Latest / JUSTRIDE Podcast / £1.2 MILLION for a Helicopter Gearbox?! - Ben Sisson at GNAAS | JUSTRIDE Podcast Ep.19
Transcript
- AUDIO: 1.2 million. Just for the gearbox. Just for the gearbox. when he heard the air ambulance in the sky and saw the light, it's almost like that moment that you think, here it comes. and we had some awful situations where we had none. was at the fire station last year, someone did, was the day before Father's Day and they just said, thank you, because of you, I can celebrate Father's Day this year. Fingers nappy, it gives you goosebumps. Yeah, yeah, does. The Great North Air Ambulance Service matters because you save lives. So welcome to another episode of the Just Ride podcast. Tonight, I'm delighted to welcome Ben Sisson, corporate relationship manager at the Great North Air Ams service. We're going to find out more about Ben, the incredible work that GNAS does, what it takes to keep their critical care teams flying and saving lives across our region. Ben, welcome to the Just Ride podcast. Was that you landing your helicopter in the Yeah, yeah, I just parked it around the corner but I couldn't find a space so just We've had a few complaints. You'd be surprised. People complain and want us to pay for their fence that we've knocked down. knock the fence down did No, I parked it in Mackie's. You this here, I'll pick it up later on if that's okay. You know it's the Mackeys. I do remember a couple of years ago the helicopter did land in the field behind us, it? Was it Sue? It was Sue, corned beef Sue. Corned Sue, Do you know I've had some of her corned for the night, you believe? That's another conversation. I'm going to keep it clean the night, guys. It's my special birthday on Monday and she's baked me up. she's one of the best corned beef pilot. Wow. Okay. We're putting this into context. It even says happy 50th. She could have put 40th. She could have. That sounds awful. Her pie is pretty good. So, so in context to the corned beef lady who lives sort of over there. Yeah. Did you have a heart attack? What happened? into basically shit like most people, the normal day out shopping in Stockton with a friend came back, felt a little bit off. And then basically just collapsed in the bed between the bed anyway. And when does the massive cardiac arrest? No particular symptoms. Didn't feel anything in town. Just felt a bit out of sorts. And in a nutshell, she basically, she died for 56 minutes. Two road ambulances did the best they could do to try and bring her back. Couldn't. And then they called in assistance for ourselves. that's the difference we can bring. We bring in the A &E department and the expertise that can then, different shock treatments and different techniques that are only available normally in hospital. And yeah, after snipping her favorite bra and getting on with the job as she always complains, Andy Morrison, who was our ops manager, he... brought back to life. Wow. And then five years later, she's still here making corned pies. We literally remember seeing that because the back of back where we are landed on the field at the back and we were like, what's going on? And then because we know better Sue from the pub based in the lessons association and she was all talking about the corned beef pie. She's the bringer actually, isn't she? I and I'd have brought some, I'll bring some tomorrow, that all right? It's a big pie. I've got to manage it all on my own. no, I said, yeah. But I mean, we'll talk about, we'll talk about kind of amazing things that the charity, the the ambulance service does. But before the GNS then what, what, what tell us more about Ben. So I know you're a corporate manager. Me before my GNS journey, well, a lifetime in hospitality. So that's my background since I was 15. I started at the Parkmore hotel down the road. No, pushing pots. First job. My mom was the HR manager Sue. she had been working there since I was about 10. So like natural progression is you go and wash them pots. prep some veg, work with the chefs, get tortured by them all generally. And then I progressed into working from the house and that's kind of where my journey started, the part one and I ended up working all around the country in the Cotswolds and Scotland and London and Hampshire and places. So I always kept coming back. It was like boomerang bend back to your arm, back to your arm. And then yeah, just different reasons brought me back. My mum's ill health did in 2014. So I came back home and. Right. So I work in a local hotels like Siem Hall and Rockleaf Hall. Yeah. And that's kind of where my journey with Genus began at Rockleaf. So how did that happen? Because we know you for hospitality and obviously we've come up to the Genus where they've got a brilliant cafe, the way. 63 is absolutely brilliant. so how did that transition from the corporate, I you mentioned there that... Yeah, it was a personal connection. I was working a golf day, golf day. Genus were actually... It was their golf day. The doctor was doing the talk about the service and what we do and how much it costs. Unfortunately, on that very afternoon, I found out that my friend had been involved in an RTC in Billingham. We'd landed, managed to get him to hospital, but sadly, about a day or so later, he did pass. But more importantly was the landed, they did the best they could, they restarted his heart, they got him to James Cook and his family were able to say goodbye. And that was a powerful thing for me to feel that although I lost my friend Jerry, they did the best they could and they gave this family dignity and Jerry as well more than anything. So I decided I'd run the Great North Run that year for them. And then it just kind of spiraled from there. And then four years ago I decided, do you know what? Change the sales and I'll apply for a job within the community role. And that's when I joined Genas as a full-time employee. Yeah. Wow. Wow. Well, that's, that's, that's. One with getting in. Yeah. Well, I was hoping in my interview would do, you know, I'd raise quite a lot during lockdown. Yeah. Something called the chase and rainbows challenge where lockdown was hard. Wasn't it for everybody? Yeah. we were losing a hundred grand a month at the charity. All the big events were getting canceled. There was no great North run. was all these things. what could I do? And I was out walking with my daughters, Molly and Isabella. And I saw a lovely rainbow, crocheted rainbow and my friend Jean's window who funny enough we served and it's one of my best friends. I was filled. with her mum, I thought, what could I do with that rainbow? Could I do a run, a ride or a walk or something? Raise money, pass it on safely. And then other people might do the same. And then we could try and connect with everyone during a time of real disconnection. And we raised about 14,000 pounds in the end. She made about 300 of these crocheted rainbow. They were getting all, they were going off to my friends in New York and Australia. So. Connected people and I like to think that helps with my journey to get my job there Yeah Did you know much about the service then before before you because I don't think a lot of people really see the helicopter to see that on the news no, I didn't I saw it flying. Yeah We also have the cars, which people don't realize when cars work through the night. I assumed like a lot of people it was part of the emergency services, wouldn't you? And when I found out it was 100 % public funded and the kind of cost that it was, even when my friend Jerry passed, it was about two and a half thousand pounds of emission, seven million a year, which was staggering. Now it's closer to 10 million, it's nearly 5,000 emission and 26,000 a day to operate. So I didn't know exactly what we did. knew we... very skilled at this. I didn't know we were bringing the A &E department, the doctor, the level eight clinician, the paramedic, getting them to the scene ultimately as quick as possible and bring in everything that you would normally get in an emergency services to the scene. They do open heart surgery, they deliver babies, know, blood transfusions. It's incredible what they can do. And many people don't even realize that. No, I don't even realize that because they just see this helicopter. Exactly. And they don't know what's inside. No, don't know who these people are or what their skill sets are. Exactly. That's the important pair is the doctor and the paramedic. Cause the road amplencers do a brilliant job. Niasse and the Northwest ambulance service, the Northeast. They do volume, they do call-outs all the time where the stuff that we get called out to is the highest level of critical care. And that's having the doctor on board that can anesthetize, the RSI's, administer the drugs. It must be horrendous to get on a scene and not be able to, you know, administer ketamine and start the procedures. That's what we can do instantly. You know, it's bringing that. straight away out the aircraft got them bags in and they're in urban and you know middle of nowhere like Sue's house it was yeah literally literally around the corner yeah she was good and she woke up about three days later didn't realize she's been in air covered in bruises like what's happened you know so so your great north what i mean what sort of areas yeah it's massive i think people don't