Andrew Gray Podcast
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Andrew Gray Podcast
The Night That Proved BROTHERHOOD Is Still Alive
What compels friends to push through physical limits and emotional barriers to honor a lost loved one? Join us as we explore this profound question with our guests Joel Laco and JL, who embarked on an intense 100-kilometer run and rowing event for the Miles for Merrick fundraiser. They share their journey of preparation, the surge of community support they experienced, and the powerful tribute to their late friend, James "Jimmy" Merrick, that emerged from an event fraught with challenges. We hear firsthand accounts of the emotional and physical toll, and how the support from friends and family became a beacon of hope and determination during those solitary and painful hours.
As we listen to Joel and JL recount their experiences, a vivid picture of camaraderie, resilience, and the human spirit's defiance against adversity comes to life. They candidly discuss overcoming injuries and unexpected setbacks, drawing strength from their internal reasons for participating, and the shared struggles that ultimately forged unbreakable bonds. The unwavering motivation provided by surprise visits and the community's encouragement transformed the grueling challenge into an inspiring life milestone, echoing the spirit of friendship that Jimmy embodied.
In remembering Jimmy, we celebrate a life marked by genuine connections and unwavering principles. This episode not only honors his legacy but also sheds light on the broader impact of friendship and family bonds. Through touching anecdotes, we reflect on the values that defined Jimmy, a man who balanced familial duties with remarkable social grace. Join us for this heartfelt narrative, where endurance meets remembrance, and discover how the strength of community continues to uplift and inspire.
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Guys, how far would you go if the pressure was on you to stand up for your mates? What lengths would you go to to really stand up for them when they're going through a crisis? For example, would you be willing to run 100 kilometers through the night around a track or get on a rowing machine for 100 kilometers through the night? These gentlemen that are joining me here today did exactly that running and rowing 100 kilometers for their mate.
Speaker 1:We've got joel laco and jl joining me here on the lounge today to have a conversation about this incredible fundraising event that happened recently the miles for merrick fundraiser, where these guys got together and decided to put on this incredible event to stand up for a mate that they lost earlier in the year and we'll talk about that a little later in the conversation and and, of course, to support the family that was involved. But I want to come straight to you guys. Let's talk about the event. Let's talk about the run and the row. We were all there together. Thankfully, you blokes were pounding out the track and I was generally just interviewing. But 100Ks, joel, let's go straight to you. Talk to us your experience of running that 100k event the lead up the physical exertion.
Speaker 2:What are your recollections now, a few weeks on? Yeah, g'day andrew. Um, yeah, it's pretty, it almost is like a dream, pretty much like it happened so quick and, um, like there's a lot of anticipation leading into like the event and then, like the week before was pretty gnarly like chasing up sponsors, ringing people, like asking around for donations, seeing what small businesses want to contribute, and that in itself almost felt like a thousand miles in my head before actually starting the event. So by the time we got to the event it almost felt like I was excited to run. So actually getting to the day was pretty awesome. It almost felt like a grand final day almost.
Speaker 2:Um, but yeah, I think during the run it was super special, like running around that track and then seeing like all the community rock up and then seeing like the pictures of jimmy up in the stands and and just seeing the constant flow of people coming in and out was just like the first 50 or 60 Ks almost felt like flip. We've run 50, 60 Ks. It didn't even feel like it because there was that many people there.
Speaker 1:Speak for yourself. Jl is saying.
Speaker 2:But when we got to that 60 K mark, I think it was like about 2 o'clock in the morning and that was pretty dark. Yes, it was like about 2 o'clock in the morning and that was pretty dark. Yes, like from about 2 o'clock till 4 o'clock, there was some Right, there was a bit of head noise going on. Yeah, yeah, rowing upstream for Laco.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:And yeah, just between that block, like no music could get you through the silence couldn't get you through. It was just cold and miserable, but you just had to just put one leg in front of the other and keep pressing on and then as the sun started coming up in the morning, it just like people started to come and you just got that new reminder of like why you're actually doing this run and it gave you that motivation to get through and finish in the end.
Speaker 1:Totally. For those who don't know about the event, you can go back on the channel and watch those live streams. As we said, there was a 100K run and row going on to raise funds for a family who had lost this awesome man, james Jimmy Merrick. But what most people didn't know who weren't there is that hundreds of people turned up to support the event in the stand, people coming and going literally through the night. Uh, you guys were joined on track by. My count was close to 100 runners throughout the sunday morning. I'm going to skip you, laco, for a moment and come to jail, but we are coming to you.
