CCB Magazine

ADHD and other neurobiological conditions are ubiquitous in the music industry. Tristan Hunt is one of the very first coaches with a unique music industry expertise who helps people with ADHD in the music business. At Most Wanted Music this year he talked about his experiences.
 

INTERVIEW  Boris Messing

CCB Magazine:Hello Tristan, you are an ADHD coach for musicians and music industry professionals. Why do people in the music industry need a special coach just for them? Won’t any ADHD coach do it?

Tristan Hunt:Well, you see, my clients don’t need to explain the context in which they work. I spent 20 years working in the music industry, I understand the different music industry roles they`re in. So, they can explain their ADHD in the context of their specific role. It makes the process a lot easier for them and creates strong understanding between us from the start. I went through this process myself when I got diagnosed with ADHD late in life. After that I looked around. There wasn’t really anyone who had the music industry experience combined with coaching expertise with ADHD to help people with this condition. 

CCB Magazine:That’s why you retrained to become a coach to provide that service for people. 

Tristan Hunt:Right. The key aspect is the fact that we know that the music industry and the creative industries in general attract a lot of neurodiverse people. People with Tourette syndrome, ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, all these wonderful neurodiverse conditions enable them to be especially creative.  

CCB Magazine:How is ADHD connected to creativity? Isn’t it rather a handicap? 

Tristan Hunt:We wouldn’t call it a handicap, although it is classified as an unseen disability in many countries. The reason for that is that neurodiverse conditions still often carry a lot of stigmas attached to them. We like to look at this in a more empowering way. The reason why they are successful in the music industry is because they have this neurodiverse condition. Now, it definitely can cause some challenges in terms of paying bills on time, getting back on invoices, putting together forms, responding to dull emails and things like that. Things that are repetitive or rather boring to do. With ADHD the brain thinks in a non-linear way. So rather thinking from A to B, it’s taking detours, goes back and forth and here and there – which is fantastic for sparking new creative ideas!

The music industry attracts a lot of neurodiverse people. People with Tourette syndrome, ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia - all these wonderful neurodiverse conditions enable them to be especially creative

CCB Magazine:Most of your recent career you worked for the Association For Electronic Music. First of all, what did you do there? And how did you end up where you are?

Tristan Hunt:I started off working in night clubs back in the late 90s. And then I spent my summer term in university in all sorts of weird and wonderful Ibiza clubs doing laser shows. Then, later, I was working for event companies in the production field. That lead me to work with artists more directly, stage management for instance, and I also worked for festivals, clubs, and record labels in the UK, in Spain, and in Australia. When I moved back to London after all that I was focusing more on copyright protection and other legal stuff in the music industry. And finally, I became a member of the Association For Electronic Music and got twice elected to the executive board where I served for 2,5 years. Then a job opportunity popped up and I had the chance to work for another four years in the core team of AFEM. And about two months ago I launched my own ADHD music industry specific coaching business. 

CCB Magazine:You have ADHD yourself, but most of your career you didn’t know it and just kept going. What changed in your professional and also in your private life after you got the diagnosis of having ADHD?

Tristan Hunt:It’s such a powerful moment for many people when they get diagnosed with ADHD. Suddenly so much in your behavior is explained, things you didn’t understand before. I would fly around to conferences, talking on panels on mental health and a whole range of other topics in the music industry, I worked at a high level with stake holders and so forth, covering just every aspect of the industry. And, you know, I managed to get a master degree etc. But at the same time, I struggled to pay my bills. I struggled to manage my money. I would struggle to manage my appointments and turn up on time. I constantly felt overwhelmed. It was hard for me just to keep my head above water. And I could never figure out why. I constantly compared myself to my peers and my friends, people I worked with. And I told myself, you just have to try harder, you’re been too lazy and so forth. The reason I couldn’t focus, I thought, was somehow my fault. But when I got my diagnosis, it made sense all of a sudden and I understood that it is a neurobiological condition. And this understanding was the catalyst for changing things. 

It is estimated that as much as 35 to 50 percent of people working in the music business have a neurodiverse condition like ADHD. Some people have very mild symptoms and are not much affected by it, while for others their symptoms are much more pronounced

CCB Magazine:So, with all this personal experience, how do you help the people that want to work with you? 

