Darren was born in Walthamstow and had the good fortune to be born to a Tottenham Hotspur supporting father as opposed to a West Ham one, given their E17 post code! His first season of supporting Tottenham was the relegation season of '76/'77 but undeterred by this catastrophic event and rather inspired by the unique sounds and smells of The Shelf – "Peanuts. anybody?" – he became a season ticket holder. Along with his father, he's now in his 37th season of attending games at White Hart Lane. The UEFA Cup Final win in front of Spurs fans remains an absolutely vivid memory for Darren. Every second from finishing school, to arriving at a heaving WHL and chants of "there's only one Danny Thomas", to seeing Graham Roberts lift the cup is embedded in his mind.
Darren was at the very first public meeting of the Trust at WHL and has membership number 19. He was co-opted to the Trust Board as Secretary in 2006, elected thereafter as permanent secretary before succeeding Bernie Kingsley as Chairman in late 2011. Darren is currently Chairman of the Trust with responsibility for leading the Trust's relationship with business, commercial and executive shareholders as well as Board Level THFC contact.
Kat was born in West Yorkshire and was a football fan from a ridiculously early age. Luckily, her father refused to take his beloved daughter to Elland Road to watch "dirty" Leeds during her formative years, leaving Kat seeking an alternative team. The FA Cup Final of 1981 provided her with one, and a Spurs fan was born. As if to prove this was fate, Kat's school uniform was navy blue and white, enabling her to subtly wear her Spurs scarf to school most days. Her first match at White Hart Lane was in 1985 versus Nottingham Forest. Spurs lost 0-3, giving Kat a useful lesson in managing expectations as a Spurs fan!
Kat escaped to the sunny south after university and has lived in London ever since. She has had a season ticket since 1998, firstly in the Paxton and then moving to the East stand when the family stand was created in 2008. While obviously loving the Lane, Kat is a huge fan of away games, especially in Europe, which she sees as the absolute pinnacle of team support.
As well as being the Trust's Secretary, Kat is responsible for managing marketing communications across all channels. She is ideally suited to this as her day job for the last 13 years has been in marcomms in the West End. Kat also takes responsibility for ticketing issues and is the Trust's safety contact with THFC.
Expertise: Project and programme management, policy and strategy creation, community development.
Ellie grew up in Kent, but at a young age had the good sense to be friends with people whose parents were Spurs fans. Her first Spurs memory is the draw against City in the 1981 FA Cup final. Happily, one glance at a young Glenn Hoddle and a swashbuckling performance from one Ricky Villa in the replay meant that despite this hiccup, her fate as a Spurs fan was sealed. This memory has put Ellie firmly in the 'cup before top four' camp and she would desperately like to see Spurs win another FA Cup.
Ellie is no stranger to campaigning and was one of the founder members of We Are N17, a group that was set up to prevent Spurs from moving to Stratford. Her role on the board is around strategy and responsibility for the involvement of Trust members in community projects in the Tottenham area. This fits in nicely with her day job, which is within local government writing policies and running community projects.
Adam was born and raised in West London but has only ever supported his beloved Tottenham. The origins behind his support are a combination of the magnificent team of the early 80's and the replica kit his mum bought for him at the local market. Adam has been a Park Lane Silver Season Ticket Holder for well over a decade, having been a very active member prior to that. He is now working on securing the next generation of Tottenham fans, with his two young sons both Spurs mad.
Away from Spurs, Adam is a fully qualified accountant and has worked in a number of different industries. His knowledge of small company accounts as well as the strategic acumen gained from his more recent positions ensures he is well placed to fulfil the role of THST Treasurer.
Born and raised in South East London Suraj has been a Spurs supporter since the early 1980's. His first game as a supporter, the 1982 League Cup Final preparing him well for his life as a Spurs fan. Although Suraj often speaks of the heritage and footballing philosophy of Tottenham as the reason for his support there are mumblings that all it took was a Spurs hat and matching sweatbands gifted by his father to win his allegiance.
Being at the Lane in the capacity of member, season ticket holder and corporate member over the years, Suraj's passion for the club extended further afield when he founded the India Spurs Official Supporters Club during his time abroad.
Professionally, Suraj has been an entrepreneur for 15yrs and has experience in a number of sectors including, construction, ecommerce, fashion and FMCG's with specialism in strategy and marketing.
Acknowledging that the supporter base is wide spread Suraj is looking at ways of strengthening the Trust's ties with fans, Supporters' Clubs and local businesses, also in exploring methods of increasing supporter participation. Suraj is a firm believer that the greater the number of members the Trust represents, the more powerful a voice it will have, leading eventually to greater influence in the governance of our football club by our fans.
Martin grew up in Haringey and his first memories of Spurs are of the early 1970s team of Chivers, Gilzean, Jennings and Coates. He went to his first game in 1978 and since then has followed the team all over Europe. One of his most treasured memories is of standing on the terraces at Wembley as a 16-year-old in 1981 and seeing Ricky Villa score the best goal in the best cup final ever. He spent his formative years watching Spurs from The Shelf, and became involved in Spurs supporter organisation around the time of the campaign to stop the destruction of what was one the best 'ends' in football.
In his day job, Martin is a journalist, working largely in the business-to-business press and the financial sector. He writes regularly on a freelance basis about the business of football and football culture, and has written a number of successful books about Spurs. He also writes about the legal issues facing football fans, and issues of supporter governance, and has contributed to many football fanzines and websites.
Martin wants to use his communication skills and knowledge of business and governance issues to help the Trust. He has been an active trade unionist and campaigner on a variety of issues for over 30 years, so brings experience of working in democratic membership organisations to the table. He also has a wide range of contacts with Spurs fan groups and supporter organisations across football, and believes the game could and should be using the skills and dedication of its fans much more. Ultimately, Martin believes supporters should have a formal voice in the running of our clubs and our game.