Speaker 1:Don't worry you, you will not be missed um, you and I were able to chat a few times through the night and particularly we chatted when you got across the line of 100Ks and at that moment we talked about the fact that I think you said around the 46K mark, something went bang behind your knee. So not only had 100Ks to run, but did 54 or so of them in a serious state of injury and it took a long time to recover. So talk to us about that element for a moment. The whole event, the experience. As joel said, you guys were heavily involved in the planning. Then you've got to go out on track, run 100ks and get injured. Talk to us about the experience as you look back now.
Speaker 4:I think the injury comes from age, but, um, yeah, similar to what Joel said, the lead up to the event, it was an idea that I can't actually genuinely remember exactly when we started talking about. I think it may have been the wake Right, and the link there was that Jimmy had done a charity ride with the footy club, with Blake McCross, andaser and myself previously. Um, and jimmy had always spoken about doing more of that sort of thing, right? Um, so, knowing that jimmy would have done it for anybody else, I think that's where the conversation started. So it was just a small idea to let's try and run and raise the money to help build the house um, but the event, just it just snowballed.
Speaker 4:It was like after that idea, we pushed the snowball off the top of the mountain.
Speaker 1:Yes, and away it went, and it just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so it definitely felt like we'd run a marathon before it even got to the day Yep, and then the day similar but for different reasons was a bit of a blur. I remember multiple times just being in almost shock at the volume of people that were turning up and strangers turning up, people for myself, people I hadn't seen for 10 or 15 years from school. That didn't know Jimmy, but just saw that there was a run.
Speaker 3:It was six weeks.
Speaker 4:Yeah, seven weeks Six seven weeks, yeah, right, amazing. So and then the run. Yeah, it was interesting. I found out later it was my hamstring. I tore my hamstring right down low sort of behind my knee. That's what went bang at the 46K mark. Not all you need at all.
Speaker 2:It's explosive on the track.
Speaker 4:Well, that's right going too fast the thing for me on the. I don't think I've actually said this since then, but I wanted to get the 42k mark. So I pushed through to the 42k mark and I'd asked jake, the physio, to stay. He wanted to go have a little rest, so I asked him to to stay until I got to 42K so that he could quickly give me a massage and I'd have a quick break and then I'd get back out on track. Yes, so he'd just done that and I'd done 4Ks and something went bang and he'd just gone for his rest. Perfect timing. I just kept pushing through. Thanks, jiggy. In some pretty serious pain I was trying to figure out. It was actually more comfortable to run than to walk right at times. Jake finally got back, probably two hours, two and a half hours later and strapped it up, and strapped it in a bent position, so I couldn't straightening it right.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it was killing me, so he strapped it into that position and I think I'd gone from the 46k mark to about the 70, 75k mark before Jake strapped me up, and then I punched out 20k's at six minutes I looked at my watch. I was doing six minutes 20k's.
Speaker 3:You were losing your mind.
Speaker 4:As well as well, I saw you singing to a sausage roll. Yes, and then the last. I remember coming into the tent at the 85-kilometre mark and I was into 5K lots by this point in time. I remember leaving the tent and I just I said to a couple of mates that were running with me my brother-in-law, joel, and one of my good mates, his brother Chris Noyce I said I'm not going back to the tent if I need water or food or something and I said I'm not coming back in here until I'm finished Yep, so I punched out the last 15.
Speaker 4:Yeah, amazing. Yeah, I was amazed looking back now for me how emotional it was looking back now um, for me how emotional it was. Um, and yeah, I've since done that real. And yeah, finishing when jolly finished, yes, um, fraser, and you know I I was just amazed how it really really took me emotionally yes a massive journey as well absolutely.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was a, it was a huge um output from everyone, right? So the physical output was a no-brainer. You can figure that out. If you're going to run or row 100ks, uh, that's a big effort. But, as you say, the pre-planning, the emotional connection, the mateship, all the rest of it. Maybe, lake, I can come to you and ask you let's get into that a little bit more. So these guys were running. Yeah, you were on a rowing machine, not alone. You did have one comrade with you, but the two of you together on the rowing machine.
Speaker 1:Talk to us about that. And particularly, I would like to know from you, because you were pretty lighthearted, to be fair, through the night, which was impressive, but did you have moments where it got a bit dark and you thought, man, what have I signed up for?
Speaker 3:here, mate, definitely so before the row the furthest I've ever gone was 2K, so you can see the prep wasn't up to scratch.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I think Jared the other guy who did the row as well, his furthest was 6K, wow. So we had no idea what to expect. Yeah, okay, we were doing it in two-kilometre sort of stints, so the person who was rowing the other person had a break, which I think almost worked against us, because you had time to cool down and everything was seizing up or getting really tight. So our plan was just to keep going. So at the end of the day, unknowingly, every 10Ks we did 45 minutes on the rower, like without knowing that that wasn't a goal that we set. So I think for us, just sitting in the same spot watching the boys run around the track and just seeing them say something stupid to you as they walk past every single time yes, ten times in a lap, yes, it kind of helped us in a way.
