By PEACE IJIYERA
LOCAL truckie Tim Ryan has been keeping the transport community connected for close to 30 years.
As host Gippsland FM radio show, Truck’n with Tim, the man behind the microphone recently celebrated 28 years of radio hosting.
Born and raised in Morwell, Mr Ryan has combined his love of country music and trucks to create a show that inspires many.
Every Sunday at 10am, Mr Ryan’s greeting, “good morning legends” signals the start of the show, after which flows conversations about life and the sounds of country music until 12 pm.
A lover of country music, Mr Ryan grew up listening to artists like Slim Dusty as a passenger on the road with his dad, John Ryan.
“I come from a hard-working family business in the transport industry. My dad started a garden supplies business in Morwell which is known as Morwell Garden Supplies”, Mr Ryan told the Express.
The idea to create a country music show through radio was birthed when Mr Ryan wrote a letter to Slim Dusty and remarkably, got a response.
“Twenty-eight years ago, this month (February), I wrote Slim a letter and then he got back to me and sent me down a heap of promos and about a dozen CDs at the time. Then I contacted community radio which is Gippsland FM in Morwell.”
Since then, Mr Ryan has served the community by providing entertainment through radio.
“[I’m] just a truck driver talking about his life on the airways and sharing his stories with the community and it’s really struck a – from what I see – an incredible accord with the public,” he said.
With four generations of family listeners, Mr Ryan has hundreds of people tuning in each Sunday, with the Truck’n with Tim airwaves reaching as far as Los Angeles. From pumping tunes in the studio on a Sunday, to driving trucks on a Monday, Mr Ryan says it brings him “right back to ground”. In 2008, Mr Ryan was the recipient of the best country music program at the Tamworth Country Music Festival.
“I was actually in my truck, I didn’t think I’d win it to be quite honest, I was up against the biggest broadcasting names in Australia … the trophies’ on my mantelpiece at home,” he said.
“You don’t do it for the trophies, but it’s nice to be recognised in the industry.”
With no formal radio training, Mr Ryan has kept a consistent audience throughout the years. He boils it down to his authenticity and being real.
“There’s no gloss, there’s nothing prepared, it’s just sharing life as we sort of speak right now,” he said.
Through his realness, he has been able to share his ups and downs with his audience, including his journey with mental health.
“I feel very blessed and humbled by the public and I’ve gone through everything publicly basically. I’ve struggled with mental health as well, I’ve overcome that and now I’m part of a non-for-profit group that’s called Looking Good, Feeling Good (LGFG) and now we’re helping people in Gippsland that have gone through what I went through, and to help them is a great thing to achieve in the community.”
An advocate for mental health, Mr Ryan has been able to raise money for the cause through hosting live shows and music events.
Last November, Mr Ryan hosted a Truck’n with Tim night, where $5 from each ticket was donated to LGFG. Mr Ryan hopes to do similar events in the future.
“I’ve still got a little bit more fuel left in the tank. I’m getting older, I know that, I just love it. If you can put a smile on somebody’s face, just take away the stresses of the environment of today, put them in a place where they’re smiling and they’re enjoying themselves, talking to their mates, that’s all I can ask for,” he said.
Mr Ryan’s advice for people struggling with mental health is to reach out and speak up.
“You really need to ask for some help, whether you see a GP or talk to a good mate, just to let them know that you’re in this position, but a GP is one that’s very important. I always says to guys and girls out there … that it’s so important to see a GP and to get a mental health plan organised and then you can start ticking boxes from there.”
Instead of having a celebration for himself, Mr Ryan decided to celebrate by giving back to the community. With local businesses supporting and donating, Mr Ryan gave away several hundred dollars’ worth of gift vouchers and prizes to listeners who had supported him through the years.
“Because they’ve (listeners) given to me over 28 years, I felt like giving something back to them, no matter size or form,” he said.
Calling his supporters his “family”, Mr Ryan says they are the “most loyal people on Earth”.
Mr Ryan’s infectious energy is felt through the radio and as he has famously said before, “If you smile down that microphone, I think the people on the other end will be smiling with you”.
Looking towards the future, Mr Ryan knows that the radio station remains home and hopes to stay in the game for many years to come.
When asked if he could have envisaged his career longevity, Mr Ryan exclaimed “no, not at all. And as long as I’ve still got the ability to speak and play country music, I just love it, it’s just the best feeling in the world and I’ll never give it up.”
Over the years, Mr Ryan has proved people’s assumptions wrong about truck drivers.
Some interactions with people have had them say to him, ‘I can’t believe a truck driver can do a radio show’.
“We’re pretty talented us truckies,” he joked.
A proud truckie, Mr Ryan likes to end his show with Waltzing Matilda and remind listeners about the importance of truck drivers.
“It’s the wheels of trucks that carry this country, and the Gippsland truckie really carries Gippsland. I’m so proud of Gippsland,” he added.
Through it all, Mr Ryan has stuck to his three word mantra that rings true: “Dream, believe, achieve”.
“[It] doesn’t matter what you want to do in life, if you’ve got a dream and you can believe in your dream, you’ll achieve it … I mean after 28 years, I didn’t think I’d last 28 minutes … there’s no slowing me down, its only going to be more and more and more.”
If you or someone you know is in crisis, phone:
Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636
Lifeline 13 11 14
