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Getting to know... Paul Blake

We know you as the owner of the Newcastle Eagles, and a member of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, but who is the person behind the title? Tell us a little about what makes you tick…

I’m a big sports fan but probably a bigger music fan, with an interest in pretty much all genres. Like sport its super inspiring and you can never lose listening to music! Along with family and friends, I love live music and enjoy concerts and festivals. Travelling is also a big love and out of season we try to get to as many new places as possible. 

Did you always want to work in your industry?

Yes, working in sport was always top of the list for me, if I wasn’t going to make the dream of being a professional sportsperson. It has its highs and lows like any job but is very rewarding. Winning trophies over the years has been the hallmark of the club, but the achievements of the Foundation and Club staff and volunteers in the regional community is the real story for me. To see so many young people playing basketball in the North-East is what it’s really all about.

What’s the best bit about your job? And the worst?

The diversity of activity keeps the brain active for sure; managing professional athletes, working with North-East businesses, building an audience base, management of the Arena and its multiple events, running a junior basketball programme with 175 teams, overseeing over 40 home basketball events last season, there is never a dull. In a business where winning and losing is a weekly occurrence,  dealing with the highs and lows whilst managing the day to day operations never gets an easier.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

The work of the Foundation in building the junior basketball network that now exists in our region; 13 junior club sites with over 2,000 young players and 175 teams playing every weekend at the Vertu Motors Arena.

How do you relax outside of work?

I am a very average golfer but love it. As I’ve said I Iove music and we get to concerts and festivals whenever we can.

What makes the North East such a great place to live and work?

I moved up to Newcastle from Bristol in 1989 to come to University and stayed, it’s a beautiful place and everything is so accessible; great sport, great music, great nightlife, great coastline and countryside.

Tell us something about you we didn’t know…

I love travelling with family and going off the beaten track, new adventures coming soon!

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Entrepreneurs' Forum .