Dr. Andy Sockanathan

...I grew up in Leeds in the ’90s and started out as a drummer - touring vans, sticky floors, bad soundchecks, good stories. I was meant to be studying Sociology and Philosophy, but music was the real education. It eventually led to a PhD at Goldsmiths on how culture and technology shape creativity - and somehow to tour-managing a Sony-signed band around the world with DJ Shadow while finishing my thesis in airport lounges.

Then came television. Fifteen years developing and producing quiz and entertainment formats at the BBC, ITV and STV. I co-created Beat the Chasers and Tenable, ran creative teams, pitched to commissioners, lived through restructures and rebrands, and learned that even the dream jobs come with burnout in better clothes.

Eventually, I realised I had spent years helping other people play the game, and somewhere along the way, I had stopped enjoying it myself.

I work with midlife creative leaders in media, tech and other creative industries who want to reconnect with the curiosity and freedom that got them into their work in the first place.
Most of my clients aren’t lost. They’re just stuck between doing well and feeling done — trying to stay creative while the industry quietly squeezes it out of them.
Change starts when you stop asking what’s wrong, and start asking what still matters.

Because fulfilment isn’t about taking a backwards step. It’s about finding the fun in moving forward again