Mr Christopher Hillman

Who Motivates the Motivator.
Winners in Life

The Story

The Prologue:
The Loneliest Place on Earth
It’s April The air in Wembley Stadium is different to anywhere else. It’s thick with the ghosts of legends who have graced this global iconic sporting arena. It’s cathedral like presence awaits the electricity of the 80,000 adorning fans that would soon fill its towering stands.
I was living my dream. I was having the privilege of standing on the hallowed Wembley turf just hours before the World Cup qualifier against Albania. The man besides me was the legendry England manager Sir Bobby Robson.
I had become a friend of Bobby’s when he was manager at Ipswich Town and we were developing what was to become the blueprint for the ‘Academy System’ now adopted by most Premier and EFL clubs.
He had invited me along to Wembley to experience at first-hand what it was like to be England team manager.
We were walking along the touchline when he stopped, turned to me and asked a question that change my perspective on life.
With steely grit in his eyes, but in that softly spoken authoritarian voice we had come to respect he said:
"I can be standing here, in the centre of this caldron of sporting greatness! 80,000 cheering fans and millions more watching on TV…….. and feel like the loneliest person on the planet.
Tell me, Chris... Who motivates the motivator?"
.I realised that whether you’re the manager of the England football team, the CEO of a global hotel brand, or running a small family business……… the fire at the top is the hardest to keep burning.





The Journey:
A Life of Adrenalin
My story didn’t start with a silver spoon; it started on the streets of a tough council estate in Worcester. I left school with no qualifications but a hunger for exploring what life had to offer. That hunger took me to paddling canoes, representing Great Britain at sixteen, and eventually to the wild surf of Newquay and the sun-drenched beaches of Manly, Australia.
I was an entrepreneur before I knew what the word meant, turning seashells into lamps and T-Shirts into a business. But the real transformation happened in Sutherland, in the far north of Scotland, under the mentorship of ex SAS soldier John Ridgeway. John, along with Chay Blythe was the first man to row the Atlantic.
His story taking on the challenges they had to endure during their 72 day row across the Atlantic taught me that the human spirit has no ceiling, no boundaries. The only thing that decides whether we became a ‘Winner in Life’ is ourselves.
From the remote wilderness of Sutherland, I moved to the corporate experiential learning centre Brathay Hall in Ambleside. Here I became the lead strategist. Developing blue-sky concepts in corporate management and team development. I spent 6 years creating and pioneering transformational concepts.
I scaled a few lines of "breakfast bar doodles" into Corporate Adrenalin became global phenomenon partnering iconic brands such as Rolls Royce, high end hospitality chains, pharma giants and Star Wars George Lucas in more than 30 locations around the globe.
I have sat with the likes of the England World Cup squad and the board of John Lewis, educating them that high performance isn't a learnt skill, it’s a state of being.
I have also been responsible for acquiring more than £500k of corporate sponsorship for projects that included a Sky TV documentary series which I was executive producer for.
My latest project was as Development Director for the public launch of Greystoke Castle. The home of Henry VIII fifth wife Catherine Howard and Castle Greystoke in Edgar Rice Burough’s fictitious character Tarzan.
& have just been fun retirement challenges. My real passion and obsession are people, life and storytelling.




Second Life:
The Circle of Life
In 2017, the clock almost stopped. A heart double-bypass, and mitral valve repair in Blackpool meant I avoided, for the the time at least, life’s final destination. I didn’t just recover; I invested time and energy to maximise the experience.
I secured a "global first". The first member of the public to acquire an access-all-areas pass to a world-class cardiac centre. For 2 years I was privileged to watch world class surgeons perform everyday miracles. Interview them and senior clinicians to find out what made them ‘tick’. I followed patient journeys and talked to their families observing from a distance
Just another day in the office for the consultants….but a day patients received the gift of a second chance at life.
I experienced the "Circle of Life" from the inside out. An experience that fuelled my book This Old Heart of Mine (available on Amazon). Storytelling became a passion and led me to ghostwrite the autobiographies of twelve very successful people. (depending on your interpretation of success)

