WEBVTT - Bondi Rescue's Darkest Day 0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:03.360 We'd like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land 0:00:03.480 --> 0:00:06.840 on which this podcast was produced, the Gadigle people of 0:00:06.880 --> 0:00:10.440 the orination. We pay our respects to Elder's past and present. 0:00:11.360 --> 0:00:15.560 This episode contains discussion of suicide. If this raises any 0:00:15.600 --> 0:00:18.479 issues for you, support is available through the links and 0:00:18.600 --> 0:00:20.120 phone numbers in the show notes. 0:00:22.920 --> 0:00:25.239 It's the height of summer and we're on the sands 0:00:25.280 --> 0:00:30.520 of Sydney's iconic Bondai Beach, with the sun beating down 0:00:30.560 --> 0:00:34.000 and the waves crashing. It's an idealic spot to spend 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:38.040 the day and that's why tens of thousands of beach 0:00:38.080 --> 0:00:43.000 goers flock here on a day like this. But Bruce Hoppo' 0:00:43.040 --> 0:00:46.280 Hopkins isn't here for us swim and an ice cream. 0:00:46.600 --> 0:00:50.760 Hopo is the head lifeguard and star of Bondai Rescue. 0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:55.200 Surrounded by cameras and crew. There's a lot at stake here. 0:00:56.120 --> 0:00:59.200 When someone gets into trouble, it's his job to return 0:00:59.240 --> 0:01:03.200 them to safety, with their family and friends, tourists and 0:01:03.320 --> 0:01:08.800 the world watching. I'm at Middleton and this is head 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:12.759 game today and insight into the pressure of being one 0:01:12.760 --> 0:01:19.959 of the world's most influential lifeguards and sat opposite me 0:01:20.120 --> 0:01:25.400 right now is Bruce hop o' hopkins. Bondai rescue is 0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:29.360 what you're known for, but ultimately you've been saving lives 0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:33.760 from a young age. How and when did you first 0:01:33.800 --> 0:01:37.120 realize that you wanted to be a lifeguard, because I 0:01:37.200 --> 0:01:41.279 know you Ozzies love the sea, love the beach. And 0:01:41.319 --> 0:01:42.280 how did you get into it? 0:01:42.480 --> 0:01:44.720 Well, look started when I was doing a lot of 0:01:45.080 --> 0:01:48.400 ocean racing, Like I'm in racing and there's the big 0:01:48.440 --> 0:01:50.120 cool and get of gold, and everyone wanted to be 0:01:50.160 --> 0:01:52.680 an im in at a young age, and I had 0:01:52.720 --> 0:01:55.200 to find a job that fitted in with being able 0:01:55.200 --> 0:01:57.480 to do a lot of training and then also been 0:01:57.520 --> 0:02:00.960 able to compete, and lifeguard was the perfect perfect match. 0:02:01.000 --> 0:02:03.480 It was you got paid, I got to betray and 0:02:03.480 --> 0:02:05.520 then also on top of that, I got to you know, 0:02:05.520 --> 0:02:08.480 look after people and at the beach and rescue people 0:02:08.480 --> 0:02:09.480 and save people's lives. 0:02:09.520 --> 0:02:12.280 So I had the best of all worlds in one hit. 0:02:12.639 --> 0:02:15.040 And when's the first time you actually witnessed the sort 0:02:15.080 --> 0:02:17.520 of a lifeguard in action and you thought, cod wow, 0:02:17.560 --> 0:02:20.160 these these people really deceive lives. 0:02:20.440 --> 0:02:21.600 Yeah, I mean I looked up to a lot of 0:02:21.639 --> 0:02:23.760 the lifeguards growing up as a kid. You know, they 0:02:23.800 --> 0:02:25.400 were down there and they're doing the rescues, and it 0:02:25.440 --> 0:02:28.000 was something that he looked up and thought, how amazing that, 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:30.600 you know, these guys are going out massive surf, they're 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:34.720 going out in small surf, they're doing resuscitations, they're rescuing people. 