Back in 1993 when I finished school I was also a professional Short Track Speed Skater on the National Team for Great Britain.  I had one goal in my life and that was to one day represent my country at a World Winter Olympic Games. My mum and dad were fully supportive of me though were concerned with it being a dangerous sport and the career of a professional athlete having a short lifespan.  They encouraged me to go to college to qualify as a Carpenter at the same time as training full time to make sure I had a profession to revert to when my sporting careered ended.  Although tough to do, I managed to work, qualify and have my sporting career.

I spent the next 7 years traveling the world representing my country at International competitions and World Cups.  In 1998 I reached my lifetime goal of being selected to be part of Team GB to represent my country at the World Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan. 

In 2000, my beautiful daughter was born and I made the hard decision to retire from Short Track to be at around for my new family.  It was then that I realised that my parents were right to ensure I had a trade behind me.  I have been fitting bedrooms, kitchens and bathrooms from then and have never looked back.

I am delighted that my son, now 16, is following in my footsteps.  He was selected by Team GB to represent Great Britain at the Winter European Youth Olympics in February 2019 in Sarajevo.  He has an amazing life in front of him and has recently moved away from home to train full time like I did all those years ago.  My wife and I, as my parents did, have encouraged him to also get a trade behind him whilst being a full time athlete.  He is now training to be a plumber.  Hopefully he’ll look back and thank me one day! 

I have now been installing kitchens and bathrooms and carrying out house renovations for over 20 years since and believe that the traits instilled in me back then during my sporting career are what have made my quality of workmanship so high.  The dedication for perfection, attention to detail, always finding solutions and the positivity all shine through in my work to this day.  I have gradually grown my business through word of mouth over the the years and have taken my time to hand pick a dedicated team who have the same attributes as that I do.  With their hard work and dedication I have a business that I am truly proud of.

Matthew Rowe OLY

Company Director