I quit my high-powered CEO job to be a lorry driver – the 12-hour days for weeks on end doesn’t phase me one bit
A MAN from Australia quit his lucrative job to become a full-time truck driver, and he says he has never been more peaceful.
Gregg Ross was acting CEO of a theatre company when he realised he was burned out from his high-flying corporate job.
The 72-year-old quit – and when his adult children asked what he is going to do next, he had a clear vision in mind.
Gregg told his kids: “I want to drive a bloody truck”.
He always fancied driving big motors, and wanted to sit behind the wheels of the biggest trucks on roads – which include multiple trailers.
He soon applied for a job of lorry driver, and got a trial chance for a two-week stint.
He got the job and now works 12 hours a day, for 14 days straight, before getting a week off.
However, Gregg is very happy with his career change as he gets to be his own boss.
He told The Guardian: “With this truck thing, they don’t own me.
“At the end of the shift, I turn the key and it’s somebody else’s responsibility.”
Most of the time he plays classical music of his choice in his cabin while driving, other times he just likes to be silent.
Either way, he says he likes where he is at.
“Sometimes I just want silence.
“If you’re doing a 300km round trip, the ability to think is wonderful. I’m very happy in my own company. I like who I am and where I’m at.”
Without the need to follow the white-collar culture of corporate jobs, Gregg let his hair grow out a bit – and says it makes him feel more alive, more free.
“And I love it. I let my hair down, I let my hair out.
“It is the best way to describe it.”
He isn’t the only person who made the switch.
Julie Kirkham, 46, from Oldham, quit her office job to become a lorry driver – and says she now gets more cash and more time with her kids.
And a former Miss England finalist quit modelling to pursue her dream job of driving 44-tonne lorries across the country