Top Gear | Media, your way

Manic – that’s a way to describe the last few weeks. Jobs for a host of clients, including Outdoor, GoAuto, Top Gear, Motor, Evo and others in places as varied as Goulburn, Tasmania, Spain and Thredbo kept me absolutely on the limiter right up to the beginning of this week.

Corralling two awesome cars and one Stig for a Top Gear vid at Goulburn proved awesome fun; a huge thanks to my good friend John Boston at trackschool.com.au for his help with that one!

Next was a quick dash to Tassie to drive a range of Renault Sports. Mmm, Sports… You’ll see that story in the next issue of Evo Australia magazine.

Then a dash to Thredbo, NSW, to climb to the top of Australia – before riding back down! A great weekend with the crew from Thredbo Resort and ace shooter Mark Watson of Incite Images for Australian Geographic/Outdoor magazine.

Finally, a mad-cap dash to Valencia, Spain, to drive Volkswagen’s new Polo GTI for a variety of Aussie auto outlets, including Top Gear and GoAuto. We were on the ground in Spain for exactly 25 hours…

Then home, a quick day at the V8 Supercar races with Volvo, a dash to Melbourne to drive a Ford Kuga, and finally I’m looking down the barrel of my last official gig for 2014 – a drive of Mitsubishi’s Safari Rally Outlander PHEV.

It’s been crazy, it’s been tough in spots, but it’s been rewarding and exciting. Ain’t no one else in charge of 032Media’s destiny, and I’m genuinely thrilled at the outcomes we’re achieving. There’s loads more to come, though – this game is all about the hustle!

I’m pleased to say I can slow down for at least two days this month. Maybe. With the Great Cycle Challenge happening all through October, things were getting pretty dern crazy there for a while. All for a bloody good cause, though! As I write this, the charity has raised more than $1 million for kid’s cancer research, and pretty much all of it goes to where it needs to. Love your work, team!

Mont 24 2014 — Me, in my GCC jersey at the Mont 24 Hour

Work-wise, 032Media is keeping me busy! Online stuff for Top Gear Australia, mag features for MOTOR, AG/Outdoor, Top Gear and Bike, online news and reviews for GoAuto… it’s coming thick and fast!

Getting used to freelance life is interesting – today, for example, has been a 17-hour epic, but next week is looking decidedly light-on. A good chance to rip everything out of the garage and redesign it with a video-ready mechanic’s area, a spot for a photo backdrop and a new way of stashing the bike collection, maybe?