If Charlie Hoult was the North of Tyne Mayor, he'd really like to buy Newcastle United.
He knows he can't but that doesn't stop him talking about it.
The 52-year-old Conservative candidate isn't even much of a Toon fan (he likes Arsenal too and prefers rugby) but he says the club is emblematic of a problem with the region.
"I spoke to someone who was seriously interested in buying the club about its potential and I had a conversation with someone who is involved with Bayern Munich about how football clubs can be community assets", he said.
"Look at Manchester United and the investment it attracts to the city. What sets us apart from Sheffield? It's Newcy Brown and the football club.
"Mike Ashley has got it wrong with the fans and I'd love to see someone come in who the mayor could work with to see the stadium expanded and help the club become a beacon for international investment.
"The mayor needs to play our strongest hand to put us on the map and that football club should be our biggest asset."
He knows it's a long-shot but says it's the sort of bold positivity the mayor will need to get away from the "narrative of decline".
It's emblematic of his approach to the job: To be a "cheerleader" for the region.
Born in Gosforth, he was briefly a journalist in London before setting up a marketing and communications firm called Loewy.
It employed 400 people by the time he was "fired by the board I hired" when things hit the skids during the economic crash.
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He then spent "two years wandering around gnashing my teeth" before moving back to Newcastle in 2010 to commit his time to growing Hoult's Yard, the business hub on the site of an old pottery factory on Walker Road which his family has owned for decades.
A millionaire who is involved in various ventures, he says his businesses employ 170 people.
Now he wants to follow in his family's tradition of involvement in public life - his grandfather was a councillor and his father was the first chairman of the Freeman Hospital - but he has no formal political experience to speak of.
Mr Hoult describes himself as a "moderate blue" and a social liberal but when it comes to economics he's steeped in the Margaret Thatcher model.
The name is still anathema in parts of the region for the suffering communities went through under her Government but he's unrepentant in his admiration for the Iron Lady.
He said: "I'm a big believer in small Government and low taxes because people want to keep the money they've earned in their pockets.
"I was a fan of what [Thatcher] did, for turning round the country.
"It was harsh medicine but look at where we are now."
He's staunchly pro-Leave, wouldn't back a second referendum and would "keep a no-deal Brexit on the table".
"Leaving the EU presents huge opportunities for the North East and I'm convinced there would be a boom after we leave", he said.
When pressed on which Government policies he'd oppose after nine years of budget cuts, he said "it's no good going to Downing Street on day one and talking about what you don't like".
Asked if he would be using his second preference vote on May 2, he states he had already cast it (for independent John McCabe) and said Labour's Jamie Driscoll would put the North of Tyne "in the slow lane".
He's the only candidate to openly say which of the candidates they'd vote for after themselves when asked.
For all the big talk about Newcastle United, he's set out a relatively modest policy platform: A deputy mayor for sports, tasked with grassroots involvement and attracting big events like the Commonwealth Games; A task force for high street regeneration; A scheme to make it easier for children to get work experience.
But fundamentally, he says, he wants to be a "cheerleader" for the region to attract investment.
"We need to believe in ourselves, not just talk about decline and in that sense this race about the soul of the region.
"I've made a career out of bringing things together and turning them into successful projects which have created wealth and jobs.
"I'm already doing it, now I want to do it as mayor for the North of Tyne."
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