31/03/2023
5 years ago wow!! Lots of changes within Xtreme but we’re still here and enjoying the start of the silly season.
April is always an exciting time as we embark on 6 months of madness..
Bring it on.. fun, smiles, laughs, memories.
Our 10th year in business will be the most exciting yet I’m sure.
MEET THE TEAM 👉 OUR LATEST FEATURE.
In this week's episode, we talk to our founder Daniel Chillingworth. WOW, what a read - gut-wrenching, passionate & inspirational. This has it all.
🔵 Tell us about your journey to this point?
After an 8 year career in professional football that saw me play with Cambridge United Football Club, Notts County Football Club, Leyton Orient Football Club and Rushden & Diamonds with and against some of my heroes, I played in stadiums I could have only dreamed of it was all cut short due to several injuries my world was turned upside down, my dreams shattered and I found myself working for my Dad's plastering business (which coincidentally we have just restarted). We then the set up the family restaurant Chillout which we have recently sold.
Both of these were great learning curves for me as an individual but both never something I saw myself doing forever.
So onto and it all started after myself and Gareth Bridges saw a video of Bubble football being played in a sports hall in Oslo, there was Norway I could have ever believed it could be as successful as it has been to date and all from an impromptu chat in my conservatory.
Sorry had to get that in but that is a true story. (Norway, No way, for you out there that didn't get it 😂)
After Gareth emigrated for pastures new and also learning that my father John was diagnosed with Terminal cancer I knew some difficult decisions and months lied in front of me. I had a great forward booking order but knew I faced some dark times ahead and I wanted to be around for my Dad while it was still possible.
It was at an event with my old mate Warren Whitfield who was helping me out that the next chapter was dreamt up and Xtreme Events LTD was born. Often being in a car with Warren is bad news, not because of his erratic breaking, but we get far too much time to plan the next thing and next "great idea". Genuinely this was where a lot of our brainstorming took place in the early days. Together with Wozza, we contacted all the stag and hen agencies and quickly realised there was a huge gap in the market, no single company was offering nationwide delivery services for daytime event provision in this stag and hen sector.
We invested a huge sum of money to train, stock and partner with a venue and or people in every city in the UK. A nationwide deal with Powerleague was a huge turning point and enabled us to quadruple in size overnight, but this came with a huge risk and investment of both time and money.
We have identified that bubble football wouldn't last forever and one day the bubble might burst, so we decided innovation was the only way forward and the only way to win long term.
We are proud to say we now boast a portfolio of over 12 different events that are enjoyed by Stags, Hens, kids and corporates all over the UK and into Europe. We promise we will always look for that next big thing and even after a meeting today a new event could well be on the horizon.
The Xtreme group has now expanded to Xtreme Events, Corporate, Active, Footgolf as well as the Xtreme Games.
🔵 What is your favourite part of working in your company?
Every day I wake up and I'm excited to go to work. To see the team that I have assembled that started with my good mate Warren, that includes my oldest ever friend Michael Kay (since we were 4 years old) and my partner in crime Ian Talton from my secondary school days. Xtreme has taught me it's all about the team, no one individual is greater than what we are trying to achieve.
Football has played a huge part in my life and the person I am today stems from the strong values and lessons that I gained in the early years from trips abroad, to grueling army camps in preseason to some ear bashings in dressing rooms. No other profession would allow your boss to speak or treat you the way a sportsman gets treated. I now understand the pressures the managers were under but for me, it's nurturing talent and people not battering them.
I revert a lot of business decisions back to things the beautiful game taught me, I think there are lots of similarities between football and business but I won't bore you with those.
The growth for me all came from investing in GREAT staff and good genuine people that can do things I couldn't, or at least a lot better than I could.
To have high-quality people like Neville Nania, Sheena McClelland, Ian and Laura Cade make me hugely proud. People who between them have worked at Audi, Porsche, BT and Co-Op. I think this is testament to how far we have come.
To see people like Harry Higgins, Adam Tann and Taylor West all running their own businesses fills me with huge joy, as I believe I/We have given them the confidence to do it. All 3 have had a huge impact on the early days at Xtreme. Taylor's growth as a leader and man is still impacting the business today, as he manages the office booming bank. Also being part of something truly special with Forever 17 Apparel. Taylor means the world to me, Warren and the whole West family.
We also like to back youngsters, like TJ and Paul Hodgkin plus a few others along the way.
Anyone who knows me and Warren will know we haven't been blessed academically he often jokes his grades spelt FUDGE!! His hands were his future and luckily for me my feet were mine, but both of us have an unrivaled work ethic and a will to succeed. People don't remember the blood, sweat and tears, the long hours, time away in the early days. So, any young person needs to know that you might not be the fastest or cleverest, but there is no excuse for not being the hardest working, giving your all day in and day out.
The cream always rises to the top... People say work on your weaknesses - I'm a great believer in playing to your strengths and keep improving on them and you will never get caught.
🔵What’s the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest challenge for me has been my family, I have the most supportive wife Jade Chillingworth and 3 amazing kids Macie, Willow and Joey and whilst they have all benefited from the nice things we have experienced over the last 3/4 years they have also suffered a lot too. Time is the greatest gift for children, but the early days often saw me in the garage up all hours repairing kit and then travelling the length and breadth of the country to meet suppliers, venues and partners. So, time away from them was very difficult and often very testing with such a young family, but Jade is the most amazing Wife and mother so we're all in good hands. I'd also like to mention Sarah Whitfield, Warren's wife and his kids Ava and Olly, as they too have been through exactly the same.
My parents were absolute rocks for the business especially in the early days and I know my Dad will be deeply proud of what Xtreme is today. He wasn't a massive risk taker, but he had a very successful business and I know he was very supportive of the risks I took. He always taught me the most important people in a business are the staff and I'd like to think people respect me for that as I always want to lead from the front and look after the guys that turn Xtreme's cogs.
Everyone says you need to be your own boss to be happy. I disagree every business needs great staff and hopefully, if you look after people and treat them well they will look after you. Sometimes you can just never switch off, I say sometimes is all the time.
Losing my Dad John has left a huge void in my life he's someone I truly admired and now understand as a parent the sacrifices he made for me growing up to allow me to follow and achieve my dreams.
Overcoming his passing is impossible, but the support from my family and my extended Xtreme family drives me on every day to want to do better for all of us and make him proud. Life is far too short and I live every day like it's my last, I try to do things with a smile on my face and leave a great first impression, as you don't get a second chance.
🔵 What's the most satisfying moment so far?
Some would say the Barcelona Gig (that will be hard to top seeing Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez rolling about in our balls is hard to top) The bubbles being used all over the world from the USA to Prague, Amsterdam and Budapest to name but a few. But, this might sound cheesy, Monday meetings are my favourite time, seeing all the guys in the same room talking about the week gone by and the week ahead. We discuss the good, the not so good and what we are going to do to improve.
For me, we are always learning and improving, from a man with a van and 10 bubbles to upwards of 7,000 events this year. We've come a long way!
This is the ideal chance to do this...
I'd like to personally thank everyone that has played a part on this journey thus far. My Family, my staff, my friends, all the partner agencies, all the venues, the suppliers, the wonderful businessmen and women I've met along the way and Gareth for starting this journey with me and Warren for carrying it on. It genuinely has been a pleasure.
Please comment on this post with any memory that Xtreme has brought to you and if this can inspire one person to follow a dream, happy days.
All the best Chilly. x
