Hopfensperger unsuccessfully stood for election to St Edmundsbury Borough Council in 1999 and 2003 (losing by just 5 votes) before being co-opted into the newly formed Bury St Edmunds Town Council at its second ever meeting in June 2003,and serving as deputy mayor from 2005 until his resignation in April 2006.[2]
A month later he stood as an Independent candidate for a Bury St Edmunds Town Council by-election. During the election,an opposition candidate reported him to the police for posting "It looks like Paul Farmer has done well" on his blog after returning from the opening of the postal votes. For this he received a police caution under the Representation of the People Act due to a minor breach of the act relating to maintaining secrecy as ballot papers are counted.[4][5]
Over his twenty year period as a local councillor,Hopfensperger was involved in many improvements in the district wards and county council division he represented.
In December 2021,during the height of the COVID pandemic,the keys to a new multi-million pound,state-of-the-art community centre,which had been 10 years in the making were handed over to the new board of trustees. The project was led by the Newbury Community Association (NCA),of which Hopfensperger was a member as part of his role as a local councillor,in partnership with West Suffolk Council and Suffolk County Council.[12][13][14][15]
Brexit
During a 2021 West Suffolk Council debate on exiting the European Union (Brexit),at which Hopfensperger declared a non-pecuniary interest as a small business owner who imports/exports to/from the EU,he explained that the new trading arrangements with the EU had severely hampered trade and placed extra burdens and costs on companies who now had to complete reams of paperwork. The new paperwork requirements to sell products abroad had meant hours of extra work,including for simply sending items to Northern Ireland which is part of the United Kingdom. This was affecting people’s mental health and he questioned what help was available for business people to deal with the increased costs and burdens.[16][17]
He criticised the post-Brexit trading arrangements as a "complete and utter disaster". He said,"If anyone tells me 'we knew what we were voting for' I say to them you certainly didn't know what you were voting for."[18]
Left to Right:Paul Hopfensperger,'King of The English Channel' Kevin Murphy,Keith Bartolo,Mark Blewitt,and 'The Channel General' Freda Streeter. Dover Harbour,England,Saturday June 14,2008
During his youth,Hopfensperger was a competitive swimmer representing his home town of Bury St Edmunds and the county of Suffolk,including captaining the Bury St Edmunds Swimming Club ('The Bury Beavers') on three occasions between 1978 and 1981.[21][22]
Hopfensperger has completed two solo crossings of the English Channel in 2007[23] and 2008,[24][25] making him the 84th person in history to swim the channel more than once.[21] He also participated in one relay in 2010 as part of the six person 'Team Iryna International English Channel Relay Team'.[26][21]
Hopfensperger's first swim in 2007 was broadcast live from the English Channel by reporter Jon Wright for BBC Radio Suffolk. Updates were broadcast throughout the day for the duration of the 13 hour 52 minute swim.[27] His swim was also featured in the first episode of the Discovery Channel documentary series Human Body:Pushing the Limits.[28][23][22]
As of January 25,2009,Hopfensperger's swims raised a total of £16,156.13 for St Nicholas' Hospice in Bury St. Edmunds and CLIC Sargent Children's Cancer Charity.[31]
During the COVID pandemic,Hopfensperger co-authored a book with various internationally renowned speakers including Kyle Wilson,Denis Waitley,and Tom Ziglar titled Bringing Value,Solving Problems and Leaving a Legacy. The book became an International #1 Amazon Bestseller.[33][34][35]
In 2021,Hopfensperger,who has been in bands since the age of ten and is guitarist and singer/songwriter with the English mod band The Teazers,was part of an international collaboration of success minded individuals who featured on Roy Smoothe's 'smoothe mix' album titled Success Mindset Mix. This album also hit number one in five categories on the Amazon chart. His song titled Just Keep Swimming Until You Get To France! was based on his experience of swimming the English Channel.[33]
Publications,Podcast and radio appearances
Hopfensperger also has been a guest on a number of radio shows and podcasts discussing politics,swimming the English Channel,music and personalised nutrition/personalized medicine.
In 2010 Hopfensperger appeared on the TV quiz show Eggheads where he captained a team of six English Channel swimmers called "Channel Buoys and Gulls". The team included 'King of The English Channel' swimmer Kevin Murphy.[38]
Year
Title
Role
Notes
1978
Home in England
Himself – Working in his father's shop
30 Minute BBC Documentary featuring his late Father Johann Hopfensperger
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