The Power of Perseverance: Tom Gaymor's Transformation part two

In the second part , i started off by asking him about the accident that pretty much ended his career as a racing driver . So was it one specific ? was it one accident or was it a series of accidents ?

It's the ones that look as though they don't hurt that hurt . The spectacular ones . They're actually okay . Yeah , yeah , yes , i remember you saying when Simonson crashed at Le Mans , it looked it didn't look like that , those nasty celebrations , they don't look spectacular , but the forces on the body That was fatal . So , yeah , you just can't sustain them .

And whether or not that's musculoskeletal or you know , your organs , the G force , that the P force , sometimes is just unsustainable . And you know there's been so many tragic incidents and examples and Simonson's just just one of those .

One step forward , two steps back , you start treating one area and then you get a problem with another area and it's never ending at times and it's demoralising . The one thing getting you through the rehabilitation is hope , is that realisation , that hope that you might reach your end goal . And then , when that hope starts to erode , it's difficult .

It's difficult mentally , it's difficult physically for a prolonged period of time when there's a lot riding on it in terms of your you know it's what you want to do , it's not just what you do , it's your life . You know it's your identity , it's everything .

And you know , trying to get your head around the fact that you might not ever be able to do that again , it's really hard And you know I battled long and hard with that . I actually , physically I just went into that sort of obsessive , compulsive mindset where it was just work hard , keep your head down , keep the faith .

But mentally I didn't look after myself And it wasn't until I got to the end of the road where physically I was in a pretty good place And that sort of you know , miraculous return really , in terms of you know where I was . The surgeon said I'd never get back in a car . I shouldn't get back in a car .

I did get back in a car But , you know , mentally I wasn't in the right space And it really had taken its toll , that sort of couldn't really put my finger on it , but that loss of control and that sort of trauma that I experienced , not the accident , it was the aftermath , just that long period of time of not being able to do what it is that you do and

to you know , to sort of face up to the fact that your whole life's falling apart . Really , yeah .

You know whereas you're , you know you're getting fitter , you know , but it becomes a mental health .

I mean , it all sounds very drastic when you rationalise it now , but when you're in that space it's a lot to sort of take on your shoulders . And you know I split up with my partner , i didn't have anywhere to live , i you know it was hard , it was really hard .

And you know I didn't have that prusted space to sort of open up and talk to people about what was going on , because I didn't really . I was so young , i hadn't had that , that adversity or that experience before And I didn't really know what was happening . And you know the last thing I was going to do was was was open up and talk about it .

You know we're going back 20 years and the narrative , the societal narrative around sort of mental health was not as progressive as it is now , and so you know I sort of suffered in silence a bit , to be honest with you .

And it wasn't until I found a trusted peer group where and I won't break their trust , but it was athletes that I sort of revered and looked up to from other sports , you know big names , and they were all in a room and they were talking about their journey , their journey through mental health , and it was just the , you know , it was a transformation in terms

of it gave me the confidence to go . That's how I feel , that's me .

And and then I could finally open up and not worry about what others thought about me , because I was in a room full of people that were just describing how I felt , basically through their own journey , and I I hold you know , i have a lot of sort of a lot of respect for those peer to peer support groups And I think they suck so often .

Hold that bridge to the medical intervention that you might need A lot of . A lot of people need that confidence , need that reassurance , and that peer to peer support group gives you that , in my experience , and then it gives you that bridge and that opportunity to go and see the medical professionals that might be able to steer you in the right direction .

You're still very much in love with somebody but they're not in love with you and away . They go on another journey . and that was the sport . For me . It was too raw and so I went and worked with Getty Images for a bit and then I had the realisation that know your lane in life and also don't walk too far away from what it is that you know .

So I went back to the sport and found a niche in coaching and working with younger drivers , and I worked with the National Governing Body and the various different things around coaching qualifications . But bubbling away in the background was the commentary .

So TV gave me a lifeline and it's the TV that's grown and grown and grown over the last sort of 10 or so years and I've been incredibly fortunate enough to sort of forge a career in TV and broadcasting . No one teaches you how to do it . You are the single swim .

Everybody tells you when they don't like you and when you've made a mistake , but no one pats you on the back when you've done a good job , especially in today's day and age of social media . Yes , yeah .

But I wouldn't change it for the world , and it gives me that opportunity to be involved in a sport that I fed in love with as a 10 year old child , and my goal was always to get to Formula One .

I've got to Formula One now , albeit with a microphone in my hand and not a steering wheel , so it's a funny lesson as to life is a journey and you never quite know where you're going to end up , how you're going to end up , but for me , i've got to where I wanted to get to , just in a different guys .

And especially when people start talking to you in your ears , You're talking away and then all of a sudden you can hear the direct and you just freeze And so it's over before you even realised it's begun and you have that sort of sweaty palms . It gives you the adrenaline rush .

It's like competing to a certain extent and you need to be at the top of your game .

It's a great experience but yeah and you never lose sight of those nerves You always feel that I'm doing the Indy 500 for Sky Sports F1 in a couple of well , in 10 days , and that's arguably the most watched race globally , the biggest , most sport event in the world in terms of people that attend that on the day , And it's a huge amount to sort of take on

board

that . Here you are heading up that studio And there's going to be everyone in the world of motorsport watching you and you never lose sight of the fact that it's a huge event and those nerves will always be inside you .

