John Henry Staines was born in April 1948 in the small pottery’s town of Leek in Staffordshire. He is the second son of Robert and Sylvia Staines, and travelled with the family at the age of 9 to live in South Shields, South Tyneside, the home of his father, where he resided on and off for over 65 years. John was diagnosed with Bipolar Affective Disorder when he was 22 and has struggled mentally to contain this illness throughout his international career as a market researcher in over 50 countries for over 500 clients.