Way before it was a ‘thing’, I was a female working in a male dominated environment. I worked hard because I wanted to be there and I had to prove that I wasn’t there just for the attention. And it did get some attention, I declined radio interviews and other gigs as much as possible, because I didn’t think it was a big deal. Don’t get me wrong, I’m hanging for my time in the spotlight but I want to earn it for doing something amazing, not for having a vagina.
At 15 years of age I wrote to Porsche in Germany and asked them for a job – ok so I didn’t get one but I did get to do work experience at Porsche in Sydney and ended up doing my apprenticeship with BMW. My second day on the job we pulled the engine out of a 911 and I was in heaven. I have worked on Maserati, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Volkswagen and the most annoying Lada niva that kept coming back to haunt me!
I loved the hands on approach to mechanics and let’s be honest a bit of speed and sound of a revving engine gets me going too but it had nothing to do with gender. I may not be able to lift quite as much but I can spin a spanner just as fast.
tommy the travelling turtle 