In ConversationWith -DerekOKelly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A great sport
Irish Beauty catches up with Derek O Kelly, Founder of The Waverley Academy, to find out more about his work and what makes him happy in life.
I ended up in the beauty industry because…It started more than 20 years ago with a background and passion in sports, fitness and massage education; this was how the company started. Beauty, hairdressing and make-up education just seemed like a natural addition. I suppose you could say we were in the ‘look good feel good’ sectors of education. It’s the area of education that excites me the most and one where there is scope for vast improvements in education.
If I wasn’t in the beauty industry I would…Almost definitely be in an educational role in sports psychology and sports injuries. The workings and capabilities of the body and mind fascinate me.
The best thing about my job is… The certainty of uncertainty; there’s never a dull moment (not for the faint hearted, but a great excuse for having a couple of drinks at the weekend).
An average day for me is… Generally a combination of meetings, writing, curriculum development, quality assurance issues, phone calls, emails, marketing and business development. I am also involved at the moment in developing the next wave of adult learning with some subject matter experts. We are working on the design of learning which combines technology, the arts, psychology and science. They’re calling it TAPS. It’s fascinating stuff and it excites me no end.
My ideal weekend would be… Family get togethers, browsing book shops, reading, writing and working on TAPS.
My favourite book is…For personal reasons a book titled What’s the
106 Derek O Kelly
Story, which I co-authored in 1992. It chronicled the amusing exploits of the Irish soccer supporters during Euro ‘88 and Italia ‘90, and involved almost two years of bizarre research. Far from a literary classic, but it helped turn my life around and changed it in ways I never expected.
My favourite film is…One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
The most famous person I have met is…George Best, Con Houlihan, Jack Charlton, and Pope John Paul II (in that order).
My favourite part of the world is… The Greek islands and Nerja in Spain.
My daughter recently got married there. Class.
I could not live without…Hotline to God. He’s been quite helpful over the past 22 years!
My favourite beauty treatment is… Guinness mud baths.
When growing up my role model was…George Best in the early years then Malcolm Knowles, an American adult educator who had a major influence on adult education and how adults learn.
I would like to be remembered as…Someone who cared.
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