0:02:34.760 --> 0:02:38.000 It's just something that really was admirable. You know, we 0:02:38.080 --> 0:02:42.040 really looked up to all the lifeguards and I didn't 0:02:42.160 --> 0:02:43.840 think one day when I was older, I'd end up 0:02:43.840 --> 0:02:46.280 being one myself. But when I did become a lifeguard, 0:02:46.280 --> 0:02:49.079 you become really proud and excited to be a part 0:02:49.080 --> 0:02:49.639 of that team. 0:02:49.840 --> 0:02:52.200 So it's sort of like a natural progression, right you're 0:02:52.200 --> 0:02:53.919 in the sea all the time. He was hanging around 0:02:53.960 --> 0:02:57.880 that sort of community, watching people do their thing, and 0:02:57.919 --> 0:02:59.880 like you said, you know you could do that along 0:03:00.000 --> 0:03:03.520 where you're training. Was there, especially back in the day, 0:03:03.680 --> 0:03:06.320 you know, when you when you look at lifeguards, did 0:03:06.360 --> 0:03:10.079 the whole aura of you know, being a chick magnet 0:03:10.200 --> 0:03:13.120 and you know, running along the beach and because you know, 0:03:13.160 --> 0:03:15.639 we all we all watched the Baywatch, Was there ever 0:03:15.680 --> 0:03:18.440 an element of that that intrigued you into the job. 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:20.760 Yeah, well it did, because you know, you turn up 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:22.800 the beach. There's plenty of girls around, There's plenty of 0:03:23.000 --> 0:03:25.320 different people coming from all especially Bonda is all around 0:03:25.360 --> 0:03:28.680 the world people are coming and visiting Bondalai and yeah, 0:03:28.840 --> 0:03:31.600 flocks of them. So it was something that yeah interesting. 0:03:31.800 --> 0:03:33.799 It was just a great environment to be in. And 0:03:34.000 --> 0:03:35.760 you know, some days at Bondo, you go down to 0:03:35.760 --> 0:03:37.760 the south end, you know, you feel like you're in Italy. 0:03:37.800 --> 0:03:39.560 You could be feeling like you're in Sweden, you feel 0:03:39.560 --> 0:03:42.680 like you're in England, depending on what you know. There's 0:03:42.680 --> 0:03:45.920 that many different nationalities are around, and it's just changed 0:03:45.960 --> 0:03:46.280 the whole. 0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:48.320 The dynamic of the beach is amazing. 0:03:48.400 --> 0:03:51.240 And was there ever a moment where before you got 0:03:51.240 --> 0:03:55.120 into your lifeguarding, especially with being so active as you were, 0:03:55.160 --> 0:03:58.200 there ever a moment that you realized how dangerous the 0:03:58.360 --> 0:03:59.280 ocean can be. 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:01.360 I mean, you grow up respecting it. 0:04:01.400 --> 0:04:03.400 I mean you start surfing at a young age in 0:04:03.440 --> 0:04:06.200 Australia and you go out and you get held down 0:04:06.280 --> 0:04:09.000 by plenty of waves and you realize that it's way 0:04:09.040 --> 0:04:12.360 more powerful than what you are. So but you learn, 0:04:12.400 --> 0:04:15.560 you learn where your limitations are, you learn on how 0:04:15.600 --> 0:04:17.599 to use the ocean to your advantage and That's what 0:04:17.640 --> 0:04:19.760 I've been lucky to grow up with, and I can 0:04:19.880 --> 0:04:22.520 use the ocean to my advantage now rather than fight 0:04:22.560 --> 0:04:24.680 against the water that you're saying when people do get 0:04:24.720 --> 0:04:27.240 stuck in rips, they're fighting the water rather than just 0:04:27.320 --> 0:04:29.240 letting themselves go and flow with it. 0:04:29.520 --> 0:04:32.760 Because there's an art to it, Isn't that? How hard 0:04:32.839 --> 0:04:35.760 is it to really study the ocean and how hard 0:04:35.800 --> 0:04:38.440 is it to become a lifeguard here in Australia, especially 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:39.000 on the beaches. 0:04:39.160 --> 0:04:41.840 Oh, it's really difficult because unless you've grown up with 0:04:41.880 --> 0:04:43.320 it so just to learn it real quick. 