About John

Born in Bradford in 1971 and raised in the village of Oxenhope in Brontë country, I attended Coventry University between 1990 and 1994, where I graduated with a B.A. Hons (First Class) degree in Modern Languages (German and French as core languages and Russian ab initio).

Proud husband and father with two adult daughters and a teenage son.

I live in Warwickshire and work as Digital Web Development Manager for a large engineering company.

I'm a keen motorcyclist and am a committee member and Social Ride Co-ordinator with my local IAM RoadSmart (formerly, the Institute of Advanced Motorists - IAM) club, Coventry and Warwickshire Advanced Motorcyclists. I was a voluntary National Observer (trainer) for several years, offering on and off-road tuition to motorcyclists wishing to improve their riding skills and ultimately take their advanced motorcycling test, but took an indefinite break from observing duties in late 2024, shifting duties to the club website, alongside my committee and social ride co-ordination roles. I have also earned the highest civilian riding qualification in the UK, the IAM RoadSmart Masters with Distinction. I consider riding a process of continuous improvement. When not helping other bikers, I particularly enjoy motorcycle touring.

My other big passion is my advocacy of electric vehicles and green technologies. Combining the two passions, I became the first person to ride an electric motorcycle between Land's End and John O'Groats in August, 2017 and repeated the journey my newer electric motorcycle in June, 2022.

I have written, co-written, performed, and recorded music and played the drums since 1981 and was a member of the now defunct Coventry originals band BAiT. I also played drums with Coventry-based rock covers band, Ministry Of Beaver for four years between 2008 and 2012, BAiT spin-off covers band, Kill Clouseau, and have otherwise occasionally sessioned for other local musicians.