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Born in 1962 at Bowles Rocks, East Sussex. Chris had an early introduction to climbing, watching his parents Terry & Julie, climbing and instructing on the then barely explored sandstone outcrops of the South East of England.

Childhood holidays were spent either helping his parents with groups in the mountains or climbing and hill walking abroad.

During his teenage years Chris climbed extensively on the local sandstone outcrops as well as starting to explore the mountains of the UK.

His first job was at a local outdoor centre teaching many aspects of outdoor education, including rock climbing. He also spent a summer working for a centre in the USA. Back in the UK he took a job working with young people with special needs and started to introduce them to climbing an aspect of his work he continues to develop to this day.

When his mother Julie died tragically in 1986 on K2 in the Himalayas, the second highest mountain in the world, Chris began to teach climbing again, working mainly for Kent County Council but tending to specialise in special needs. He also started to travel again visiting most climbing areas in the UK with ascents of many classic climbs, including the Old Man of Hoy, (The UK's most inaccessible climb) as well as in Europe and the USA. After the death of Julie Tullis on K2. Chris and his father Terry started SOFT ROCK to provide a meeting place for the climbers who used Harrison's Rocks, In the early days this was just a mobile weekend cafe situated on the car park at Harrison's. It soon expanded into a outdoor shop as well as the cafe. Chris was still instructing during the week, but over time the demand for Birthday Parties and weekend instruction grew and unable to find reliable staffing for the cafe and shop it had to close.

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