Speaker 4:The same stupid things.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah. And look, I know, joel, he planned for this and he had everything regimented in a way for every such and such case or something. But we sort of just turned up and thought we'd be able to do it. But we just thought, you know, let's just get it done, get it done, get it done, put your head down and do it for Jimmy. So both Jared and myself are good mates of Jimmy and we just thought we're not going to stop and we're going to get it done, no matter what. Yeah, I love it. We weren't the best prepared, but we just did what we did.
Speaker 1:We do need to get into that a little bit, because not everyone will know, obviously, that part of the reason why you're on a rowing machine is because you'd had ACL surgery. How long before this, yeah.
Speaker 3:I had a full knee reconstruction, so both ACL, MCL, PCL Full knee reco Six weeks before the row, so so what we're saying is pathetic excuse for not running.
Speaker 1:Really, yeah, but no, couldn't get through the run.
Speaker 3:A really good surgeon. I saw my physio who turned up and watched me and just said what the hell are you doing? So that pushed me in a way that, um, we're just going to get it done, like yes.
Speaker 1:To be honest, it felt better when I finished, so I don't know what the go is there talk to us about that moment for you before the event, when obviously you knew you couldn't do the run, but then I presume something in your mind went well, I'm not going to be excluded from contributing. Yeah, for sure I'll do something. Tell us how that happened.
Speaker 3:I just like he was such a big part of my life, I just thought we have to do something. If it's rowing on a bike, something, yes, and I know the boys. Jl messaged me saying send a video to me, to him saying what you're going to do, and obviously I can't run. So the other guy as well, jared. He broke his ankle about four weeks before the row, wow. So I just said to him look, we've got to find a way that we can contribute in some way.
Speaker 3:I want to be able to struggle. It's never meant to be hard, right, sorry, it's never meant to be easy.
Speaker 4:Right, sorry, it's never meant to be easy. I just had a look. It was the 4th of Grab the mic there. Sorry, it was the 4th of October. I just had a look at the messages it was the 4th of October, so it was that two weeks out that the rower idea came up.
Speaker 1:Two weeks before the event. Yeah, so any wonder there was no prep, and maybe if you had prep it would have freaked you out. So it's like let's just get on with it, yeah.
Speaker 3:So I mean we got the rower three days before the event. That was it, wow. And just lifting that up on the truck was hard enough. So I was like this is going to be hard to ride.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's amazing. Look, I do love your little moment there that you had to yourself, where it's like I'm not going to miss out, I'm going to contribute somehow and I want to get into that a little bit more with you guys. You mentioned it, joel, before that you ran the first 60ks and, to be fair, those who didn't see it uh, 42k is being a marathon. It's a big effort but you got through that first 60 pretty well, fairly strong. Later on in the night you hit a bit of a wall and I want to get into a little bit around the headspace for all of you and how dark it got. I mean, I loved being part of the event, to be fair, and it was a lot of fun doing the live streaming and chatting to you guys and track and all the rest of it.
Speaker 1:If I'm being honest, my favourite part of the whole event not because I'm a sadist, but watching yourself, jl, and particularly Trent and Blake watching you guys in the hurt locker yeah, the adversity had to go through Not watching you in pain, but watching those moments because I know myself, having done Ironman triathlons, how dark it gets in your head space and my favorite part of the event was the chance just to try and give a few encouraging words, lap on lap on lap, thinking we've got to get these boys home, we've got to keep them focused, you know. So can you talk to us for a moment or two about that, like, because most people who are watching will never in their lifetime run a marathon or do an ironman triathlon or take on a crazy event like this? It takes you to a pretty dark space, doesn't it? You've got to dig real deep yeah, yeah, totally.
Speaker 2:um, as jl mentioned before, when um jakey boy went off for a bit of a snooze, I think that's when it all kind of hit us that going into the tent for a calf rub was not fixing anything or getting another 5Ks out of it. Right, we'd run our 5Ks and he's in the car snoozing and it's like flip, like this hurts. I'm in pain. Yes, I can't go down.
Speaker 3:I said he was going for half an hour and he was gone for two and a half.
Speaker 4:Jake, we were watching you. There's a little story to share about the hurt locker there. Jake was gone. I did the. I injured myself. Yep fraser, who ran with us, is a physio and a good mate of mine. Yes, so, and this puts it in perspective, I was in the tent and I was trying to strap my leg. I was trying to figure out how to do something myself, to try and help.
