Employee Stories

Phil Benson

PR & Marketing Assistant

What’s your background?

I grew up in Knutsford, so knew one or two faces at Tiger when I joined. I spent four years at Swansea Uni studying German, with one year out near Munich. I moved home in 2019, and spent the first part of 2020 in Kenya working with American missionaries in schools and on outreach projects. Covid brought that to an end early, but it was a life-changing trip. After some time spent working in the pensions industry, I joined Tiger in July last year. I’ve got two older brothers: Matt is up in Scotland, and Tim is down in Northampton. My mum and dad live over in Knutsford. I have a godson down near Leicester called Arthur, who’s almost 2 now, and my grandma lives over in Northern Ireland. I live with some good friends in Didsbury who I’ve known all my life. We have a good laugh together: we cook, watch the football, play pool, go to gigs. and often play tennis at public courts near our house.

What is your biggest achievement?

I started to learn guitar from YouTube when I was about 16, and there haven’t been many days since that I haven’t picked it up. I’m proud to have persevered to get it to a good enough level to play open mic nights, lead my church’s worship band, and most recently perform at my brother’s wedding, where I was joint best man with my other brother.

What do you like doing outside work?

I like to stay busy outside of work. I go to a church in Hulme called Grace Church Manchester, and sometimes sing with the Fallowfield Community Choir there. I also serve on the tech-support team, and have recently started a church 6-a-side team. I love tennis, and play all year round in Heaton Moor, and will soon begin team training for a busy season from April to August. I like watching football and tennis too, and get to Old Trafford a few times a season. I’ve gone down to Wimbledon for the first day of the tournament the past few years, camping the night before to get a ticket. Hopefully I’ll get to Paris this year to see Rafa Nadal play the French Open one last time; he’s a huge sporting influence of mine, but is set to retire this year. My brother and dad made video production their life and career, so it’s in my blood too. I’ve enjoyed shooting and editing some of my own videos for YouTube, and I’m currently helping my dad with a project of his, filming music performances in churches and cathedrals around the UK and Europe.