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PAUL NASH..... A Man with a Heart of Sport
Paul was born in Edgbaston, home of the world-famous cricket ground. His family had moved to Quinton, on the outskirts, which would be of little concern except that I recalled having once researched Quintain, a game played in the Middle Ages, often as training for battle, which depended on players exerting a great deal of agility to avoid some rather nasty personal damage.
A strong post is placed in the ground on which a spindle allows a piece of wood to turn. At one extremity a heavy bag of sand is suspended and from the other a broad enough surface makes it possible to strike it with a spear whilst in full gallop on horseback. The force of the spear immediately spins the wood, increasing the weight of the sand, and whacks the rear of the rider somewhat harshly if his courser is slower than the quintain. What, you will be asking, can this have to do with Paul Nash? Spare a minute, please, for my fertile imagination. [Is that what it is? - Ed.] As I listened to the sporting side of his life, and in particular to his exploits as a goalkeeper, which I will share with you, I could envisage Paul on the horse, getting the occasional knock but accepting such as par for the course.
Mr. Keats, headmaster of The Good Shepherd C Of E Primary school in Oldbury, which was just a jump away from his home, was a much-revered and fearsome guy. When Paul spoke of him, he had a lump in his throat as he added to the description, ‘ruthless yet kind-hearted'. Mr Keats' enthusiasm for sport, and football in particular, was without bounds. He never missed an opportunity to call Paul over for a game as soon as school was over. Sometimes there would be five or six having a kick. At other times just Paul and Mr. Keats. There was no pussyfooting, and countless broken windows. Paul would be assigned to keep goal and would be defending against the full might of 6'3" Mr. K. Paul recalls seeing ‘the white of his eyes' as he set out to score with unabated aggression. The goal? They consisted of asymmetric bars. ‘Health and Safety' was unheard of, as indeed were teachers' work hours and protective clothing. In addition to football, Paul entered into ‘everything on offer', swimming, high- and long jump, athletics and cricket. He also found some time to be at his desk in front of the blackboard.
Next stop, Holly Lodge Grammar in Smethwick. This was an all-boys school but it would seem that the ball was often over the fence, the other side of which was the girls' school. You will not be surprised to know that Paul found himself in goal and was soon ‘keeping' for Borough, County and Regional teams. It is no exaggeration to claim that he had a remarkably good pair of hands. There were at least ten hours of sport every week. As an aside, we wondered if some of the troubles with youngsters today could be ascribed to the miserly minimum one hour a week allotted to sport in the current curriculum. Sports shops would certainly benefit were that to be increased ten fold. But back to reality. As well as soccer, Paul was captain of his school basketball and athletics teams and he swam for the school. Academically, linguistics were his strongest subjects, primarily French and German, and his English is spot-on too. His career might have taken a very different path had it not been for injuries sustained as a goal keeper. His first cartilage problem occurred when he was fourteen, and he was injured as young as ten, thanks, or no thanks, to studs arguing with his knee. After school he played for West Bromwich and Aston Villa youth teams and was rated in the top four in the County. Due to go to either Manchester United or Arsenal, his plans were thwarted by his record of injuries making him too big a risk. Such injuries, he regards, as ‘going with the territory' remarking that, as a goalie, one has to ‘ride it'. He has been in the company of three of his heroes in the last twelve months - Gordon Banks, Pat Jennings and Peter Shilton.
Family plays a large part in Paul's life. His wife Carmen (she was named after Carmen from the opera and the exotic Carmen Miranda. Neither, I am sure, would have bettered her running, swimming or tennis and as a fitness instructor she could have taught either one a move or two. Their daughter Libbi, 17, helped by her 6 feet (well, eight if one includes the two on which she stands) is a county netball player, while son Jay, 18, does well in goal and might well one day achieve stardom in a well-known club. And Laura, their eldest daughter enthusiastically follows the Welsh rugby team.