Speaker 4:I didn't know what was going on. I was strapping it. I see Frase come around the corner and he starts. You can see he's about to come into tent. Frase is a physio. Frase is a mate of mine. I'm probably 55Ks now so he's probably similar. He looks like he's doing pretty well. So I said, oh, fraser, there's a problem behind my knee. Like what do you reckon? You reckon if I strap it? He looked at me, walked straight past, didn't say a word and just went and sat down and started sorting himself out.
Speaker 4:So he was in the dark zone himself. That for me was a really wow moment.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 4:Well, I thought he looked good. Yes, he's in pain. I thought he looked good, but he's in pain?
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely. He talked to me for about 25 minutes he shut me up Fraser.
Speaker 1:So the rowers were the favourites amongst the physio team. Is what you're trying to say?
Speaker 3:We tried to do it without a break, without stopping, because it was hurting a small stopping. Yeah, okay, we thought we'll just go through the whole night and Jared's brother, jake, came at about 4.30 in the morning to try and cheer us on, to help us out a bit, and he said there was no one on the track. There was like a fog about I don't know shoulder height Right, it was freezing cold, yep, and he was in the car park down the other end and all he could hear was ah ah, the rowing machine Of the rower.
Speaker 3:So he came down and he just knew that we were in a world of hurt. But him coming down, it helped us so much.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3:And you would know as well, you had some of your mates come down and help you with the run like the scambo and all that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Well, you had some guys turn up at like 1.30 in the morning who you didn't know were coming right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So Loverick and Josh Trouch they randomly rocked up at 1.30, 2 o'clock and that was like just them coming down for 20 minutes and not just to cheer you on right, they turned up to run. Yeah, they turned up to run 5Ks and they flip it around at like 4 minute 30 Ks which is like, and while we're all sitting, down in the tent trying to fix ourselves like they're just yeah right.
Speaker 2:It made you guys look really slow. But yeah, no, there was definitely some dark moments, like around that 60 to 70 K mark when you weren't getting that fix from Jake the physio, yep, and you're just in like thinking your head I've, I've done all right, you're getting 60, I can get another 10, but really like you're battling to get one right 1k out, so you're fighting for two and a half laps and you're like it hits you, you're like flip. That took me like half an hour how can I finish this thing?
Speaker 4:yeah?
Speaker 2:and then you, you're fighting that pain and your ankles start to blow out, your knees start start hurting and you're like it actually felt really cold. I think JL and I both were wearing a jumper for I don't know for a couple of hours because it was cold. And then Scambo and Lockie shout out to those boys for coming down. They were massive. I think those boys ran like 35 Ks or something.
Speaker 1:Wow, amazing.
Speaker 2:Some big efforts from them which they would never test themselves.
Speaker 3:They run 35 and they did it without even thinking about it yeah, incredible, but had a strange time too four in the morning, four am amazing.
Speaker 1:Well, I think that that reality there is because you blokes took on such a task that uh was inspiring and it inspired people. I remember I was running with you at one point and this guy luke I don't luke. If you're watching, we don't know who you are, we don't know what went on, but uh, this guy, luke, appeared on the track.
Speaker 1:It must have been one in the morning, it was certainly after midnight, um, and I remember you asking him oh, what's your name and who do you know? And and luke response was I don't know anyone here. I just saw the live stream on Facebook and thought I might go down and help him out.
Speaker 2:I think he actually said he wanted to get away from his missus. Yeah, that might have been the excuse. That was his first reasoning.
Speaker 1:But didn't actually know anyone. But like, that's an example of the fact that I think when, particularly when, blokes and mates get together to do something that's got value, that's got purpose, that's got inspiration in it, it does have the power to get other people inspired. And let's stay on that theme for a moment. Around the, the dark spaces that you go to, I mean, I remember before my first race years ago, being warned that you'll probably get to a point physically where you get a bit delusional because your, your body, hasn't been pushed that far before. And I remember listening to those people and going what are they talking about?
Speaker 1:But I remember in my own triathlon getting to 120k mark on a bike. The furthest I'd ridden was 104. I did that once and it was 41 degrees temperature. That day I got to the 120k mark, rode past my wife who was cheering me on, and started crying. I just started losing the plot and becoming delusional and I'm talking to myself out loud going well, I don't have to. Why am I here? I don't need to be doing this, and in those moments I think you have to have a reason. That's pretty important down on the inside. Now. You guys had an obvious one, a really important one. But could I get a comment from you on that, like that connection of this is really hard what I'm doing here, but the reason down deep on the inside is big enough to make me keep going.
Speaker 4:This might sound like a weird comment, but I think I had really settled with that prior Right and there was not one. The possibility of getting a bit delusional, no, no, no. The reason, okay, and the getting it done piece.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 4:And I said to my wife afterwards there wasn't one period at all that it never entered my mind that I wasn't going to get it done.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 4:It just never. It honestly never, ever entered my mind. It was just a matter of time until it was going to happen. Yeah, so the dark part for me was just timing, just looking at how slow the Ks were getting slower and slower. And I'm like people would say oh, you've only got 10 Ks to go and I'm thinking that's 10 at eight minutes.
