Staff Spotlight: Ant Hough

We’re very proud and excited to announce our very own Salesforce Developer, Ant Hough will be competing in this year’s British Powerlifting Championship!

Ant has been training hard for months and we’re thrilled to see his dedication and commitment paying off. Not only is he a skilled developer, but he’s also a talented athlete who puts his all into everything he does in and outside of the workplace – as much as his light-hearted responses will try to convince you otherwise!

We spoke to Ant to find out more about his approach to training and how he discovered the sport.

What is your role at Blume?

My primary focus is managing and maintaining Blume’s Salesforce system while developing new products for our clients and internal teams. I also help the wider business with business intelligence reporting, marketing, website development and general tech assistance.

How did you get into competitive powerlifting?

I spent my childhood watching programmes like Dragon Ball Z, thinking “I want to look like that!.” Unfortunately, the lure of fast food, beer and late-night gaming combined with a dislike for cardio lead me to accepting that I’m never going to look like Goku (the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball franchise who has superhuman strength!)

It was then that I discovered powerlifting, a sport where I can call myself an athlete and still enjoy all the calories that a Dominoes has to offer.

How do you handle setbacks or failures in your training, and do these lessons apply to your work as a developer?

Unfortunately, I have quite a lot of experience in this area. There are some days when I head to the gym and my legs have decided they’re too weak for any amount of caffeine to convince them otherwise. Luckily, I have a really supportive gym and coaching team who are ready to laugh at my failures and pick me back up.

I’d say the experience I’ve gained from these setbacks have carried over into my work as a developer, helping me to accept and learn from the experience when things don’t work out, instead of dwelling on it.

What’s your biggest achievement?

When I first started working at Blume the consensus around Salesforce wasn’t particularly positive; a year later and the perspective of our employees has completely changed, with staff regularly complimenting the improvements we’ve made to the platform.

I’m really proud of the impact my work has made and everything we’ve accomplished, especially in such a short timeframe.

Is there anything else you feel we should know about you?

Completely unrelated – but I lived in China for a while teaching English, which was a great experience!