“I like the idea of making something that’s absolutely delicious”
Leo Harvey grew up in Salisbury, plays in punk and ska bands which tour across the UK and has a Masters in Contemporary Ethics from Heythrop College, University of London.
After moving to South East London and completing his higher education, Leo worked for a telecommunications company where he enjoyed a variety of sales roles with increasing responsibility, but ultimately found himself wanting more out of a job than just earning a living.
Last year Leo was sat in a pub nursing an unspecified (but delicious) pint and it all clicked: “I know I can sell stuff and I want to sell something that I’m legitimately interested in”. After a brief tour in and out of various railway arches and warehouses in Bermondsey, he decided to reach out to a brewery much closer to home – Brockley Brewery!
“I really love the local aspect of craft beer. I think being part of a community is really important. I always gravitate towards smaller rather than larger businesses, they’re more interesting and you get more out of them.”
Leo keeps himself busy Monday to Friday at Brockley; looking after clients, processing orders, chasing down leads and securing new accounts - all the things a sales person should do. He’s a busy bee at the weekends too; when he’s not conducting “market research” down the pub, he can usually be found on stage playing bass in one of his bands.
His proudest project to date is ‘Just Say Nay’ an eleven-piece, logistical nightmare of a ska punk band: “We’re a bit of a force to be reckoned with, we don’t really fit on any stages and there’s never enough mics”. Alongside gigging up and down the country and playing festivals in the summer, the band is knee deep in recording their debut album, which should be out later this year.
With all this musical talent, Leo is hoping to extend some of it to the Brockley taproom: “I’d love to bring some music into the brewery, maybe not ‘Just Say Nay’, we wouldn’t fit, but perhaps some smaller gigs to start with and maybe some bigger events at the new premises.”
Now, as Leo is a super-craft beer fan we decided to ask to him to rate Brockley beers: “I really love the Winter Gold, I like seasonal and special beers. Second would be the Porter. Third is probably the Red or the Pale, they both have great character to them.”
Well that’s all folks, if you would like to talk to Leo yourself or enquire about purchasing some beer, drop an email to trade@brockleybrewery.co.uk or call 07814 584338.
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