The Vision:
Forget the Golf clubs.
At 76, I am not looking to improve my golf swing or make sure the roses look their best. I want to take on a massive personal challenge, and feel those emotions that drove me to success all those years ago. The excitement, the adrenalin rush and the fear of failure.
Can the rebirth of in 2026 create the same success in the corporate talent field as it did back in the 80’s, 90s and 00’s?
Now the world seems to be awash with a culture of young dynamic 30somethings with an academic degree and zero life experience. But feel they are qualified to become Corporate Influencers, Life Coaches.
My USP is I didn’t waste my early years in an academic institution learning theory and models to pass an exam. My real-life experience of reaching the highest peaks of life, sport and business and my incredible fall into the deepest darkest valleys of catastrophic failure would make me a professor of Life.
Back then our approach was unconventional That approach will be core to this alliteration, of Corporate Adrenalin.
Putting the fun into learning ....and the learning into fun.
This is not training, mentoring, coaching or counselling but a highly energised and fun personal adventure, stimulating every fibre of what makes us perform.

This is a project not motivated by money, but an old mans stupidity to see if he still has what it takes to win against the traditional methodology. From the traditional, mundane and the boring to an old format of high energy, stimulating, fun experience that increases individual and team performance.
A personal adventure of ‘self-exploration’ that people will want to take part in.

I have identified a niche in the structure/make up of modern business performance. The "loneliness at the top" and the "just a job" apathy of the frontline staff. I want to put fun back into the environment most of us spend our lives in…..work!
I want to develop business CEO’s, MD’s Manager’s into Elite leaders and Coaches, and staff into Match Winners. I want to do this using my own unconventional, transformational methodology.
I Have Identified 2 major audiences. Although they are aimed at any business sector they fit perfectly into a hospitality model.
1. Who ‘Motivates the Motivator’? (Proposed 10 x 3hr sessions)
Designed in collaboration with the late Sir Bobby Robson. It identifies and addresses the "loneliness of the person at the top." Demotivated/burnt out leader’s, demotivate the team, stifle innovation, enthusiasm and 'bottom-line performance
'Who Motivates the Motivator' fits perfectly with the Hotel Manager, Dept head model. They are the emotional engine of their properties, yet they often lack a dedicated developmental/support structure.

'Who Motivates the Motivator' is designed to:
• Re-energise Leadership: Implementing the same psychological resilience techniques used by the sporting elite. Who Motivates the Motivator develops great managers into outstanding managers. Bobby Robson’s story that he could be standing in the dugout at Wembley Stadium, with 80,000 fans in the stands and millions watching on TV, and still feel like the loneliest person on the planet resonates with most top executives.

• The Peer-to-Peer ‘Buddy’ System: 'Who Motivates the Motivator' programme creates a safe and confidential environment to create a ' buddy' network for managers to share personal and operational challenges and strategic solutions with their peer group, fostering a culture of collaborative problem-solving rather than trying to reinvent the wheel within each property because the manager sees it as a weakness to request help/support.

• The Value of Failure. Most people don’t try to succeed for fear of failure. But failure is a critical quality in the journey to success. Basketball legend Michael Jordon said he has missed, more shots than he had scored. That he had lost more than 500 games and missed 25 championship winning shots. That’s why he is so successful in life.
Paul McCartney wrote more bad songs than the great ones. Thomas Edison failed 10,00 times before find the solution to the light bulb.
Every human fails from the moment they are born. The ability to walk only comes from repeated failures.
If your not failing your not trying hard enough.




2. ‘Winners in Life’ (Aimed at staff/brand ambassadors)
Giving it a hospitality theme, a hotel is only as good or strong as the person at the check-in desk or the housekeeping dept.
In September 2025 I revisited the Shangri La Rasa Ria hotel in Borneo. Some 30 years ago the fabric of the hotel was immaculate. On this visit it looked as though the fabric had had little investment over that period. What made up for a tired facade was within an hour of arrival it seemed every staff member knew who I was, that I had stayed all those years ago, and if I needed anything just ask.
We were made to feel like royalty.
Winners in Life is built on the philosophy of changing 'its just a job' i'm off to work' mindset to one of ownership and pride at being an integral cog/team player in a machine designed to creating the ultimate guest/client experience.
Even the smallest cog can either make or break a machine.
• Generating Ownership: Shifting the mindset from "doing a job" to "owning the guest experience."
• Creating a personal daily journal ie
a. What did I do today that made a positive difference:
b. What did I do today that had a negative outcome.
c. What can I do tomorrow to improve guest experience.
By investing in the holistic person, not just the employee, we create a completer and more productive team player.
We use high-performance sports psychology to help staff find their own "win" within the venue framework, resulting in a palpable increase in staff - guest relationship.