Because it becomes so much more than that And if you're not careful with the TV , the enormity of the event or whatever it is that you're doing can overtake you . And it's important actually , just to simplify it . I'm talking about cars going around in a circle and that's all I'm doing and I'm going to enjoy it . And that's the long and the short of it .

I try , whatever I do now , just to make sure that I enjoy it . It's that simple .

You know the strategy and whatever you know , i know sometimes some , like any sport , can be predictable and can be boring , especially , you know , possibly the season maybe , but you know there's there's so much more to talk about .

They've got bump days So not everyone makes the show , so people have got to qualify this weekend to make the event next weekend And you have that sort of David and Goliath . You know there's a team in this weekend that they've never run an Indycar before , that the kid who's in the cars never qualified for the 500 .

And you know they're going to go up against the lights of Gennasi Penske , the huge , the big names in the sport , and it's like that FA Cup , if you like , where you're going to have , i don't know , kingstonians that are going to knock out Man City or whatever .

It's so easy to sort of sink back , especially in the winter months when you know there's there's the temptation of a bit of red wine or whatever it is or some some good food , to sort of sit back and not be as active as you possibly can . But my granddad , as I said , was a GP . He always said use the stairs where possible .

So I was filming with the police recently and we went into a tower block and it was like the 12th floor and everyone crowded into the lift and I sort of used the stairs And you know it's just things like that . When you're not training , do it . You know , be active exercise . I always differentiate .

People say to me are you doing exercise today or are you training ? And then and I try and mix both into my life . So things like you know that I love doing a bit of swimming today was exercise for me . So I had no set parameter in terms of where , how far I wanted to go .

I had no training , i had no routine today , blank sheet of paper , get in the pool , do your drills , enjoy it . Whatever you feel like doing in that moment , do it . And you know I love paddleboarding , so I'll be out on the paddleboard for hours . That's unbelievable for the core , for the , for the quads , for the lats you know , the holders .

And you know , i'll get in the pool , i'll do a drill And then I , you know I've done my drill And then I'm like what ? there's no routine in terms of what I'm doing in that space . But there's other times where I will train in the pool and I'll know exactly what I'm doing , how far I'm going , and it's all written out for me before I get in the pool .

But actually you know that's , you know that's a different mindset And I still I enjoy training And I love , you know , getting changed , always the hardest bit and you never , ever regret a session . But there's something wonderful about being free and just doing exercise as well .

That wasn't necessary about winning , it was just about being the best that he could be and he went to extreme levels to try and be the best that he could be on every single day that he Was in that environment . and I think It's too binary to look at just outcome .

But actually , if you look at process and you fixate on the process and I love what he did in terms of his training and how he would Pick a couple of goals in front of the post and then move in increments further and further touch line and further towards the trial , and he just fixated on process and loves that side of the sport and you could just see ,

you know that there was , there was so much to going on in his , in his mind when it , when he played the game , he was a real magician for me , tactical and and strategic .

So when other people were testing the car or when he was out , he was asking you know what strategy other drivers were on ? You know he , it wasn't just about winning for him . He was a very complex character and he took a huge amount of detail on board and was always fascinated in other people as well .

But it's the character that defines them , that then takes it to the next level . It's the differential between a football player Missing a penalty , scoring a penalty . It's the character underneath them . They've all got the tech and tech skillset to be able to score that penalty , but who can do it On the greatest day of their life ?

who can be the best they want to be on the greatest day of their life ? I think that comes down to character , and that's not , that's not hereditary , that's not something that you , you know that . That's something that that you develop , and The best , the best athletes focus on that side the human under the performer . I think .

You need to give people the , the , the talk , it in the emotional intelligence to be able to deal with the wonderful talent that they've got .

what would you say to someone who is , let's say , you know , someone who has had an injury , who's been , you know , either into the running or into their fitness , whatever ? what would you advise them in terms of ?

We , when we're in that environment , are around like minded others . So you're now no longer around like minded others and it's very solitary . So You can easily feel like you're alone and you're a million miles away from where you want to be . So it's important to recognize that you're not alone .

And actually in professional sport now they'll get athletes who are injured into match day set ups and various other things to make sure that athletes aren't alone . But I would say , try and find some trusted spaces .

So look on the internet , social media , whatever it is , or if you're a member of a running club or the gym , just because you're injured doesn't mean that you haven't got something to offer . It doesn't mean that you can't still be involved in that space .

And try and reintegrate back into that space and talk and be open , and when you talk , others tend to talk as well .

journey .

You never regret training . So if you're sitting on the fence , remember you won't regret it . You get out there and enjoy it And enjoy , be present and enjoy what you do .

I think the sort of space that Red Bull Racing find themselves in at the moment is largely down to the wonderful team of people that they've got there and Adrian Newey , who is the only sort of car designer to have still been in the sport when we last had these regulations .

So the regulation change all around ground effects and stalling the car in a straight line and that kind of stuff . You know that's very much down Adrian Newey Street . He's a wizard , he's a magician , he's worth more than any driver will ever be . But Max , with that said , is you know his speed , his ruthless nature , his confidence .

You know we talk about character development . It was only a few years ago where people were telling him he had to change , that he would never be a world champion , that he'd never do this , he'd never do that .

You know , trusted the process And you know there's a huge character underneath the performer there And so he's a very formidable partner to that whole sort of technical side of things And it's going to be very hard to see anyone beating them . You know , and that's probably not the .