Speaker 1:That's about another three weeks of running.
Speaker 4:That at eight minutes. That's about another three weeks of running. That's not just. That's not a normal 10 case together. That's right, yeah that's right.
Speaker 1:But yeah, it never, ever entered my mind that it wasn't I was gonna stop or finish. You, you were pretty fixed on your reason right from the start. Yeah, which is awesome, we did see you and we've it's on the live stream. On your last lap you you sort of veered away from the inside of the track and you made sure to go past the photo boards of Jimmy and photos with his mates and with his family and you sort of touched those signs on one last lap. So I mean, obviously that was your reason. Through the night were you accessing those thoughts and those memories and thinking of Jimmy, or was it more about I'm just focused in my head and I've just got to stay on task here? You did you find yourself needing to draw on that for energy yeah, definitely, definitely at times.
Speaker 4:Um, and to be to be fair, during the night, um, it was probably people like um Joel and Laco and um, you know, brother-in-laws and close, close mates. Yep, I wouldn't have. I shared, while I was running with someone I can't remember who it was that I, as far as my connection to Jimmy, I would say I'm sort of one part removed from where these guys would be.
Speaker 1:Right, okay.
Speaker 4:So watching them and running past Jimmy and looking at others was probably the piece that got me through.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, yeah, awesome. I think for a lot of people watching this they won't have a frame of reference, right, because, like we said, most people will never do something like this and you blokes will probably say, well, we recommend they don't, you know, because it's a fairly rare thing. And then it becomes a very special shared experience. Hopefully you all get to your 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond and still be able to reflect back and say, hey, remember when we did that thing together. It really does become quite an incredible shared moment. Talk to us about that as like a bonding thing and the experience of mates getting together to achieve that.
Speaker 2:I might actually challenge what you just said and like I hope, like I would actually recommend people do this. I would too. It flippant sucked, and I hope that people don't have to go through something like this.
Speaker 3:But for days after.
Speaker 2:For out of it like this is something that I'll remember for the rest of my life, and like weddings and like kind of those moments, like it had that kind of aura and feel to it yes, um, like the circumstance absolutely sucks of course that's not. Yeah, that's something else, but how you respond to that situation and what you do, moving forward into the next season of life. Yeah it, it sucked, but hey, this is what we're doing as a community and this is what we're doing to help each other out.
Speaker 2:Yes, and that feeling associated with doing it with other guys, like running and seeing Laco and Jared Rowe. I think it was pretty special and I hold that up there highly with some great memories in my life Absolutely.
Speaker 1:I totally agree with you. You know obviously I was joking and jesting, but I'm on the same page For people to do something like this connected to an important reason, you know, just the physicality of running a marathon, of course, is a great achievement. If it's also connected to an important cause, it does do something on the inside of you and I think the fact that you do have to go to those places of physical exertion and pain and pushing through injury, it actually takes you to a place where you discover how much is actually in us. You know you think through the challenges you have in life and everybody does, and life throws you curveballs and the plan doesn't go the way you want it to, et cetera. But to know that you can go to a pretty extreme limit and find something on the inside to keep going is a big deal, right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, definitely, and I'm the same as JL. There was never a thought in my mind of not making the target. Like, even if the target, yes, like even if the target was 300 kilometres, we were always going to do it no matter what.
Speaker 2:Is that the next?
Speaker 3:one it might be.
Speaker 2:You've heard it in your first.
Speaker 1:Laco rowing to Brisbane.
Speaker 3:But that's how Jimmy was, though, right, like he just took everything by the scruff of the neck and it didn't matter the preparation or the, the planning that he had before it, no matter what, like he was fully invested in what he was going to do and he was going to do it, no matter what. So, yeah for us, like for for me and jared, as hard as it was, it was almost almost I say almost almost fun to to be able to watch everyone run and be a part of what it was in a whole.
Speaker 3:So like yeah, we were never going to not finish.
Speaker 1:Totally. I get exactly what you're saying and like for me as a sort of insider, outsider. Obviously I was there live streaming but I wasn't part of the running group and I was new to you blokes, who you were and the whole story. But there was a tremendous amount of community energy there. Oh, definitely, yeah, that you know you weren't just running as a group.
Speaker 3:You could actually feel family and friends pulling for you guys from the grandstand and so I think for us as well, it became easier when well, for me, I thought thought, when no one was there, I liked it. When no one was there, right, I liked it. You're insane. I didn't mind it because I thought like why would Jimmy want a huge crowd here, you know? Like, that's not him, right? He doesn't want people staring at him. He's the complete opposite of that.
