WearTalk
Name : Dan Makaveli Born : Bishop Auckland Lives : Seaburn , Sunderland
Organisation : Media Savvy CIC , co-founder and managing director
When I was at school , I wanted to be … an archaeologist . Or , as I called it at the time , a ‘ dinosaur bone collector ’!
The best career decision I ever made was … becoming self-employed .
The biggest change in my 20 years in Sunderland ... I ’ d have to say , my perception of the city … when I first moved here for university , I would have never dreamt of staying for a minute longer than I had to , but it truly has become the place I call home .
Sunderland can bounce back from the impact of Covid-19 by … being innovative . Working together . Staying positive .
The best part of my job is … seeing the significant impact our work regularly has on people , who we often meet during their darkest times .
The biggest downside of my working life is … saying ‘ yes ’ too often ( my own fault ) and subsequently having to sacrifice things I really don ’ t want to sacrifice !
If I could change one thing about my organisation ... that ’ s a hard one . Certainly NOT the staff !
Four words to describe me are … Resilient . Ambitious . Empathetic . Calm .
My business mantra is … I ’ ve never really thought about this before , but I suppose it would be around believing fully in yourself ; your team ; your mission … otherwise , you shouldn ’ t expect anyone else to .
My greatest achievement is … successfully tackling Roy Keane in a charity match , or summiting Kilimanjaro – it ’ s a close one !
The biggest frustration I encounter in the Wear region is … probably politics ( with a small ‘ p ’), as it was once described to me .
My favourite local charity is … there are so many excellent charities in our locality and being from the third sector I suppose I ’ m a bit more aware of them all . Although it ’ s a non-profit organisation , rather than a charity , I ’ ve always loved Sunderland People First , and I ’ m proud to be able to work in partnership with them quite a bit these days .
When I ’ m not working , I like to spend my time … I don ’ t get much of that at the moment , but I ’ ll say spending quality time with family ( including our pooch , Diego ) and friends , exercise , physical challenges , international adventures , following the Arsenal or maybe just enjoying a good book or ( usually horror ) movie . I should also add practising on my saxophone , but unfortunately some things have got to give .
My guilty pleasures are … I don ’ t necessarily feel guilty about this , but possibly the time
" Believe fully in yourself ; your team ; your mission "
I spend watching classic ( mainly ) horror B-movies – mostly the ones made before I was born !
The best holiday I ever had was … it ’ s got be Peru . We absolutely squeezed every ounce out of a three-week trip , meeting many awesome humans along the way . This adventure highlights included camping in the Amazon , trekking the Inca Trail to Machu Pichu , spending a night on a floating island on the highest navigable lake in the world , visiting the Colca Canyon ( one of the biggest in the world ) and flying above the mysterious Nazca lines .
Not many people know this about me , but … I can make myself sneeze by scratching my eyebrow ! I also once interviewed Sugar Ray Leonard with a colleague while at Sunderland AFC .
In retirement , I ’ ll spend my time … keeping very busy , I intend to sleep when I ’ m dead ! I ’ d like to be able to dedicate a lot more time to one of my biggest passions – independent film production . I also intend to continue to travel as much a possible before I ’ m too old to enjoy it !
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