0:04:43.360 --> 0:04:44.920 It takes years and years and years. 0:04:44.920 --> 0:04:47.640 To understand how the ocean works. And a lot of 0:04:47.680 --> 0:04:49.680 people come over and think they're good enough to get 0:04:49.680 --> 0:04:52.200 out there in the surf and next thing you know, 0:04:52.240 --> 0:04:54.800 they get caught in trouble. And I've had people around 0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:57.200 the world that said that, you know, they've lifeguarding or 0:04:57.240 --> 0:05:00.240 they've done lifeguards before around the world, but it's either 0:05:00.240 --> 0:05:02.239 in a pool that could be lake and a different 0:05:02.279 --> 0:05:04.120 story when you get out of here with plenty of 0:05:04.160 --> 0:05:06.280 waves and a lot of water moving. So it makes it, 0:05:07.040 --> 0:05:10.320 you know, very difficult, and to become a lifeguard, it's 0:05:10.720 --> 0:05:13.040 a big process to be able to get to that 0:05:13.160 --> 0:05:14.240 level and have that skill. 0:05:15.440 --> 0:05:17.360 And most of the time the people. 0:05:17.120 --> 0:05:21.960 We get they've grown up with it and understand years nature. Yeah, 0:05:21.960 --> 0:05:23.400 I mean, you know, you learn quick as a kid. 0:05:23.440 --> 0:05:25.160 You learn a bit quicker than you know that when 0:05:25.200 --> 0:05:27.839 you're an adult, and just growing up with it just 0:05:27.880 --> 0:05:29.720 makes it so much easier. And I mean by the 0:05:29.720 --> 0:05:31.520 time you get to about eight nineteen and you're coming 0:05:31.560 --> 0:05:34.080 on as a lifeguard, if you're coming that at that age, 0:05:34.279 --> 0:05:36.919 you know, you've had a good fifteen sixteen years of 0:05:37.680 --> 0:05:40.719 around the beaches and understanding how it all works. And 0:05:40.880 --> 0:05:42.640 you know, I see young kids now that are four 0:05:42.720 --> 0:05:44.359 or five six years old are getting out there on 0:05:44.520 --> 0:05:47.120 little phone boards and you know they're learning. One day 0:05:47.120 --> 0:05:48.760 they may be a lifeguard as well down the track 0:05:48.760 --> 0:05:49.760 when we get a bit older. 0:05:50.320 --> 0:05:53.480 What made you decide, right, this is what I want 0:05:53.520 --> 0:05:55.400 to do. When was that, you know, because there's a 0:05:55.400 --> 0:05:57.840 difference between doing the course becoming a lifeguard. But when 0:05:57.880 --> 0:06:01.039 did you actually go, actually, I love what I do, 0:06:02.480 --> 0:06:04.400 really really to use this as a career. 0:06:04.880 --> 0:06:06.880 Well, when I first started, I thought I'll just do 0:06:06.920 --> 0:06:09.320 it for five years. Five years was like you've got 0:06:09.440 --> 0:06:12.760 given a senior lifeguard title, and I thought, I'll do 0:06:12.760 --> 0:06:14.520 it five years and then move on to something else. 0:06:15.120 --> 0:06:16.280 That time came. 0:06:17.480 --> 0:06:19.800 And I thought I was sort of enjoying it. A 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:22.080 few people left that were the boss left, a few 0:06:22.120 --> 0:06:24.560 other people were leaving at the time. Were rolling into 0:06:24.560 --> 0:06:27.400 the Sydney Olympics in two thousand and I had the 0:06:27.520 --> 0:06:31.040 vision of where lifeguarding was going to go. So back 0:06:31.080 --> 0:06:33.040 in those days, it was really just a seasonal job 0:06:33.080 --> 0:06:36.880 where you come in in September, finishing around April, and 0:06:36.880 --> 0:06:38.600 that was it. You had to go find other work 0:06:38.600 --> 0:06:42.440 in the winter. In the nineties, so but I could 0:06:42.480 --> 0:06:45.480 see it being a professional and we'd lose all the 0:06:45.520 --> 0:06:49.360 older guys because obviously that are families and couldn't sustain just. 0:06:49.360 --> 0:06:52.680 Not working in the experience as well experience, and. 0:06:52.680 --> 0:06:54.839 I thought, well, I think we can make this in 0:06:54.880 --> 0:06:57.880 a permanent, a permanent, full time job career for people. 