Speaker 3:So that's when we got a chance to be able to do our thing, to just cruise and just completely do what we're doing. For the reason, for what? We're doing and that was for him and that for me was the way he would like to have done it, yeah right Without the people watching him All the fanfare around it, without the fanfare and just get in, dig your heels in, get it done, yes, without anyone watching, right, purely just for yourself. Yeah, brilliant, purely just for yourself.
Speaker 4:Yeah, brilliant. So that, yeah, jimmy's mum, kez and Jade, my wife, stayed through the whole event. Yes, and they shared something similar. They said that between that midnight and 4 am, where it was just those two and us rowing and running, they said that's the memory piece for them that they'll remember forever. Yes, it was just us. Do it for Jimmy.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 4:They were listening to us have some good banter at times and a bit of a laugh to get each other through.
Speaker 3:These guys got their change.
Speaker 4:Direction.
Speaker 1:No, you had to row upstream all night.
Speaker 4:We decided to push yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1:The Salmon Brothers upstream all night. Well, I understand what you're both getting at there and I think there is something powerful about that truth that the crowd was awesome and the support was awesome, but through the night that dwindled and you got to a point as you're always going to where it's like, it's me and the rower, it's me and the track.
Speaker 3:That's it, now we switch on.
Speaker 1:Now we switch on.
Speaker 4:I'm out here for my mate and that's it. And Kez was saying that we're all in our own zones.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 4:But you could. If I ran past Joel, or Joel ran past me, for that five metres of passing, you would snap out of your own zone, give some encouragement and then snap straight back into it and just keep doing what you're doing absolutely.
Speaker 1:I want to um talk for a moment as well about, uh, jimmy and who he was, and get you guys to talk about that, as we've chatted about. You know this this is what mates do for each other and it's it's such a great thing to see that on display, that that that trait, that value, is not dead. It's still alive, that mates will stand up for each other, blokes who you know. Really, the focus of this channel is about trying to encourage men that to to be a good man. You know whatever you define good as is a worthy pursuit. You know there's no such thing as a perfect man, but trying to be a good man, do the right thing by your family, do the right thing by your friends, stand up for the stuff that matters is the kind of thing we need to profile, and it's clearly the kind of bloke that jimmy was. So you know, let's take a moment to talk about him. Tell us your recollections of who he was, what kind of bloke he was, why this came together.
Speaker 4:So well, I'll let. Well, I'll let these guys answer that in a second. But I just got a mad flashback then of the real surreal moment right now that the three of us are sitting here and nobody else. Because you're talking about good guys doing good things. I remember talking. I was in Chicago. I remember talking to you on FaceTime. You were at Liverpool Hospital. It was the first time I saw Rach since the incident. I was talking to Laco on Messenger and there was just the reach out. I remember talking to you like this is whilst Jimmy's still in hospital, rach hasn't been home since the Friday. It's now Tuesday, wednesday, and already everyone's trying to help. And what can we do? I don't know if you remember those sorts of conversations, but everyone was broken, but what can we do to help? So, anyway, just saying that and good guys doing good things. I remember having those conversations from the other side of the world on FaceTime and on Messenger.
Speaker 4:It's just quite surreal that the three of us are sitting here, right now. Yeah, absolutely as far as Jimmy, I'll let these guys I'll probably share a little bit of my own, but these guys can talk to who Jimmy was. Yeah, well, let's get ready to share that with us.
Speaker 1:Like for those who don't know the story, who didn't get the chance to watch, watch any of the live stream, the basics of the story is that Jimmy, who is your brother-in-law, married to your sister Rachel, had this horrific workplace accident earlier this year and very, very sadly and tragically lost his life, which then obviously became the reason for this incredible event to raise funds for the family, for his daughter Ellie and baby Merrick that's on the way, to help them finish their house.
Speaker 1:And so there was a real emotional but also practical reason to rally around the family in this kind of event. But it is important for us to talk about Jimmy and talk about who he was, what kind of bloke he was, and I remember saying to his mum and I think maybe even to your mum, as we were interviewing people through the event saying it's easy for people after the fact to say, oh yeah, so-and-so is a top bloke, and then they mean it when they say it. But an event like that proved it, because the actions were so overwhelming that it must've been more than just a cliche to people, right?
Speaker 3:Yeah, definitely, and people would be saying that before he passed away. So like he's always just been like just a top-notch fellow, right Shirt off the back kind of guy. I've known Jimmy from about maybe 15 years ago when we introduced him to touch football and look straight away from day one, as soon as he came down we knew straight away this guy's, he's one of us, he's one of the boys, he's going to hang in there, he's a legend, he's a great guy and same as the family, though I just quickly want to touch on the family. They're all beautiful people and they've been through so much in the last couple of years like four or five years with the passing of their dad as well. So Taylor, his sister, is just extremely strong.
