March 20, 2025

14 minutes

Available for over a year

Sonnaz Nooranvary thought she’d have to be a doctor or a lawyer to please her parents, but struggled academically thanks to a combination of dyslexia and ADHD. Everything changed when she spotted an advert for an upholstery apprenticeship. She dropped out of college to build yachts from scratch. The upholsterer talks to Evan Davis about how she went against her family’s expectations to follow her instincts.

Production team:

Producer: Bob Howard

Editor: Matt Willis

Sound: John Scott

Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison

Photo credit: Luke David