Shaving the way to a new job
Given the opportunity to take on one of the toughest jobs in the world, may not be something many people would jump at the chance to do. Marielle Osmont sat down with Jack Taylor who did exactly that.
Clockwise: Jack trying the camera equipment; the pros showing how it’s done; shearing his first sheep; handling an eel; with costar Gemma Bale
W
hen I meet 22 year-old Jack at his flat in Manchester city centre he is still in his SpongeBob pyjamas, recovering from a night out with his co-stars, Gemma Bale and Tomi Tatham, from his episode of the BBC Three show World’s Toughest Jobs. Aired on 24 March, the show follows the trio who took on the challenge of sheep shearing in New Zealand. After sorting out the coffee we take a seat at the table to talk. Gemma and Tomi sprawl out on the sofas, and Jack tells me about the experience that took him from what he calls ‘a total grot’ in Bolton to the other side of the world. An experience which, he says, changed his life. In July 2013 Jack, then 21, was living in a shared house in Bolton and looking for work. He had been working for Ticketline in Manchester City centre, but lost his job when the building which housed the office burnt down. It was a fire that made headlines after a Greater Manchester firefighter lost his life tackling the blaze. In the episode Jack spoke candidly about his tough childhood, but he explained how he used it to his advantage: “My dad was a dick and left for drugs, and my mum kicked me out for being gay [she had given him an ultimatum – see a psychologist or move out]. It sounds bad, but I used this to my advantage in the application process. But if it wasn’t for that, would I have been selected for the show? Probably not. If you have a story to tell and somebody wants to hear it, tell them, right?” He moved in with a friend and her mother, but just shy of two years living with them felt he had outstayed his welcome. “Another Christmas was coming up and I felt bad still being there. When they were having family gatherings I felt like they would be wondering ‘what is this weird kid still doing here.’” So he moved into a house with another friend. When she moved out he couldn’t afford the rent by himself, and ended up in a ‘grotty’ shared house: “It was horrible. There was mould and smashed windows. It was just horrible.” While out in New Zealand his sister told him in a phone call that his mum was worried about him. Jack was surprised, given their difficult relationship. The episode shows Jack struggling to decide what to do: to stay on in New Zealand to work, or to go home to try and build a relationship with his mum. Jack returned to the UK. “It was okay for a while, but as contact with the production team got less and less, so did the contact with my mum.” The opportunity to audition for World’s Toughest Jobs came up on Twitter. Jack is no stranger to auditioning for and appearing on TV shows, having previously auditioned for Big Brother (several times). He has also made an appearance on Embarrassing Bodies (for eczema on his leg, he was quick to tell me) and Unsafe Sex in the City where he was tested for HIV. He discovered his ex-partner had failed to tell him he was HIV positive: “Once I found out I went to get tested on national TV on the basis that his mother would see the show and it would out him. It was childish at the time, but at the same time I was pretty pissed off, understandably,” said Jack. He decided to give the audition for World’s Toughest Jobs a go. “I auditioned for the show as to be on television was on my bucket, and it came at the same time I lost my job due to the office being burnt down, so the timing was perfect.” The audition process was not easy. In November 2013 Jack was taken down to London to undergo some psychological tests and meet the media team. “They make sure you are alright to be put in some horrible situations. They also prepare you for some of the nasty things you might get on Twitter. At that time I was told the applications were in the near end stages, and about a week later I was told I had been selected.” Having been unemployed for a few months, Jack jumped at the opportunity to appear on the show. It was the only offer of work he had had since he lost his job. When Jack signed the dotted line, he had no idea what he was signing himself up for: “When you sign the contract, you aren’t told where they
Shaving the way to a new job are sending you or what you will be doing. You only find out what the job is about a month before you go. You are told by the cameraman, so my reaction you see on the show was my genuine reaction.”
