters, connection is survival, and creativity can change lives.
Beneath The Tracksuit Gallery
All my books are available on Amazon.
Spoken Word, Now Streaming
Over the past few years, I’ve been taking my words off the page and bringing them to life through spoken word tracks. What started as raw poems written in quiet moments has now grown into recordings you can stream worldwide.
Each track is built from the same honesty and grit that run through my books—spoken straight, no polish, no pretending.
They’re now available across all major streaming platforms, so whether you use Spotify, Apple Music, or anything in between, you can tune in and hear the words the way they were meant to be heard.
Beneath The Tracksuit,
The Podcast.
What started as sharing my story through books and spoken word has grown into something bigger—Beneath The Tracksuit, The Podcast. It’s a space where I talk openly about life with MS, mental health, creativity, and the raw battles behind the surface.
No filters, no masks, just honest conversations and reflections.
The podcast is now available for streaming on all major platforms, so wherever you listen—Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or beyond. You can tune in and be part of the journey.
Upcoming....
This journey doesn’t stop here.
Beneath The Tracksuit keeps moving forward, and there’s always something new around the corner:
New Book Projects → The next collection is already in motion.
Spoken Word Album → Ashes and Ink is being built, track by track.
Performances & Awareness Events → More stages, more voices, more chances to connect face-to-face.
Shop Launch → Prints, designs, and new ways to carry these words with you.
Blogs → Ongoing reflections, not just disability or mental health, but life, laughter and everything in between.
Beneath The Tracksuit, The Support Hub → Support, Zooms, Workshops, Guidance, A place for help
Stay with me, this is only the start.
Voices From The Crowd!
It has been a real privilege to watch Robbie Gillett and his development of the 'Beneath the Tracksuit' project. Playing a small role in supporting him and working with him during this period has also been a tremendous honour.
His subject matter has increasing range and can turn on a sixpence within a set. There is no pretence in Robbie’s delivery and it is all lovingly served up with self-effacement, a cheeky smile, and an endearing stage presence. Make no mistake about his commitment to his craft.
Robbie is an indisputable example of the power of words and the role they play in helping us connect to a stronger sense of ourselves. Witnessing him finding his voice, developing it intuitively, and then seeking platforms to raise that voice: these have all been joyful moments to behold.
As personal transformation so often have the capacity to do, it has been awe-inspiring to see the ripple effect that Robbie’s own flourishing has brought about. It is heartwarming to see others benefitting from Robbie - both through what he shares himself, but also the creation of spaces he fosters for others to do the same.
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Dicky Souray. Founder, SproutSpoken
Proud Supporters, Partners and Sponsors.
Standing with me, standing with the work.
