I’ve had an interesting and varied career that started early in life. As children, we spent a lot of time playing and helping at Glashen and Crossag Farms in Ballasalla, running cattle from Dirty Dick’s in Santon back through to Ballasalla on the then not so busy main road, stacking bales, and catching sheep for shearing. At just 10 years old, I took myself along to Peaches Nursery in Castletown and got a Saturday job cleaning the greenhouses and watering plants. I still have an avid interest in greenhouse gardening to this day.
I spent the summer holidays working at the Kodak shop on Queen’s Promenade in Douglas with my grandmother. I remember getting my first ever pay packet and giving half to my mum as house rent, even though I was only about 11 or 12. I also worked the many summer markets in Castletown, Douglas, and at the Railway Station car park in Port Erin, and I was proud that I could sell more Manx tea towels than anyone else. I also worked at the very popular Whitestone Leisure Supplies in Ballasalla, and spent many weekends and school holidays with my father splitting slate for the many Manx stone walls he built around the island.
I left Castle Rushen at 15, and my first full time job was at Litts in East Baldwin as a slaughterman. It was a dirty, smelly, and, for most, stomach turning job. From there, I went to work at Corrin Brothers Farm at Ballaglonney by the Fairy Bridge. I really enjoyed the general farm work, though the big Friesian bull never liked me!
After farm work, I tried my hand at the Ronaldsway Shoe Factory, working the hot lasts and making slippers for M&S. From there, I joined the Manx Electricity Authority, where I assisted the linesmen and jointers before progressing into the power stations. I was trained in running the Ramsey, Peel, and Pulrose Power Stations. Following an accident at the power station, I was lucky to find myself with the opportunity to train as a tattooist here on the island. It was a career that truly caught my imagination. From my early days helping out in studios, I began tattooing, which led to working on the UK and European tattoo circuit, and eventually as far afield as Norway and Canada.
Once the excitement of travel had worn off, I settled into running my business, Manx Tattoo Ltd, with my first studio on Wellington Street in Douglas, before moving 15 years ago to the main part of Douglas High Street at the Castle Street end of town.
I’m very proud of how my company has survived and grown over the years. I’ve managed to work through and overcome the many challenges the industry has faced. My VAT-registered business helps to support four local families and possibly more if I am elected, as I will step back from tattooing (other than on a hobby basis) to keep my ear to the ground and stay in touch with how real, ordinary people are dealing with modern life and how they feel government is treating them. My business attracts people from all walks of life, and their opinions are important and valuable in assessing how government policies directly affect them.
I’m not afraid of hard work, in fact, I’ve always sought it out. I prefer to keep busy, and I enjoy a challenge. I would see being one of the representatives for Rushen as the most important role of my life. I believe I can give the people of Rushen, as well as the wider public of the Isle of Man, a strong voice in the House of Keys and Tynwald.
