A BARNSLEY-born headhunter turned author has published his debut novel.
Matt Foster, 54, originally from Wath upon Dearne, has travelled across the world through his work as a headhunter, with a wealth of incredible stories to tell.
Matt admitted that after hearing the unbelievable tales from his world of work, many people told him that he could write a book about them and he did just that.
‘Headhunter. Sheikhs, Japes and Questionable Deals’ is not your typical business memoir.
The book navigates moments of absurdity, laughter and emotional reflection, with Matt’s mind-blowing experiences coming to life on the pages.
Nothing is ever mundane in Matt’s story, moving from “pint-soaked Yorkshire pubs to the gilded offices of London’s elite and the sunbaked chaos of Dubai”.
A rich cast of curious characters is brought to life, from Dubai’s Sheikh Khalifa to Russian mobsters’ seedy dealings with a Swiss roll factory.
Furthermore, Matt’s book has performed exceptionally well in sales.
In the first few days, it placed number 10 in the Middle East travel book section on Amazon and number 46 in Business Humour, alongside the likes of Jeremy Clarkson.
Matt feels proud to represent Barnsley’s artistic side, saying: “I think Barnsley is really creative.
“I was listening to the tributes to Dickie Bird the other day and all of the great and the good that come from Barnsley.
“I think Barnsley can be undervalued.
“Part of the story is how proud I am of my working-class roots, which took me all over the world.”
He describes his book as a humorous travel business biography, which isn’t afraid of pointing out the “numerous” mistakes that he made along the way in his career.
Matt hopes that his book might inspire other locals to follow their career ambitions.
He added: “I think it might show if you’ve got aspirations to travel the world, no matter where you’re from, if you work hard despite all of the mistakes you might make - you can do that.