Speaker 3:She's a lovely person and very much similar to both Jimmy and Mitch in the way that they're just rough country. Say it as it is, right Down the line my kind of people, no bullshit.
Speaker 1:I love it.
Speaker 3:There's no bullshit and you know exactly where you stand with Jimmy as well, and that's, I think, what makes him just such a unique person as well. So, and there was never a I've never talked to a person that has said anything bad about any of the Marys at all Right, and obviously Jimmy included. Nothing has ever been negative. No one said anything bad about him at all. So it's tough, but I mean, it is what it is.
Speaker 1:It is what it is, yeah, but it is important for us to talk about exactly what you just said the kind of family that they are and the kind of values they obviously live by, because I think in the world that we're living in today, a lot of those values are getting clouded by superficial stuff and just rubbish that doesn't last. And you know we do have a I'm older than all you blokes but you know we're all old enough on this lounge to be able to talk about younger generation and how they are being lured into all kinds of false stuff that actually is not going to stand the test of time, whereas what you're saying old school values yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1:Country values straight up.
Speaker 3:Say it as it is Just a great mate that you know that's always going to be next to you, right, in any circumstance. Yes, footy, surfing anything, you know he's going to be there. Yeah, and if he's not trying his hardest, then I mean he can cop the spray from us.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:He was always trying Exactly. I've never sprayed him. Yeah, yeah, exactly, right, give us your thoughts, joel.
Speaker 1:I mean, you're obviously, for family reasons, even closer to this whole story, with it being your brother-in-law. Talk to us about Jimmy, tell us what he meant to you, tell us why this has been such an important chapter for the whole family.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, I remember the first day I met Jimmy. So Rachel was inviting him back over to our place and the family were a bit on edge, like like a bit protective of rach, like who's his guy? I'm like super keen looking forward to it. Like there's two of them, that's right. That's probably another story how, um, how they introduced the twins to dad, but anyway, um, so yeah, jimmy rock, like jimmy was over our house and like straight away I was like man, this guy's not a brother-in-law, he's a brother like we just we hit it off very quickly, very quickly. Like we hit it off like we're best mates. I think everyone else was quiet in the house but, um, yeah, we were just talking about surfing footy, like we had the same interests, we both did carpentry, so it was just like it was another brother to me and, um, yeah, that initial moment like really stuck with me and like that carried through our relationship all the way until he passed away. Um, whether it was touch footy, he was always inclusive. Hey, joel, you want to come play touch with laco and jared? I'm like, yeah, 100, these boys are awesome. Joel, you want to play afl? Jump on board. Like I'll do it.
Speaker 2:Um, but what also sticks out with me and I think laco touched on it a bit before is when eric, who is jimmy taylor and mitch's father and kerry's husband, he passed away four or five years ago.
Speaker 2:Um, which is sad enough, as it is them losing their father, but what really stood out to me was Jimmy was the guy that stood up for his family, right, and it was just like there was a lot of responsibility on his shoulders and he carried it and he wore it and he walked through it and he got out the other side of it and he had, like he had his own business, he had his dad's business, he had a farm to run for his family and, um, and also like marrying rage and having a kid, like it was a lot of a lot of responsibility on this guy's shoulders and for some reason he, he was capable and he managed to do it and without the sacrifice of the person that he is, and he was able to, like, still maintain those relationships in touch. Footy, go out for a beer with his mates, go out for a dinner at the drop of a hat he'd be there.
Speaker 2:You always had time yeah no matter what even when you look at his schedule and it's like you do not have time he found it and he had it, and that was something that I just took a back seat and just watched. I'm like I admire that about this guy. It was pretty amazing and remarkable how someone could do that as a man and for his family, so that was a big thing that stood out for me.
Speaker 2:And another thing also he was just so inclusive, Like no matter who it was like you didn't have to have a profile or a stereotype like yep, if he met you and like pretty much if you met him, you're friends with him yeah, so he was friends with everyone, yeah, and he didn't segregate, like, this person from that person, like he would always be focused on the person who was in front of him. Yeah, okay, and that's what was pretty special about jimmy and um, and also, he's just a flippin nutcase.
