Sink or swim for Beverley businessman

Julian Minshall, chairman of the Beverley and District Chamber of Trade and director of successful web design business Indicoll, in Beverley, has faced up to the one life challenge with which he is yet to come to terms.

It was his son, Matthew, who attends Beverley Grammar School, who thought, rather than the usual birthday gifts, it would be a good idea to enter his Dad into the East Riding Triathlon on 6 April - Julian’s 52nd birthday. 

The East Riding Triathlon consists of a 400m swim, 24km cycle ride and 5km run. Julian will then be following this up with the sprint triathlon in Driffield on 18 May.

But, first, he had to learn to swim.

“Without a doubt this has been the biggest challenge,” he said. “I must thank Rob Jones at the Beverley Leisure Centre, my swimming instructor. He had the biggest challenge, getting from me not being able to swim to now having the confidence to complete the swim in a reasonable time.

“I have been learning to swim since November, which has been very hard for me. Now I have started participating in the Park Runs on a Saturday morning in training for the 5km run. The bike has just come out again too, to get the legs back moving.”

It is this perseverance and determination to succeed which has characterised his professional life to date, growing Indicoll at a steady rate in the last three years.

And this is something on which Julian is drawing, in order to drive himself forward during his training.

“In my working life I like to achieve, this is done through hard work, a positive attitude and ignoring the doubts in your head,” he admitted. “Achievers in sport always refer to a positive attitude, never being beaten. In work and training I try to push myself to the limits. So, it is an attitude which helps me.

“At times I have wondered why, but, having young children I like to show them what you can achieve with a positive mindset.

“So, I guess that having the support of the family and colleagues at work has been the driving force to doing this.”

But Julian isn’t just doing it for himself and his family, with Marie Curie Cancer Care also benefiting from his efforts.

“It’s hard when someone you know has cancer,” he said. “To have help in dealing with the situation is a massive support for family and friends, so any money I raise will go to the local nurses.”

To sponsor Julian, visit http://justgiving.com/julian-triathlon.