
About
My aim is to connect people from different but complementary backgrounds to create success and 'make a difference'. I don’t seek financial support from these people - only their help and advice; I fund everything myself.
I am passionate about sport, and through my Drake Foundation, I connected mainstream contact sport in the UK (elite football and rugby) with neuroscience research. Since I started the Foundation in 2014, I have personally invested £2.2 million into pioneering scientific research and powerful collaborations between sport, science and society. Our goal is to put player welfare first, and also apply learnings about brain health to wider society.
Latest news from The Drake Foundation:
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New rugby concussion reports call for action on brain trauma
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The Drake Foundation urges immediate changes in rugby to further prioritise player welfare
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Professional rugby may be associated with changes in brain structure
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'Buck passing' over sport concussion protocols slammed by MPs | ITV News
My philanthropic ventures utilise many of the resources of our science publishing operation. They span science, sport, music and art.
I am also an amateur artist, aiming to do more than just creating a likeness. My portraits have proved a wonderful way of connecting with remarkable people whom I admire, and special moments in time. These include the great actress Dame Judy Dench, football ‘great’ Marco van Basten and the sale of the Salvatore Mundi painting by Leonardo for a world-record price. See My Oil Paintings for more details.
Please get in touch if you believe that we can work together to make a positive change!

James Drake, presenting Football legend Marco Van Basten with a portrait he painted at the Drake Football Study kick-off meeting.