About me

I’m Dave Francis, retired, living happily in Ecuador with my wife, Chela, and 10 dogs

Where do I start?

Dave Francis

I am a man of travel and food, and thankfully my careers have allowed me the opportunity to indulge in both.

My work has taken me all over the world, and as a result I have eaten an interesting range.

I grew up in Birmingham, born 5 months before the outbreak of WW2. Growing up in war, our family had to use the State Ration Books for food and clothes!

My first travel experience was cycling from South Birmingham to Bristol in a day. I was knocked off by a bus, but that did not stop me enjoying the experience.

So for several years, we continued to cycle across the south west, camping or staying in Youth Hostels.

Timeline

At the age of 14, I went to Paris, leaving the country for the first time.

I travelled to Canada for a two month Scholarship.

This and the trip to Paris sparked my love for travel.

April in The Cairngorms was my first time on skis; this began my love affair with the sport. Then, as a new member of the PE staff at a Birmingham comprehensive school.

I was encouraged to expand my qualifications in coaching. One took me to the first Mountain Leadership Certificate introductory course at Ogwen Cottage in 1964 and in the middle of December 1965 I qualified in Snowdonia.

This was the beginning of mountain training as it exists now.

I became Head of Department for Physical Education in Shrewsbury, educating both boys and girls – an unusual position at the time. This was how my vision of ‘sport for all children’ began, bringing in specialist coaches to help expand the physical education programme.

My transition from teaching was inspired by my vision for having a wider impact on larger groups of people. After applying for various posts, I saw an advert by the Central Council for Physical Recreation (CCPR) for a Technical Officer. Having attended courses with the CCPR in my youth I had fond memories, so I applied and got the job at HQ London.

However, In 1972 it was all changed and I became a technical officer for the new Royal Charted Sports Council GB (what is known now as UKSport).

I was promoted to Head of Sports Development in the West Midlands regional office.

As it happened, West Midlands Ski Association had just been formed, and at the time we provided secretarial support – as acting secretary – representing them at National Ski Federation GB meetings.

It was at one of these meetings that I asked the question, what national conferences does it run? With the answer being none, I proposed organising such a conference and in 1975 I set up and ran the first national conference for British skiing.

That, amongst other things, gave me an insight into British Skiing, which led to me becoming the first Director of the English Ski Council in 1979 (England’s Governing Body).

Alongside my Director of Coaching, we set up and shaped the beginning of the English Ski Council. until I left in 1984, to establish my own business and Creative Leisure Associates Ltd was born.

I left the English Ski Council to establish my own business and Creative Leisure Associates Ltd was born.

Creative Leisure Associates was initially a design development consultancy, with significant clients including the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service. They liked the idea of having ski slopes and associated facilities on ‘set aside’ farmland.

However, the world stock market crash in 1987 had a resounding effect on local authorities; reduced finance meant cutting ties with consulting agencies. This meant we had to rethink to survive.

In 1986 an old friend had launched the British Ski Show at the NEC and asked me to build a ski slope; we continued to do that and all the other public Ski and Snowboard Shows in the country for 18 years.

This became the new focus for CLA, building snow, ski and extreme sports facilities. We built ski and snowboard facilities alongside companies such as Mitsubishi Monsanto. We eventually became involved in the production of real snow.

Christmas 1987 I took a trip to The Galapagos where I met my future wife, Graciela. We were married in 1989, and had our daughter, Bex, in 1990. CLA became a true family business when Graciela joined the company full time in 1996.

During our years we were fortunate enough to work with some fantastic public exhibitions and events, including Board X, NASS, which helped legitimise what was considered “extreme sports” at the time.

In 2006 we made the decision as a family to sell CLA and move to Ecuador in pursuit of a more comfortable and less hectic life.

Having been introduced to Astroturf snow sport surface many years prior, I was contacted by the new head of sales of the Belgian manufacturer and landed my first design job in Brazil.

I have been working as a freelance advisor and designer since then, running seminars and advising on snowsport centres across the world including Belgium, France,Turkey, Brazil and numerous others..

Now being semi-retired, I have embraced my long standing role as a Consular Warden at the British Embassy here in Ecuador.

Books I've Written

Memorable Meals

I first ate guinea pig, an Andean delicacy, in 2008 which inspired my first foray into writing – ‘Memorable Meals’. Inspired by the book ‘Memorable Dinners’. I completed it in 2023.

The Pyramid of Opportunity

I am currently working on my biggest book – ‘The Pyramid of Opportunity’- the background to British sport today – which will be available this year.