BrewDog's co-founder and chief executive has called the period in which allegations about his conduct were made by former employees and a BBC documentary "nothing short of hell".
Speaking to the Sunday Times, James Watt said that he couldn't pick up his two young daughters up from school after the broadcaster's investigation implied he was a predator.
The programme spoke to ex-BrewDog workers in the US, who claimed his behaviour made female bartenders feel "uncomfortable" and "powerless" - something Watt has fought back against, with complaints being made to the station and regulator.
Watt denies that he was up the roof of the bar with any women, and denies kissing a drunk woman on the premises.
"I completely dismiss this out of hand - that characterisation is utterly false and based around false rumours about myself," he said in the first interview since the documentary was aired. "If people felt uncomfortable around me I regret that, it was never my intention; but I strongly dispute any insinuation that I have done anything wrong here."
Watt did admit that he had a "brief, amicable relationship" with a team member about five or six years ago in the US during a difficult period of his marriage, which he conceded was a mistake and "should never have happened".
He said to the paper that outside of his "two amazing daughters", BrewDog is by "far the most important thing in my life". Watt was married to, and had two children with, Scottish illustrator Johanna Basford, but they are now divorced.
"The amount I work is probably unhealthy, if I don’t have the kids, I work every weekend, every evening," Watt added.
On an online investors' forum following the documentary, Watt said that "false claims" in the programme were upsetting and damaging, but "truly apologised" to anyone he made feel uncomfortable.
The Disclosure show followed up on allegations of a toxic work culture at the Ellon-headquartered brewer made by around 300 former and current employees in an open letter last summer.
"I fully accept that I’ve been too intense, too demanding as a manager, at times I miss the social cues that would enable me to kind of review that situation and then maybe don’t course correct - I can understand why people felt the way they did in regards to my leadership style," stated Watt.
He added that he was not "massively blessed" with patience and can become "very fixated on timelines", which can lead him to "push hard" in order to make "unrealistic expectations happen".
Watt admitted that the company didn't do enough for its workers in the past, but added that several initiatives have now been put in place to change things for the better.
Allan Leighton, the former Asda chief executive, was brought in as a non-executive chair to mentor Watt, in order to find an "optimal leadership style that means that people don't feel scared or intimidated", while at the same time retaining the intense drive BrewDog has had during the past few years.
BrewDog also commissioned an independent report by workplace consultancy Wiser, which concluded last year that staff were "really passionate about the brand", but felt that the company's structure "hasn't matured in line with the company's growth".
In the interview, Watt also revealed details about his past that he believes shaped him and made him the man he is today.
"The scale and speed we’ve gone, that comes with a whole host of challenges," he said. "It’s tough on the team, it’s tough on the company, it’s tough to do.
"I’ve always had big issues with authority, I think I’d have been a very bad employee, so I always felt that … by necessity I would have to be my own boss."
He said his childhood was marked by a sense of never quite fitting in, as he was bullied in school as had a "severe speech impediment" which meant he struggled to pronounce his Rs and Ls, and then when he was a teenager he had "severe acne, which kind of made you come out on the fringes of things by default".
However, his most impactful relationship was that with his now estranged mother, who did not comment on the claims made by Watt to the Times that she gave him an "inadequacy complex" that spurred him on, as he was constantly chastised.
He claims that this is partly why he hired private investigators to counter claims against him - and not because he wanted to shut down "legitimate" critics.
He claimed to the Times that there had been more than 20 attempts to hack his work and personal accounts over the past year.
This has led to two legal cases, one involving an individual for allegedly defrauding Watt, who has been served with a civil summons to recover £500,000 - which Watt claims involves money he was defrauded of to try and stop the false attacks on his character; plus legal and investigative costs.
Watt also has a private criminal prosecution in England for malicious communications and fraud, which concerns the use of 'sock-puppet' accounts to spread false and malicious accusations to friends and social media contacts.
"I have been subject to a two-year criminal shakedown - a campaign of harassment, malicious communication and blackmail," Watt commented. "I have been defrauded of a significant six-figure sum of money by people working together behind the scenes to attack me with criminal means.
"Nobody in their right mind wouldn’t do something if that was happening to them.”
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