A True Entrepreneur Who Will Be Greatly Missed.

On Sunday 9th May I lost a good friend, he was 51 years young.  

I first met Jan in 2016. I went to his office to sell him fitness equipment. When I left that meeting I realised that not only wasn’t I as good at sales as I should be, but Jan had actually sold himself to me without me realising! A few months later, I started a business and Jan was the first person to contact me. Again I would go and see him and he would sell his dream to me. Successful people have big dreams. Jan was no different. He aimed high and he wanted others to join him for the ride, for the experience. He challenged me personally to back myself and work with him in a very unique way. What followed was the most challenging, rewarding and hardest five years of my professional life. 

To many Jan was the guy who built énergie, the keynote speaker, the industry stalwart. To others, he was a pain; having a new idea or starting a new venture what seemed like daily. I remember a previous énergie Financial Director (Jan has been through a few FD’s) saying that Jan’s objective was to open as many new companies as he could and his role was to limit him. That FD had no chance! Jan would always make things happen rather than reacting when they did. David Beattie has often described Jan to me as ‘a force of nature’. For me, Jan had the right attitude towards business and the determination and grit to achieve his success. Jan was excited by the prospect of work. He’d turn an idea into a vision which he’d then enthusiastically communicate to others. I never once heard him be negative. Even when the chips were down, he would be positive and expect positive things. He never let others lack of enthusiasm dampen his self-confidence. He’d listen to people’s comments, amend his plans where needed and then build a stronger, more powerful argument. There were setbacks of course; on some projects it felt like they were daily. For Jan they were just obstacles to overcome. He was always focused on the end goal and constantly ready to reinvent the business to adapt to change. I think a lot of people believed that Jan didn’t like criticism. I completely disagree. Jan welcomed criticism, he always strived to be better, to win better. He just demanded that criticism be constructive, well thought out and argued to him as passionately as he communicated.  

Regardless of whether you agreed with him, Jan always treated others with kindness and respect. His loyalty to his friends far surpasses anything I have experienced before. On many occasions I have seen first hand the conflicts caused within his businesses because Jan was following a path which made no commercial sense. Not for gain, not for profit or for anything other than he was trying to help someone or making sure that the right thing got done.

The belief Jan showed in me both personally and professionally, has had a fundamental effect on my life. His like are rare and when they come along should be celebrated.

https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/energie-fitness_fitness-industry-mourns-%C3%A9nergie-founder-jan-activity-6797809229253148672-m_IS