Tristan Hunt:The work I do with clients is focused on helping them build a routine and a structure that works for them. So, often what we see with people that have ADHD is that they find it very difficult to build those routines and structures. They are often all over the place, they’re very impulsive, and that makes it hard getting life’s biggest tasks done. I give them practical tools and tips at hand to manage all this, which often specifically relate to their music industry job. Once a good structure is in place for them, I go back to those tools again and again to create stability. The repetition helps to reduce the cognitive overwhelm. It enables people to feel calmer, to feel more focused and to get the work and activities done they want to do. 

CCB Magazine:Are any well known among your clients?

Tristan Hunt:Yes, there are. I work with several well-known musicians and people across the music industry. I can’t tell you the names, but I have some testimonials on my website from others, industry folk who felt confident and comfortable doing so. My coaching sessions are completely confidential. Very often I’m the first person they talked to about their problems. They often have tears in their eyes as the realization dawns that they are not at fault for so many of the challenges they’ve previously blamed themselves for.

CCB Magazine:What’s the difference between ADHD therapy and coaching?

Tristan Hunt:Very important point. Simply put, talk therapy like psychoanalysis is about addressing the root causes of why we feel how we feel. Where do these behaviors come from? Where do those thoughts and ideas arise from? That often goes back to childhood issues, also past traumas are possible. Therapy is all about understanding oneself. With coaching on the other hand, there’s a strong element of self-understanding but it’s focused pretty much on the here and now. How do we help you to get done what you want to do? That includes, as I said, tools, tips, structures, strategies and most of all routines on a day-to-day basis. And occasionally, if I think that might be needed, I recommend my clients therapists, doctors, addiction specialists that I work with who can provide specialist clinical support if needed. 

Very often I’m the first person they talked to about their problems. They often have tears in their eyes as the realization dawns that they are not at fault for so many of the challenges they’ve previously blamed themselves for

CCB Magazine:You already mentioned it, many people in the music industry have ADHD. How big is the problem as a matter of fact? 

Tristan Hunt:AFEM has just finished a study on neurodiversity in the electronic music industry, which I led shortly before I stepped down from my role there. I think it’s the first of its kind in the music industry. When that is published it will really have some interesting facts and figures. What I know from different sources that it is estimated that anecdotally some think that as much as 35 to 50 percent of people working in the music business have a neurodiverse condition like ADHD. But the spectrum of the severity varies greatly. Some people have very mild symptoms and are not much affected by it, while for others their symptoms are much more pronounced. 

CCB Magazine:Is ADHD actually something new in the music industry, or is it only talked about because society has become more sensitive? Haven't the fidgets on the guitar always existed?

Tristan Hunt:ADHD has been known to the medical profession, albeit by a variety of different names, for over 100 years. So, if the music industry is just the micro of the macro - the macro being our wider society - then we can surely say that the condition is nothing new to our business. I think that society is, thankfully at long last, becoming more sensitive, caring, and considerate about the needs of individuals. What we’re seeing now in the music industry is a far higher number of people stepping forward and getting diagnosed and finding they have ADHD.

CCB Magazine:Who is more affected – men or women?

Tristan Hunt:There are three types of ADHD: Hyperactive (your guitar fidget if you will), more common in men and more readily seen in boys. Then the Inattentive presentation type, which we see more often in girls and women. The third version is Combined presentation type, where someone is both Hyperactive - finds it hard to be physically and mentally still - and Inattentive - where they struggle to focus and push past procrastination. 

CCB Magazine:Last but not least: are there any advantages of having ADHD? 

Tristan Hunt:Oh, so many things! People with ADHD are often highly emphatic, making them very good with people. Broking relationships, making connections, all those things. I already mentioned creativity and a good intuitive sense, a good gut feeling for things. The flipside to not being able to focus on boring or non-urgent tasks (neither produces enough of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which ADHD brains chronically lack, to get the such jobs done) they can hyperfocus on work that interests them, making them super-efficient and effective with such task. These are very valuable and highly desirable skills in a business fueled by creative talent like the music industry. We have to appreciate, support and understand people with ADHD and other neurodiverse conditions. By doing so they will thrive and we’ll all benefit from their strengths and many amazing gifts they have to offer.

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