realize how big an area out of all the air ambulances and it's 22 across great britain and ireland We cover the biggest area geographical Scotland slightly bigger, but in terms of like, Occupy, how it's occupied, et cetera. So we cover from two bases Langwathby in Penrith and then Teesside. It covers the whole of the North all the way up to the Scottish borders. the Northeast Northumberland, North Yorkshire as well crossing to Cumbria, the whole of Cumbria and the Isle of Man. So in, in geographical terms, it's 8,000 square miles. And that's just the kind of remit area and Let's be honest, we get called into Scotland a lot to support them. We further down to Liverpool, Manchester. So you've got how many aircraft? Just at the moment, unfortunately, just two. So we've got one in each base. We would normally, at full resilience, have three. One in Cumbria, one in the Northeast. And then the third aircraft generally is kept down at Leeds at the multi-flight. They provide the pilots, the aircraft and the service in for us. So we're down to just two. Two aircraft and how many road support? Probably at least... eight cars between both sites, but generally there'll be a car on the night. Like now, now it's getting darker. And they're public funded too. Yeah. Everything in the cars. And that's one thing I knew the ambulance, the aircraft, but I'd never thought about the, the car service. The car's absolutely vital. If we didn't have cars, I think it's about 40 % of the call outs is cars. So in January of 2023, we went to 24 seven cover, which meant we were doing seven nights now, seven days, seven nights where before we do seven days, five nights and miss out Sunday, Monday night. But we realized actually there's a lot of people need, know, RTCs on motorways, accidents at home. Unfortunately, at the minute with stabbings and some of the fences that are happening, you know, we're getting quite high end things in city centers. So to take enough crew and funding and the cars, that took a lot of restructuring, but some of the stories and the people I've stewarded. a run here because we had the car on on a Tuesday night. We wouldn't have had that before. just goes to show how important the funding is, you know, for people, all those little things that go on around all the communities and raising a couple of quid, how important is to put it all back because it's so vital, isn't it, to the service and making sure the service exists and continues to exist. You never know when it's going to be, you're going to need that. nobody gets up in the morning and thinks they're going to have a cardiac arrest or be struck by a golf ball or crash the car. These things can happen anytime and anywhere. We had a slogan. was anyone, anytime, anywhere. And that is so true because nobody expects it to you don't wake up in the morning. I think you're going to wake up and need to. I mean, my kind of obviously my journey with working with you guys was like 20 years ago, you know, and I remember back then it was it was basically the airport. Yeah, I remember going to the little port of Cabos and then seeing the pilots run out, you know, I was talking to Jane and Kevin, they're like, we've got to go. We'll have to postpone the meeting because literally you have to react. Yeah, that quickly. and it's like, was like 20 years ago. So I mean that must here, I mean, obviously you're still here, which is brilliant. So the fund re fundraising then, I mean, how, how challenging is that then every year? It's really tough. It's getting tougher because times are tougher. You know, anyone that goes to the shop to buy the groceries or goes to have a pint in the pub, everything's getting more expensive. And also there's so many really valuable charities out there. You know, I'm not going to talk about it tonight, but you know, the mental health charities, the hospices. So we're competing all the time. costs are rising. The call outs are rising. We have to try and match that by raising more, but it doesn't get any easier. So I think we have to be a bit more bold, a bit more adaptive. My role is a bit more challenging because it's more salesy with the corporates now. But we need to build that resilience rather than relying upon legacy is huge. It's third of what comes in. It's amazing. What do you mean by legacy? Gifts and will. Right. All right. So a third of what comes into the charity, which is incredible that people feel so strongly that they leave house, a hundred thousand pounds, you know, mean, last month it was staggering. was, but that can take some time to come in. Where now we're trying to make sure that in the future we're more strong in, in other areas that that becomes a little bit like the extra capital capital X rather than thinking that every year we must get this coming in. But 25 years, it's not quite young. You know, in comparison to the ILA, we've been going for 200 years. So people, there's lot of links with them. So I think we're doing really well to have such an impact. Like you said, within the community that people feel so strongly to leave such incredible legacies. I'm just going to ask you. So obviously with the aircraft and that was he fly 24 hours a day. Yeah, the aircraft don't know. So you'd have to mean even a military grade, it would be probably you weren't able to land on motorways and in farmers fields. So Generally it works longer during the summer months because the nights longer and the days are longer. And then on the nighttime it will go in the hangar and then we switched to car. So the car will still have the doctor, a paramedic, the same kit you've seen them big bags. Yeah. 22 kilogram bags full of all the life saving equipment. It could be the drugs, ventilators, monitoring machines, blood. we just don't need a pilot at night time. So what'll happen is the car then moves up to Washington and we kind of share the fire station. But you're right, it's hard to be ready for, you could be laid there for two or three hours and then suddenly you've got to go. Yeah. Well, what happens then talk to Sue, what happens when a call comes in? So a call comes in, if you were in the dispatch room, I mean, they have probably the toughest role within the service. Everybody says the doctors are amazing. And so the fundraisers that put the dispatch people that look at all those screens after monitor the fire service, the police, the US Northwest, Northeast, maybe nine screens. I think he's got, they've got in there. There's obviously critical care level that we will get called out to age, location, severity, anything heart related, but a tough call, you know, and there's a collaborative approach. You know, the pilot might say, at the weather, we can't just leave here and go to, you know, not Morpeth, because there's a huge weather storm coming in there. So there's a bit of a collaborative approach to what we can do, but they have to make decisions based on, can we go, what units have we got? And that must be difficult because if you send somebody from here to a salt burn and then a major incident happens down in Stockton, you can't drop tools. You have to finish the work that you're doing. So I think that is hard and well-trained, but they're only quite young. Some of the team that work in the dispatch. And if you're listening to that kind of thing all the time, it must be quite sapping, but they have to be very, very good at what they do and generally come through a bit of a training scheme from the work in a bigger group like. the ambulance service because they will monitor thousands of calls where they're not doing as many. I think we're averaging about seven a day, 39 call-outs a week. That's the missions. mean, it might be lots more calls and we'll say, not sure that's quite us, because there's a little bit of an element that pushback needed because they're under so much pressure. We can only go to what's really critical. Where do the dispatch team work? is it Prospect House? Yes, so yeah, have that. That's where we have one there and they will then coordinate both aircraft. by the code sign 58 and 63, 58 at Cumbria. 