0:06:57.920 --> 0:07:00.880 And once the Olympics hit, that was the the stepping 0:07:00.920 --> 0:07:05.120 stone where we could really start. We had to work 0:07:05.160 --> 0:07:08.360 longer because Olympics came in and around that August into 0:07:08.400 --> 0:07:11.160 the September period, so we had to start a bit earlier, 0:07:11.200 --> 0:07:13.720 and then we extended the season into the May because 0:07:13.760 --> 0:07:15.920 the water was always still warmer as well into May, 0:07:16.320 --> 0:07:18.520 so we only had a couple of months that was 0:07:18.840 --> 0:07:21.800 you know, we weren't working, and eventually we just said 0:07:22.080 --> 0:07:25.000 we'll try and go full time and then that was 0:07:25.040 --> 0:07:27.040 the goal and get all the beaches full time and 0:07:27.120 --> 0:07:30.240 Bondai was went full time, and then we look after 0:07:30.240 --> 0:07:32.080 Bronnie and Tamarama as well in the way of the 0:07:32.120 --> 0:07:35.080 council area, and then that went full time. And once 0:07:35.080 --> 0:07:37.440 we had the beaches twelve months of the year, that 0:07:37.560 --> 0:07:41.680 created everybody to then continue as a permanent lifeguard and 0:07:41.720 --> 0:07:45.880 there's no more seasonal so and we retain a lot 0:07:45.920 --> 0:07:48.640 more as well now because it's a full time permanent job. 0:07:48.680 --> 0:07:52.120 So it's basically just got casuals who fill in the 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:54.720 shifts when we need gaps or guys are gone on leave. 0:07:55.480 --> 0:07:58.480 Most of them are like paramedics or fieries or things 0:07:58.520 --> 0:08:01.760 like that in emergency services and help out and yeah, 0:08:01.800 --> 0:08:03.640 so it sort of came about that way from the 0:08:03.680 --> 0:08:06.440 Olympics and I had this vision that I think we 0:08:06.480 --> 0:08:08.720 can take it to another level and it was weird 0:08:08.760 --> 0:08:11.040 that everyone left. I sort of fell into the head 0:08:11.080 --> 0:08:14.720 lifeguard role without really even knowing it around the Olympic period. 0:08:14.440 --> 0:08:15.880 And natural progression sort of thing. 0:08:15.960 --> 0:08:17.600 Yeah, it was just sort of happened that way. 0:08:17.840 --> 0:08:19.680 And I didn't really understand at the time why they 0:08:19.840 --> 0:08:23.040 just put me in there. But we had the stadium 0:08:23.080 --> 0:08:25.440 as a ten thousand seat stadium that went onto the beach, 0:08:25.600 --> 0:08:28.440 and high tide would block the beach because it was 0:08:28.480 --> 0:08:32.000 hit in the back of the stand that was on BONDI. 0:08:32.400 --> 0:08:35.560 They had the beach volleyball down there, and then so 0:08:35.600 --> 0:08:37.360 we had to break it into two beaches, set at 0:08:37.400 --> 0:08:39.240 the south end and then the north end, and we 0:08:39.280 --> 0:08:41.600 came up with a you know, we put a tower 0:08:41.640 --> 0:08:43.960 down the north end, had all the main areas at 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:46.800 the south because that's predominantly our worst areas, the south end, 0:08:47.400 --> 0:08:49.400 and we just came up with a plan and a 0:08:49.440 --> 0:08:52.680 patrolling strategy plan and put that in place and it 0:08:52.800 --> 0:08:55.560 just really worked well. And I think then the councils thought, well, 0:08:55.920 --> 0:08:57.400 we've done that, and the next thing, you know, they 0:08:58.200 --> 0:09:00.600 put me in the role and we continue on that way, 0:09:00.640 --> 0:09:04.880 and I'm going to stay and probably make this now 0:09:04.880 --> 0:09:08.000 in my career rather than sort of after five years 0:09:08.000 --> 0:09:09.440 I'm out of here to do something else. 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:12.520 And it was perfect. 