Speaker 3:He just, he just try everything and like can I just say my kids I've got a um five-year-old and a three-year-old they still talk about, about Jimmy and just how wild he is Right, and it angers me a bit because I try to be the most wild, but he always takes it and like he touches so many families, Like he knows everyone's kids, he was the king of the kids. Yeah, okay, so he was around everyone's families. Whether we go to a park for a birthday or something, he would be the one going down the slide Sorry, I'm spitting on you Going down the slide with the kids or stuck up the top of a. You know he was the guy that was always there with them and I think you sort of forget just how influential he was for all the young guys all the young kids and stuff like that my kids still talk about him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, brilliant, I love it. I love hearing these stories. I'm going to get a comment from you as well, jl, but I do genuinely mean it when I say it's so powerful and so important to hear you guys reflect in this way about this, because my contention right would be that the majority of men are trying to be that guy a good family man, stand up for his mates. He didn't try, he was just being himself. Yeah, exactly, yep, it's. It's really a lot more common than I think the narrative that's out there in mainstream and you know we might get onto one or two questions before we finish about that idea that you know there's a lot of messages out there about who men are and who they're not but my view would be, these stories you blokes are telling now is actually the truth of what is out there in the majority. Jay, give us your thoughts about Jimmy.
Speaker 4:Jimmy. Like I said before, I've probably felt my relationship with Jimmy is obviously not a brother-in-law and not one of his closest mates, but I said it from day one that Jimmy was someone for me. We've heard about the father. He played footy, he did the charity ride. We could go from Gregory Hill Hills Hotel on a Saturday night.
Speaker 3:He didn't spend a lot of time there.
Speaker 4:No, he wasn't Playing. I remember the Olympics and we were playing events inside until the joint closed and we could have an amazing, crazy time on a Saturday night. And then Monday morning he'd ring me and ask me I've got this problem at work or in business. What do you think Right? What would we do here? Yep, we didn't talk heaps, but when we did, it was meaningful and I knew it meant a lot to him.
Speaker 1:Yep.
Speaker 4:I've probably questioned a fair bit over the last three months since Jimmy's passing, as to what am I doing here, because probably not as close as some of these guys. What?
Speaker 1:do you mean when?
Speaker 4:you say that. What am I doing here? Just the gravity effect to want to help the family Right, I'll always be grateful to the family and the close friends for allowing Jade and I in to somewhat of the inner circle to assist and help where we can, right. But I think that's become clear to me over the last week or so that, like the guys have said, as sad as it is that Jimmy's not here, is something that I feel that I now take with Jimmy's passing is that I've got a much broader family now and I've been allowed into people who have been friends in the past. But they're more than just friends now, they're family. So it's been a wild, wild, wild ride the emotions, the gratefulness for allowing us in. You know we've been friends with Laco for years. But even this weekend to get a Facebook invite from Rach to attend Ellie's second birthday Right, we wouldn't have gone to that, right, six months ago, right. But you know that's.
Speaker 3:You feel the inclusion. I just want to say as well, honestly, the event that it was the last couple of weeks. It definitely wouldn't have happened or it wouldn't have gained traction without JL and Jade steering the ship, so like they're at the forefront of everything and it's all sort of fallen into place purely just because of them.
Speaker 4:Yes it worked so hard.
Speaker 3:Obviously Joel's helped massively with all the sponsorships and organising and all that. So JL's done massively.
Speaker 1:So without him it probably wouldn't have happened. Yeah, absolutely, and such a short turnaround as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, totally, yeah, amazing. Look, from my perspective again, I sort of was swung into the loop of this very, very late in the game, but from what I observed, observed you guys, the other guys that ran the rowers, the crew around everything you you definitely embody the kind of values and traits that I'm wanting to profile on this channel, talking about men who, who try to stand up, who try to live by a certain code, you know, aware of imperfections but still trying every day to give it a red hot crack for family and friends. And we need to see more of it. You know, because there is a narrative out there that says men equals bad. You know, all men are toxic, masculinity is toxic. I'm trying to play a part in provoking as many men as possible to push against that, because my experience would be that's actually false. There's always a few bad actors, but the large majority are trying to do the right thing by everyone, and so those of you are watching this episode today or maybe you're listening on the podcast if you haven't had the chance to watch some of the event, I'd encourage you to go to the live stream episodes which you can find on the channel here. Watch these guys doing this run in this row. Be inspired by what can be achieved when mates get their heart and their mind and their thoughts together about doing the right thing by their friends and by those that they care about.
Speaker 1:Obviously, if you haven't had the chance to subscribe yet, I'd love you to do that as well, so that you don't ever miss an episode. I mean this when I say it. I was so impressed watching you all, and I think you can. I know you didn't do it for this reason, but you can hold your heads very high that you honoured Jimmy. You showed so much love to his family and really achieved something very special in the shadows of a horrible moment in that family's life. You should be really proud of yourselves. I don't say that in a patronizing way. It was genuinely inspiring and motivational and I've loved our chat here today. So we're probably going to leave it there, but, as I say to everyone, make sure you check out those live streams, see what these guys did. It's amazing and subscribe to the channel, definitely because there's more of this content coming your way, and I'd love to see you in the next episode.
