There's an age-old story of the bright young football hopefuls who don't quite make the grade and then struggle to settle back into civilian life and build themselves an all-new career.
But by his own admission, Preston-born James Weir "has always had his head screwed on". Weir began his footballing career aged 13 with his hometown side Preston North End before joining Manchester United's academy and going to captain the Red Devils' under-21s side.
He made his Premier League debut for United under Louis van Gaal in 2016 on the same day as Marcus Rashford, no less. But plagued by injury and homesickness during his subsequent career with Hull City, Bolton Wanderers and then overseas, Weir made the difficult decision to retire at 28.
It is not uncommon for ex-professional footballers to lose their way after such a unique, exciting and intense start to life. It's something I bring up with Weir, who launched his Travel Counsellors business 18 months ago. He quickly makes it clear he wasn’t going to let that happen.
Weir pictured with Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs (Credit: Image supplied by James Weir)
"I’m very motivated,” he says. "I’ve always invested my money in property, things like that. I made the decision to retire in November 2023, and was up and running with Travel Counsellors by the following March.”
I ask Weir what drew him to travel, it being such a departure from his previous career. "It was by chance,” he admits. “I was looking for my next move, and my sister’s best friend – who works at Travel Counsellors' head office – mentioned a career as an agent when I ran into her at a New Year’s Eve party.
"The opportunity to work a flexibly and be in charge of my own business really appealed to me. I wanted to love my next job like I’d loved football – I don’t want to ever dread going to work.”
'Incredible travel experiences'
The idea of working in travel wasn’t completely new to Weir, though. He travelled extensively during his footballing career, playing for clubs in Hungary and Slovakia, but also heading overseas for away games.
"I had some incredible travel experiences during that chapter of my life, like playing on top of a hotel in Singapore or playing football with the locals who came down from the favelas in Brazil – that was really special. But there weren’t as many opportunities to properly see a place as you’d perhaps expect.”
He adds: “I’ve always been a big traveller – my dad instilled that in me, and during the [football] off-season, I’d be off on an adventure while everyone else was chilling out or visiting the usual footballer haunts.”
Since starting in travel, Weir has had the opportunity to join a Celebrity Cruises fam trip to the Bahamas, a three-night sailing onboard Norwegian Aqua and an educational to Crete. He also won an “incredible” stay at the new-look Waldorf Astoria in New York.
Weir says the biggest crossover in terms of skills from professional football to selling travel is resilience. “I didn't realise just how resilient I'd have to be in this business when you lose bookings and things like that. Obviously, in football, you might suffer injuries or not get the contract. Discipline and punctuality have also been key."
Scoring clients
Weir has had to build his client base from scratch, but has benefited from booking some of his famous “former colleagues”. While he won’t name names, he does share he has remained particularly good friends with fellow United academy graduate and current Napoli midfielder Scott McTominay.
Word of mouth has been the main driver for Weir’s business so far, and he’s built up a strong social media following with almost 3,000 followers of his business Instagram profile.
Asked to talk TTG through some of the bookings he'd most proud of, Weir recalls a customer who simply told him: "I want the wow factor."
"So what started as a potential South American cruise evolved into a two-week adventure across south-east Asia," Weir explains. "I curated a range of unforgettable experiences, and the customer was genuinely blown away by the options – she couldn’t believe what I’d put together."
Weir sees a long-term future in travel after starting his agent career with Travel Counsellors (Credit: Image supplied by James Weir)
The second, he says, was a more complex brief – a mix of culture and beach, with specific snorkelling requirements, all on a tight budget.
"I scoured the globe and landed on Kenya, combining safari, rich local culture and a fantastic snorkelling spot on the south-east coast," he says. "The customer was thrilled, and we explored three or four global options before landing on the perfect fit. A lot of work went into it, but it paid off."
Weir notes on his Travel Counsellors profile that having once been a Premier League footballer, he knows "what's required to provide a luxurious, exclusive service”.
While Weir appreciates he is relatively new on his travel agency journey, he’s in it for the long-haul, looking to perhaps specialise in wildlife and sports travel – and he's confident in his transferrable skills. “Football is an international language after all,” he adds.
