Lived Experience

Hi, I am Stuart ‘Smudge’ Smith and I am a lived experience advocate. I have also been a voiceover artist over the years, specialising in impressions and accents. As the voices take a back seat in my life, apart my parody Smudge News. I felt it was the right time to move on from a lot of the impressions and voices I have been doing alongside manual work. I still have a lot of fun with my voices, but its really just a fun hobby now.

What is lived experience?

To keep it simple, Lived experience is a first hand account and perspective, of the issues some of us face in life. Whether its mental health, physical health, parenting or physical abuse you suffered in childhood. We have a unique knowledge and understanding on various topics.

I would describe myself as your typical working-class man in his 50’s. My approach is one of common sense, honesty and respecting each others world views. Living in social housing following chronic kidney disease, I have gained much resilience from the adversity I have faced.

The songs I write all all about my lived experience and what I have faced in my life.

The Quiet Majority

As politics becomes framed as Left v Right, The Quiet Majority will try and find that middle ground again. How many of us I wonder are politically homeless? It has long been my view that most people are fair and are middle of the road politically in this country, with some left and some right.

My views come from my own lived experience having been through a lot in my life. You see firsthand how people treat you, you see politics up close and how decisions affect you. Whether as a kidney patient, my transplant and picking myself up after being homeless. Or, as a social tenant working in many manual jobs over 30 years.

Created by Stuart Smudge

developer, designer, voice artist, and producer.
Through StuartSmudge.com, Stuart blends technology, storytelling, and sound. His projects — from WordPress plugins like Doc Smith’s Time Circuits to original music created with AI tools like Suno and his Eleven Labs “Stuart” voice — are all driven by the same goal: to keep creating, exploring, and sharing ideas in new ways. Whether through code, voice, or melody, it’s about making time to build something that lasts.

Voiceovers & Impressions

Voices and impressions, as well as characters, have been a passion of my since I was a boy. Having dreams of being an actor and a perhaps odd obsession with voices. I was keen to learn the technical side of acting, but sadly was not to be due to lack of money and opportunity.

So, I decided to carry on with learning lots of news voices and impressions, as did stand up alongside my day job. I went on to create greeting cards that were in many Sainsbury’s stores up and down the country. The Michael Caine Birthday card was featured on the Graham Norton show. There has also been my old sat nav voices and other impressions used in various ways.

So, having added my voices to Birthday cards, bingo machines and even talking parking meters. The Garmin Voices and TomTom voices, and my old afternoon radio show on community radio. Now I am using yet another new technology where I can use my voice. My Stuart voice is now available in the Eleven Labs library.