After the Storm
Finding My Purpose Beyond Success
My Journey to Coaching with Heart
I’m Matt Porter — a coach, sailor, and lifelong learner.
But before all that, I was a business owner chasing success across the open sea.
This is the story of how losing almost everything helped me find what really matters — and shaped the work I do today.
The calm before the change
For years, success was a well-charted course — a thriving multi-million-pound family business built on loyal clients, bold ideas, and a team we were fiercely proud of.
The growth felt like solid ground; each decision, like steering my own ship, setting my own course.
It was exciting. Addictive, even.
But beneath the momentum, I was tired — stretched thin, chasing what I thought I should, not what actually felt right.
When the storm hit
Then the storm hit in 2008.
The financial crash wiped out years of work almost overnight.
The business collapsed — and with it, the identity I’d built around achievement and control.
It wasn’t just a financial loss; it was a loss of direction.
The silence afterwards was the hardest part — no external noise, just inner space to breathe and to realise how little time I’d spent listening: to myself, to others, to life.
What truly matters
Parenting has a way of anchoring you to what really matters.
Five kids, each with their own worlds and needs, pulled me back to what was real.
They didn’t care about turnover or targets; they cared that I was there.
That connection felt different this time — deeper, truer, stripped of pretence.
They taught me that leadership isn’t about control — it’s about connection.
Rebuilding differently
From there, I began to rebuild — but differently this time.
Less chasing. More listening.
Less fixing. More understanding.
Those honest, sometimes raw conversations became the spark for what came next.
I realised this was where I could truly make a difference.
So I trained seriously as a coach — not as a side project, but as a new professional path.
I invested in rigorous education, mentoring, supervision, and thousands of hours of client practice.
I earned credentials with the International Coaching Federation (ICF) — the global gold standard — because being good wasn’t enough; I wanted to become masterful.
What I do now
Now, that’s the heart of my work.
I coach founders, leaders, and professionals who’ve achieved a lot and yet sense something deeper calling — people ready to lead with clarity, balance, and purpose, especially those standing in the quiet before, during, or after their own storm.
Together we slow things down.
We make space to breathe, to look at what’s really happening, and to rediscover what feels true.
Then we translate reflection into action — so clarity becomes momentum, and momentum becomes meaningful change.
Because when you reconnect with who you are, you lead differently — and everything shifts from there.
A new horizon
The sea still means a lot to me.
It’s where I go to reset, to reflect — calm or rough, it always tells the truth.
And the growth comes from the reflection.
Life has its storms, but they pass.
What’s left afterwards is perspective, energy, and the chance to create something different — this time more aligned with who you really are.
That’s what I help people do: reconnect with themselves, navigate change with honesty, and lead with heart.
You’ll be working with someone who’s done both the inner work and the professional work — and who meets you with depth, skill, and integrity.
Every tide turns. Perhaps this is yours.
