Interview: TV’s toughest star Titch Cormack on military grit & making it on screen

Titch Cormack is a dynamic Drive & Determination speaker, former military operative, TV presenter and motorcycle enthusiast.

His journey from the battlefield to the small screen and through the challenges of restoring derelict workshops has shaped a compelling message of grit, resilience and passion.

Film News Blitz presents this exclusive interview with The Motivational Speakers Agency.

Titch reveals how one viral video sparked his TV career, the toughest hurdles he overcame in transforming an old workshop into the Speed Shop, and what fuels his relentless ambition for riding, racing and new adventures.

Q: Your journey from the military to television is fascinating. What first sparked your move into TV presenting?

Titch Cormack: “Well, it was from a little tiny video that was done, and it was done for social media. There was a friend of mine who had just started a social media agency. He did that film, and it went around the bazaars and got in the hands of a TV producer who’d been working on Top Gear.

“He saw the shop, saw what we were about, and then he approached me actually on one of the social media platforms and just messaged me out of the blue, asking me if I’d be interested in doing something. We had a little meeting, and before you know it, we did a 10-minute video for the BBC — and we had a pilot.”

Q: Restoring your derelict workshop into the now-iconic Speed Shop must have been quite the undertaking. What was the biggest challenge you faced during that process?

Titch Cormack: “Initially, I was very optimistic with my timelines. I can’t remember because I did a little vlog on it, and I remember saying it would probably take me two months or so. Eight months later, I eventually got it finished!

“You can imagine that the building is nearly 200 years old — it’s a beautiful building with some wonderful features, but it all had to be gutted because it was full of water. There were huge bays because it was a shellfish processing plant that I had to knock out with sledgehammers, all by hand, and get it all out into skips.

“That was probably one of the most manual tasks that I had to do, but to get it actually workable was quite a task. From two months in my mind, it went to eight months, and I was chuffed to bits when I eventually opened it.

“At one point, it looked like we had to move because they were going to develop the place. Fortunately, it’s a lovely building — there are three gabled buildings on Poole Quay — and they were going to knock them flat to put a big glass box on, which would have been a shame because they’re the last original dockside buildings in Poole. There are going to be some renovations in the place, and I will get it up to scratch after this winter’s battering.”

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Q: You’ve built a reputation for your love of vintage motorbikes. Where did that passion originally come from?

Titch Cormack: “I’ve been riding bikes for a long time, and I started racing in the military. They asked me initially — I was doing Enduro motocross racing — and then I got poached by the road racing team. A guy called Billy had spotted me riding and was really keen to get me into road racing.

“I started road racing, and all that time I was building and maintaining my own bikes. While I was doing that, I developed the passion for customisation, changing stuff, and making my own parts. It was through racing that I eventually got into custom motorcycles.

“At the end of my military career, I thought: if I can do what I love, then that’s me made, isn’t it? Everybody’s got that ambition to do something where their hobby becomes their life — and that’s what I did.”

Q: Reflecting on your time in the military, what did that experience teach you about focus and determination?

Titch Cormack: “In the military, I always tried to excel — that’s what I wanted to do. Unfortunately, along the way, I had lots of hurdles to overcome and a lot of injuries. When I talk to people, I can talk from the point of view that I had to overcome so many obstacles in order to focus on the main goal.

“The main goal I had was always that I wanted to be in the Special Forces, which is no easy feat. I knew it was going to be hard work. My first step was the Royal Marines — that was tough enough — but I knew I wanted to push on further.

“There were lots of injuries, broken bones, and setbacks, but I was so focused on what I wanted to do that I managed to achieve them all. To work amongst a group of individuals that were so driven and so focused on the finish line — it was a real pleasure to work with those people.”

Q: You’ve presented both on screen and at live events. How would you describe your hosting style?

Titch Cormack: “My hosting style is really sort of ad hoc. I don’t tend to stick to scripts. I like to have ideas in my head — I’ll always prepare ideas in my head of what I would like to say — but then I just go with the flow.

“That’s the way I like to do it. I don’t stick by the script. I may go off on tangents, but I’ll always come back to the main point.”

Q: When you speak publicly, what’s the core message you want audiences to take away?

Titch Cormack: “Hopefully, when I speak to the public, they all get an idea of what it takes to achieve an aim and what it takes to achieve a major goal — how focused and driven you have to be.

“There are lots of hurdles to overcome in any walk of life, and if you use certain skill sets and certain aspects, you can certainly overcome anything and achieve what you need to do.”

Q: You’ve accomplished so much already — from military service to TV and racing. What’s next in your journey?

Titch Cormack: “Well, I’ve got all sorts going on at the minute — I do keep my fingers in pies! I still work a little bit for the military, and I still do stuff for the security world. I work over in America a bit, doing various things, which is great fun.

“I’m trying to fit in as many adventures as I can. I’m building a motorcycle to go around the world — that is my current project, which I would love to do. I’ll do a few smaller steps initially this year, and then hopefully next year, I’ll be on the road doing a full circumference of the world.

“I’m also back to racing as well — I’m racing in the vintage motorcycle motocross championships this year, and I’m back to modern Enduro racing as well. I try to fit all this in — it’s a busy old life — but I’m also looking at other TV work.

“Potentially on the cards are some military history documentaries, which I’m super keen for. Using the team — John and Billy and myself — we’d build vehicles from World War I and World War II and tell the story of these people’s exploits in those amazing operations that they did using the vehicles that they used.”

This exclusive interview with Titch Cormack was conducted by Megan Lupton of The Motivational Speakers Agency.

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