63 is why we call it hangar 63. Each base has a call sign and then each helicopter has a code. So they will then look and say, they'll dispatch either aircraft or the car. Sometimes it might be, there's could have been a double head-on crash on Long Newton. You're not gonna lift the aircraft to send the car. And it's a little bit cheaper, let's be honest. The aircraft is necessary to get there quick. Speedy here to be you know if I took the if I went on a work job from here to and it can take me best part of an hour and a half Yeah, we can be there 28 minutes, which that's the difference. That's you talk about the golden hour. Yeah, it's not yes Yeah, but time is absolutely precious, which is you know the work that you're doing So having having the two aircraft one working obviously over Cumbria and one here If one's out on it on dealing with some obviously critical case is the other one then providing cover so it could end up going from here over to the northwest or vice versa. They can swap over and end up, you know, you love one over there for a while for most of the day and one over here. So, yeah, absolutely. If we've got a second aircraft and it's available, if there's a job in Newcastle and then one coming up Middlesbrough, would send the Cumbrian one across to Middlesbrough. So absolutely we would. It might take a little bit longer, but It goes 200 miles an hour. It's quick and direct. And who's typically on a helicopter then? So when there's a dispatch, who's on it? so who's on the aircraft? So obviously the pilot. They're really highly trained. They generally come from the, you know, the RAF or military background. You can train to fly an aircraft, but you'd have to be mega rich and it's not, yeah, it's an expensive hobby. But even then it wouldn't give you the skill level that we needed to play their part in that. So there's always the pilot. and then the paramedic will always stay up front and they are trained to lift and land if necessary. Because, know, let's be honest, something might happen to the pilot. So of course we have to have backup plans. They're all pretty fit and healthy and there's a crew and the doctor generally remains in the back ready to jump and get ready with the, either be with the patient or just be in the back. We can carry an additional person. Sometimes it might be a training paramedic or trainee doctor who can go along and be part of their training observation, but we always have to that level of clinician to do what you could send two paramedics out on a job to support an incident, for example, local, but they wouldn't be able to then start doing the things that the doctor can do. I mean, the critical care paramedics are so highly trained. They can do that, but you need not design off. that's kind of that. So cool comes in. So literally it's bit like it's gathering information that most information we can get. I some people are panicking, they're ringing, you know, you've got to find location, you've got to find out what's happening, the person's age, try and get as much information as possible there and then. Then, so it won't be general, you can't dial in direct, so won't be, I mean, it won't be a general public. You can't call us direct unless you ring me, then I can ring them. So it'll be the fire service. It could be the police that arrive on the scene. They'll give the information to the dispatch who then decides what we can go to and who we can send. So the more information you've got is... Information is absolutely critical because they're almost triaging before they get there. Yeah. Right. What do I need? Because then bags are great. But if it's, it's an eight year old child, it's X, Y, they'll put the extra pack on there. So the more information we can get before we get to the scene, 100%. What how challenging is it then for sort of the motorcycle incidents for something like the air ramblings to deal with? And it's really, it's really difficult because when we when we analyze the accidents at the weekend and it's on a Monday morning, we talk about what happened when you talk about bike versus wall or bike versus car. Let's be honest. Yeah, we know the winner. So we're trying to be a corner man to give them a chance. We're tapping in and going right where you're now. So because of the nature of being on a bike and you can have the best leathers, can't you? And the best bike and such when you come off, it can be down to location very hard. know, like Dean's story, which we'll come to. He was bloody lucky that the aircraft could get there because the road ambulance couldn't. Certain places you just can't get a road ambulance to. Could be bank holiday. You've been to Cumbria on bank holiday. You look your... So that's a problem, then you lose time and time is absolutely precious. So for a biker, it's the lifeline, know, probably I reckon 15 to 20 % of our call out's are bike related. And we all know it's not the bikers fault a lot of the time. Pooh Road uses our run, our cycle and I see it, I see horrendous driving. So we just give, we make the difference, you know, when you need it, you need it quick. Yeah, because the severity of the accident. Yeah. And location. mean, you know, going back 20 years and when I sat and we were actually were making a film all about crash scene management with Kevin and Jane. And when they explained to me that, know, they get the call from a member of the public, they find the bike, can't find the rider. Riders have been thrown some considerable distances. Is it as well? Obviously, there's a couple of things. One, can we find the Two. What do we know about the rider when find the latex intolerant, special medication, those kind of things, was 2006. You know, is all of that really still kind of majorly important today? It's most important thing because, know, it's evolved greatly, hasn't it, with locations and signal. But often if it's a member of public, they don't know exactly where they are. There might be a tourist from a foreign country. Language is a barrier. Where are we? don't know. So if we have a more accurate pinpoint. then that's saving so much time on trying to scour the location, know, every single minute counts. So more speed, but information is absolutely vital, you know, to get there, because you're already bringing the right kit. You've got in your mind, you know what you're going to start to work on. Absolutely vital. And I suppose you'll react more in the summer months when there's more of us out. Yeah, it's a bit strange really, but you'd think it would be busier, but sometimes a lot of people go abroad on holiday. So bizarrely, like... months like July and August can be a little bit quieter, but not on bank holidays and not when everyone's out and about and they've dusted the bikes off and off they go and they've maybe not road tested it correctly. So yeah, there will be peaks and troughs. I mean, I did a big challenge in October for G-NAS. It's called Miles for Missions and it's a month that you think it'd be quieter. The nights are getting drawn in. 149 missions we did. I had to run 149 miles in October every single, not every day, but in total, it shows how many times we are called out. But yeah, definitely over bank holidays, people go daft on it. It's busier and sun comes out. Yeah. must. So thinking about motorcycles as well. we're blessed. We've got Scarborough just down the road. And we've got obviously the Alamand, which is covered by genus And then we've also got Croft, is just up the road as well, where you'll have all motor sports. Those days, must be all, all leave is canceled. It must, when you hear about super Sunday, particularly in the Alamania, must like quake a little bit because we know that people are going to enjoy the, enjoy the roads. but equally people have got different abilities and everything else. And you want people to be safe and you want people to ride at their ability. But invariably you're to get called out not only to the races but also to members of the public. Yeah, no, it can vary, you're right, because that anticipation of those weekends you think, right, we're going to have to be ready here, but that must be really tricky for a crew to, I think you've aligned, he sat there, we're thinking, what's happening today? And to be ready to go just on a six pence like that must be hard. And you're not just there for them, you're there for the public. Yeah, absolutely. And you, when you're dealing with the public and when there's an incident, everybody wants to come and see what's happening. They can kind of get in the way and then, ooh, it's a helicopter. And suddenly you've got the problem with everyone trying to get near that. So trying to control the situation around you. But watching the videos of the crew, for me, it's mind blowing to see how calm they are in a situation. We did a corporate event recently with a young lady who came and spoke. Samantha, she was called and she told her story, but it wasn't graphic for the sake of it. We showed her incident in Bishop Auckland Way at a cross section where she was hit double head on. it required two aircraft, was a double RSI, but the lead doctor from the moment of arriving, controlling the police, the public, and then getting around the aircraft and the aircraft to hospital. It just makes you so proud that, know, that that service is there. But yeah, controlling the public can be challenging. so looking at Dean's kind of story and Dean's obviously been taught to us about like kind of what happened and his first time experience of you guys helping him. How did that unravel for you guys? Again, his story is a remarkable one of somebody from Northumberland who was out with his dad. I think it's worse when you're with your family. It's the start of a really exciting day out. He's from Northumberland, but was riding over in Cumbria, Kirkston Pass. He remembers... a big part of it, know, it didn't feel quite right. You went to sort of check something and next minute it skids and it goes into a wall. But I think his, one of his quotes was he remembers just laying there and there's only so much pain your body can handle and it starts to cause issues with the heart because of the damage he had done to his ankle. But he just kept hearing on the person that was ringing saying, we can't get there, we can't get the ambulance there. And of course, with all that, your hope is just going and if you're starting to lose hope, you're... your body shutting down, it's losing that fight or flight, you know, that sort of energy that you might've had. And he just, when he heard the air ambulance in the sky and saw