When Paul Fileman signed up to join the Royal Navy, he could not have imagined that in 42 years he would have transitioned from a life on water to selling a purified version of it to golfers.

But, via a somewhat unusual career path, which led to him eventually being employed in the golf industry, that’s exactly where Bluewater’s account executive finds himself in 2026. And he couldn’t be happier…

Born in Grays, Fileman’s Essex accent is still there, and he also retains that glint in his eye that he almost certainly had when working as a barrow boy at Romford Market aged just 13. Sales was in his blood, he insists.

His dad was his hero then and he remains so to this day. He explained: “That man could sell anything to anybody. He was just incredible. He had a way with words, and he could win anyone over. He was just one of those characters that you couldn’t not like or love.

“I’d say it’s rubbed off on me and my brothers. We’re all pretty much the same, though I’m the only one that really took to sales like a fish to water. I love the interaction with people.

“But I only ever sell what I believe in. If I don’t believe in it, I can’t sell it. If I’ve got no passion about something, I can’t sell it. And I’m passionate about this.”

However, Fileman admits his life could have turned out quite differently had he not had what he describes as a ‘sliding doors’ moment and decided to join the Navy at age 16. “Back in the early 80s, the world was not in a great place. The country wasn’t in a great place,” he recalls.

“Unemployment was rife and I just thought the only way for me is to join up. I was a bit of a rogue growing up. I was always in trouble. If I hadn’t joined up, I’d have gone wrong.

“But I got straightened out and changed my ways forever. I like to think it turned me into a fairly fine and upstanding member of society.”

He began as a marine engineer, and, much to his delight, he was often seconded to work with the Royal Marines, in Plymouth. And a life on the ocean wave also allowed him to pursue one of his passions: golf, which he began playing at ten years old.

He smiled: “When I joined up, I was given one very important piece of advice: get good at a sport and you get more time off. So, yeah, I got quite good at golf.

“I was really lucky. We’d go to places like Grand Cayman and we’d get an invite to play golf for free. We’d be in Bermuda and I’d play golf. We’d be in the West Indies – Trinidad or Barbados – and I’d play golf. Then we’d go to Florida and I’d play more golf.

“I had the opportunity to play golf in some amazing countries. Leaving the Navy was the saddest day of my life. To a certain degree, we’re masters of our own fate, but things happen that steer us in certain directions, which, sometimes, are beyond our control. And I’m a great believer that everything happens for the right reason.”

And so it proved. Ever the grafter, Fileman retrained, taught himself and became a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, working in the City for four years, before being headhunted by a small company working in UPSs (Uninterruptible Power Supply).

“The owner asked me, ‘What do you know about UPSs?’ I said, ‘Honestly, I know absolutely nothing, but I guarantee you, in six months’ time, I’ll be your lead engineer’. Six months later, I was his lead engineer.

“But, at the same time, I was on site; I was advising the customer and selling solutions. However, I discovered I had no passion for selling engineering solutions, so I moved into the golfing world.”

He was appointed business development executive at Stoke-by-Nayland working under the golf director Karl Hepple – “a lovely guy, a great boss to work for. I loved it there: a great role, great job” – but COVID put paid to that role.

Later, he became assistant general manager at Great Hadham Country Club, but, if he had a ‘sliding doors’ moment at 16, it was an epiphany last year that saw him take on his current position at Bluewater.

“Last year I became a grandfather for the first time. And it’s one of those moments when you look at the world around you and you start thinking, if we don’t do something soon, what’s going to be left for my grandson? Climate change is real. Look at the temperatures in the UK in late May. The world is warming up.

“If we can eliminate single-use plastics in the sports industry, just one small thing to help the future, I’m all on board. And that’s what Bluewater wants to achieve: getting people to refill rather than throw away.”

Bluewater was founded in Stockholm, in 2013, with the stated aim of becoming “the world’s most planet-friendly water purification and beverage company.”

Its water purification and beverage solutions are designed to break the global reliance on throwaway plastic bottles – most never recycled but, instead, ending up in oceans and landfill, releasing microplastic and nano plastic particles, and toxic chemicals into the environment.

The company was most recently seen in the golf sector at May’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson, when the PGA Tour visited TPC Craig Ranch, in Texas. During the tournament, Bluewater was estimated to have dispensed the equivalent of more than 20,000 bottles of water through reusable, refill-focused infrastructure.

Fileman added: “Before I started working for Bluewater, I was a bit of a cynic, because I’m from the generation where water came out of a tap.

“You didn’t think about what chemicals were in it, you didn’t think about what impurities were in there, you didn’t think about heavy metals or pharmaceuticals.

“Back then, we would have microplastics in there, but we knew nothing about them. You got water out of the tap, and you drank it. It tasted different from one area to another, but you didn’t really think about it.

“When I started at Bluewater, the first time I tried the water at one of its stations, I became an instant convert, because I realised how bad UK tap water is.

“My aim is to see Bluewater hydration stations in most European golf clubs, like those at St Andrews: our Bluewater Flow Stations 3 Media. Those have TV screens attached to them.

“If I were running a golf club now, I’d have one installed straight away. One: you’re eliminating those single-use plastics; two: you’re increasing your reusable bottle sales; and three: one sponsor can pay for that system for its entire lifespan.”

Fileman’s role is to promote the sustainability elements of Bluewater within the sports industry, but the main area of his work, currently, is golf. However, he’s also making massive inroads in other sports.

He explained: “We’ve got some really interesting things going on at the moment. I’m just in final talks with one of the largest football clubs in the UK, and just waiting for paperwork to come back from another big club.

“I’ve recently visited St Andrews, doing some promotional work up there. And we’re on the verge of signing another big deal north of the border. It’s rewarding to see our refillable bottles at St Andrews. This shows how more people in golf are recognising the importance of sustainable hydration.

“Bluewater’s sustainable permanent hydration solutions are today used at Pebble Beach and Royal Portrush, for example. Our long partnership with the GEO Foundation for Sustainable Golf clearly underlines our commitment to helping events and golf clubs alike reduce single-use plastics and provide great drinking water.

“We’re promoting the sustainability message and, hopefully, getting placements of our units within clubs.

“That’s one of our major aims. I’m very passionate about what I sell and I’m very passionate about what we’re trying to achieve for future generations.”