Tales from a Bruised Mind

Work is a very important part of life. Not only do we need a decent job to pay our way through the middle of a cost-of-living crisis (at least that’s the case here in Australia), employment gives us purpose and somewhere to go each and every day. It gives us routine, a place to meet and network with others and to gain new and interesting skills.

Sure, work can also suck big time. Trust me, I know. From working in a hot warehouse in the middle of Queensland summers packing orders for a big clothing brand to washing dishes for a small cafe, I’ve experienced quite a fair share of crappy and frankly un-interesting workplaces.

When I got possibly the coolest casual job that any sporting fan would want, selling shoes and apparel for Nike, I thought I had made it. It was a cool job with heaps of perks, but even that wasn’t perfect. It was high pressure, it was stressful and the management was not good at all.

Deep down, though, I wanted to work in the automotive industry. I loved cars and I could write half-decent bunches of words. By the end of school, I wanted to become a motoring journalist and write for a glossy car magazine.

And now here I am with my dream job. How does it feel? What is it like? Would I recommend it?

This blog post is all about working towards your dream. Let me tell you, getting that by the age of 24 is something I am very proud of.

Hard in the beginning, but totally worth it

The motoring journalism field in Australia is pretty much as niche as it gets. To get in the door and make an impression was incredibly difficult. For me, it was all about making connections and networking and just trying to get noticed, all of which is not easy.

Most who dream of this job think of fast cars, track days, lavish lunches/dinners and extravagant trips overseas. But let me tell you, it’s a long road to get there.

I started out interning for a magazine (my favourite magazine) called MOTOR, which was first printed as Modern Motor way back in 1954. I sent an email to the then-editor Dylan Campbell who replied pretty quickly and said he was interested to have me as an intern in the Oakleigh office in Melbourne. I knew full well at the time that this was a big deal – MOTOR did not hand out many internships, if any, for many years – and so I was incredibly nervous to get down there and give it my best shot.

I did two, two-week stints, as I lived and grew up well north of Melbourne in Brisbane. While I was there in 2018, I wrote my first news articles, helped pick up press cars, assist with photo shoots and even ended up in the MOTOR magazine, credited as ‘intern’. I don’t think I had ever been happier. It was a dream come true to be in a magazine I always read as a kid.

When I returned to my university course, I had to do a presentation on my internship experience. I was so incredibly happy to share with my fellow classmates what I had been up to.

However, as the magazine industry changed, as well as ownerships, it would not be until the very end of the COVID-19 pandemic – the middle of 2021 – that I would write car content again. As I battled severe mental illness, I needed a lot of time to recover and to get my confidence back. I sent an email to CarExpert’s contact us page about wanting to write for them. I got an email back from founder Alborz Fallah who was interested to meet up with me.

And from then, I became a contributing writer for CarExpert, remote and working at home from Brisbane. This suited me as I still had my foot in the door. But I had to prove myself. That time with CarExpert would be my first paid writing gig in the automotive sector.

When I got a text from my Mum about a motoring journalist position in Sydney, I turned my back to it. I didn’t want to move away from my family and friends.

But moving was the best thing I ever did. Let me explain.

Living the life as a full-time motoring journalist

Since September 2021, I have been working for Chasing Cars as a motoring journalist, writer and video presenter. I have become one of the most proficient news writers in the team and have created quite the collection of news articles and long form content over the past couple of years.

Sure, moving to Sydney was a very hard and emotionally tolling life change for me, but I have made it work. When I got the invitation to travel to Germany for the Munich Auto Show, the launch of the new Mini Cooper Electric and the introduction of BMW’s Neue Klasse generation of vehicles, I had to stop and pinch myself.

It was a pretty proud moment. I never expected to get that far, to travel to the other side of the world and report on the hottest new cars. I never thought I’d be able to battle my demons and get there, but I did. I managed to do it somehow. It was rather miraculous.

It’s a moment in my life I’ll never, ever forget and also never, ever take for granted. I know just how bloody hard it is to get there.

It’s not just about the fancy trips and the jet setting. Every day, I get to wake up and go to work doing something I love – talking and writing about cars and the automotive industry. I never thought that such a job would exist where I get to drive and write about cars every day and get paid a salary for it. I am extremely, totally lucky.

But it gets even better!

It wouldn’t be a Tales from a Bruised Mind blog post without talking about my mental health in some aspect. I am very grateful to have some amazing supporters and friends in my life, and one of those people is Sarah Davis, the co-founder of Drive Against Depression. I first got in contact with Sarah after my first Sydney hospital admission. I wanted to use my story and my lived experience to help others. Sarah listened carefully and took on board my story. She wanted to help, and guess what? She just went and did it.

I am happy to say that I was one of the people to organise and run the very first Sydney DAD drive. I spoke openly at the event and used my story to impact others. And Sarah, along with David James, wanted me back. We then expanded to Queensland and did a Brisbane drive, then back to Sydney for a second time. We are currently planning a third Sydney drive which is just wonderful.

After the Brisbane event, Sarah and the team invited me to be one of DAD’s official ambassadors, a role I currently take part in alongside a good friend of mine, journalist James Wong.

So not only do I get to experience my dream every day at work, I’ve also got a great side passion – talking about my lived experience and helping those who need it. Offering a much needed helping hand to the many people who battle with their mental health.

Thanks for reading!

Zak

You can visit the Drive Against Depression page here.

Read a bit about me at my Ambassador DAD page here.

Check out my work on the Chasing Cars website and also on our YouTube channel.