the light, it's almost like that moment that you think, here it comes. As do everyone else that's around, you know, they were doing a great job. was typically there was an off duty doctor, I believe at the time that was helping a nurse, but they almost sigh of relief when they know the skilled air ambulance crew, because they know. that suddenly they're going to be at land and make a difference. So he was just really lucky that day because it was a busy bank holiday. The roads were impassable without the air ambulance. The story would have been very different. So the call came in, what would have happened? us through it. So the call would have come in from the person who obviously was first on the C15. I don't believe it was the emergency services. was a passing nurse stroke doctor who rang the emergency services, tried to give a location the best they could, I guess. And then that gets filtered into all the comms. Our team at the base would have looked and gone, okay, right location. we have the aircraft available? And then they will say, we can support, do you need us to launch? And there's a communication between the ambulance service and genus, we can't just go. It has to be that agreement. So again, that's down to quick decision-making. Then it was tasked and literally from the company and crew, I think we're talking. minutes, you know, that that's the thing, isn't it? I mean, three aircraft even better, but yeah, limitation button too, but you can still things like that. I mean, he was very lucky. Very lucky. mean, same with Sue says, you know, if she often thinks now and it's difficult not to think about what could have been rather than actually, well, I'm just looking because if we had been off somewhere else, then Sue wouldn't be here. Right. So the ambulance got there in minutes. What kind of talks can you talk about? I think the worst injury had was to his ankle and then those shoulder issues, et cetera. it's stabilizing somebody's condition, I think, taking over when someone's going into major shock and it's obviously putting the heart under strain as well. So it's a procedure called the RSI, which is taking over someone's breathing. can nephrotize somebody. So then the pain has been suppressed. So then he's not trying to fight all areas stabilized and we can get him comfortable meant to then fly him. Cause that's the most important things to. make sure that there's no worsening of it. So how important are the kind of Dean's stories in the GNS in terms of that fundraiser? So important. It's all about telling stories. You know, we often talk about all aspects of the service, but for me having the right stories, pulling the heartstrings are relatable. It's part of our new rebranding and reworking of statements is about changing the end into some story. I use it a lot of my socials. There's a young man called Corey and it's because it's the story of Corey. He was on BBC News the other night, it's Air Ambulance Week this week. Him and his dad came to the base and did a really nice candid chat about their journey again. So any promotion like that is absolutely vital because if I'm trying to sell a corporate partner package to a company. You need those stories. You've got to go with that emotional contact. And Dean's been pretty good with that because he's come to one of your events as well. I'm a good arm twist. like, Dean is like, what do you want now? Yeah, because I can talk the story. can. But having someone standing there delivering his with a little bit of crack in his voice, know, let's be honest, it's relatable, isn't it? We can picture you being in that situation, being there with your dad, a child. Sue's I've took Sue with me. She's my, that's only reserved for birthday boy. the podcast. We want some around. It's a big pie. It will slow me down on Sunday, but having people like Sue at an event, lots of things. It's just gold. Yeah. it's almost like you want to introduce them at the end, right? Here is a real survivor. and everybody's just jaws dropping. That story, hers is remarkable. Her two sons still have the mum, I've got a friend. Everyone's benefiting from Sue being here still. So we don't just triage one person. It's not just Dean, it's not Sue, it's not Corey. It's everyone that's connected. You guys have an accident, you're all friends. It affects everybody. The domino effect, the ripple effect we call it, is so far reaching. did 1,998 missions last year. That's a lot of people. If you think of like, even if your time's 10, they had 10 friends and family, you're suddenly in that sort of 20,000, 30,000. It's just so, and when those people come up to you and Dean did, I was doing a networking event and I just done a very short, would you believe? can, can't, I can't. Often they say you've got five minutes left, no more. Dean just came up and that's to me the most magical part of my job. I think one of your questions was what's your favorite part? It's when someone comes and says, thank you, you you saved my life. Thank you for giving me another father's day. Wow. It's it's wow. I mean, I often think when I first start, I'm like, it's not me. It's the crew. Well, no, the crew like it's you, Ben. It's everyone that's connected. So that is what keeps me going. want to talk about keeping the air ramblings flying. mean, we see it because because you're literally the bass isn't with the other times. We're kind of in the flight line. Well, it depends on where it's going. But we see and hear it. And that particular helicopter you've got at the moment has a particular sound to it as well. Is it the dolphin? It's dolphin. It's French for dolphin. And because it's got a bottle of the front. you know, the logo is going to change because the aircraft is changing. It's a shame because it's beautiful looking aircraft. And it amazing. Yeah, I was at an event today and it was a very emotional event and I it fly over. Yeah. And you can't help feeling like, it's going to do what they do, know. And you mentioned when we were chatting before, it wasn't in the green room, it was when we were chatting before that you had three helicopters and you had a problem with the gearbox. Now you told me. How much the gear you'll never believe this. What would you think a gearbox on a in the military and I know you're not allowed to answer this one if you're guessing I think we I think we had a little bit it. I think I said sorry. 30,000 quid. Yeah. Yeah. And I was thinking more maybe sort of a hundred thousand. Anymore advances in that probably enough for the oil. More than 100,000 quid. So this is a quarter of a million. This is just a gearbox. Is it? This is just the gearbox, which is the second most expensive thing on the aircraft. The twin engines, they're expensive, but they can be insured. You can't insure a gearbox on a helicopter. Any advances on that? No, come on. a million? Up again. Yeah, 1.2 million. Just for the gearbox. Just for the gearbox. So how much would the whole aircraft? Well, so the aircraft that we fly, HeliMed 63, started off with commercial life. It actually was owned by the guy who owned Leicester City Football Club. Yeah, we know what happened to him. Moving on from that story. knew they are about 13 million and they cost about two million to convert. You rip out all the lovely seats and the TV. So I was probably at value now we're at four and a half million, maybe a little less for the one in Cumbria, slightly older. So the whole value, because they're desirable, they're not produced anymore, which is our main problem. but they're very fast, they're very capable. Big companies like the US Coast Guard use them so that everybody buys them up. So it's a bit of a monopoly over where you can get parts from. And that's the biggest problem. Anything on the aircraft is just so expensive and it's the expense, but also the time that is out of service, which is critical. Hence why we need to get back to having third. because we need about two and a half really. you said you used the third aircraft for parts to... Well, we had to, yeah. So the third aircraft, had to cannibalise the gearbox because 1.2 million was just... It was in the same calendar year that the engine went and that was one and a half million. It's used, it's busy, it's, you know, anything on an aircraft you can stick a couple of zeros on. So therefore we went down to just two and then we had some situations where we just won and we had some awful situations where we had none. because you can't just take it to quick fit and change the blade on there. These are long processes. A lot of people don't realize how long it takes to remove an engine and get it back in because it's not just about removing the engine, putting it in and they have to do the certain tests, checks, and they have to double check and all that. It's an incredible thing to see it like a big Meccano set has its annual service and they literally take every bit off and it's like... Wow, like, I would put together. It's missing on there. it's just, but that it's it's essential. know, the cars are brilliant and they do a fantastic job during the night and other times when the aircraft is not needed. But if we didn't have an air ambulance, we wouldn't be an air ambulance service. it's what that's the difference that we make. Didn't Mike alone buy one? Yeah. So that the base next time I'll show you