EXCLUSIVEExtreme athlete 'conman' who was accused of £40,000 'scam' after claiming to be an ultra-marathon runner raising $1million for Unicef reinvents himself as 'neuro based leadership coach'
- Have you been affected? Email elizabeth.haigh@mailonline.co.uk
An extreme athlete who claimed to be raising £785,000 for Unicef while running the circumference of the Earth has not paid people who worked for him for the past four years and owes them more than £40,000.
MailOnline previously reported how Tomasz Drybala, 46, had left workers out of pocket by up to £13,000 while claiming to be fundraising $1million.
Drybala has since admitted he only raised $25 (£20) for Unicef. He said he closed his fundraising page, first shared in April 2022, more than a year ago after just two weeks, and only committed to raise $1million by 2025. He has now abandoned the project completely.
MailOnline is now aware of further claims, including how Drybala persuaded the University of Westminster to conduct research on his behalf without paying a penny. He went on to employ a Master's student who worked on the research at the recommendation of her supervisor. It is understood he still owes her £5,000.
He has now set himself up as a 'neuro based leadership coach' who provides a 'strong reputation enhancer' with courses on how to become a better leader. All mention of the Unicef project has been removed from his website.
Tomasz Drybala, 46, who has lived in London for 22 years, has not paid people who worked for him since 2020 and owes at least £43,000
Drybala's Instagram account showed him claiming to be delivering talks and aspects of his courses online - but video footage showed those on the computer were, in fact, frozen
Drybala, who is originally from Poland but has lived in the UK for 22 years, is now offering an online platform in 'neuro-leadership' for £37.50 a month - set to rise to £149 per month from May. The only option is to pay an annual fee, meaning anyone signing up would part with £450, or £1,788 from May.
Drybala's new business venture relies on using neuroscience to create an online community of 'neuroleaders', and he is set to launch access to the platform in May.
On his LinkedIn profile, he has removed his company name, Flow Up, from his page, replacing it with the leadership centre.
It therefore states he has been the head of the neuro based leadership centre for two years and three months. Until a month ago, there was no record of the centre on any of Drybala's social media sites - and more victims keep coming forward.
The first claim MailOnline is aware of relating to Drybala is from a freelancer who was promised £10,000 for two months of digital marketing work in 2020.
Drybala reached out to her on LinkedIn, and emails show he originally asked her to work for him for free - offering full access to his course, then related to mindfulness and mental health - in return.
When this was declined, he confirmed in a contract he would pay her £10,000 for the work. After no money arrived in her account for the first month, and following requests that she be paid, she stopped working for Drybala in the second month.
She began proceedings in court against him, but said she found it so draining she was forced to discontinue the case. Four years later, she says she has still not been paid.
Since then, Drybala has continued advertising for and hiring a range of employees, mostly related to his supposed Unicef run, all of whom have been offered official contracts with promised salaries. MailOnline has not found even one employee in this time who has ever received any payment.
While references to his ultrarun and Unicef fundraising seem to have been removed, his website states Drybala has trained more than 50,000 people, including at educational institutions such as the universities of Houston and Westminster.
In fact, it is understood that Drybala trained no-one at the University of Westminster, instead promising to fund scientific research carried out on his behalf within the faculty of Nutrition and Public Health in 2021.
All those spoken to MailOnline have repeatedly chased Drybala and demanded the money they are owed - all say they have not been successful
Drybala had been claiming to have trained more than 50,000 individuals from all these institutions - after MailOnline reached out to several to confirm any affiliation, this was removed
It is understood that Drybala convinced the University of Westminster (pictured) to conduct research ahead of his planned run around the globe, but failed to provide any of the funding he had promised
According to a source who worked closely on the project, Drybala failed to pay for the research, leading to the university cutting ties with him months later. The University of Westminster confirmed that this was the case.
Drybala maintains the research ended early due to a 'loss in funding'. It is not known how much the University of Westminster was owed.
But through his connection with Westminster, he was able to hire a former Masters' student, who had worked on the research, as a health and performance scientist in January 2022.
After reaching out to her via her former supervisor, Drybala offered her a £30,000-per-year salary and the opportunity to study for a PhD. The offer was so tempting she quit her job to work for him.
She says he still owes her £5,000 in unpaid wages, and no such studying opportunity ever materialised.
'It was awful. If it wasn't for my family, I would have been left homeless,' she told MailOnline.
On the use of its logo, a spokesperson for the University of Houston said: 'This individual is not affiliated with UH, nor does he have permission to use our trademarks.
Drybala no longer mentions his running project, and instead advertises a 'neuro based leadership centre'
He continues to offer a 14-day 'risk-free' money back guarantee, despite dozens of people claiming they have not received any refund
'We are taking steps to notify him that such trademarks need to be removed from his website.'
Drybala has since removed his claims to be affiliated with universities around the world from his site.
Lucy, who is originally from the UK but moved to Florida where she set up a successful business in fundraising, told MailOnline she is owed $10,000 (£8,100).
She saw a post from Drybala on Indeed advertising a position with his business, and after looking into his website and reading articles about him online, she successfully applied and was hired in 2023.
Over several months of employment, Lucy said she managed to ensure his run around the world got into various press outlets and even on local TV networks while he was in the US.
She worked closely with another woman before her colleague quit unexpectedly - Lucy says she later contacted her and found out that she, too, had never been paid.
Lucy repeatedly asked Tomasz to pay her, but says he 'made up excuses' before telling her her work was 'not good enough'.
