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.

Paul Hopfensperger
Cllr Paul Hopfensperger in 2020
Suffolk County Councillor for Tower Division
In office 5 May 2005 – 4 June 2009
Preceded by	New Seat
Succeeded by	Mark Ereira-Guyer
West Suffolk District Councillor for St Olaves Ward
In office 2 May 2019 – 4 May 2023
Preceded by	New Seat
Succeeded by	Frank Stennett
St Edmundsbury Borough Councillor for St Olaves Ward
In office 5 May 2011 – 2 May 2019
Preceded by	Mark Ereira-Guyer
Succeeded by	Seat Abolished
Bury St Edmunds Town Councillor for St Olaves Ward
In office 5 May 2016 – 4 May 2023
Preceded by	Bob Cockle
Succeeded by	Frank Stennett
Bury St Edmunds Town Councillor for Eastgate Ward
In office 6 June 2003 – 6 June 2006
Preceded by	New Seat
Succeeded by	Patricia Warby
Deputy Mayor of Bury St Edmunds
In office 2019–2020
In office 2005 – April 2006
Personal details
Born	(1963-03-27) 27 March 1963 (age 62)
Nationality	United Kingdom, Ireland
Political party	Independent (2008–2023)
Other political affiliations	Conservative (1990-2008)
Spouse	Rebecca (Beccy)
Alma mater	The Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology (now Anglia Ruskin University)
Occupation	Former Engineer, now Businessman, Coach and Public Speaker
Website	https://paulhopfensperger.com

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]

Biography

Hopfensperger attended The Convent of St Louis, Moreton Hall Preparatory School and Culford School, all in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. He graduated from the Cambridge College of Arts and Technology (now Anglia Ruskin University) with a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Mechanical/Computer Aided Engineering.

Political career

Hopfensperger 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 as an Independent for re-election to Suffolk County Council in 2009 in Hardwick Division, a campaign smeared by the Lib-Dems who printed incorrect information on him on their election leaflet.^[5] However, he won a seat on St Edmundsbury Borough Council in 2011 which he held until he stood down to concentrate on his business commitments in 2023. By this time St Edmundsbury had merged with Forest Heath to become West Suffolk District Council.^[6]

In the 2017 general election he nominated to run for Parliament in the Bury St Edmunds constituency^[7] but he withdrew before the election for personal reasons. He did run in 2019^[8] prioritising local issues,^[9] finishing 4th (of 4 candidates) in an election dominated by Brexit, with 2.7% of the vote.^[10]

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."^[11]

Elections contested

UK Parliament elections

Date of election	Constituency	Party		Votes	%	Result
2019	Bury St Edmunds		Independent	1,694	2.7	Not elected (4th)

Suffolk County Council elections

Date of election	Division	Party		Votes	%	Result
2005	Tower		Conservative	2,747	28.3	Elected
2009	Hardwick		Independent	824	28.8	Not elected (2nd)
2013	Hardwick		Independent	737	27.7	Not elected (2nd)
2017	Tower		Independent	1,623	20.3	Not elected (3rd)

Borough of St Edmundsbury and West Suffolk District Council elections

Date of election	Ward	Party		Votes	%	Result
1999	Risbygate		Conservative	442	39.7	Not elected (3rd)
2003	Southgate		Conservative	744	48.1	Not elected (2nd)
2011	St Olaves		Independent	421	33.6	Elected
2015	St Olaves		Independent	835	37.8	Elected
2019	St Olaves		Independent	680	50.9	Elected

Bury St Edmunds Town Council elections

Date of election	Ward	Party		Votes	%	Result
2003	Eastgate		Independent			Co-opted (voted in by members of the council)
2008	Abbeygate		Independent			Not elected (2nd)
2016	St Olaves		Independent	288	46.7	Elected[12]
2019	St Olaves		Independent	712	53.3	Elected[13]

Swimming career

Left to Right: Paul Hopfensperger, 'King of The English Channel' Kevin Murphy, Keith Bartolo, Mark Blewitt, and 'The Channel General' Freda Streeter. Dover Harbour, England, Saturday June 14, 2008

During 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.^[14][15]

Hopfensperger has completed two solo crossings of the English Channel in 2007^[16] and 2008,^[17][18] making him the 84th person in history to swim the channel more than once.^[14] He also participated in one relay in 2010 as part of the six person 'Team Iryna International English Channel Relay Team'.^[19][14]

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.^[20] His swim was also featured in the first episode of the Discovery Channel documentary series Human Body: Pushing the Limits.^[21][16][15]

In 2008 Hopfensperger competed at two FINA Open Water Grand Prix,^[22] becoming oldest known person to represent Great Britain in the sport of open water swimming.^[23][15]

Personal life

Hopfensperger 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).^[24]

Author and musician

During 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.^[25][26][27]

In 2021, Hopfensperger, who has been in bands since the age of ten and is guitarist and singer/songwriter with the English mod 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.^[25]

Publications, Podcast and radio appearances

Hopfensperger 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

• (UK) RWSfm 103.3 (5 December 2019). UK Election 2019 - The Interviews. Julie MacLeod interviews Paul Hopfensperger.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

Podcast appearances

• (USA) Sean G Murphy's Daily Awakening Call (30 July 2020). "Episode 525. 3 x Channel Swimmer - Paul Hopfensperger" (Podcast).
• (USA) Dr. Amy Novotny (5 September 2020). "The Weekend Wellness Hour - Interview with Paul Hopfensperger about Personalised Nutrition and Swimming The English Channel" (Podcast).^[28]
• (USA) Victor Menasce (26 September 2020). "The Real Estate Espresso Podcast - Interview with Paul Hopfensperger about swimming The English Channel" (Podcast).
• (USA) Jo Hausman (22 October 2020). "Go For It! - Just Keep Swimming Until You Get to France!" (Podcast).
• (USA) Pancham Gupta (27 September 2021). "The Gold Collar Investor Podcast - 3x Crossing English Channel! The story of grit and mindset!" (Podcast).

Facebook Live

• "(USA) Larry Thompson's 'The Millionaire Training Book Club'. Larry and Taylor Thompson interview Paul Hopfensperger". 22 January 2021.

Publications

• (AUS) Kloeden CN, McLean AJ (15 August 1995). "Alcohol, Drugs and Traffice Safety-T'95, volumes 1 and 2 (ICADTS). Vol 1 - Page 475, Paul J Hopfensperger - Automating Drink/Drive Procedures to Reduce Police Time and Eliminate Errors". Adelaide: NHMRC Road Accident Research Unit.
• (UK) Opuko, Benjamin (19 March 2024). "Executive Interview with Paul Hopfensperger, founder of Body and Mind Studio International". XRP Healthcare.^[29]

Television

Hopfensperger (far left) on Eggheads

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.^[30]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	Home in England	Himself – Working in his father's shop	30 Minute BBC Documentary featuring his late Father Johann Hopfensperger
2008	Human Body: Pushing the Limits	Himself – English Channel Swimmer	Episode 1: "Strength"
2010	Eggheads (game show)	Himself – Captain of an English Channel Swimmers team.	Series 11, Episode 73, 'Channel Buoys and Gulls'[31][32]