Shelly so that we should only call it Shelly has no blades. It's in the hangar and it's used as a training. did he donate that to you? Did he? No. No, I remember him buying one when he was playing for Newcastle. All the Newcastle fans hated him. So can imagine. Yeah. Yeah. So Shelley has been used in movies, TV sets. In fact, our aircraft, the third one before it was stripped down was used in a brilliant movie. If you like Marvel called Craven Hunter. So if you you blink, you miss it. But it's a bit where one day main characters gets lifted off Africa, which is actually down in Dorset. and then our crew are there and the helicopter goes off. it's been used and Shelley is used for training purposes. So it's got linked up with a module so you can pretend you you're trained. So behind the scenes, I mean, how many staff actually do you, I mean, I guess you've got staff and a huge team of volunteers. Yeah, yeah, it takes a lot of that. You the African proverb, takes a village to raise a child, it really does. And we are very careful with payroll. I mean, when I first applied for the job at September Mrs. you know, it's a lot less, but imagine the life and the change and what we're doing. So in a nutshell, there's around about 50 full timers. And that could be between marketing, media, accounts, logistics. And then we have an army, like you said, the green army, we call them the 150 plus volunteers and they are absolutely selfless and tireless in their work. We're going to give a shout out to John Weiss. John, if you're listening, he's been a big, big advocate of what we've done. showed us some amazing ribs as well. He's bit of a legend. He's a legend, you're right. He shadowed me on public speaking to do the talks, but he's just got it. He's got a great guy. He's a great guy. A joy to work with. I enjoy doing the bike nights with him. Did he tell you the funny story about one talk we did for the WI? No. Well, it's not, it's not that funny. It's not that rude a story, but it's more funny because he was coming to shadow me. He had a lovely Porsche 944. So he has his cars as well as his beautiful BMW bike, which apparently he's going to give to the G-NAS when he passes. I hope he's got a few more years left and he's probably more than me probably. He has a fantastic BMW you've ever seen in the G-NAS colour. Well, one day we were heading off to WI meeting over North Allerton Way. And I got lost. It's typical of pair of us. That's probably what we could do with your app to show where we're going. And it was down. You need to ride a bike first. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm a little moped. I'm a Vespa maybe. And we ended up in Kirby Sixton. That was the WI group. And these old ladies don't like being kept up. So I said, John, I don't know why it is. I'm going to go and give me a second. You pulled up in his Porsche. And I was in my little work car. And I saw a big white house. I thought, I've got a knock on the door. you do? Nobody. I'm looking through the window. but he has a big place. Knock again, nothing. We'll go on. And we did eventually find this tiny little village hall and apologize for being late. And they're like, where have you been? I said, we ended up with this house. It looked quite big and it was white. What, just down the road? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But nobody answered. like, I'm surprised you didn't get a good point out of here. It was only Rishi Sunak's house. really? she said, yeah, I said he must be out then because he said he would have normally been through his own pill box. Shake my bucket. He's got loads of money, hasn't he? But apparently his wife volunteers in the village hall. Yeah, they're nice people, but I didn't get arrested. So you've got some of 50 and you've volunteers, but how much does it actually cost to run the service? Annually 9.6 million. 9.6 million. And heading higher than that now because you know the rebrand to get three second hand aircraft is costing 22 million. We just had to get the mortgage, the savings, selling our assets. So we're basically buying the three second hand aircraft that the Scottish Air Ambulance have used. But the Scottish Air Ambulance are the only one that's state funded. I was just about to say about that, how is it funded? So theirs is, they get brand new, so 40 odd million. So we're buying and they're very capable. It's an Airbus 145, which is very popular. Yorkshire use it, Scottish obviously use it and others, think the Welsh, the use it. And more importantly, they're still in production. So if anything happens, we won't be in the same situation. We found ourselves in now, it's by parts quicker and we can change quicker. So fingers crossed the first one comes in a couple of weeks and then we get another one in October, another one in November. We have to sell the other ones, which is Sadrachas. When I first came for the interview, the old boss said to me, I said, he was describing the helicopter. said, it's like Trigger's brush. like, it's got around 17 different sets of blades on it and all of your wheels and that. So it's, But you've had them a long time. Yeah, we've had, yeah, they've been good service and they're still very capable, unfortunately not made anymore. And that's the situation when we need to. plan for the future. will you will you that will that obviously generate some income for you as well when you sell them to the highest bidder? Yeah well it's part of the 22 million so I think we'll get more for the one in the northeast than the Cumbrian one just because of age and yeah there's a slight variation in its model but not much but enough to help with it because that's why we're doing the SOS campaign that we've seen on our t-shirts and it's to raise an additional two and a half million on top of the funds and that's just a deposit on an aircraft. Yeah, talking big. Yeah, well, we'll because we're about to launch the obviously we're about to launch just right. And when this goes out, it'll be like but we're going to have a page on there with a donate button as well. So we're asking, you know, most of us particularly, you know, understanding how much and how vital this service is. And when you've listened to Dean's obviously story early in the show, it's really about if you can donate anything you've heard like, you know, in terms of being able to keep the thing going, the rising costs, if you can help them, then please do. And we're doing that as a startup donating profits is really important because at the of the day, we don't know when they're going to need us. yeah. mean, the biking community, you're brilliant. You know, we, get so much support and there are a crowd of people. We're all right, aren't we? We're all bad. You're not bad guys. Even the ones that come across in Red Car with the, look like, what's that? What's that program? Sons of Anarchy. I should know, shouldn't I? There's a charter over in Red Car and they're brilliant. They're coming in. I think we're going to have to have some collection boxes strapped to the back of our bikes. Or a donate click one. Simplifying the donations. think that's, we have to modernize how we do things. People like to give cash dogs the feel like it's there, but we have to have app, know, the QR codes and the, you've got to make it easy for people to donate, but you don't want to also look like you're always begging. I mean, a of what we get is gift in kind. Some of the great companies I work with donate. There's one lady who, produces uniform supplies and things like that. But she has a good relationship with Bridgestone. So often I get the roll bags and the mats. So then you can raffle them or auction. So gifting kind is a big part of what people can do. Because clearly if you had lots of money, you'd like to think you would help. But not everyone can donate the physical money. But they can do something that I can use in the raffle or the new coming ball that we've got coming. If you guys fancied a night on the Las Vegas night. Yeah, we've got a really big ball coming up in the 23rd of October. I see some. get your friend there. He's got the money to go there. Which one's wearing the dress? That episode of bottom when the winner prize and one of the master wearers dress doesn't need to be. How much are tickets? £90 per person. So what we'll do is we'll put that in. We'll put a link. we can put a link, we'll put a link in the podcast as well and how people can get hold of that. think we need. at least five, team of five, can waves come as well? Yeah, You can bring your boyfriend, you can bring whoever you want to bring. Let's not tell the waves. You can bring Robin. No, I mean, you can buy an individual ticket or a table of 10, whatever, but it's a great night. We always meet in it. It's on 23rd, Friday the 23rd of October. That's at the Rammesside Hall. We have a theme so it's going to be Las Vegas this year so a bit of Las Vegas feeling. How many Elvis's are going to turn up? I was thinking more Austin Powers. I could probably do an impression of that but I won't do it for this time. Maybe later. It's a great night where Dean spoke, not last year's no he did actually, he did two for me. He did the Cumbering ball which is in November and he did our ball in the North East. He spoke at both. brilliantly, you know, stood up, he told his story. And when you've