After receiving no money from him for her months of work, Lucy managed to find other employment. She hasn't received any of the $10,000 she is owed.
She said she filed a lawsuit against him in the UK, but after learning she would have to fly back to be physically present in court she discontinued the case.
Russel Olinger, also from Florida, is owed $6,000 (£4,800) after Drybala convinced him to become a partner in his business while the athlete was running in America in March 2023.
MailOnline has seen the partnership contract, signed by Mr Olinger and Drybala, and evidence of this transfer of funds.
In total, Drybala owes more than £43,000 - but the actual total could be far higher
A detailed partnership proposal by Drybala claimed to be working in collaboration with major global brands including the running app Strava, in addition to detailing the supposed fundraising for Unicef.
But just days later, Mr Olinger said Drybala claimed he was in breach of his contract and accused him of mis-selling his business. After multiple attempts to save the deal, Mr Olinger cut his losses, and demanded his money back.
Emails from Drybala, seen by MailOnline, show he was promised a full refund, but he still has still not received any of his money back. He attempted to bring a civil case against Drybala in court in the US, but this has so far failed due to the runner having already left the country.
These sums are on top of promised fees previously reported by MailOnline, which include more than £13,000 to Abby, from Hertfordshire, who worked for Drybala for five months, and a further £1,200 to a videographer in California, Josh Collins.
In total, Drybala owes more than £43,000 - but the actual total could be far higher.
Drybala has also been taking smaller amounts of money from businesses and individuals by claiming to want to recruit professionals as coaches for his courses, before demanding they pay up to £325 to take training from him.
He has promised to instantly refund the fee if they do not end up coaching on the programme - and is also advertising a 14-day 'guaranteed' refund for anyone dissatisfied by his services on his website.
MailOnline has spoken to three people approached by Drybala to be coaches in the past year, as he sought to build up a network from around the world including in the UK, US and Australia.
All were informed they have not been successful, and the refunds have never arrived.
Gemma Legrand, who runs Hidden Gem Coaching in Crawley, was contacted by Drybala as a potential coach in November.
Her business offers mental health assistance for children and adolescents, as well as life coaching for adults.
She paid Tomasz around £250 to take his 'training' course, on the basis that she would be refunded the full amount if she was not selected to continue working with him.
She had not received any of her money back from him, and told MailOnline others who were in the same training sessions have also not been refunded. She has since been able to recover the money after disputing the payment with her credit card company.
'His training was just him talking about himself and his programme,' she said. 'It's so sad, because all the people he's scamming are all very professional and in lines of work where we're trying to help people.'
Another coach told MailOnline they were contacted by Drybala to be an 'accountability buddy' who would support his clients.
They paid £247, based on the promise that they would be refunded within 12-14 days if not selected. The refund was due in December, but has still not been received.
'He clearly is not a man of his word, or 'healed' as he claims to be,' they said.
Josh Collins, from California, said he is owed £1,200 and accused Drybala of repeatedly asking him for money to spend on hotels in the US
A life coach from London described a near-identical experience mid-2023, and has also not been paid. Drybala contacted her for the first time in months this week after she shared a negative post about him online.
Drybala said he has refunded 70 percent of people who he approached to be coaches within the last few months. He gave MailOnline a list of their names, and we contacted one of those on the list who confirmed she had finally been repaid after months of waiting.
Previous articles and blogs written about the runner, including on sites such as Red Bull and National Geographic, have been removed - although as of last week Drybala was still claiming to be featured in them on his own website.
According to Companies House he has held director roles at seven companies, six of which are now dissolved. They range from architecture firms to ornate glass design companies, as well as a 'charity' supposedly set up to help people deal with childhood trauma through exercise.
There is no record of this charity's work, and Drybala told MailOnline this is because it was never actively trading.
Drybala's sole remaining company, Flow Up Global Ltd, shows no turnover or income for 2023.
When contacted by MailOnline, Drybala addressed the issue of fundraising for Unicef, saying he had committed to raising $1million by 2025.
He admitted he closed down his fundraising page after just two weeks after it only raised $25 (£20), which was given to Unicef.
On his website and social media Drybala did not mention this, and continued to display the Unicef logo. Correspondence seen by MailOnline between him and the charity show it has told him not to use their branding in any future attempts he makes to raise money.
Drybala told MailOnline he rejects any accusations of a 'scam'.
He said: 'Regarding my fundraising effort for UNICEF, I want to emphasize that I put a lot of work, sweat, and pain into building it. Unfortunately, due to financial constraints, I had to terminate the entire project in January.
'I did not scam anyone and did not put my company under liquidation, as suggested to me. I am striving to correct my mistakes, pay back debts, rebuild my reputation, demonstrate my knowledge and expertise, and provide value to people's lives.
'Nothing I've done is fraudulent or a scam'.
He added: 'While the full circumstances surrounding this matter are complex, as the leader of this initiative, I take responsibility for the decisions made and the ultimate outcome achieved. The responsibility for this project's shortcomings rests solely with me.
'It is clear that in my role overseeing this effort, I failed to provide the level of leadership necessary for success. I am committed to thoroughly addressing all issues, taking appropriate remedial actions where needed, and ensuring I apply lessons learned to better serve future colleagues, clients, and partners.
'I sincerely apologize to all impacted by this situation and assure everyone that I will work diligently over the coming four to five months to fully resolve outstanding matters and remedy any effects.
'I will provide public updates on the progress made in satisfactorily closing out all issues within the stated timeframe. The well-being of those affected is my top priority.'
Have YOU been affected? Email elizabeth.haigh@mailonline.co.uk
