NAN Spowart spoke with United Creative director Collin Hills on the 10 things that changed his life.
1. Learning to play music
THE first time I picked up a guitar was when I was 15. I was always singing Calypso songs around the house so my dad asked me when I was about six or seven if I wanted to learn to play guitar or piano but I didn’t want to then. I thought that sounded boring. Not when everyone was outside playing in the sunshine!
Fast forward to 15 years old and I picked up a guitar and took to it like a duck to water.
Me and my friends wanted to start a rock band so we learned the basic chords and then took it from there.
I didn’t know anyone in my family who played an instrument so I don’t know where it came from. I play drums and bass guitar as well now. Learning to play music has totally changed my life.
2. Getting into media
I USED to work for a broadcast company in Trinidad selling advertising time for TV and radio. One day, I walked into a bookshop with an amazing array of books. I asked them if they would like an advert and they said they would but didn’t know how to put one together.
I offered to do an advert for them and put one together with a camera crew. I didn’t really know what I was doing but the ad was really good and that was the catalyst for my entry into media.
The best thing about working at that company was working under the best manager I’ve ever worked with – Dr Margaret Elcock. She was the founder of the company, Family Focus, and it’s because of her mentorship and belief in me that helped get me started in my career in media. I have worked in media ever since.
3. Coming to the UK
OBVIOUSLY that was a game-changer.
When I first decided to migrate from Trinidad, I was looking for options so I went to America but didn’t really like it. It is a crazy place and very segregated. I don’t mean just black and white but everybody. This was in New York in the 1990s.
Then I went to Toronto. It is really nice and really beautiful but a bit boring. Then I came to England and it took me just two days to decide that it was the place for me.
That was in 1998. Obviously, it was a big change in my life in terms of the country, culture, weather and people but I looked at it as a very good change.
The weather didn’t really put me off. In the Caribbean, we don’t have a winter. There are two temperatures – hot and very hot. It is the exact same thing every day and while that it is beautiful and healthy, I like a bit of variety, so I have no issues with the weather here.
My first job was in mental health – teaching people music and creative writing. I have worked for The Prince’s Trust, the Roundhouse in Camden and various arts organisations since then.
4. Writing my first script
THAT was in 2002. I was watching a film with some friends and thought, “I could do that” as a challenge to myself.
I wrote a full script and it made me realise how much I loved writing. That changed my life as the disciplines and procedures I used for my writing started to inform and change the way I work. I’ve taught creative writing classes for young people and I am currently in the middle of writing a stage play. Writing helps me express myself.
I find it very cathartic.
5. My family
I MET my wife in 2010 at one of my creative workshops for people experiencing mental health issues. She’s a therapist with the NHS and brought a couple of her patients in to attend a session. We got married in 2016.
We have two boys, and I have an older son from a previous relationship. My family has completely changed my life. They make you realise what is important. Having my children has centred me.
My favourite word in the whole English language is “Dad”.
6. Having a difficult manager
THIS person changed my life in a good way because they made me really step up my game.
This person wasn’t horrible but was a very demanding and precise manager that you really didn’t want to disappoint. They raised the game of the whole team. But at the same time, this manager allowed us the freedom to fail because that’s where you’ll improve.
I’ve learned so much from failing and learned not to fear it. It was a great lesson.
7. Working in a toxic job
I WORKED in an organisation where the toxicity level was off the charts. It was so bad, to the point it really affected my wellbeing. I couldn’t wait to leave and I left for something much better anyway.
How it changed my life for the better is I that I now know that any job after that is going to be a bonus. I manage a great team at the moment and I am very aware of how to take care of them.
Being in something so bad made me appreciate and understand the benefits of being a good manager in a safe environment with a great organisation.
8. Meeting Emma Picken
SHE is the founder of Be United and she was looking for someone to have a discussion regarding operating an arts centre. Someone told her to come to me and I had a chat with her. Long story short, I was invited to be on the Be United Board of Trustees.
Soon after, in 2021, I was invited to move into operations as the head of creative development, then creative director.
Be United is one of the best organisations I have ever worked in and I feel like everything in my career has led up to this. Now I am working in an amazing organisation that does amazing work and I am doing what I love.
On many occasions, Emma literally has to order me to stop working and take time off. It’s a dream job.
9. Tasting proper coffee for the first time
I THINK I have a coffee problem. It is so bad that my mouth starts to water when I smell it.
I only ever drank instant coffee before. But around 2012, I was in an office and about to make myself a cup of instant coffee when a colleague stopped me. He said: “Dude, what are you doing?”
He had his own miniature coffee machine and he ground the beans right there in the office.
He made me an espresso and that was that. I now drink five or six cups a day.
I work on film sets sometimes as a casting director and there is always a coffee truck for the crew so it is unlimited and all free. By about 2pm, I’m buzzing.
I’m not a morning person but when I get up I have a cup of coffee first thing and then ... all things are possible.
I’m probably having a cup of coffee right now as you’re reading this.
10. The Matrix
REVOLUTIONARY film. I grew up in a religious family and I have deep respect for what people believe but I also had a lot of questions that nobody seemed able to answer when I was younger.
The Matrix, even though it is a Hollywood film, sparked a kernel of curiosity and changed the way I look at the world. I love how the script is written.
It changed the way I view things and sent me down a rabbit hole of exploration. I am now deep into philosophy and psychology and what makes people tick – and who and what runs the world.
Be United is running a networking and professional development event for Black Scottish creatives at the Advanced Research Centre (ARC), University of Glasgow on February 21, 2025.
be-united.org.uk/creative-partnerships -conference-2025/
