Over the past five decades, Barry Hearn has made a habit out of turning sporting outsiders into major attractions.
But for all his success in darts, snooker and boxing, the former Leyton Orient chairman has never been one to settle for past glories.
The former Matchroom supremo is now back in football, having bought a stake in non-league Brentwood Town, relishing the challenge of building something special.
Why Barry Hearn is back in football
“I’m not the type to sit on his arse all day, you know?" Hearn tells FourFourTwo as he opens up on his latest venture.
"We staged 700 sporting events in the past year alone,” he adds proudly. “I followed them all religiously.
"After every single darts and snooker event, I update my world rankings by hand. I’m a sad, sad bastard. My wife likes to remind me of that.”
Hearn can also be found at Matchroom’s other sporting ventures, from ten-pin bowling to carp fishing.
“If the world was ending in an hour, Geoffrey Boycott would have a turn in the nets, Steve Davis would play one last frame, and Barry Hearn would have a quick glance at his latest spreadsheet,” he adds. “That’s what people like us do.”
Was there a family vote when it came to buying a stake in Brentwood? “No, I just said ‘Bollocks to the lot of you’,” Hearn laughs. “They all think I’m mad, but it’s not a lot of money. It’s a commitment in time that’s much more important than how much money you put in.”
Hearn will be using his time in the short term to drum up interest in the club, but insists that Brentwood will not be getting their own version of Club For A Fiver.
“There’ll be no Netflix series here,” he says. “Wrexham have done that and good luck to them. We need to make our own noise. I shall use what influence I have. I will fight the good cause to my last breath, and I will, in some way, win. I can promise you that.”
It’s hard to imagine otherwise, given the extraordinary energy that Hearn throws at every project he takes on. “I could be drinking champagne on a beach all day, with staff topping my glass up every five minutes,” he winks.
“But where’s the buzz in that? I’ll make a success of Brentwood Town or I’ll die trying.”