0:09:12.280 --> 0:09:15.600 Timing and without me even knowing or realizing, and then 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:17.760 I could just see where we needed to go with 0:09:17.840 --> 0:09:21.280 it and how we needed to get the lifeguards to 0:09:21.760 --> 0:09:23.160 a higher level. 0:09:22.679 --> 0:09:26.240 And it was just lucky that that period happened. 0:09:26.440 --> 0:09:28.480 And it wasn't long after that, you know, three four 0:09:28.559 --> 0:09:30.880 years we changed the whole service and it became a 0:09:30.880 --> 0:09:33.360 lot more professional and obviously we do a lot of 0:09:33.400 --> 0:09:36.320 physical tests and we dropped the times way lower than 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:40.240 what the standard was. So that made it, in my mind, 0:09:40.360 --> 0:09:42.880 was if you really wanted to be there, you do 0:09:42.960 --> 0:09:45.720 whatever you need to do to pass that test to 0:09:45.760 --> 0:09:48.680 get on. And that brought the team a lot closer 0:09:48.720 --> 0:09:50.640 because we just had people that wanted to be there, 0:09:50.840 --> 0:09:52.440 and it made it a lot easier than too to 0:09:52.480 --> 0:09:55.439 work as one rather than having some people just there 0:09:55.440 --> 0:09:57.440 for the sake of being there, and other people are 0:09:57.440 --> 0:10:00.240 passionate about being a lifeguard, but then they've been brought 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:02.320 down by other people who just didn't really give a stuff, 0:10:02.360 --> 0:10:03.319 and so. 0:10:04.160 --> 0:10:06.200 It would have been the opposite, right the moment you 0:10:06.240 --> 0:10:10.000 go from seasonal to full time. Oh, I love that, mate, 0:10:10.040 --> 0:10:12.079 I love that because normally when that happens, and that 0:10:12.520 --> 0:10:14.599 you know, people who in demand they lower the standards, 0:10:15.040 --> 0:10:17.080 and then the standards dropped just to fill those places 0:10:17.120 --> 0:10:18.920 because all of a sudden you've gone from that seasonal 0:10:19.000 --> 0:10:21.720 change to the full time change. That's really interesting to 0:10:21.760 --> 0:10:23.080 know and were you part of that. 0:10:23.480 --> 0:10:26.960 Yeah, so it it was me that suggested to get 0:10:27.040 --> 0:10:29.280 that way. So and when he did it that way 0:10:29.280 --> 0:10:31.000 to get the people that want to be there. So 0:10:31.000 --> 0:10:33.679 people would drop off because they just asked, I can't 0:10:33.679 --> 0:10:36.440 do it whatever, and then they drop off, but we 0:10:36.520 --> 0:10:40.120 got the core group with people that you know. For 0:10:40.120 --> 0:10:43.800 an example, one guy complained that I'm not going to 0:10:43.840 --> 0:10:45.480 lose so many guys and a lot of people are 0:10:45.480 --> 0:10:47.720 winging about it, and so this guy, so we had 0:10:47.760 --> 0:10:49.720 we dropped it to thirteen minutes for the for the 0:10:50.240 --> 0:10:53.120 in the pool, swim eight hundred meters under thirteen minutes, 0:10:53.679 --> 0:10:56.160 and then we did the ocean test after we finished 0:10:56.160 --> 0:10:58.599 the pool. But using the pool as an example, he 0:10:58.640 --> 0:11:01.240 would swim say third minutes thirty when it used to 0:11:01.280 --> 0:11:03.439 be fourteen minutes. So he's going, well, I'm going to 0:11:03.480 --> 0:11:06.040 file because it's now thirteen minutes. And I said, no, 0:11:06.160 --> 0:11:08.120 if you really want to be here, you'll do whatever work, 0:11:08.160 --> 0:11:10.720 whatever you need to do to get under thirteen, he said, oh, 0:11:10.720 --> 0:11:12.480 I'm getting older and older. So at that stage he 0:11:12.559 --> 0:11:15.600 was probably about forty two. So by the time he 0:11:16.040 --> 0:11:17.640 gave it away and finished, he was probably in his 0:11:17.760 --> 0:11:21.280 early fifties. And he's early so ten years later he's 0:11:21.280 --> 0:11:25.480 swimming twelve thirty, but ten years younger he was swimming 0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:26.200 thirteen thirty. 