Christian J. Hadjipateras is a London-born writer and keynote motivational speaker. Having been born with severely complex craniofacial anomalies, he underwent over fifty reconstructive surgeries. His mission is to share his story as well as be a voice for adults and children that have similar conditions. He has been involved with two US-based organizations, Face the Future Foundation in Chicago and Children’s Craniofacial Association in Dallas, dedicated to helping children born with facial differences – both emotionally and financially. He also serves as a ACPA Social Media Ambassador.

He holds a Higher National Diploma in Business from Southampton Solent University and has also studied film and production at the London and New York Film Academies. Passionate about film and production, Christian is also working on his first screenplay. He has also been featured in Authority Magazine, contributed to HuffingtonPost.com, and has an active blog on Medium.com.

Christian and his wife Stephanie split their time between Athens and London

What do you do for a living? Before embarking on motivational speaking, I started off in the maritime shipping industry; and industry my family has been involved with for generations. However, my passion for film eventually led me to Los Angeles where I worked for a tv distribution company and simultaneously delved into film production. I’ve been a writer from a young age and nowadays focus on screenwriting.

How did you start your remote work journey? When I left Los Angeles and settled in Athens, I realised I could forge my own path by focusing on my writing. I did some work for a media company here but then left to work from home. I dabbled in travel writing and visited many places around mainland Greece before deciding to focus on a screenplay, which also led to starting out as a motivational speaker.

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What have you learned working from home? I’ve learnt that you have to maintain discipline and a routine. I’d always enjoyed the routine of having somewhere to go to work, so working from home took time to get used to. It’s about managing your time effectively.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted almost every part of the economy and our daily lives. What challenges have you encountered both personally and professionally? How have you weathered these challenges? These unprecedented times have forced us all to take stock and put things into perspective. I believe that remote work was on the up even before the pandemic, but this past year has probably accelerated it even more. We all miss the interaction of networking and socialising and I do believe that that will return eventually, but there’s no doubt that work as we knew it may not go back to the way it used to be – in a beneficial way.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an increased sense of fear, depression, and isolation. How have you been able to get through pandemic-related anxiety and stress issues? I think the main reason for the increased fear, depression and isolation that the pandemic has brought has been largely down to how unprecedented it was and that we’re all wondering when life will return to the way it was. Personally, the uncertainty of it all has hit me the most and what has helped me has been maintaining physical exercise, which in turn improves your mental well-being. I believe and hope that we will come out of this with a renewed sense of appreciation and compassion.

What are your best mental health tips? As I touched on earlier, I think physical exercise is an integral part of our mental well being. A walk or run, even if it’s just a couple of days a week can’t be underestimated. Equally important is to stick to a routine and to keep that all important discipline when it comes to work.

Before the pandemic hit, you may have worked in an office or corporate setting, but what do you foresee happening now? How do you see companies allowing employees to work? I do believe that we will go back to the way things were, but perhaps not entirely as it was. For example, I think companies may offer – or even encourage – working from home or setting up a system whereby employees alternate between working from home or from the office. Whilst there are benefits to both employers and employees in working from home, I don’t think society would ever want to lose the social interaction which comes with work. Zoom calls are great, but they don’t compare to face-to-face interaction.  

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Do you believe that remote work is the future? I definitely think that it’ll increase. There are advantages and disadvantages, so I foresee employers offering more flexibility.

How do you think COVID will shape the future of business? I think it’s inevitable that the pandemic will have an impact on the future in the sense that it’ll take some time before global economies are back to where they were before it all began. Companies may take measures to safeguard their employees, interests, assets and cash reserves which will contribute to slow recovery, but that will be beneficial in the long run.

How can readers get in touch with you? You can get in touch via my website, www.christianhadjipateras.com, and I’m also on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

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The Blue Ocean Life Nation Interview Series is an innovative interview series that asks the tough questions to some of the boldest innovators and brightest minds in the evolving world of remote work, entrepreneurship, the health and wellness industries, and more. Want to tell us more about yourself or your cause in one of our interviews? Send us a message