Tom Hutton // Coach • Creator • Connector ... Dad

Helping you better connect with yourself, with others and with the world around you.

Hi, I'm Tom and I help people and organisations to change behaviour through a combination of coaching, creativity and community engagement.
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Coaching, creative and community activities

COACHING & CONTENT

The Dadventure Coach

Coaching to help dads be happier and healthier and to navigate their unique pathway through fatherhood with clarity and confidence.

›› DadventureCoach.com

COMMUNITY

Dinner for Dads

Dinner For Dads is a social group that brings dads together for good food, good company and good conversation, mostly about dadding, but plenty of other good stuff too.

›› DinnerForDads.org

COMMUNITY

Manly Trash Free Trails

Uniting trail users with a shared goal of protecting our precious pockets of wilderness simply by removing the single-use pollution we see on the trails we love, and encouraging others to do the same.

›› ManlyTrails.org

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EXPERIENCE DESIGN & CONTENT CREATION

Flow Creative Thinking

Flow is my freelance creative strategy and execution work across digital, print and video channels, as well as delivering engaging real world experiences and workshops for teams.

›› Read more

COACHING & CONTENT CREATION

Choose Change

A super simple book designed to guide people through their decision-making processes in order to make better choices when it comes to overcoming challenges and realising goals.

›› View on Amazon

COACHING & CONTENT CREATION

Passing On - Life Journal

As a Death Walker (yes it is a real thing) I help people to deal with their own mortality or to manage the loss of a loved one. Working as part of a team of like-minded folks, the Passing On 'life journal' is an app and a book that facilitates the process of dealing with death.

›› PassingOn.me

Meet Tom

I’m probably a bit older than I act and, like everyone else, over the years my life has had its ups and downs. The good news is that I'm here to help you through yours! In particular I am passionate about helping dads to better connect with themselves, with others and with the world around them.

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Not a great start in art!

I left art school with the lofty dreams of being a sculptor, but to be honest I was crap and drifted into the world of graphic design instead.

I then spent over 25 years in marketing and advertising delivering 'Creative Behavioural Change' as an art director and writer for some of the world's largest brands — such as Coca-Cola, Facebook, Intel, Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, Stanley Black & Decker and more.

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The shift from 'creative' to 'clinical' behavioural change

Whilst working on a freelance branding assignment for the Institute of Applied Psychology I realised I could build on my creative foundation to help people to overcome challenges in their lives through "Clinical Behavioural Change". I trained in Strategic Psychotherapy and Hypnotherapy.

Today I combine techniques like strategic psychotherapy, solution-focused therapy, clinical hypnotherapy, creative expression, future visualisation, personal value proposition design, disassociation, primal prompting, foveal focus, counselling, mentoring and more. Some of this stuff has been used effectively for thousands of years — not just for healing but also in combat (a long time ago) and sport (more recently) to ensure that warriors and athletes perform at their best.

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Death walking

As well as helping people to live well, I help people to take a positive approach to their end-of-life, death and — when the time comes — provide bereavement support for their family and friends.

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Writing and creative consulting

I have written and illustrated "Choose Change" which is available as a small handbook or as a larger format workbook.

Over the years I have run teams for large international communications groups and small boutique agencies. I am a creative consultant for EXTREME/UNREEL, a European action sport multimedia channel with over 18 million followers. I also continue to work in the corporate space as a writer and creative strategist.

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I am based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney in Australia.

I live and practice on the Northern Beaches of Sydney with two spirited children, two boisterous Labradors… and a very patient wife. Whenever I get some peace I like to write, draw, read and cook.

I love being outdoors - surfing, swimming, paddle-boarding, mountain-biking and trail running. Whenever possible I run introduction sessions and client interviews in the open air with a 'Walk and Talk'.

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Out on the trails

Qualifications & Ongoing Training

  • BSc (Hons) First Class, University of Hertfordshire, UK
  • Graduate of Institute of Applied Psychology
  • Diploma of Clinical Hypnosis and Strategic Psychotherapy
  • Accredited in Rapid Results Coach
  • Founding Member of the International Strategic Psychotherapists Association (ISPA)
  • Communication with Care for Suicide — Man Anchor
  • Therapeutic Assessment — Dr Dan Short
  • Negotiating the Barriers to Self-care for Wellbeing, Resilience, and Healing Presence
  • Creating the Mental Strength after Combat: Treating Veterans using Hypnotherapy
  • Death Walking training — Zenith Virago
  • Rethinking Depression: Insights Emerging from Hard Times — Michael Yapkpo
  • Metaphoric Symbolised Imagery (MSI) — Dr Peter Richard-Herbert

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Volunteer Work

  • Surf Mentor for Waves of Wellness Foundation
  • Trash Free Trails Activator on Sydney's Northern Beaches
  • Founding Father of Dinner For Dads

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Other information

  • First Aid
  • Working With Children Check Number:
    ‍WWC1854305E

"Tom is the creative partner that we all need: agile, pure empathy for the customer, and deeply strategic."

