My name is Paul Brew, I am 49 years old and work for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, in Plymouth.

My sporting career started with swimming at 7yrs old, and over the following 16 years I worked my way through the age groups up to senior level, on the way breaking a few British Records and competing at the 1988 Olympic Games for Great Britain in Seoul (reaching the semi final), at two Commonwealth Games and several European championships.

At the ripe old age of 23 I decided to cease competitive swimming; funding was scarce and I needed to look at earning some money! After I joined the fire service I took up triathlon for a few years with varied success both nationally and internationally but after this I didn't do anything competitively in sport for 11 years! However a work and family move to Plymouth saw my motivation return and a drive to get fit and try new sports.  During 2013 I got over excited and found myself competing in far too many sports.........Bike road racing, bike time trialing, triathlon, road running, gig rowing, fine boat rowing, indoor rowing and swimming (indoor and open water). I was spending a small fortune in governing body membership fees, club fees, race fees, kit and travel.

My main focus was on triathlon and I tried to qualify for the world championships in my age group. Unfortunately I just missed out on this and felt quite disillusioned.  However I did well in the sports I wasn't spending as much time on such as gig rowing, regatta rowing in a four, and of course swimming.

The lesson I learnt was that I should concentrate on the sports that my size and build suit.  I was fed up of chasing skinny guys up the bike climbs around Devon using twice the wattage just to stay with them. When I was likened to King Kong on a bike, I realised I was never going to overcome my inherent power to weight ratio sufficiently.

So I looked for a challenge that would keep me motivated, that suited my build and that I enjoyed. By chance I stumbled across the Q-Power website and was immediately taken by the work ethic, use of science and team based approach. I was invited to try out on the development program and quickly felt the benefits of this type of training. As with most things, anything easily gained is not always worth having. My personal goals will require a few years of consistent training and steady progress, so my journey starts now.