For some people, the thought of reaching midlife evokes images of crisis, desperation, and even outright denial. Getting to the point where half of your life is behind you can be upsetting, and understandably so.
Still, as British author and speaker Andy Martin’s own midlife reinvention shows, growing older can be a time of positive identity change and practical transformation. This is the focus of his upcoming memoir: The Movie of Your Life. As he says, “It’s never too late.”
A Hard Reset
Andy knows how difficult it is to reinvent oneself because he lived through the experience himself. As an entrepreneur of over two decades in Amsterdam’s nightlife and hospitality scene, owning The Mansion (with Johnny de Mol), Cineac (with DJ Tiesto), and Bungalow 8 (with Amy Sacco), he did well for himself until his club began to struggle, eventually causing him to buckle under the pressure once he reached 50. At this point in his life, he drank heavily, tied his identity to his industry, and nearly went bankrupt.
In 2016, Andy went to get a medical check-up in Germany, more so out of curiosity than anything else. He expected to receive bad news that would force him to change, but to his surprise, he was given a clean bill of health. This response shocked him, kickstarting his transformation after he realized change would have to come from within.
Undergoing Reinvention
Following his revelatory visit to the clinic, Andy spent the next two years rebuilding himself, withdrawing from his social life, giving up alcohol, and redesigning his business model around efficiency. Following a successful multi-million-euro exit, while attending a music event in Amsterdam, Andy unexpectedly encountered the woman who had once rejected him when he was at his lowest. This meeting was different, however, as Andy had since become healthier and more in control of his own story, making the reunion the turning point for both his personal and professional life. The two moved to Ibiza and have not parted ways since.
The moment stuck with Andy since the woman told him he was too old after he had asked her to become the leading lady in his life. It was this exchange that eventually became the symbol of what he now calls The Movie of Your Life, an idea that encapsulates the notion of designing one’s final scene and then living toward it.
This idea was soon put into practice when Andy founded and developed Novikov Ibiza in 2020, joining the rest of the international Novikov brand. He later sold the business in June 2025 to run the transformation platform he operates today, marking his transition from nightlife to thought leadership.
Creating a Transformation Platform
The Movie of Your Life has since become a “memoir plus transformation book” that serves as the first entry of several books, including The Moment of Responsibility and Impossible to Fail, both of which discuss the importance of taking ownership of one’s life and creating situations for oneself that can only lead to success.
These texts only form part of Andy’s body of work, however, as he is also a prolific speaker whose corporate seminars include “Becoming Selfish: The Radical Act That Saved My Life (And Why It’s Not What You Think),” “I Had Everything I Wanted (And It Was Killing Me),” and “Rewrite the Script: Becoming the Star of Your Second Act,” all of which can be found on his website alongside his social media and a selection of courses.
Today, his work sits at the intersection of leadership, performance, and well-being, themes that matter more than ever in corporate life. Andy serves as a transformation guide who provides self-development expertise for executives and other professionals seeking burnout recovery. His continually expanding body of literature and other works showcase how, for Andy, reaching midlife did not put him into a crisis, but instead gave him the opportunity of a lifetime.