Career-wise, aside from a brief spell in the stainless steel industry where he quickly rose from the mundane office boy to become assistant marketing director with a special role looking after the ICI account, it has been sport, sport and more sport, all the way. He came into the retail trade in answer to a newspaper advert for a sales assistant at a branch of Britsport, one of the larger members of Intersport GB which like many of its peers at that time was not simply a bona fide sports shop but actually employed ‘real' sports participants to offer expert advice. It is easy to understand how difficult that would be today with the extended opening hours (and days). Did someone say "Oh, for the good old days"? Yes, I did, and how about you? Branded goods were already making their mark. adidas was prominent, Slazenger, Dunlop, Puma, Gola, Umbro, Bukta, Speedo, Arena, Carlton and Grays came quickly to mind as good sellers. Soon it was to their number one store in Birmingham's Bullring, where he was promoted to assistant manager. It was noticeably much busier. There was a different culture but much the same product.
Next came Paul's venture into time on the road. Dave Watkins and Eddie Allan had set up Arena swimwear and took him on as a rep. He soon was into the swim of things and became Sales Manager. Discussing the mix of agents and reps and which were better at maximising sales, we concluded that everything depended on the person, not the title, and the priority was their integrity and commitment to the post. From the pool to terra firma and the UK launch of Asics (attentive readers will know that it means ‘A healthy mind and a healthy body') at London's Café Royal, and yes I remember it well, especially the Tiger Onitsuka badminton shoe. He joined up with Dave, incidentally Paul's Best Man and Eddie, as UK Sales Marketing Manager. Little can they have realised how successfully that brand would run and how many athletes would run in so many marathons wearing that brand.
His career stayed alight for some time with a Dutch company enjoying the boom in shell suits. Perhaps the name ‘Flame' was a foretaste of the burn-out that was to follow this one-time cash cow, but I do recall their swimwear, in the design of which Paul had a hand, was attractive and sold well. And that was followed by "six great years" as Key Account Manager of the Unicorn group. He holds the Lowy family and the firm in high esteem and their ethical approach to business, a worthy model. And then came the big challenge, one possibly for which his varied years in the trade had been making him ready. David Broughton joined Unicorn from Intersport and he was invited to come on board. That was some seven years ago and with eyes wide open to pending problems, he agreed. But Paul does not wear blinkers. He insisted that someone from outside the sports trade be called in so that an objective view could be taken of the situation. Nothing would be swept under the proverbial carpet and who better than someone from the carpet industry to take a look and advise. Soon after, as its Commercial Director, Paul saw the restructure of the Intersport GB we now know. Worldwide, IIC - INTERSPORT International Corporation, based in Switzerland, is the purchasing and management company of the INTERSPORT Group. With its retail turnover of EUR 7.7 billion and more than 4800 associated retailers in 32 countries, the mind boggles. The UK has 61 members, 163 stores and a turnover exceeding £200 million.
A buying show is put on four times a year to coincide with the seasons. Major suppliers are there and provide a unique opportunity for buyers to see and compare product and to meet representatives of the firms. "Well", you may think, "if I am not a member of Intersport, that counts me out so what chance have I to see the latest adidas, Nike, Puma, Reebok, Canterbury, Speedo, Umbro, and to place orders... It's the same old story," you carp on, "we who supported the brands when they were growing ... they don't want to know us now". But how wrong you are! They will be at Nistex, the one-day SGB-backed trade show for sports retailers at Cranmore Park, Solihull, on Thursday July 3. It is not simply the well-known names that will be there; last year many useful contacts were made with newcomers.
The parking is free. Refreshments are free. And you are free: free to forget all about it or free to come and show your support. The outlook for trade, all trade, is not as bright as we might like. But, as the saying has it, ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going' and I would recommend that the place to get going to is Solihull.
Paul has suffered a recurrence of his football injuries and hopefully if you meet him in Solihull, he will not be limping. Another op is in the offing. It is essential if he is to get back to sport, in particular on the tennis courts. But I couldn't help wondering, as we finished our conversation, if the chance arose to have a go at Quintain if he would take that up too. I think he would. This man with a heart of sport would not flinch at such a challenge. But please do not even think about putting any quintains into stock.
Even a bona fide sports shop has to draw a line somewhere.
Jack welcomes your comments and is always glad to discuss your ideas, problems and concerns, either person to person, or in print.
If there is anyone you would like him to meet or any product to write about please contact
The Editor or Jack (writeawayjack@aol.com).
His articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers and are not ‘advertorials'. They are not seen prior to publication by any person or firm to whom they may refer.
