Thanks for wanting to learn more about me. I don’t think I am very interesting but I’ve had an adventurous life so far and I hope it keeps going. I have many roles and many interests and maybe we share some of those interests. Get a hold of me on my twitter account and let’s share stories.
Quick Link:
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From Russia with Love
While working for Unilever, I had the opportunity to go to St. Petersburg in Russia for a week as I was tasked as the project manager to implement a new support call center for Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.
It was a journey I didn’t think I would survive as the Luftansa plane taking us in shook and rattled so much it felt like it was from WWII. I got to meet some fantastic people, watch my taxi driver navigate unmarked lanes on busy roads, a tractor driving past traffic on the pavement, and eating Horse in several different cooking styles. I got to enjoy a nice German restaurant, go to a nightclub, walk across a bridge in a snow blizzard, and stop off to drink vodka every 200 yards. I’d have loved to have stayed longer than a week, but the job was done.
Environmental Refugees
During one Soccer tournament I had created and managed, I met a man who ran a local small church charity that worked with refugees and orphans in Nicaragua. I felt compelled to get involved and give myself to a cause without getting paid and so I wrote ‘Festival de Futbol’ and joined them one Spring. We took 250 refugee children and gave them a 3 day training camp and 2 day tournament with the aim of trying to give these children an experience unlike anything they could get. It was a very emotional and empowering visit that I setup my own charity to continue the program and went back the following year.
14,000ft Without a Rope
When living in California, I used to go mountain climbing with my good friend Bill Pridemore. We loved to climb in the winter, especially at 10k+ ft in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, in the Winter when snow was 20ft deep.
Round Top mountain is the 3rd highest peak in the mountain range and is one of the parts of the dangerous Ring of Fire. We reached the summit after a 14 hour climb without rope, where we battled freezing fog, blizzards, frostbite, cramp, hunger and on the last 500ft, I had to carve steps into a vertical ice wall. Epic doesn’t come close!
The view was breathtaking, we were above the clouds and it felt so high that you could touch heaven!
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My career documents my past roles and the places where I’ve worked and lived, but at the moment I have several hats that are very much family-made.
Secondary School Teacher
So I am a Design Technology & Engineering teacher with my NPQ, PGCE and NPQLTD qualifications. I left industry and qualified to be a teacher in 2017 and up until now I have had the pleasure of working in 4 schools (1 during my training), taught DT, 3D Design, Engineering, Art and a little Maths. One of my greatest achievements is taking 2 teams to the F1 in Schools regional finals and winning Fastest Car and the Judges Award.
Chairman, Cri du Chat Support Group
The Cri du Chat Support Group is a national charity that provides support to those living with, and families of those living with; the rare genetic condition Cri du Chat syndrome. I was elected as Chair just before the Covid-19 Pandemic tookover and managed to lead the organisation through it, before enacting some organisational and operational changes to ensure the charity remained a legal entity. Visit the website to learn more, or if you’re feeling generous, donate a little.
Governor, Dorin Park School and Specialist SEN College
I was elected in as a parent governor during the pandemic as someone with both organisational leadership and teaching experience. Two of my children go to this school so I felt it was important for me, for them, and for the friends and families we have in the SEN community; to be a part in it’s governance, to hold leadership accountable for the health, wellness, safety and life development of our young ones. It is a role I have found to be very emotionally rewarding.
Author/Illustrator
I became a self-published author/illustrator in 2022 after sitting on a story idea since 2020 when I didn’t have the time to put any real effort into it. When I turned 40 I decided that I wanted to start and actually finish a project as I always have these mad ideas and I start on something but then get bored or fed-up and move on. So I wrote Grandma Saved a Bumble Bee and quickly, while my inspiration was hot, wrote the 12 Days of Christmas Grandad Gave To Me books. I’m very proud of this and when I get some time, I’d like to complete some of the other book ideas I have floating around.
Business Owner
Talking about projects, I have setup a company called Pelton Energy. I have designed and built a prototype for a new green-energy product that is currently going through the proof of concept phase. I’ve met with investors, patent solicitors, mentoring circles. We’ll see where this goes.
Altrincham Football Club
With my desire to stay connected to the beautiful game, an opportunity came up on Seedrs to invest in Altrincham Football Club as a shareholder. I decided to get involved in this venture because although this club isn’t on my doorstep, it is just up the road in south Manchester, so I might still be able to get to some of the non-league games.
CLUB game – Blockchain Football Management Simulator
While perusing discord, I came across the startup of a blockchain football game called CLUB. The concept is a lot like football manager where I get to build my squad, earn points depending on real life performances, improve my stadium, academy, etc etc. When I invested it was right at the beginning and the rewards for the early investors were some NFTs that when the game goes live, will hopefully be more valuable, especially as you build your club. It will be fun to see where this game goes.
Stocks FC
Again with football, but this time in the stock market. There had been other football based stock market apps, where you earn dividends depending on how the players perform in real life, and people invested tens of thousands into it. The ‘game’ raked in several million of pounds, but unfortunately, the creators ran off with the money, and it left thousands of people fuming. This is the same concept with some tweaks that secure funds and through initial testing, the dividends have been fruitful.
MetaClub Football
Again with football, but this time in the stock market. There had been other football based stock market apps, where you earn dividends depending on how the players perform in real life, and people invested tens of thousands into it. The ‘game’ raked in several million of pounds, but unfortunately, the creators ran off with the money, and it left thousands of people fuming. This is the same concept with some tweaks that secure funds and through initial testing, the dividends have been fruitful.
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