Ian Rivers is Mr Sutton Coldfield. Or at least he should be. For whilst a lot of his peers have swarmed down to trendy London, Ian has stood firm and was born, lives and works within about a mile radius, here in the Royal Town.
He studied at Derby University, gaining a 2:1 in Experience Of Writing and Film and Television Studies. He found the balance of the two subjects suited him perfectly, allowing him a creative outlet through his writing and the chance to develop his interest in film and television. He produced work in various formats, including a television drama called Strong Shoulders, which was inspired by a strange encounter with an old man one night in the local!
In his final year, Ian was instrumental in producing a poetry anthology of students’ work and following a successful launch, the book shot to second in Derby’s Waterstones bestsellers! “We basically got everyone we knew to come to the launch and buy a copy. It disappeared to a dark corner of the shop about a week later!”
Also in his final year, Ian got involved in the student radio station and built a loyal audience presenting his own show The Friday Seminar and co-presenting the weekend breakfast show. “I thought I was the new Chris Evans, but listening back, I probably wasn’t!”
Ian joined the college as a visiting teacher in 2001 and following spells teaching Communication Skills and General Studies, he made a big money transfer to Media in Summer 2004.
He has two loves; radio and football, and following four years at Sandwell Hospital Radio he had the chance to combine the two, when he landed a job as a football reporter and commentator on BRMB/1152AM Capital Gold.
Ian would like to do more of this work in the future, but still enjoys his teaching. He would also like to do more creative writing and has several projects in the pipeline.
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