Dom is the newest member of the NB team, joining in April 2021 as a Digital Marketing Executive based in Edinburgh. With experience in an agency, various sports communications roles, a window blinds showroom and even a pea factory, Dom’s had an interesting career to date. Outside of the office he enjoys trying to stay fit, spending time on his local beaches and taking too many photos of his St Bernard, Heidi.
Tell us a surprising fact about yourself…
I’ve never tried coffee. It always comes as a surprise to people when I tell them – especially in an office environment – and I’m always then bombarded with offers to try one. It’s controversial, but the smell puts me off!
What are your top three life highlights…
The most recent one that comes to mind was travelling with the GB Women’s squad to EuroBasket Women as their Press & Media Officer in the summer of 2019. It was a great learning experience working at such an elite level and the team made history by reaching the semi-finals for the first time in Great Britain’s history. We also travelled to some amazing cities, Riga and Belgrade, and I got the chance to spend a month with an amazing group of people who I now consider friends for life.
In the summer of 2013, I was part of a school trip that spent three weeks travelling around Peru, working at several orphanages to build new accommodation and support their efforts to help children who had been forced onto the streets. We also got to experience the tourist side of the country, visiting Machu Picchu and sampling traditional Peruvian cuisine. Our last few days were spent in a remote part of the Amazon, only accessible via river boat, and that was really special.
For the third one I’d have to say passing my driving test. Not the test itself – that was fairly uneventful, thankfully – but more the ability to travel and freedom it provided. I grew up in quite a remote area, so it created so many opportunities for my friends and I. We’ve had a lot of memorable road trips over the years and I’m looking forward to planning more soon.
Have you ever been told you look like a celebrity?
This is one that I get far too often! It used to be Russell from the movie Up and now it’s Yorki from Jojo Rabbit!
What did you want to be when you were a child?
When I was young I wanted to be a vet. I changed my mind a few years later and became more interested in architecture and car design. By the time I reached school leaving age I had changed my mind again, choosing to follow what I enjoyed most at school and, well, here I am.
What are your most overused words or phrases?
I can’t think of any words or phrases that I use too much, but I am guilty of bombarding my friends with too many screenshots or links to social posts that I’ve found funny. Dog photos too – I highly recommend following WeRateDogs on Instagram.
What is the favourite aspect of your job?
I love the fact that no two days are the same. There’s always a fresh challenge to tackle and I like to be kept on my toes. It’s also really enjoyable to see campaigns and projects unfold from start to finish. It’s always satisfying to see work do well when you know the effort everyone put in to reach that point.
When you are able to visit Shetland, what would you most like to see?
I would jokingly say the distillery because of my love for gin but, more generally, I can’t wait to get the opportunity to explore the islands and meet everyone. I’ll have to rely on the team to be my tour guides. I know Calum mentioned kayaking in his blog and I’d love to get involved with that!
What is the most important personal attribute that you bring to your job?
I like to think I bring a lot to my job but I’d probably say my ability to create new ideas. I am often the person that others come to for brainstorming as I love to think creatively and come up with unique solutions to problems. Away from work, I also like to think I’m fun to be around and I’m usually the one to supply snacks too, which is always good.
What tech innovation has made the most impact on your life?
Probably the iPhone – although I imagine that’s a fairly common answer to this question. All the ways you can stay connected and its ability to serve as a computer on the go has made life much easier both professionally and personally. To give an example, I once researched, wrote and shared a full player announcement in a car park after the club I worked for needed it put live whilst I was doing my weekly shop!
What would you name your boat if you had one, and why?
I can’t think of a specific name off the top of my head sadly. If I was to buy a boat though, I would probably seek inspiration from Traffic Scotland and the names they give their gritters - Spready Mercury, Sir Andy Flurry and Lord Coldemort to name a few!
How would you convince someone to visit the place you love the most?
Food! I love taking people back to my hometown and we have the best ice cream shop there, Giacopazzi’s. There’s also a bar attached to that, Oblo, which makes amazing nachos – and I love nachos. Once we’ve eaten slightly too much there’s some beautiful walks nearby to burn off some of the excess calories.