My guest this episode is Matthew Russell – a successful businessman and distillery owner based in Kent – his latest project has been the creation of the Copper Rivet Distillery in Chatham, from scratch, in a former dockyard building, the amazing Pumphouse Number Five – and extraordinary bit of Victorian architecture sat right next to the River Medway – where they make gin, whisky and vodka using all locally sourced ingredients.
But he has a really interesting backstory – academically awful at school, he couldn’t read when he was 11, and failed his English GCSE four times – before being eventually diagnosed with dyslexia aged 18. After a spell sheep wrangling in Australia and then several years in the police – he started working alongside his dad Bob Russell in building up Beams International – a firm that make all sorts of bespoke packaging, mainly for food and drinks manufacturers – from Heinz to Guinness to Lanson and Glenfiddich
He’s a really engaging and entertaining chap – who is living proof that there is no one right way of building a successful career or business.
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