AN ENCOUNTER with one of the greatest memories in the world proved an unforgettable experience for young people and their parents.

Motivational speaker and best-selling author David Thomas overcame childhood abuse to become a Guinness World Record holder.

He broke the world record for reciting Pi to 22,500 digits and holds a world memory record for memorising 100 shuffled packs of playing cards.

Strategic Solutions Financial Services hired David to inspire and coach parents and players at AFC Bournemouth Academy at the Leaf Studio.

His best-selling autobiography Tell Me Why, Mummy relates how he was abused by his alcoholic mother and beaten by her older husband.

“He used to beat me up every night and I just sheltered my brother but got it all,” he said.

“She would drink a full bottle of brandy at 6 o’clock every night in 30 minutes.”

At 16 he committed a string of burglaries and attacked a police officer with an iron bar. “They put me on the floor and kicked me unconscious and I got chucked out of school,” he said.

He went on to join the fire service. “For the first time in my life I had that tangible taste of success. A lot of the time, people don’t aspire to something better because they don’t know what is better,” he said.

But he added: “My nickname was Thrombo, short for thrombosis – a slow-moving clot.”

One of his superiors told him he would never pass exams, he said.

He said: “One night I was watching TV and I saw a guy memorising a pack of playing cards on television. I thought it was absolutely amazing.”

He borrowed a library book about memory and applied it. Eight months later, the went to the World Memory Championships and came fourth.

“On Friday, it was a hobby in my back bedroom. On Monday, I’m on TV and in the Times,” he said.

He recited pi to 22,500 places in 1998. “I practised six hours a day for six months,” he said.

“In the main, adults will ask why – and in the main, kids will ask how.”

He went on the world’s top-rated TV show, Oprah, in 2003, after emailing to offer his talents. “If you want it, ask – because if you don’t ask, the answer’s always no,” he said.