An article in the Dundee Courier on Mark Reynolds.
How former Dundee United star Mark Reynolds became a business success after hanging up his boots
Mark Reynolds is no stranger to delivering results.
The former Dundee United defender enjoyed a football career full of them, including helping the club secure promotion to the Premiership.
But he always had an eye on life after football.
And that foresight paid off when Mark swapped his drive on the pitch for a drive to grow a business.
A head start beyond the pitch
Mark, 39, was surrounded by football from an early age.
“My dad coached and played at Queen’s Park down in the central belt,” he says.
“And my two older brothers both played football.
“So, I was always at the side of the pitch watching them play and eventually joining in.”
His talent for the sport was quickly recognised.
He began his career at Hibernian before moving to Motherwell and progressing through the club’s youth system.
While many young footballers would jump at the first opportunity to turn professional, Mark wanted to keep other avenues open.
Marked helped the team progress to the Premiership. Image: Jeff Holmes/Shutterstock
“My dad was a deputy head teacher at a high school in Falkirk at the time.
“And he always said, ‘If you want to do football, no hassle, but I’d like you to stay on, do your exams and get results, so that if you want to go away and do something else, you can’.”
Mark says he was always a good student and had his sights set on university.
“I was offered a full-time contract when I turned 16, but I turned it down to stay at school and do my Highers.
“After that, I thought I’d give it a couple of years and see how we got on with football.
“And, as they say, the rest is history.”
A career full of silverware
Mark went on to enjoy a successful career in the sport.
He fondly remembers making his debut away to Livingston for his hometown club, Motherwell.
But one of his biggest achievements came at Aberdeen, where he helped the team win the 2013-14 Scottish League Cup.
He also celebrated success at Dundee United, helping the team win promotion to the Premiership in the 2019-20 season.
Later, he won Scottish League One with Cove Rangers and the Highland League Cup with Banks o’ Dee.
“My career was a huge success, with a load of highlights,” says Mark.
“It was always great winning stuff, but just being allowed to play for as long as I did is an achievement I’m really proud of.”
Mark Reynolds is fondly remembered by Arabs. Image: SNS
Even at the height of his football career, however, Mark was already preparing for life beyond the pitch.
While playing for the Dons during the 2013-14 season, he began studying at Robert Gordon University.
“I said to my wife, ‘I’m going to give myself six months to study, and if I can manage to balance studying with playing, then I’ll do my degree’.
“We won the League Cup that year, and I was player of the year, so it clearly wasn’t getting in the way.
“If anything, it was helping, like yin and yang.”
Mark says that season was probably the peak of his career.
But even then, he knew his time as a player would eventually come to an end.
“You’re an old man in football long before you’re an old man in real life.
“I wanted to make sure that when the time came to hang up my boots, it would be on my terms and that I’d done everything I could to step into a new career.”
Planning for life after football
Mark admits he was something of an outlier in the changing room when it came to planning for the future.
Most footballers, he says, are consumed by their careers on the pitch.
Many do not consider life after football until it is too late.
“You have a lot of time in football to do other things,” Mark explains.
“It’s physically demanding, but mentally you can hold a lot more capacity.
“Something like 1% become professional footballers.
“And there’s probably 1% of those who go on to have careers where they can retire at 35 and never worry about money.
“So, most of them need another career, and they’ve got the time to prepare.
“It’s one of the things I wish more footballers would do.”
From the changing room to the boardroom
Having completed his mechanical engineering degree, Mark was ready to make the transition into the oil and gas industry when the time came.
He is part of the Katoni Engineering team, working as a business development manager while also serving as general manager of the company’s Netherlands office.
While there are plenty of differences between football and business, he says several skills developed on the pitch have proved invaluable in his new career.
“Resilience, working under pressure and communication skills – they’re all things that have served me well in my new role.”
While his work may not fill his trophy cabinet, Mark enjoys the successes it brings, including winning contracts for his company.
“You don’t have the 60,000 people behind you screaming your name or celebrating with you.
Mark Reynolds found a new career at the Katoni Engineering. Image: Kelly Wilson
“But there are highs to be had in a normal nine-to-five that are similar to what you experience on a football pitch.”
Mark’s experience in both worlds, and what businesses can learn from football, will form part of his talk at TEDxAberdeen on October 28.
One of 12 speakers, he will focus on why everybody needs a changing room.
“In football, you’re in a changing room, everybody’s there for a reason, you’re all pulling together for the same thing, and you make sure you’re contributing,” he says.
“Outside of it, we all have communities and teams that we’re part of, but we’re just not as explicit about them, and we don’t give them as much focus or attention.
“And I think that’s the biggest skill I’ve transferred from football to work.
“That ability to work with people, to galvanise a team and make sure the group of people is outperforming the sum of its parts.”