J
ack landed in New Zealand after a punishing 36 hour flight to find that customs in New Zealand aren’t too happy when you don’t know where you are going to be staying. Gemma and Tomi had similar problems. “I got there after this really long flight and there I am at the desk trying to explain that I am doing a TV show - pulling out my BBC contract, trying to tell them I am here to work but have no idea where. We had to call the production team to sort it out.” The experience provided Jack with the chance to see another way of life, and appreciate some of the peace and quiet the lifestyle offered: “There was no Facebook or internet so when you finished work for the day you would have a BBQ and a beer, go for a swim in the lake, and go to bed. Out there you are a family and you spent time together. Also the people we worked with were there to make money to support their families. In New Zealand there isn’t the benefits system like in the UK. So if you don’t work, you don’t have any money. They don’t have anything handed to them. I don’t have time for slackers. I hate the sense of entitlement people have in the UK.” “In New Zealand they don’t have a benefit system, so the young women who were working with us were mothers, and they would follow the work [sheep shearing] to feed their chil-
dren back home. For that I salute them. In this country it’s ‘I want this and I deserve that’, which is so wrong.” Besides the chance to rebuild his relationship with his mum, “My dad was a there was also a much more pressing matter motivating Jack’s dick and left for return: he had to pay rent. His drugs and my landlord wasn’t willing to wait any longer. “That was really the mum kicked me main reason I came back, rather out for being than stay out in New Zealand. The production team spoke to gay” my landlord and asked if he would mind waiting for rent until I got back - they had promised I would earn enough money to cover the rent, which I did. But after being away for a month the landlord wanted his money, so I had to come home.” A little self-consciously he said: “The experience was life changing. I know this sounds cheesy, but the show gave me the insight to take all the negatives I had experienced in my childhood and turn them into positives.” Flatmates Grace McNevin and Samantha Kelsall, both 26, agree that he has done just this.
Grace said: “I wouldn’t have known the hardship he’s been through, he’s always so positive. I know him to be hard-working and, even if he doesn’t have much, he’s incredibly generous. He’s a credit to himself.” Sam added: “Jack always keeps a sunny, positive outlook on life, even when he gets bad news or knock-backs. I think his experience has made him realise that he can do anything he puts his mind to. He’s such an inspiration to me as no matter what life throws at him, Jack is determined to make the best of things, and get to where he wants to be.” Back in the UK Jack landed a job at a call centre in Manchester within weeks, and where he is still working today. He also managed to move out of the ‘grotty’ house he had been living in, and into a new, mould free place. He also found that having sheep shearing on his CV is a conversation starter and certainly made him stand out. At job interviews people couldn’t quite believe he had done it. “I would go back and do the wool handling, not the sheep shearing. The experience has made me appreciate others a lot more. Even though I have had a bit of a tough time, I can empathise a lot more with the right people. So if you have the right attitude but you are having problems, then you have my support, 100 per cent.”
Clockwise: Jack trying the camera equipment; the pros showing how it’s done; shearing his first sheep; handling an eel; with costar Gemma Bale
W
hen I meet 22 year-old Jack at his flat in Manchester city centre he is still in his SpongeBob pyjamas, recovering from a night out with his co-stars, Gemma Bale and Tomi Tatham, from his episode of the BBC Three show World’s Toughest Jobs. Aired on 24 March, the show follows the trio who took on the challenge of sheep shearing in New Zealand. After sorting out the coffee we take a seat at the table to talk. Gemma and Tomi sprawl out on the sofas, and Jack tells me about the experience that took him from what he calls ‘a total grot’ in Bolton to the other side of the world. An experience which, he says, changed his life. In July 2013 Jack, then 21, was living in a shared house in Bolton and looking for work. He had been working for Ticketline in Manchester City centre, but lost his job when the building which housed the office burnt down. It was a fire that made headlines after a Greater Manchester firefighter lost his life tackling the blaze. In the episode Jack spoke candidly about his tough childhood, but he explained how he used it to his advantage: “My dad was a dick and left for drugs, and my mum kicked me out for being gay [she had given him an ultimatum – see a psychologist or move out]. It sounds bad, but I used this to my advantage in the application process. But if it wasn’t for that, would I have been selected for the show? Probably not. If you have a story to tell and somebody wants to hear it, tell them, right?” He moved in with a friend and her mother, but just shy of two years living with them felt he had outstayed his welcome. “Another Christmas was coming up and I felt bad still being there. When they were having family gatherings I felt like they would be wondering ‘what is this weird kid still doing here.’” So he moved into a house with another friend. When she moved out he couldn’t afford the rent by himself, and ended up in a ‘grotty’ shared house: “It was horrible. There was mould and smashed windows. It was just horrible.” While out in New Zealand his sister told him in a phone call that his mum was worried