ABOUT ME
Sounds cool doesn’t it? Well, I think it does and I think it communicates the message that is at the heart of what I’m trying to do. And what is that I hear you ask…Great question. I still find myself asking the same thing each day. So let explore it, and I’ll throw in a little about me as well.
I’ve grown up playing team sports and loving every minute of it…. Was never quite good enough to earn a living from playing. I also coached and maybe I could have gone heavily into coaching, but I was too much of a frustrated player. I wanted to play, not coach.
So I fell into mostly corporate work straight out of high school. Low level stuff, wearing a tie, dealing with customers over the phone, getting paid, going out on the weekends and enjoying myself with the guys and girls from the office, but I always felt it was not a good fit. Surely there was something more?
Before I knew it, I was in my forties, had a couple of kids and I thought to myself… Wooow, what I am doing, and where am I going? And how fast is all this happening? (queue midlife crisis music). I often think about a classic favourite movie of mine – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (if you haven’t seen it, you should, it’s will change your life) and the classic quote…
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
How was someone in high school so insightful?
I decided to heed Ferris’s advice. I decided to stop and look around. As a result I saw an opportunity to join the Fire Brigade and jumped in. Although the application process is drawn out and can take a number of years, my enthusiasm did not waiver (it took me 4 years from initial application to entering my recruit course). I was over the moon when I was accepted and experienced emotions that I thought were long gone. I could not imagine having the same excitement, anticipation and nervousness in a work environment as I did on the sporting field. Why didn’t I do this year’s ago??
My inner child surfaced during my uniform fitting. Here I was playing ‘dress ups’ as a fire fighter. Looking in the mirror, I didn’t even recognize myself. Who is this fine, upstanding and handsome man in front of me? It’s amazing the difference a uniform can make!!
What do I do with this?
BA Drill Day
When my recruit course started it felt like high school again. Sitting in class, books out, taking notes, getting homework, doing assignments and studying for exams. Although it brought me back to my school days where I would constantly be the naughty kid at the back disturbing the class, I managed to stay professional and absorb the information. It is, after all, a very serious job.
But this doesn’t mean the inner child did not get loose. Once we got out of the classroom and onto the training props, it was a combination of practical jokes, hard work, fun, team work, getting wet, excitement and did I mention hard work? It was just like being back in a sporting team environment with great comradery. Needless to say, I loved it.
After five months hard slog studying and training, my graduation day ceremony arrived was just mind blowing. Once again, I couldn’t believe that I was in a job where I was feeling emotions that were normally reserved for the sporting field. I felt nervous, anxious, and excited all at once before heading out to perform firefighting drills and worst of all… Squad Marching!
Nothing seemed to terrify a bunch of firefighters more than having to march in unison to a marching band in front of family and friends. I clearly remember the emotion that hit me as I turned and marched towards the cheering crowd. All the hard work over the previous 5 months, and to be honest, my life journey up to that point had brought me here……………
…..to the Best Job in the World… #BJITW.
This was THE job I had been looking for my whole life. It felt like home.
So, getting back to Ignition Wear… What’s going on with that?
Well it’s all about celebration.
Celebration of the life you have been given. Celebration of your passions and desires. We all have only one life, so we better “get busy living, or get busy dying”… (quote from another one of my favourite movies). At some point the dying part is coming whether you like it or not, so have some fun before you go.
Ignition ties in to fire and firefighting, but it also is about igniting the fire in ourselves. To get busy living, to enjoy your time with family or friends, or even do something on your own. This is especially true if your family or friends are reluctant to join you in an adventure, then don’t let that hold you back…. Just do it yourself. You will be surprised at how many others are in the same situation and will jump at the chance to join your adventure (if you built it, they will come). And the adventure doesn’t have to be some crazy, death defying event. It can be a spiritual journey or a trip that awakens your soul. Something inspirational…. Something fun. It’s about starting your engine and doing it. It’s IGNITION time… 3.2.1.. Lift off.
We all like to wear cool stuff. And I’m super proud of my job. We all tend to wear on our clothing, things we are proud about. Whether it’s our sporting team, or the city we come from or maybe it’s something we love doing, like fishing or golf. Whatever it is, there’s a T-shirt for it. When it comes to firefighting (or any first responder), there are lots of “Hero” type t-shirts and that’s fine, but it’s just not my style. I want to celebrate the job, but also the lifestyle that comes with it.
I love all the work we do on shift and love all the fun we have off shift!! I want to celebrate all the reasons why it is the best job in the world. If this strikes a cord then check out the rest of this website, and introduce yourself to a friend of mine….. Firefighter Ferris Folley….. Your life will never be the same again!!!
Graduation Day
Live Life Hard ………… You only get one!!
See ya soon xx
Kevin
Meet Our Creative Team
Firefighter Kevin Lowe
Ignition Wear Mastermind
Firefighter Ferris Folley
Legendary Firefighter Icon
Firefighter Hydrant
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