Commonwealth Games silver medallist joins team at Newport firm

John Archibald has joined Newport-based digital marketing and web design agency Ascendancy as a Digital Marketing Executive.

He is re-joining the world of digital after taking five years out to be a professional cyclist, a sport at which he excelled, claiming silver medals in both the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games.

“I represented Great Britain at the World Championship and European level, and then Scotland at the Commonwealth Games,” said John.

“In my final year, I took on a professional road cycling role with the Italian Eolo Kometa Cycling Team. We competed at some of the highest-level pro races across Europe, including seven-day stage races such as Tirreno Adriatico.”

John is now working on Ascendancy client PPC (pay-per-click) accounts for Google Ads online, as well as working on SEO work and optimising websites to be found on Google organically.

“It is great to be back working in digital,” he added.

“This is a new routine and challenge for me, but one that I am very much looking forward to learning and developing.

"Joining a company that has successfully implemented the four-day working week has afforded me the time to train towards racing goals I still have whilst continuing to be a productive member of the team.

“The unique characteristics of the converted house workspace and four-day working week make this fresh start all the more enjoyable.”

Ascendancy Director Helen Culshaw said: “It’s been an absolute delight to welcome John to the business.

“We’ve certainly never had a Commonwealth Games medallist on the team before, so it’s been a real talking point!

"John’s prior experience in e-commerce, Google Ads and SEO has added more capacity to the team, and we look forward to introducing him to our clients.”