Mike Porteous

Mike is on a mission: to transform the way we think about and practice coaching - across all sports and for people of all ages, abilities and ambitions - challenging us to ask what if we made confidence and self-belief the very centre of all we do, rather than performance and narrowly defined results?

His path to shaping and setting up confidence-centred coaching has zigzagged - from academia (a DPhil research taking him to Brazil); to Government, leading major change programmes; and in the last twelve years to coaching and coach development. He has been a mountain bike instructor; Head Coach at Brighton Triathlon Club, leading a team of around 25 coaches; Swim Coach in Residence at the Outdoor Swimming Society; as well as competing in many high level, long distance swim, bike, run and triathlon challenges.

And today.... aside from running workshops and writing for coaches and coach developers, he leads his own private endurance sports coaching business, ZigZag Alive, supporting a wide range of people, from first time to GB Age Group triathletes, long distance swimmers, cyclists, runners... and more. He is also a mentor to coaches on the top British Triathlon High Performing Coach Programme. And he teaches disabled children to swim and hosts Mental Health Swims in his home town on the south coast of England.