Even as a young fella, John has always had a passion for trucks – in his hometown school in Maleny, he and his mate would spend their time listening to Western Stars going to the concrete plant next to his school.

John has been around motors and machinery for most of his life. Living in Maleny, it was pretty much the norm to drive tractors and trucks on 40 thousand acre farms from a very young age. Then for a bit of pocket money, he would slash and drive tractors for his neighbour.

Knowing the family who owned the local bulk fuel depot, John was given his first job. Where, looking back now and how things have changed, they did everything wrong! Loading beside the bowsers with splash filling in a public access area in a semi-enclosed shed with no ventilation – all this at the back of the dairy. What could go wrong!

From there he started delivering 44 gallon drums in the back of his ute and travelling to Brisbane to do oil deliveries and then moved on to driving the demountable tank which he would chain onto a flat top to help the boys doing fuel deliveries – by this time he was around the age of 18!
He then went onto driving a Leyland Mastiff with a V8 Perkins doing fuel deliveries anywhere from Brisbane to Gympie.

Weekends were spent camping at Imbil and driving his beloved ski boat with a 350 Chevy. John started driving ski boats from around 12-13 years of age and all of those years pulling skiers out of the water is what he attributes to how smooth he is operating equipment in the trucks.

In his early 20’s a change of direction had him working out of a BP distributor doing everything from company deliveries out of the Brisbane and Maleny depots, refueling US Nuclear Power Submarines in the Brisbane River to the Western depots out at Roma and Charleville.

During this time, John took part in the Pro-Driver 2 course – a week long Driver Training program covering all aspects of the fuel industry, including driving, firefighting and theory.

Millers was the next stop – big gear, high end trucks with big horsepower and big bonneted Kenworth’s!

This is when John really learnt how to drive and how to work on the gear. The calibre of driver here was awesome, and some of the old blokes took him under their wing to teach him everything he needed to know to excel, including Wizza – an industry icon who is still a big part of the new chapter!

After years at Millers and needing a change of pace, he called into BP one day and was offered a job once again, so back to BP! 

Again, John was offered a place in the Pro-Driver 3 course which was the gateway into the Driver of the Year Award.

Here entrants from around Australia were accepted due to attributes in terms of presentation, vehicle care, teamwork and customer relationships which were endorsed by their employer.

The competition includes a written test and a series of practical tests around the Mount Cotton site. The most challenging test was the Maneuvering Skills test followed by a Technical knowledge test , Emergency First Aid, CPR and a timed fire extinguishing exercise. The competition was fierce and competition was incredibly close, so gaining 2nd place on a National level, was an impressive finish for John.

After years at BP, a change of course led to a stint at labouring while owner building a family house on the Sunshine Coast and then working for a local bulk landscape supply. But the fuel industry beckoned when he was offered a position with Liberty Oil, which saw him back into the fuel tankers yet again!

When it was time to get out of the drivers seat, John was ready for a new challenge and pursued his long time ambition of moving into a training role – enrolling in a Training and Assessment certification.

So, with his passion for excellence in an industry with enormous consequences if things are not done right, once again he has been guided by long-time friend Wizza to become an Industry Trainer.

Having completed his Cert IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 in 2019, John sets the bar high, with his attention to detail in delivering Dangerous Goods and other Transport Training Industry Courses with the knowledge, patience and respect that has received outstanding feedback from students, and this is only the beginning!