about him. Jack was surprised, given their difficult relationship. The episode shows Jack struggling to decide what to do: to stay on in New Zealand to work, or to go home to try and build a relationship with his mum. Jack returned to the UK. “It was okay for a while, but as contact with the production team got less and less, so did the contact with my mum.” The opportunity to audition for World’s Toughest Jobs came up on Twitter. Jack is no stranger to auditioning for and appearing on TV shows, having previously auditioned for Big Brother (several times). He has also made an appearance on Embarrassing Bodies (for eczema on his leg, he was quick to tell me) and Unsafe Sex in the City where he was tested for HIV. He discovered his ex-partner had failed to tell him he was HIV positive: “Once I found out I went to get tested on national TV on the basis that his mother would see the show and it would out him. It was childish at the time, but at the same time I was pretty pissed off, understandably,” said Jack. He decided to give the audition for World’s Toughest Jobs a go. “I auditioned for the show as to be on television was on my bucket, and it came at the same time I lost my job due to the office being burnt down, so the timing was perfect.” The audition process was not easy. In November 2013 Jack was taken down to London to undergo some psychological tests and meet the media team. “They make sure you are alright to be put in some horrible situations. They also prepare you for some of the nasty things you might get on Twitter. At that time I was told the applications were in the near end stages, and about a week later I was told I had been selected.” Having been unemployed for a few months, Jack jumped at the opportunity to appear on the show. It was the only offer of work he had had since he lost his job. When Jack signed the dotted line, he had no idea what he was signing himself up for: “When you sign the contract, you aren’t told where they
Shaving the way to a new job are sending you or what you will be doing. You only find out what the job is about a month before you go. You are told by the cameraman, so my reaction you see on the show was my genuine reaction.”
J
ack landed in New Zealand after a punishing 36 hour flight to find that customs in New Zealand aren’t too happy when you don’t know where you are going to be staying. Gemma and Tomi had similar problems. “I got there after this really long flight and there I am at the desk trying to explain that I am doing a TV show - pulling out my BBC contract, trying to tell them I am here to work but have no idea where. We had to call the production team to sort it out.” The experience provided Jack with the chance to see another way of life, and appreciate some of the peace and quiet the lifestyle offered: “There was no Facebook or internet so when you finished work for the day you would have a BBQ and a beer, go for a swim in the lake, and go to bed. Out there you are a family and you spent time together. Also the people we worked with were there to make money to support their families. In New Zealand there isn’t the benefits system like in the UK. So if you don’t work, you don’t have any money. They don’t have anything handed to them. I don’t have time for slackers. I hate the sense of entitlement people have in the UK.” “In New Zealand they don’t have a benefit system, so the young women who were working with us were mothers, and they would follow the work [sheep shearing] to feed their chil-
dren back home. For that I salute them. In this country it’s ‘I want this and I deserve that’, which is so wrong.” Besides the chance to rebuild his relationship with his mum, “My dad was a there was also a much more pressing matter motivating Jack’s dick and left for return: he had to pay rent. His drugs and my landlord wasn’t willing to wait any longer. “That was really the mum kicked me main reason I came back, rather out for being than stay out in New Zealand. The production team spoke to gay” my landlord and asked if he would mind waiting for rent until I got back - they had promised I would earn enough money to cover the rent, which I did. But after being away for a month the landlord wanted his money, so I had to come home.” A little self-consciously he said: “The experience was life changing. I know this sounds cheesy, but the show gave me the insight to take all the negatives I had experienced in my childhood and turn them into positives.” Flatmates Grace McNevin and Samantha Kelsall, both 26, agree that he has done just this.
Grace said: “I wouldn’t have known the hardship he’s been through, he’s always so positive. I know him to be hard-working and, even if he doesn’t have much, he’s incredibly generous. He’s a credit to himself.” Sam added: “Jack always keeps a sunny, positive outlook on life, even when he gets bad news or knock-backs. I think his experience has made him realise that he can do anything he puts his mind to. He’s such an inspiration to me as no matter what life throws at him, Jack is determined to make the best of things, and get to where he wants to be.” Back in the UK Jack landed a job at a call centre in Manchester within weeks, and where he is still working today. He also managed to move out of the ‘grotty’ house he had been living in, and into a new, mould free place. He also found that having sheep shearing on his CV is a conversation starter and certainly made him stand out. At job interviews people couldn’t quite believe he had done it. “I would go back and do the wool handling, not the sheep shearing. The experience has made me appreciate others a lot more. Even though I have had a bit of a tough time, I can empathise a lot more with the right people. So if you have the right attitude but you are having problems, then you have my support, 100 per cent.”
