Living life in the fast lane with Speed of Sight
We are continuing with our series to share the stories of the people behind Ardonagh Community Trust’s (ACT) work to help communities become better, brighter and stronger.
In this second story, we hear from Mike Newman, founder of the charity Speed of Sight and nine-times world record holder, who lost his sight as a child, and Ardonagh colleague Allan Farrimond, who nominated the charity to receive an ACT community grant.
ACT’s Community Grant programme is available to all employees across The Ardonagh Group, who can apply for up to £5,000 towards a charitable project or cause close to their heart.
Speed of Sight provides life-changing driving experiences to those who might otherwise struggle to drive a vehicle. The £5,000 grant from ACT was used to help the charity improve its capabilities and to buy a comprehensive toolkit, so that it could continue to maintain and repair its vehicles.
Mike Newman, founder of Speed of Sight
I was born with Glaucoma which is a fairly rare condition to be born with. It’s a sight condition that typically affects people later in life. I had some sight until I was about eight years-old, but lost what little I had by that time.
When I left school, I started looking for work. It was a difficult job market and the statistics for employment among people with sight loss are still very poor to this day, but I was absolutely determined to have a job. I persevered and I was eventually successful and began working at NatWest as a bank receptionist. I remained in employment for the rest of my adult life and worked my up through the ranks to become a Senior Business Manager.
I have always been very keen on motorsports and cars in general. It was an interest I developed through childhood and I suppose it was probably a case of, if I could see, I would have had this car, or that motorcycle. I was always left wondering what the experience of driving would be like. One day, I started to think, what if I could actually get behind the wheel, experience the thrill of a powerful car or motorbike? I wanted to find out how I could do that, so I started to do some research and with the help and support of my friends and family I began to put my plans into place.
In 2001 I broke my first world record – the blind land speed record, driving a motorcycle unassisted at 89 mph. In 2003 I drove a supercharged XJR Jaguar to 144 mph at Elvington Airfield in York and broke my second blind land speed record.
It’s an experience I’ll never forget. I remember sitting in the car alone, my manager in a chase car, connected to me over a radio link. For once I was behind the wheel, not in the passenger seat – I was in the seat I wanted to be in. A message came through over the radio, we were good to go. The engine started and the car roared to life and you could smell the tyres, feel the thrill of it as the car sped down the track. It was all happening at once and then suddenly I was at the end of the runway. It was quite possibly the most wonderful thing I have ever done.
I was truly bitten by the bug and in 2005 I broke my own record again by driving at a top speed of 178mph in a BMW M5. Some years later I broke another blind speed record driving at 204mph – the same speed as a Formula 1 driver. In total I have broken nine world records – six land speed records, two water speed records and one aerobatic record. For me cars and speed have always been a personal passion and I have been very fortunate to achieve my records. If you hang on to your dreams long enough and are persistent, with support from friends and family, there is no limit to what you can achieve.
At that time, I met a lot of people who had had to relinquish their driving licences. They were struggling to get back to a life they could recognise, but the thing they all missed the most was that freedom of just getting in a car, a freedom they had all taken for granted previously.
I started to think about finding a solution to them getting behind the wheel again. I knew just how exciting it was, how thrilling it was, and the sense of achievement I gained from doing what I did. I was sure that if I had enjoyed the experience, they would enjoy it too.
So, I came up with an idea and shared it with my friend who helped me to think about how we could stage an event and in 2012 Speed of Sight was born. We began to help people get behind a wheel when they thought it was impossible.
It’s the most rewarding thing I have ever been involved in in my life. We make a difference to people’s outlooks, their self-esteem. When you are living with a disability it can affect how you view yourself, your capabilities and what you can go on to achieve. If you can’t see, you can’t see, but you can still do something about your self-esteem and your sense of self-worth.
We have worked with hundreds of people, people of all ages and who have faced all manner of challenges in life. They tend to come along with a family member or friend. These family members see their relative behind the wheel of a car, something they never thought they would do. Taking part in this activity has an impact on the whole family.
We had a guy who was a young man of 32 when he came to us. He lost his sight when he was 18. When he was in his late 20s he was the victim of a hit and run and needed to use a wheelchair. His mobility was severely restricted, but he was still able to take part in the experience by placing his hands on the wheel and steering the car round the track with assistance and that was a wonderful thing.
I think there is a real need for businesses to offer assistance to charities where they can and if you can pull together to support causes, that helps to bring your people together. The grant provided us with a comprehensive tool kit which means we can do maintenance work on our cars on site but also offsite on our track days. This has had an enormous impact on our provision and has drastically improved our capabilities.
There are a lot of people who now have treasured memories thanks to our track days. You see a lot of people leaving the day thinking, ‘ok, I’ve done this, now what else can I now achieve?’ And, really, that’s what this community grant has helped us to do. Thank you to Allan and to everyone at Ardonagh Community Trust for backing our charity, Speed of Sight.
Allan Farrimond, End Point Delivery Manager, IT at Swinton - part of The Ardonagh Group
I shouldn’t be here now, I should have died in 2004. I had a tumour and was given 18 months to live. I had an operation which I was given a 40% chance of surviving. I was lucky and came through it all. But during that time, I was helped by a number of people, and I suppose it was a real wake up call for me. I really wanted to help others, to give something back after my experience.
Last year a friend asked me if I would come along and help out at charity which offers driving experiences for people who might otherwise struggle to drive a vehicle. I’m a qualified mechanic so they thought I might be able to help fix up some of the vehicles which were getting on a bit.
When he mentioned the founder of the charity, I realised that I had worked with him 20 years previously. Mike is an incredible person, the first I heard about him was when he broke his land speed record. His ability to go out there and seize these opportunities not just for himself, but for others too, really tells you everything about him. There’s nothing that will hold him back and it’s a message he’s passionate about sharing with others.
Motorsports have always been a passion of mine and being able to support a charity in this way has been wonderful. When I help out at the track I get to see the looks on people’s faces as they take part. You realise that you are helping them to do something that they will remember for the rest of their lives. Being able to share in that enjoyment is so uplifting.
Having my company support the charity in this way shows it’s really thinking about the communities and everyone around it. When they told me that I had been successful in my grant application I was completely lost for words. I knew how much that would mean to the charity and that it would let them continue to help people access new-found levels of confidence. I would encourage everyone to apply for a community grant, it’s a very easy and wonderful way to help support some very worthwhile causes.
ACT Community Grants support charities Ardonagh colleagues care about
Ardonagh Community Trust (ACT), the registered charity of The Ardonagh Group, is here to support causes within local communities become better, brighter and stronger
Community grant applications are open to all colleagues across the Group worldwide to request up to £5,000 (or equivalent in local currency) of funding for a charity or a community project close to their heart.