0:11:26.400 --> 0:11:27.079 Yeah, amazing. 0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:28.600 So because he wanted to be there, he did what 0:11:28.640 --> 0:11:30.520 he had to do to be able to do the time. 0:11:30.679 --> 0:11:33.439 So that just he've got the standards there then, right, 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:36.480 you know, and again like people that want to be there, 0:11:36.520 --> 0:11:38.680 people that want to better themselves, people that want to 0:11:38.720 --> 0:11:42.240 you know, be at their optiments in order to save lives. 0:11:42.360 --> 0:11:44.120 And when you want to when you go, you got 0:11:44.160 --> 0:11:47.240 to go right. You know your job, she knows her job. 0:11:47.640 --> 0:11:50.360 He knows his job. Les, let's move together so you 0:11:50.400 --> 0:11:52.680 can focus on your on the job at hand. So 0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:57.280 did it become sort of a career profession I suppose 0:11:57.360 --> 0:11:59.200 where before it was like, do you know what, this 0:11:59.320 --> 0:12:02.720 is just seasonal? Now it is more of a career, right, 0:12:02.840 --> 0:12:04.280 you look at it as more more of a career 0:12:04.320 --> 0:12:05.120 because it's full time. 0:12:05.200 --> 0:12:07.360 Yeah, it was always known when I first started, and 0:12:07.400 --> 0:12:09.560 then the nine is always known as a job you 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:11.240 did before you went and got a real job. Yeah, 0:12:13.960 --> 0:12:16.360 and then and then, as you say, it went permanent 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:18.680 and that made it. You know, once jobs go permanent, 0:12:18.760 --> 0:12:21.480 they have to become more professional and that's something that 0:12:22.040 --> 0:12:26.960 everyone wanted that and enjoyed that stage on how it changed, 0:12:27.000 --> 0:12:29.240 and it was really good because you know. The other 0:12:29.280 --> 0:12:32.160 thing too, though, is you're getting people on when you 0:12:32.200 --> 0:12:35.520 do a rescue. You times, I wouldn't put myself in 0:12:35.600 --> 0:12:39.400 that position just going out in the water if it's 0:12:39.440 --> 0:12:41.760 on a certain day, but I've got to put myself 0:12:41.760 --> 0:12:43.600 in that position to get that person out of that 0:12:43.720 --> 0:12:48.000 critical situation. So you're putting yourself in that's right, You're 0:12:48.000 --> 0:12:50.920 going against your instinction training and that's right and putting 0:12:50.920 --> 0:12:54.840 yourself into that position. And it can be quite daunting 0:12:54.840 --> 0:12:58.439 and frightening at times where you know, and whenever someone 0:12:58.440 --> 0:13:00.640 gets into trouble, they always put themselves somehow into the 0:13:00.640 --> 0:13:02.360 worst possible position they could ever get in. 0:13:02.640 --> 0:13:04.320 And then you've got going and get them out. 0:13:04.280 --> 0:13:07.480 Because they don't know they're doing exactly like me. I'm 0:13:07.520 --> 0:13:10.040 doing the exact gob what I'm supposed to do, you know, 0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:12.720 And what was the pressure like because at such a 0:13:12.760 --> 0:13:15.719 young age, you're this you know young. Yeah, you've got 0:13:15.720 --> 0:13:17.520 five six years under your belt, but in the grand 0:13:17.559 --> 0:13:19.040 scheme of things, that's nothing. 0:13:19.280 --> 0:13:19.480 Yeah. 0:13:19.520 --> 0:13:21.360 I mean it was tough at times, you know, because 0:13:21.360 --> 0:13:23.280 you were the younger one and you're trying to call 0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:25.640 the shots and you had to earn that respect. 0:13:25.720 --> 0:13:27.560 Yeah, because there's still a lot of older guys there. 