We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Christopher Hill. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Christopher below.
Christopher, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
I believe I developed my confidence and self-esteem at a very young age, definitely with the help of a loving and very supporting family. I was always told to believe in myself and any goals I set out for myself were achievable as long as I completed that first step. From then on, it was easy to always have faith in myself, as it made even the most difficult objectives seem well within reach. Obviously that didn’t mean I accomplished EVERY single thing I set out to, but I was able to achieve MOST goals I set for myself. I still follow this and apply this mindset even today, and when I have a TRUE GOAL I want to achieve, nothing can stop me from reaching it!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I have a plethora of interests and businesses I am involved in at the moment. The two most important things in my life are the PAL, or Police Athletic League program, and the business I am co-owner of, ART Soccer Training.
The PAL program is a nonprofit organization all about improving relationships and building bridges between kids, cops and the community. As someone who grew up in a police family, I understand the importance that police officers play in not only keeping citizens safe, but also serving as role models for those, especially children, in the community. PAL programs are offered in communities all over the world, but have a particularly important role in communities of disadvantaged youth, where they typically serve young black and brown children. As a black man, my role in strengthening ties between black communities and the police is an essential part of improving these relationships and getting my peers to understand that police officers are not inherently bad by any means. A couple of bad apples can ruin this, as can be seen in the news far too often, which leads to even more issues. I try to do my best to stop that cycle from continuing.
As a former professional soccer player, it goes without saying that I absolutely love the game, and it was a no brainer when an old friend of mine brought me on board with his soccer training business. The more we talked, it became apparent we could make a big impact on our New Jersey soccer community, and really help change the lives of the kids in our area. So our company, ART Soccer Training, came to fruition in 2022. Since then, each and every day has become much more rewarding and being able to be on the field, helping kids not only improve their skills but their confidence and self-esteem has been amazing. We’re able to truly make an impact on our players’ lives, in turn helping out our community, all while we get to teach a game that we love. There’s not much better than that.
Aside from the more professional items listed above, I am an avid anime lover and have had a social media presence since the Fall of 2020. During the lpandemic lockdown, a friend of mine and I started up an anime show/podcast on Twitch and YouTube called Senpai Talk Show. From there, our pair turned into a team of four as two more of our friends joined the show. We would go on to do weekly shows for the better part of the next 2.5 years, and even though we do not do the show as often as we would like to anymore (ya know, life lol) we each have our own social media presences and still do our best to spread positivity and joy in the community. I’ve met some of the best people I’ve ever met in my life just because of our mutual love for a medium most of us have enjoyed since childhood, and that’s a beautiful thing.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1) Self-belief. I truly believe you can accomplish anything you put your mind to if you wholeheartedly believe it. It cannot be just saying “I believe in myself,” it needs to be a full-fledged feeling with every fiber of your being, and must also carry the determination and diligence to stay true to whatever that goal or passion may be. If you don’t believe in yourself, who else can you rely on?
2) Not being afraid of failure. Anybody that has ever been successful in life has had their fair share of speed bumps as well. But, they use their failure as motivation, as opposed to allowing their failures or mistakes to define them. What you do with your failures will determine whether or not you can do what you set out to. And DONT FORGET the failures and what it felt like, carry that weight with you. Or as we say on the soccer field , ”the last play is done, learn from it and focus on the next one.”
3) Whatever happens, happens. The most challenging part of life for a lot of people, is that we actually lack more control than we would like to admit. Sometimes things happen, and there’s nothing we can do about them, and THAT IS OK. Of course, when negative things happen, or events happen that we do not want to happen, it’s hard to take this perspective. But, we cause ourselves more stress by worrying too much about the things we cant control. We all have to accept nothing in life is perfect, and rather than scoff at this fact, take in the beauty of the imperfections.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
Honestly, them just being there for me. It may sound lackluster on the surface, and expected, but they went far and above for my sister and me both. I played soccer from the time I could run and kick a ball, played through high school, played Divison 1 in college and played professional for a few years before hanging up the boots. In all of that time, I think there may have been 3-5 games TOTAL where at least one of my parents wasn’t in the stands to cheer me on. THAT IS A RIDICULOUS AMOUNT COMMITMENT. The facts they moved so many other things around, changed trips, etc. just to be able to see me play means more to me than I think they’ll ever truly understand. It makes me only want to do that and so much more when I eventually have kids of my own one day!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Normal life: @chris_hill311 / anime account: @chilly_recs
- Twitter: @chilly_recs
- Youtube: @chilly_recs
