Chris has practiced coaching high achievement, youth work and youth development since 1986 and during that time has worked with young people throughout the United Kingdom on various youth development projects. His practice has enabled him to deliver youth provision to international youth work programmes to young people from as far afield as Spain, Germany, France, Russia, Latvia, Belarus, Ireland, Denmark, Iceland and Australia. His personal development work has taken him into the majority of high schools in his home city of Leeds, West Yorkshire. To date Chris has provided personal development services to in excess of 16,000+ young people.
His multi varied range of expertise has developed over a number of years, from being a training specialist in HM armed forces, to working with young people in both statutory, voluntary and private sector youth work and as an outdoor education climbing and hillwalking specialist. He has managed club-based youth provision and also developed resources, training programmes and activities specific to the personal development of young people, who work either in groups or as individuals, as well as developing a considerable number of city-wide youth initiatives.
Highlights in Chris’ coaching career have been the one-year citywide consultation with Leeds schools and youth groups as to the proposed development of the Herd Farm Residential Education Centre (1999). He also managed the ‘ID Tex art project’ – The coordination of a six-month collaboration with Leeds City Art Gallery. Within this project Chris recruited professional artists to work with young people from four youth centres across Leeds, working to a young person’s agenda designing pieces of art that would be displayed at Herd Farm Residential Education Centre. These pieces were subsequently displayed in Leeds City Central Art Gallery for a period of 10 weeks during the spring of 2000 and were used to decorate Herd Farm Residential Education Centre, Leeds. All of these initiatives illustrated the importance of not only listening to the voices of young people, but accommodating the input from young people in regard to their own personal development.
Chris’ specialises in the development of Healthy ‘Authentic’ Self-Esteem, personality awareness and high achievement. He combines the three to promote and develop an individual’s ability to maximise their life potential and thus live better. He works with young people from a wide variety of backgrounds and circumstances, with each encounter providing opportunities for researching and developing groundbreaking interventions that assist in young people’s personal development and growth. He prides himself on assisting these young people almost on a daily basis to make the small changes relevant to the improvement of their lives through the skilled use of anything that comes to hand; be it a high rope climbing frame, a small puzzle, personal development course, or a word of encouragement.
He is a competent public speaker giving presentations and training on achievement and the development of Healthy ‘Authentic’ Self-Esteem. He has also given a television interview about the benefits and practicalities of youth work for GMTV’S ‘Get up and Give’ campaign in aid of raising money and awareness for youth projects nationwide.
An extensive youth work career has brought Chris into contact with a considerable number of notable people such as Leeds city mayors, members of parliament, local councillors. A notable career highlight has been his opportunity to youth work a number of young people who have gone on to star in various films, television programmes, West End stage productions, as well as performing at world class level with professional cycling and football clubs.
