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Paul Hopfensperger
Paul Hopfensperger (born 1963) is a former British politician and open water swimmer. He is also an international best-selling author and musician, and singer/songwriter/guitarist with the British mod revival band The Teazers. He served as the first Suffolk County Councillor for Tower Division from 2005 to 2009, and as the first West Suffolk District Councillor for St Olaves Ward from 2019 to 2023. He was the deputy mayor of Bury St Edmunds from 2005 to 2006 and from 2019 to 2020. Hopfensperger was a member of the Conservative Party until 2008, when he became an independent.[1] BiographyHopfensperger attended Culford School in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, and graduated from the Cambridge College of Arts and Technology with a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Mechanical/Computer Aided Engineering . Political careerHopfensperger unsuccessfully stood for election to St Edmundsbury Borough Council in 1999 and 2003 (losing by just 5 votes) before being co-opted into the newly formed Bury St Edmunds Town Council at its second ever meeting in June 2003, and serving as deputy mayor from 2005 until his resignation in April 2006.[2] Hopfensperger was elected to the newly created Tower Division on Suffolk County Council in 2005 as a Conservative, serving as the Vice Chairman of the Roads and Transport Scrutiny Committee and Assistant to the Portfolio Holder for the London 2012 Olympic Games. However, in February 2008 he left the party over its policy to abolish the county's middle schools.[1] A month later he received a police caution under the Representation of the People Act during a by election for Bury St Edmunds Town Council for stating "It looks like Paul Farmer has done well" on his website after returning from the opening of the postal votes.[3][4] Hopfensperger unsuccessfully ran for re-election to Suffolk County Council in 2009 in Hardwick Division, before winning a seat on St Edmundsbury Borough Council in 2011 which he held until 2023, by which time St Edmundsbury had merged with Forest Heath to become West Suffolk District Council.[5] In the 2017 general election he nominated to run for Parliament in the Bury St Edmunds constituency[6] but he withdrew before the election for personal reasons. He did run in 2019[7] prioritising local issues,[8] finishing 4th (of 4 candidates) in an election dominated by Brexit, with 2.7% of the vote.[9] In 2021 Hopfensperger criticized the post-Brexit trading arrangements as a "complete and utter disaster". He said, "If anyone tells me 'we knew what we were voting for' I say to them you certainly didn't know what you were voting for."[10] Elections contestedUK Parliament elections
Suffolk County Council elections
Borough of St Edmundsbury and West Suffolk District Council elections
Bury St Edmunds Town Council elections
Swimming careerDuring his youth, Hopfensperger was a competitive swimmer representing his home town of Bury St Edmunds and the county of Suffolk, including captaining the Bury St Edmunds Swimming Club ('The Bury Beavers') on three occasions between 1978 and 1981.[13][14] Hopfensperger has completed two solo crossings of the English Channel in 2007[15] and 2008,[16][17] making him the 84th person in history to swim the channel more than once.[13] He also participated in one relay in 2010 as part of the six person 'Team Iryna International English Channel Relay Team'.[18][13] Hopfensperger's first swim in 2007 was broadcast live from the English Channel by reporter Jon Wright for BBC Radio Suffolk. Updates were broadcast throughout the day for the duration of the 13 hour 52 minute swim.[19] His swim was also featured in the first episode of the Discovery Channel documentary series Human Body: Pushing the Limits.[20][15][14] In 2008 Hopfensperger competed at two FINA Open Water Grand Prix,[21] becoming oldest known person to represent Great Britain in the sport of open water swimming.[22][14] Personal lifeHopfensperger is married to Rebecca who is currently a West Suffolk District and Suffolk County Council councillor and the former Mayor of Bury St Edmunds (2005–2006).[23] Author and musicianDuring the COVID pandemic, Hopfensperger co-authored a book with various internationally renowned speakers including Kyle Wilson, Denis Waitley, and Tom Ziglar titled Bringing Value, Solving Problems and Leaving a Legacy. The book became an International #1 Amazon Bestseller.[24][25][26] In 2021, Hopfensperger, who has been in bands since the age of ten and is guitarist and singer/songwriter with the English band The Teazers, was part of an international collaboration of success minded individuals who featured on Roy Smoothe's 'smoothe mix' album titled Success Mindset Mix. This album also hit number one in five categories on the Amazon chart. His song titled Just Keep Swimming Until You Get To France! was based on his experience of swimming the English Channel.[24] Publications, Podcast and radio appearancesHopfensperger also has been a guest on a number of radio shows and podcasts discussing politics, swimming the English Channel, music and personalised nutrition/personalized medicine. Radio
Podcast appearances
Facebook Live
Publications
Television In 2010 Hopfensperger appeared on the TV quiz show Eggheads where he captained a team of six English Channel swimmers called "Channel Buoys and Gulls". The team included 'King of The English Channel' swimmer Kevin Murphy.[29]
References
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