got a room like that and everyone's having a good time anyway. So when you go on into the auction, when I've got some good prizes, people have had a few extra beers and you've heard Dean's story, you be like... Do you go around with your sum up card machine as well? Yeah, I'm like that. Like, the man who goes around just a little donation on that. said, you're falling over, your cards come Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, it's having a bit of fun about it with it. But it's a great night. It's a night where we celebrate. the service, tell some great stories. There's a really good band on, it has a good dance, the meal's fantastic. it's a night that I enjoy working because you can get to mingle and really meet some of the supporters and people. came last year, Andy. Well, we're going to have to be there, aren't we? We're now on the team. going to have another table. Can I ask a question about Just Ride Pro? so I'm interested because I know Martin asked a question earlier on about, know, in an emergency that goes through. Yes. And Ben said, obviously the ambulance service would be the contact. and go through and the ambulance. So the G NAS would be looking to see if they could facilitate if it was, you know, if they were able to help. I'm thinking we'll just ride pro. And if we've got somebody that's in the middle of nowhere and it goes through the global rescue and that would then get picked up in that same scenario, wouldn't it? Well, yeah, cause what they have to look at the location, cause we send accurate location. mean, the accuracy nowadays is probably three, maybe two, three meters. because the amount of satellites are there now. So it's even better than we first looked at it with GNS, crikey 2006. so accuracy is pretty bang on speed of which getting the alert is milliseconds. So global rescue get it. They also create a case within the app as well within just right assist to basically straight where they're communicating with the rider if they're able to. Because our system is all about like if you can't call for help. Yeah. So package that information up sends it global rescue who then will get in touch with the ambulance service that is nearest to the, so it'll be Niasse, they're here, with all the information and they pass that information over. And then that's probably then just a decision as well, is the rider? Who's going to be dispatched that, which you talked about before. Yeah, absolutely. I was sat next to someone today who's actually the CEO of Niasse and I'm sure he would love to talk about that situation because anything, his job is challenging, know, has thousands of people that he's responsible for and units and cars and, and, and, the So that's his biggest challenge, his coordination. And they've had some challenges, know, with some bad press. There was a famous case that we were all involved in, a genus, knee ass, where a poor guy needed assistance. The information we given was wrong. So there was no blame on anyone, particularly no one goes to work to get misinformation, but lots of missed opportunities over where they were, where the nearest hospital was. So any improvements that can help their team would be absolutely vital. think one of the things that we have developed, we're incredibly proud of and obviously my background in safety for a long time is that when you're out in group, they just ride assist actually let's the riders know that somebody at the back has had enough. And they also get the same location that we send to global rescue. So it's all about the last known location that the phone actually transmitted, which goes back to 2006 when Kevin and Jane said we need to find where the rider is. So the phone is on the rider when they've hit the ground and obviously the systems triggered. You pretty much know that that's where you need to land. or need to that as well. So I think this time around we just write a system while we're excited to launch this is that those people in the group probably get there quicker. And if you are trained, at least in terms of dealing dealing with the crash scene or reassuring the rider if they're still conscious, you know, so think that's what we're quite, quite excited about. Yeah, to kind of get out as well. But hopefully that helps kind of with the whole emergency ecosystem. Same with anything, anything that's the team or the people that are first on the scene of absolutely vital. Anything that's CPR related, we all know now is doing something is so important. Coordination, beginning it, handing it over correctly to when the experts are coming, but actually having more people that are competent and skilled to do that so that when the help does come, they're already well ahead. So yeah, absolutely. Well, it's one of those fears that we have is that, you know, if someone's out anywhere and you don't know that the rider, the bike might have come off because when do know? Yeah, know, can't look back on it. Yeah. And I hear it all the time. And it was kind of one of the stories we heard a long time ago. Well, even certainly recently when somebody had come off. So I think that being able to at least manage the scene from the people who were actually there with the rider, the concern in fact was actually Gareth speaking to Gareth Smoorland, one of the guys was coming up to the Scarborough Cup and actually came off on the roundabout and some of the lead riders knew nothing about it. And they just continued. So it's things like that that you would get an alert within the just ride system straight away. It pops up. Somebody's at enough. And you know who and then you click a button and navigates the to the actual location instantly within within milliseconds of it sending to global rescue. And we just felt that it's all about, know, you guys getting deployed, brilliant, bringing the specialist care that's required people on the ground. We can be there. Right. Your mates can be there. And if they've done by get down, there's lots of other kind of first aid courses, I think. You know, it's all about how you kind of manage that scene and make sure that there's support there. So I think that that's the bit we're quite excited about. Yeah. I mean, we were with Scott when he had his your accident, weren't we? A couple of years ago. And I just remember we all did different aspects. Yeah. So it's so important to do something. And people say years ago, they were more scared to do something where you can't get it wrong. You're protected on the Good Samaritan. You to do something and nothing. yeah. I mean, I've seen some terrible situation in hospitality where people are trained. And the panic and the runaway, like, where are going? I don't know what to do with that. You did the same course as me two weeks ago. But to do nothing is worse. And I think the biking community is certainly right. You do look after your guys you're out with because you've got a bit of responsibility. And I think that if we can do something to make that quicker, then fantastic. And I think importantly as well, and we've talked about riding in groups there, but if you're riding on your own... and using the app as well. I'm sorry, it's not podcast about the app tonight, by the way, but if we are using that, the telematics inside the phone are so accurate. They're going to send that and share that location. So it isn't a search situation. is. This is where the person is. Yeah. And it's also sending your friends and family now as well. So there's a couple of contacts in that and actually goes to global rescue as well. So it's, it's, it's been able to make sure it's bringing its case management. It's quick. It's kind of a full, I think it's a full circle system to be fair, involving the riders that you're with as well. It is great. But from a personal perspective, it's peace of mind. Yeah. When you go out, you know, you've got this bit of tech in your pocket that if the worst happens, you know, something's going to happen to help you. Whereas if you haven't got anything, you can enjoy it more. You've got to enjoy the bike. Whatever your pursuit is, you don't want to go out feeling nervous. You've got to go out and feeling confident. I do think it's one of the most comprehensive safety systems that we're literally launching and there's nothing like it. you can hear that. You can see that everything you do is about belief, faith. You've done the research. tested it, you know, you lived experience. That's important. Yeah. You can tell you live and breathe it. And that's right. You want that confidence to well, we're writers. We know we've been through I've had the off. He's had the off. You know, these guys haven't. You kind of you're always thinking about how can we make this thing kind of, you know, so so enough about that, because it's not about just is a dress by project. It's not about, know, but it's relevant because of what you guys do. So what what what is the biggest challenge that genius are facing right now? think the biggest challenge for us is making sure that we have enough funds to maintain the service going forward. mean, we're up to 25 years now. We want to get five years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 planning and beyond. Funds is a challenge. Having the right equipment. And when I say equipment, means the team, the helicopters, the cars, the modern