Team
Our agile team of experienced, fully qualified outdoor adventure coaches and instructors is headed up by two directors, Martin McMullan and John Keating
You could say Adventure is part of John and Martin’s DNA. Both were born and bred in one of Ireland’s outstanding areas of natural beauty, the Mourne's, in Northern Ireland.
Martin grew up a stone’s throw away from the woodlands of Castlewellan Forest Park. So he knows the forest’s lake and walking trails like the proverbial ‘back of the hand’.
Co-director John comes from the nearby seaside resort of Newcastle which nestles at the foot of Northern Ireland’s highest mountain, Slieve Donard.
As friends, John and Martin share a love of mountain sports and a passion for adventure. Free time is spent climbing, canoeing or hiking in the surrounding terrain. But what started out as boyhood pastimes has become lifetime careers. Both are fully qualified and accredited instructors and coaches.
With a degree in Management & Business Studies, Martin previously worked in the private and public sectors in sports coaching and sports development. Meanwhile John's background is in the rehabilitation young offenders as well as working with the homeless.
Common to both is their ability to apply the transformational powers of physically and mentally demanding activities for the benefit of others. Together they have a wealth of experience in working with a diverse set of people from all kinds of backgrounds, helping them tackle and overcome adventure and sporting challenges with focused outputs such as team building, as well as physical and personal development
They set up LifeAdeventureCo in 2003 to provide adventure-based solutions to corporate clients to address people priorities such as corporate team building and team bonding exercises, or leadership development and high performance coaching. Since then the client base has expanded to include fundraising challenges for not-for-profit organisations and incentive & away-day solutions for conferencing and event organisers.
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Martin McMullan
Position: Sales & Marketing Director
Originally from Castlewellan, Martin has been working in the fields of outdoor adventure and sports training and coaching in Northern Ireland for over 15 years. Following a career in the private and public sectors he left full time employment to offer his services on a consultancy basis to clients in the corporate and charitable sectors who were in need of corporate team building and team bonding activities in support of business performance as well as leadership and management development. He has successfully designed and delivered a variety of bespoke adventure-based events and solutions for clients across the island of Ireland to assist them in achieving their learning objectives and business goals. Martin also offers his skills on a voluntary basis to the Mourne Mountain Rescue team and is a Board Member of the Mourne Heritage Trust.
At LifeAdventureCo Martin is responsible for business development and new client liaison. He is never too far from action and stays fully involved with service delivery from initial client briefing stage and project scoping through to post-project evaluation.
Memberships & Qualifications
- Hons. Degree Management & Business Studies, QUB
- Mountain Instructor Award (MLTUK/MIA)
- Winter Mountain Leader Award (MLTUK/SWMLA)
- British Canoe Union Level 3 Sea Kayak Coach
- British Canoe Union Level 3 White Water Kayak Coach
- British Canoe Union Level 3 Open Canoe Coach
- Rescue & Emergency Care Trainer
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John Keating
Position: Operational Director
John has an impressive track record in helping young adults with personal and physical development through the medium of outdoor pursuits and adventure based challenges. Before setting up LifeAdventureCo he was a freelance outdoor pursuits instructor. He then joined the Probation Board for Northern Ireland where he worked for over three years helping to rehabilitate young offenders and ‘at-risk’ groups such as the homeless. He was particularly involved in interpersonal skills development and confidence-building through adventure based learning. He has also delivered team building programmes for community groups and worked with schools on outdoor adventure programmes and skills training such as Duke of Edinburgh expeditions.
At LifeAdventureCo John is our Operations Leader. So whether that’s helping a new team bond, a charity stage a successful fundraising event or a PR agency bring a brand experience to life, John is responsible for ensuring client projects are delivered on time, to budget and to stringent safety standards including all aspects of resourcing and logistics.
Memberships & Qualifications
- Association of Mountaineering Instructors – member
- Mountain Training Association - member
- Institute of Outdoor Learning – member
- Recipient of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal for Mountain Rescue
- Certificate in Coaching
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