1 : WHAT DO YOU DO ?
A :
My wife and I own and operate The Fish Tank and The Happy Swim Company .
2 : WHO HAVE YOU WORKED FOR IN THE PAST ?
A : There ’ s a long and diverse list including Ness Furniture , Geka Manufacturing , Thermodynamix , Pipeline Engineering , Tekmar Energy and up until 2019 our own successful business , Water Babies Durham & Darlington .
3 : BEST PART OF YOUR JOB ?
A :
The freedom to determine the future of our business and work on plans that can positively impact a lot of people , from employees to customers .
4 : IS THERE ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR JOB THAT YOU REALLY DON ’ T LIKE ?
A :
Not a lot , apart from the difficulties in extracting both my wife and myself from the business long enough to take a family holiday , something we haven ’ t done in a number of years .
5 : FAVOURITE THING ABOUT WORKING ON AYCLIFFE BUSINESS PARK ?
A :
The community spirit and the fact you can find most things you need within the business park , from coffee shops to accountants to HR support .
6 : WHICH COMPANY / INDIVIDUAL ON THE PARK DO YOU DO THE MOST WORK WITH ?
A :
Jeff at Classic Signs is our go-to for interior and exterior signage . They made our building look great and their installation team is top quality .
7 : WHICH AYCLIFFE BUSINESS OR INDIVIDUAL DO YOU TIP FOR FUTURE SUCCESS ?
A :
I think we ’ ll all benefit from the new Forest Park expansion and the extra attention that it will bring to the region . Anyone who is part of Aycliffe Business Park can only benefit from the increased footfall it will bring to the area .
8 : FOUR FAMOUS PEOPLE YOU ’ D LOVE TO HAVE ROUND FOR DINNER AND WHY ?
A : Nikola Tesla . I ’ d love to understand more about his work , and hear about some of the technology he was developing . Mahatma Ghandi . I ’ d love to meet him and understand how he became so influential over so many people . Donald Trump . Just to meet someone who thinks in billions and to learn what made him so successful in business prior to his presidency . Arnold Schwarzenegger . A truly inspirational individual who knew the importance of dreaming big , and he ’ d be there to tell everyone to ‘ get to the chopper ’ when we were finished .
9 : |
IF YOU COULD DO SOMETHING ELSE IN BUSINESS , WHAT
WOULD IT BE ?
|
A : |
Own a superyacht chartering business . |
10 : WHO ’ S YOUR FAVOURITE TWEETER ?
A :
I honestly have never looked at Twitter . A tweeter to me is part of my hi-fi system !
11 : HAVE YOU EVER DONE ANYTHING REALLY DARING ?
A : Trained with a Muay Thai world champion in Thailand , jumped from a crew transfer vessel to a dive control boat in the middle of the Irish Sea during rough seas , and stroked a tiger while travelling in Sri Lanka .
12 : |
WHAT ’ S THE BEST PIECE OF BUSINESS ADVICE YOU ’ VE BEEN
GIVEN ?
|
A : |
Risk nothing , risk everything . |
13 : |
IF MONEY WAS NO OBJECT , WHAT WOULD BE YOUR IDEAL CAR ? |
A : |
Ferrari GTC4Lusso , a four-seat supercar with a glorious V12 . |
That is while cars like that are still legal . |
14 : |
MONEY NO OBJECT , YOUR DREAM HOLIDAY WOULD BE ? |
A : |
Three months in a villa somewhere hot , possibly the Maldives . |
15 : |
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE BAND OR TYPE OF MUSIC ? |
A : |
Metallica , Pearl Jam , Guns n Roses . |
16 : WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT ?
A :
Completing The Fish Tank build while we had zero household income ( that ’ s a long story for another time ). And our four children who make every bit of hard work worthwhile . And managing to hold on to a full head of hair while raising those children – maybe cut that last bit , that didn ’ t really work out !
17 : HOW WOULD YOU BEST DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN FOUR WORDS ?
A :
‘ Creative , resourceful , visionary ’, and my family would probably add ‘ sarcastic ’.
18 : |
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN FIVE YEARS ? |
A : |
On a road trip with my wife across Europe in my GTC4Lusso . |
19 : WHO ’ S THE MOST FAMOUS PERSON YOU ’ VE EVER MET ?
A :
RISK NOTHING , RISK EVERYTHING .
I washed the car windscreen of Paul Gascoigne and Ian Botham on the same day while working at Washington Services , offering a free oil check and handing out promotional milkshake vouchers …
20 : DO YOU HAVE ANY GUILTY PLEASURES ?
A : Action movies from the 80s and 90s . The Terminator , Predator , The Lost Boys , Top Gun , Aliens , Platoon , anything like that .
The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 7