equipment, anything that can aid with the service. So that's our biggest challenge is the world's getting busier. It's getting more dangerous. So this weekend must be extra special because it's a good thing this weekend because there's a big event goes on up the road. There is. And I'm sure it's going to be, I'm hoping there's going to be lots of people running. for the benefit of the genus. Do know how many we've got this year? it was 60,000 runners and there's never 60,000 turn up because loads of people signed up and bought it. When I look at the finishing results, like, where's 15,000? I just paid my money. I'm going home. So I'm doing it. This is number 13 for me. Wow. So as part of the genus team every year, I'm like never again. Cause you're out with the house from half six till half eight at night. But when you're there and you hear local hero, Mark Knopfler and you look at everyone's shirts and the reasons they're running for it is really emotional. So we have 500 runners. It's our biggest event of the it's, it's an incredibly, I think that's one thing you know about the Northeast and people come behind everyone and the cheering, the support that can have jelly babies, beer at mile 11, which is never a great idea. get like a stitch going up mile 11 when you've drunk a beer, but the support is immense. You feel so proud to be from the North of England when you're at that event and people come from all around the world. It's the biggest half marathon in the world. 60,000 runners. It's massive. what keeps you optimistic then? I mean, you know, you've worked in corporate hospitality and obviously you're good with people and, know, good at your job clearly. Because you've I think we spent a grand and didn't even know. But what keeps you optimistic then in terms of what you're doing for for Gina? I just keep going because I know I know I make a difference. Yeah, I walk up the stairs and I see that big sign saying together we are saving lives. I see the signs in the corporate room that says, we keep communities together and families. And that's just powerful, isn't it? know, meeting the people, meeting good people like yourselves who are, yes, you run in a business, but you're doing good things. You know, that keeps me inspired. Meeting, likes a Sue, befriend. I had a coffee with her and she gave me a lovely early birthday present and that made me She gave me an early birth. She's got some maturity behind there. She's nearly 75, you know. She's good for age. Just meeting people that are here because of what we've all done, know, that's magic. And I think it's that bit when someone comes up to you. I was at the fire station last year, someone did, was the day before Father's Day and they just said, thank you, because of you, I can celebrate Father's Day this year. Fingers nappy, it gives you goosebumps. Yeah, yeah, does. So yeah, just knowing that'll make a difference every day is enough. where would you like to see Ginas in five years? I think I'd like to see our revenue streams get to the point where we're strong. Yeah, not just surviving, if that makes sense. You to know that we are. just doing enough, just got enough, if that makes sense. I'd like to see us really strong, resilient. I'd to see the team growing. Back to three helicopters. Three helicopters would be a big thing, you know, and seeing us just in more high profile areas and just keep doing what we're doing, you know, and it's not easy. It's not easy selling ball tables and golf teams and corporate. It has been a night. It's easy. You guys are easy. I'd like to think I'd still be there in five years as well. You know, it's a job where... You know, they always say, don't it? You know, find a job you love and you never work another day in your life. And it does feel like that going in and being around the crew and being around the volunteers. Volunteers really make me proud because they're doing it for free. You know, we, have long days and we work hard, but you know, I draw a salary for my family. Whereas the volunteers are not. And you see how committed they are and they never look all their hours and the care and share just seeing us develop, you know, working with people like yourself with just ride and seeing how we can grow together, because it is about that collaborative approach. Being commercially savvy is important, rather than being bucket shakers, actually saying, you know what, we are actually a really good business to one, to align with. Yeah, we don't sell anything apart from the scones and cups of tea and pens, but we are a very desirable business to wanna work with. And I think those lasting, sincere relationships are the most important. No, I agree and again from a personal level it's so good to be back working with you guys. Not really had the opportunity before now and I think one of the things when we first sat down and said right we've got to do something to support you guys because you know we see the helicopter all the time, we hear the helicopter all the time, we know the things that you do and how can we get involved? Yeah we're a small company, we're currently, by the time this goes out hopefully we've made some money to it's important. Because we could be the people that need you, you know, and I think we really need to help you on and spread that journey and be supportive and we'll do what we can to support you because I think I think it's amazing what you're doing. We appreciate that. You know, we always say that the flip side of the crew says the real heroes are you everyone around this table. You know, you could choose many of the charities I've ran for. I've been a poster boy for and it's still important to me. But the fact is, you're coming in, making a difference. And you should be proud it's that pattern back, isn't it? You you've made a difference. You've helped someone keep their family together and become a father or run another Great North Run. You know, it's those moments when they're 10 on Sunday when I'm knackered and I'm ready from trying to get in the Metro home. But you look around and think, God, look at these people here. They've come from the Isle of Man, they've come from the North, South. Some of our stories, it's not just people from our northern region we look after. People that are traveling to our beautiful part of the world, you know, that need our service. So it's far reaching, isn't it? So to be part of that. Excellent. No, appreciate it. And we do appreciate you coming in tonight. I you're a very busy guy. You're very hard to get hold of. very busy. Because you're always wondering. Yeah, inertia is the enemy. It's difficult. And I also want to make sure I have. time for people. Yeah, this has been good. You know, it's my first podcast. It's been exciting. no, no, it's been absolutely bang on. So it's normally obviously this is a motorcycle podcast. We normally have a quick fire questions that Andy introduces, which I know you don't ride yet. I might do, know, think we can tell you on the back of them. So I'm You wouldn't want to go in the back of his back. I've been a billion passenger quite a few times. It wouldn't be an experience you would want to get back on again. So we have, we have got some special quick fire questions for Ben tonight, but I want to start, I want to start because again, leading from what you've taught me, very inspirational Ben and I think we're all feeling kind of, wow, we need, we need to do even more to support you guys because you've got that effect, you have that effect on people. But I want to start with the most inspiring person you've met through genus and it can't be John White. All right, you should mention him loads tonight and it can't be so that's all I'm sorry, I'm most inspiring person I've met. must be some celebrities along the way. Do you want to talk about hospitality celebrities or agendas? think Corey Russell's dad, Chad Corey is the story. He's the one we saved, but I think you often don't see how it affects the parents as well or loved ones of someone that's been involved. PTSD can be an awful thing. His dad has just been tireless in his pursuit of trying to give back and he doesn't have enough to give back in what he says in terms of like the cost per mission, but he's incredible runs and races for a big family. looks like a big strong Viking. just, makes me smile. He's just a, he's a humble, humble father who nearly lost his son who has just given so much. to us in the last couple of years. I love running events with him. I love being there. He's come to our balls and I've been to his house and had a cup of tea in his garden. So I think Chad Russell. We get to meet him then. Yeah, yeah. understand. You know, certainly not from a handshake. He's got hands like a bear. You know them baseball mitts. yeah. Jeremy Beedle's here, but he's got the deer stalker. And he's joyous. Yeah, well, I'm to try and spread this to look bigger now. It's like Deadpool. Yeah, people like that. parents. Great answer. Great. you've run it many, many times. great Northrop. Yeah. what's been your best time? best time was one 52 and that's impressive. That's impressive. I think so. It's not as quick as my father-in-law who did one 44 back in about 1987 with probably a pair of plimpsles and Alan Patron shots. One 52. take, I love the detail about the Alan Patrick. That was a great episode. Yeah. so