0:13:27.559 --> 0:13:29.200 They've been there a lot longer than I had, and 0:13:29.440 --> 0:13:31.880 you just had to earn that respect. And it was 0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:34.760 funny though with I never realized till I got older, 0:13:34.800 --> 0:13:38.839 that with the leadership leading teams, because when I was younger, 0:13:38.880 --> 0:13:41.520 I was always get and I was very quiet, hardly 0:13:41.520 --> 0:13:43.600 said a word, you know when I was younger, and 0:13:43.920 --> 0:13:45.960 but always end up the captain of the cricket team 0:13:46.040 --> 0:13:48.440 or captain of the football team. And I always and 0:13:48.480 --> 0:13:50.320 I said to a coach once, I said, why would 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:53.320 you put me? And I hardly say a word and 0:13:53.360 --> 0:13:57.320 he goes, no, But everyone respects you because what happens 0:13:57.400 --> 0:13:59.800 is when you do say something, everyone listens. 0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:01.880 And I said, okay. 0:14:02.000 --> 0:14:04.679 And then I've realized that now later going through the 0:14:04.720 --> 0:14:07.120 career I've gone through that you've got to earn the 0:14:07.160 --> 0:14:09.840 respect and you've got to be able to do the job. 0:14:09.920 --> 0:14:12.600 But then you don't want to be saying too much 0:14:12.600 --> 0:14:14.760 all the time. It's when you do say something, then 0:14:14.800 --> 0:14:16.720 people listen, and that's how you get the team working 0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:18.880 really well when they are in that mindset. 0:14:19.040 --> 0:14:21.320 And what are you looking for apart from the you know, 0:14:21.400 --> 0:14:25.560 the benchmark sort of criteria tests what you're looking for 0:14:26.080 --> 0:14:27.320 in a team member. 0:14:27.680 --> 0:14:29.360 Well, you're looking for one they've got to have the 0:14:29.360 --> 0:14:31.840 skill level you know, to come in. But that's not 0:14:32.200 --> 0:14:34.480 the end game. You know, it's a lot of learning 0:14:34.480 --> 0:14:37.400 when you come into the knowing when to beat a 0:14:37.400 --> 0:14:39.400 certain spot. And you know, we have a lot of 0:14:39.400 --> 0:14:41.040 banner in the tower. I mean, you could turn up 0:14:41.040 --> 0:14:42.760 in looking the best you've ever looked and still get 0:14:42.800 --> 0:14:45.080 ripped apart in the bag and whatever. So that's a 0:14:45.200 --> 0:14:46.800 that's a good part with it. And so you need 0:14:46.840 --> 0:14:48.480 to have that and be able to cop a bit 0:14:48.520 --> 0:14:50.320 of banner as well as well as given you don't 0:14:50.320 --> 0:14:52.320 you don't want to be someone that just gets all 0:14:52.400 --> 0:14:55.520 upset and about getting paid out and accept it. 0:14:55.640 --> 0:14:58.160 The way of bringing people in, isn't it, and in 0:14:58.200 --> 0:15:01.880 a way making them feel comfortab in a bizarre type 0:15:01.920 --> 0:15:02.400 of way. 0:15:02.480 --> 0:15:04.760 And then the other thing too is the observation and 0:15:04.760 --> 0:15:06.400 been able to stand out in the sun and the 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:10.040 heat and keep the concentration. People don't realize they see 0:15:10.080 --> 0:15:12.280 us this watching, but that don't realize that what the 0:15:12.320 --> 0:15:14.160 stress on that And in the back of your mind, 0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:17.160 if you come in have a bad day and make 0:15:17.200 --> 0:15:19.960 a mistake, it could cost someone their life. Whereas if 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:21.520 you're in the office and make a mistake, just fix 0:15:21.520 --> 0:15:23.800 it up later and you might lose a bit of 0:15:23.800 --> 0:15:25.800 money or something in the company, but you. 0:15:25.720 --> 0:15:26.520 Can fix that up. 0:15:26.680 --> 0:15:27.960 Have you ever had a bad day? 0:15:28.520 --> 0:15:29.920 Yeah, I mean we've had bad days. 0:15:29.920 --> 0:15:32.400 And we get a lot of we cover the gap, 0:15:32.480 --> 0:15:35.360 so that's where a lot of suicides happen up the gap, 0:15:35.440 --> 0:15:38.320 the gap up at south Head there in the eastern suburbs, 0:15:38.320 --> 0:15:40.200 and so we get a lot of the body. 0:15:40.040 --> 0:15:40.680 Retrievals, and. 0:15:42.960 --> 0:15:44.400 That's your area of operations. 