Former Head of Global Marketing
Android & Chrome Enterprise @ Google

Experience Design & Content Creation

Urbenduro

Working with EXTREME I was the creative director for Urbenduro, Europe's first multistage urban enduro mountain bike race, run through the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Valletta on Malta. The guys from Global Mountain Bike Network (GMBN) – the world's largest and fastest-growing online mountain bike channel and community – came along and filmed the whole thing.

'One Skateboard, One Love'

Mini documentary for Stanley Black & Decker and Extreme Unreel featuring Atita Verghese — India's first female professional skateboarder.

Rural Health Pro

Branding and user experience design for a platform to support the health workforce in rural, regional, remote and indigenous communities.

Macular Disease Foundation

TV ad for the Macular Disease Foundation encouraging people to take a quick online eye test to see if they should go to their optometrist for a full eye check to detect macular degeneration — the leading cause of blindness for Australians over the age of 50.

PetO Own brands

Design, naming and packaging for PetO's own-brand doggy doo bags.

'Never Alone'

Mini-documentary for Stanley Black & Decker telling stories of resilience from three of the world's leading female extreme athletes.

"Tom understands what makes people tick and how to manage and motivate a team."

Neil Heymann • Global Chief Creative Officer @ Accenture Song

Workshops and mentoring for teams

I help teams cultivate better communication, collaboration, and creativity, leading to improved outcomes and increased productivity.

Based on my experience working in and running creative teams, I deliver unique team building and coaching workshops that combine creativity, communication and mindset techniques to help groups work better together across various industries, including design studios, athletes and rock bands.

For my workshops I draw on a range of techniques, including mindset mentoring, personal branding, creative writing, drawing, painting, storytelling, and communication, to create a dynamic and engaging learning environment that fosters individual and team growth.

During my own career — both professionally and as an endurance athlete — I've learned to read and understand the unique dynamic within every team and how to tailor workshops to meet specific needs and challenges.

Whether I'm working with a corporate team, a sports team or a rock band, I provide a creative space for individuals to share their thoughts, ideas, and perspectives, leading to increased trust and a deeper understanding of one another.

Some of the organisations I've worked with

What my clients and peers say...

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"Tom and I worked together building the early days of ChromeOS, Android Enterprise, and multiple use cases and platforms for Google Cloud. We worked together completely remotely with me being based in San Francisco, and Tom in Sydney. It was a creative partnership that shaped much of Google's approach to the Education and Enterprise markets still active today. He is the creative partner that we all need: agile, pure empathy for the customer, and deeply strategic."

NICK KING • FORMER HEAD OF GLOBAL MARKETING
ANDROID AND CHROME ENTERPRISE AT GOOGLE

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"Tom's superpower is his ability to build teams that feel more like
family. His authenticity, humour and care builds trust and empathy
quickly. His creative smarts inspire and enable teams to develop and grow with a laser focus on team and business goals."

JACQUIE FORD • FORMER CREATIVE OPERATIONS LEAD
CANVA

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"I had the pleasure of working closely with Tom for a number of years across a range of domestic, regional and global clients. Tom is a unique creative leader as he is at the same time strategically creative and creatively strategic. He understands the nuance, can interpret complex language into simple to understand messages. He leads by example and was able to bring his team along the journey, helping them grow and develop their skills while delivering strong commercial outcomes for our clients."

PHIL SMITH • CEO AND FOUNDER
APPARENT COMMUNICATIONS

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"Tom Hutton was my first manager at my first design job. It was the late 90’s and I wasn’t a great designer, but I could draw which was surprisingly useful during the internet’s brief vector animation boom.
Over 20 years later, I still remember Tom’s big hearted guidance and encouragement. Not to mention the hilarious work environment he created. He also identified that I may’ve been a better writer than a designer, and after a crash course in advertising, I have never looked back. Tom understands what makes people tick and how to manage and motivate a team."

NEIL HEYMANN • FOUNDING PARTNER, CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER
LE TRUC AT PUBLICIS GROUPE, NEW YORK

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"Tom helped me and others in our team understand how to develop our craft and also ensure we had the confidence to present in large client pitches and navigate the personalities of the mainstream and rather old school ATL creative teams. Although Tom himself was under immense pressure in this role he lost none of the qualities that made him one of the best leaders I’ve had the pleasure of working with, caring, supportive, driven, and always the first to lend a hand to grow other peoples careers. Above all the his sense of humour and quick wit helped take the pressure out of our day to day roles."

STEVE FARKAS • FORMER EXPERIENCE DESIGN LEAD
ACCENTURE. LIQUID STUDIO AUSTRALIA

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"Tom has been a key mentor for our new business and has been a huge help in instilling confidence and direction. He has been helping us to win new business, to cost and schedule projects realistically, and, perhaps most importantly, helping us to define and refine our own brand and offering. He's an extremely personable guy with an incredible aptitude to think quickly and creatively across a vast range of subjects. His generosity with his time and his ideas is truly amazing and both my business partner and I believe we could not have found a better mentor."

DYLAN GOODEARL • CO-DIRECTOR AT BONNE STUDIO