what you're hoping to do this week, are you going to Do know what? I really wanted to try and be, I've never done under one hour 50 for the great North run. So last year I was like, right, I'm going to do a one hour, 49 and 50 seconds. Cause I'm 50 the day after the great North run on Monday. Would you believe? You're supposed to all go really. Well, I was surprised that Sue put a five on the coffee. Really? Is it alright? Really? Where are everybody? Really? It's alright, we'll some filters on until you're lucky and good. We'll edit this bit. That's completely gone out of the picture. Really? Two years ago I played in a charity football match for GNS and I my hamstring and my reductors. So my journey back has been quite slow. So my pace has got slow but I'm determined. So two hours 10 then. Two hours 10. I'm going to go for two hours 10. like symmetry. You're getting old. Yeah, I'm getting old. I'm getting slow. you know, I've just got to get around because safety is the same as you on your bikes. You know, I've run 13 now and I've seen people that have unfortunately passed people who passed away. And that's generally fellas going for a PB and trying to push too hard. I don't want to be that one guy that needs the air out balance. I gotta get back home to my girls, know, and Caroline and my dog. That's the most important thing. I've raised the money. I'm gonna go to the tent. I'd like to shave 10 minutes off last year, but it's not gonna happen. But it's not the end of the world. It's not. No, what I've seen today, just be grateful for what you have and just, I'm gonna get around, gonna enjoy it. gonna high five. might even have a... I won't ever be because I've not drank for about three years. I might do if they get me a zero zero. You say it doesn't really matter about the baby. can just hear you. Next time we see you. My number hasn't arrived yet. that's that's more worrying. Number 50. I know you, with the Kenyans, imagine. No, I grew up in South Africa, but that's about where it ends. There's no African in my run. Just make sure you're not in the elite class right in the front. What are you? He's on the start line. no, you've seen me on the TV. I'll get on TV. I'll do something. I know you'll be just saying, yeah. We'll watch. Little hands now. I'll you a bag. Hands, So no, to get around safely is the most important thing, but of course I'd love to be two hours, you know that? I've just got slower every year, if I can take a couple minutes off last It happens to the best of us, know. I take three days. Which certain things took longer. Some things have got quicker. question, guys. Next question. So we live in a beautiful part of the world here in the North East. Have you got a favourite place in the North East that you love? I'm blessed that Yarm is what I call home, but for me, my happy place would be Saltburn. Yeah, I just like Saltburn. many happy times there with my partner Caroline and the girls and the dog and that's just nice isn't it? It kind of never changes does it you know and whether you go in the winter time or summertime. We often stop there for a lemon talk don't we? We do. Yeah I just think it's just nice and it's kind of got that old feel but it just feels awkwardly. agree with you. You went down to pier the other week didn't you? Yeah we had Danny and Shelley down from Scotland in Trusy of Riders and we took them and she said can I go on the pier? We just walked all the way to the of the pier. I mean, we did. It gets windy on there, doesn't it? Last time I was there, I was a bit miffed because I did a charity walk for a guy who lost his brother 18 years ago, Tom Heath, another great supporter of GNS, lost his brother 18 years ago. Sometimes the energy that can be brought to the fundraising for someone who's lost, someone can be huge. So we did a walk and I always agree for everything. Like, yeah, I'll come along walking from Whitby to Saltburn, a red car. 26 miles. I did the Cleveland Way about that. I went up Catnab and did a little bit all the way around and came back about that. Did you do the stop at every pub on the way because that's where I No we only did one and I was like 20 miles and that was Salt Bend and was like we still had another six miles to go on the beach. I think I'd go as far as Hindewel. Yeah it was great and to be around people that you know. he lost his brother, his friends were there, his family, a gym club that helped him and we raised some money and shared lots of happy stories. I learned a little bit more about his brother. His brother was in a motorbike accident. Didn't make it, but we attended. I think for him, one of the most important thing was the policeman showed him the image of the aircraft in the field with his brother. And he knew no more could have been done. He was only 18 when he died. It's been 18 years since. But he's gone on to raise about 75,000 for us. To hear that, you know, it's important, isn't it? So I'll be carrying Mattie's name on the back of my vest at the Great North Run. I've got four people that we've stewarded that. Not here, but we keep the memory alive. That's great. And hopefully this inspires people who watch this to to donate as well and get involved because it is, it needs, it needs better support. Another question, on. I've done one. It's me. It's on me. One thing on your bucket list. I've done quite well on my bucket list. I wrote it out about 14 years ago when I was on a bit of a tough time down in the Cotswolds living on my own. Couldn't see the wood for the trees, you know. Is that the right way to say it? That sounds good to me. I was like, right, write down some things. So a lot of them were like locations, places I wanted to visit before. So bucket list is still New York. I don't know why I just really want to go there. I love my movies. I love music and love things that I'd like to go there. So probably New York just to have a sightseeing. But pizza is supposed to be good. It's supposed to be awesome. Isn't the pizza? Yeah. Or do you can go ride where you do the home alone thing where you go in a limousine and get pizza and go like Kevin's journey. The cheese pizza all to me. Yeah. Yeah. All to myself. Yeah. So I mean, there's lots of things on there. You know, I think just try and take them off as I go now. You it's one of my favorite movies, the bucket list. And I love the quote in there about, you know, find the joy in your life. So important. And I've used that helping friends who've struggled to find just something that you can focus on. So great movie and just keep adding. For motorcyclists who were watching this then, more listeners who haven't supported GNS before. What would you say to them? I think every time you got on that bike, if you knew you had done something, then you you were almost like guaranteeing yourself and other people's protection. You wouldn't get any bike without a helmet, you? So for the cost of a helmet, you could save a life. When you equate down some of the cost of items that we bring to the scene, whether it be medicine or maybe the tubing or the bandaging or the pads for the defibs, break it down into something that a cost of a helmet could save a life. We all know that. So if they do support, you will always know that somehow that pound will get to the charity and everything does go in the charity. working for them as closely as I have. know that everything that comes in makes a difference and goes back into service. There's no CEOs on fat salaries and certainly I'm not going to be a rich man, but I'm very rich in the difference I'm making. Well, before we wrap up, so if you go to the justride-hap.com and go partners, you'll find the Great North Air Ambulance on there and there's a donate button so you'll be able to donate and you can donate anything. Anything, a million pound if you fancy it. There's a lot of wealthy bikers out there, the amount of bikes that you guys have got. A pound or anything, like I said, it is that effect. Every single pound does make a difference. The more, the more the better, know, it's an expensive service. You don't want to guilt trip people, but I think, know, every single, I think one of the quotes I used to like as a strap line was, your donation is more than just a donation. It's a lifeline and it is true. I've got I've got the last question here now. And finally, Ben Sisson, can you finish the sentence? The Great North Air Ambulance Service matters because you save lives. There we go. There we go. Ben, thank you so much for being on the Just Right podcast. We're going to have a chat in the green room. We're going to support you. We're going to come to the ball. We are coming to the ball. We might we might have. We might have people with us and certainly you'll have Robbie with you. Hopefully guys, hopefully guys, this has really been useful to understand just how crucial a service is and just how much money these guys are to need for a gearbox, 1.2 million, which is ridiculous. But please like, subscribe, drop a comment in if there's anything you want to challenge Ben to do. Because I'm sure he's up for it once he turns 50. Or he wants us to do, because again, I think we're up for doing it. We've parachute jumps, we've got all sorts of walks and he's looking. I'll ride my bike. But no, until next time, thanks again for watching and thanks Ben for coming to the studio.