0:15:44.840 --> 0:15:46.800 So we go up on the jet scheme and people 0:15:46.800 --> 0:15:47.440 don't realize that. 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:50.880 They don't realize so because the police boat come, it's 0:15:50.880 --> 0:15:52.920 about a half an hour for them to come around 0:15:52.920 --> 0:15:54.560 the time they get around, so we try and get 0:15:54.560 --> 0:15:58.560 there to secure the body before they lose it all together. 0:15:59.720 --> 0:16:02.600 And so we deal with that and then have to 0:16:02.600 --> 0:16:05.040 hang onto the body. But now we've got to stay 0:16:05.080 --> 0:16:07.000 out in the water till the police boat comes around. 0:16:07.040 --> 0:16:10.280 And that affects a lot of the guys too sometimes 0:16:10.320 --> 0:16:11.720 and the girls. 0:16:12.000 --> 0:16:14.640 Yeah, no, it's I mean early days. 0:16:14.640 --> 0:16:17.680 And then I've just accepted that's a part of the 0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:20.520 job and we've got to train people into that that 0:16:20.840 --> 0:16:22.520 the longer you're going to be a lifeguard, you either 0:16:22.520 --> 0:16:25.920 get a resuscitation, you'll get a drowning, you'll get a suicide, 0:16:25.960 --> 0:16:28.280 you'll get you know, even today when I was coming 0:16:28.280 --> 0:16:31.120 in here, we had a guy a massive drug overdase 0:16:31.160 --> 0:16:34.320 that we're dealing with on the beach. So there's a 0:16:34.360 --> 0:16:36.920 whole range of things that we're dealing with that you know, 0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:40.600 it can be quite horrific at times, and that's why 0:16:40.600 --> 0:16:44.200 we brought in We always trained physically and we're always 0:16:44.200 --> 0:16:46.800 physically fit, but we never ever trained mentally. 0:16:47.040 --> 0:16:48.600 So we brought in a guy about. 0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:52.080 Five six years ago, doctor David said, and he's been 0:16:52.120 --> 0:16:56.440 working a lot with us, and to the point where 0:16:56.440 --> 0:17:00.680 now everyone will if they've got an issue, they'll come 0:17:00.680 --> 0:17:02.400 and tell you, whereas back in my day it was 0:17:02.440 --> 0:17:04.119 like if I said I had an issue with. 0:17:04.200 --> 0:17:05.000 Pulling the body in. 0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:07.560 It'd be like a tough en app to get on 0:17:07.600 --> 0:17:10.159 with it, you know, just you wouldn't even there and. 0:17:10.160 --> 0:17:12.480 You wouldn't even say it because you're petrified that they 0:17:12.480 --> 0:17:14.160 think you're weak or. 0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:15.000 Something and they get rid of it. 0:17:15.080 --> 0:17:17.879 Yeah, and now we've sort of turn that around though, 0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:21.119 where because we could do a massive incident and it 0:17:21.200 --> 0:17:24.520 might be saying one o'clock in the day, that incident's gone. 0:17:24.560 --> 0:17:26.960 You know, the police, the ambulance whatever, take them away. 0:17:27.720 --> 0:17:29.679 You roll straight back out and keep working. 0:17:29.920 --> 0:17:32.320 You're still in that environment, still in the same environment. 0:17:32.560 --> 0:17:35.359 Not that you can escape it. It's happened. It's happened there, 0:17:35.520 --> 0:17:37.960 that's right. And then so we just then continue on. 0:17:38.040 --> 0:17:40.240 So now it's like the guys, look, I just need 0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:42.399 to now break or something, or maybe I need to 0:17:42.400 --> 0:17:44.200 go home or next day they'll ring up and so 0:17:44.560 --> 0:17:46.720