For our 16th birthday, we thought we would introduce you to our Marketing Manager Lloyd Handahu who has been with our business since the very beginning!

Lloyd is our parts man and knows everything there is to know about them. He is responsible for ensuring all the product listings on our website are accurate, informative and current. With over a million parts on our site, this is no mean feat.

Here, in a tell-all interview, Lloyd reveals his childhood hopes and dreams, the state of his cooker hood filters and why he has rather a large amount of cider in his fridge.

If every month you’d worked for eSpares was a bar of chocolate, would you be able to eat them all in one sitting?

No, I’m greedy, but not that greedy! In one sitting I could probably do 15 and I’ve been with eSpares 15 years. So I could eat a chocolate bar for every year with eSpares, but not every month.

What did you want to be when you were in primary school?

I always wanted to be a footballer; I really enjoyed football from a young age. I played at county level all the way through until I was about 18. Then I realised when I got to college that it probably wasn’t going to happen. But I’m still a big Arsenal supporter.

You’re throwing a dinner party for your boss, what do you serve to impress?

Don’t want to sound all posh now do I? I’d have a selection of drinks, pigs in blankets, mini burgers, mini beef Wellingtons & dips. I think it’s got to be casual and relaxed to get the conversation flowing. I detest wine so I’d ask advice on that.

What’s your worst DIY fail?

I once failed to build an Ikea bed. I had to sleep on the floor on just the mattress and call Ikea for help in the morning! I never used to be Mr. Fix-It at all, even putting up a cupboard was a big deal, but in all my years with eSpares, I’ve learned a lot about fixing appliances and spare parts. I changed my washing machine pump this year and so far so good!

Be honest, do you change your vacuum and cooker hood filters as often as you should?

I don’t… but I believe they get done. My wife tends to make sure all of that is in hand. My cooker hood light is actually not working, so I know that needs to get changed and the filter is probably disgusting. So this is my motivation now to go and have a look! The vacuum cleaner is quite new so I’m thinking that should be okay.

How does your hobby/passion complement your job?

My real passions are socialising, spending time with family and buying trainers! I always buy the same white pair of converse – I know what I like. I think I have slight OCD about certain things, I like things perfect. I like the finer details and working in digital marketing there has to be an order to things so that helps with my job. If I can watch a film in one sitting I’m in heaven, but with family commitments that doesn’t happen too often!

Which tool in the average toolkit would you be and why?

That’s not the kind of question I’ve ever thought of! I’ve heard which fruit would you be or which chocolate bar. Probably a hammer because I can be quite irritating at times so it’s that hammering, hammering, hammering, hammering…

Which drink are you most likely to have in your flask at work? Which snack are you most likely to have in your desk drawer?

I don’t drink hot drinks so I don’t do the flask. Coke and Lucozade, I have both each day. Chocolate is the first thing I eat and then a lemon muffin after lunch… I have a sweet tooth.

If you microwaved a drill which appliance do you think would break first?

The microwave. I’ve never accidentally put something metallic in the microwave though.

What would I find in your fridge right now?

Lucozade and Coke, but not the chocolate; I don’t like cold chocolate. Baby food for my one-year-old and Eve’s Pudding. Oh and lots of cider. My wife works for a cider company so we get samples!

Join us on social to help celebrate our 16th birthday! Hear from fellow fixers, keep up to date with the latest how-to videos and get advice from our friendly engineers!

Tags: eSpares Team, Sweet 16