He Survived an IED. Then Had to Start Again | Steve McCulley

0:00And she kind of said to me, she goes, you need to know something. You're never going to race or compete at that level again. And she said, you also need to know your military career is over. And actually, it was the best thing that anyone could have said to me. It took me 48 hours to get my head around it. Then I immediately went, right, OK, what am I going to do?

0:17Alex Chisnall:Were there different options going through your mind or was it straight kind of reaching back into the past and going, this is what I'm passionate about? I wanted to run my own diary and be my own boss. I kind of came to the realisation that wasn't for me, that wasn't going to work. And I needed to do something myself. If you've got any chance of this being successful, it's got to be something I'm passionate about. If I'm not passionate about it, I'm just going to give up anyway because the failure rate is so high. I did go literally all in. Of course you knew it, I had prototype frames turning off.

0:43And I was spending my compensation money on bits. I'm like, well, I've got to make this work.

0:54Alex Chisnall:What stops founders from building something meaningful isn't the lack of ideas, it's the fear of getting started. I'm Alex Chisnell and this is Screw It Just Do It, the podcast for people who are ready to stop waiting, take action and make things happen. I guess there was, initially I had no choice in being medically discharged from the Marines because of my injuries. But early on in my rehabilitation journey, my first physio, she actually made it pretty clear that my military career was over, as was my sporting career. And I suppose it was at that moment where I had to decide what I was going to do myself.

1:32Do I follow the well-trodden path of finance into the city like a lot of officers do? Or do I screw it, just do it, set up my own business? So that's probably the first time using your mantra. I did that so we were crossing this river probably about 5-6 metres to the side going through the river and I was about 7th in line in the patrol 5 metre spacings in between each and as I was in the bottom of the riverbed two guys detonated, there was a command wire so they we now know they were targeting me specifically, they knew I was the commander so they were waiting for me and then they triggered it No.

2:14Yeah. So I'd had them in my sights kind of like a minute earlier. We knew that we were in an area where there was no civilians. But at that point, they didn't pose a threat. It's obviously under the rules of engagement.

2:26Alex Chisnall:Yeah, yeah. And then they did trigger. And we kind of, my company's second in command actually told me months later when I saw him that later that day, our electronic warfare guys had picked up insurgent communications saying that they'd killed the local ISAF commander. And so they kind of knew what they were doing. Yeah, yeah. And, you know, they obviously did a good job. Yeah. Thankfully, they didn't kill me, but they got pretty close. And you were, as you said earlier, you were induced into a coma. Yeah, so whereas luckily I didn't lose any limbs, mine was all down the right-hand side of my body, so right arm, big hole in my chest just under my armpit.

3:09So at the time, my arm was kind of back, which is probably how I didn't lose my arm. I think if my arm was forward to the side of me, it probably would have taken my arm off. Wow. I had a big hole in my chest. And then the body arm on my plate protected my lower torso, hole in my femur, fractured femur. And then I had a pistol on my right leg. So that saved a lot of my right leg. And then it kind of did it. So the shrapnel peppered me for kind of armpit, top of leg, through the knee. Yeah. It was my chest injury that was the worst. where it kind of torn through the rib cage, made a real mess of my insides.

3:45So I was full of shrapnel. They put me to sleep on the helicopter that picked me up. And they did initial operations in Camp Bastion and then decided, look, you know what, we've done what we can here. We'll just staple him together and put him in an induced coma and then let the UK deal with him when he got back. By that point, my body was, everything was in a pretty bad state. And I ended up going in and out. Well, I ended up being in an induced coma for three weeks in the end. And despite having all my limbs, I was, at the time, the most critical patient in Queen Elizabeth Hospital. No way. Guys with three limbs missing around me in intensive care.

4:30It was just because of what it had done to my insides.

4:33Alex Chisnall:And at what point did you, was it early on that you had a conversation with, I think it was one of the physios. And it's like, you know, what life looks like beyond this. And I think I had this, I was a bit delusional in the sense that I was going to get fit enough to go back and be back out with the guys in Afghan. And that initially really pushed me to kind of get better. I was chatting away saying, oh, well, I used to do triathlon and mountain biking and cycling for the Navy. And I used to do this and race nationally and this. And I'm a company commander and I'm going to do this. And she kind of said to me, she goes, you need to know something.

5:10She said, you're never going to race or compete at that level again. It probably wasn't quite as blunt as this, but this is how I remember it. And she said, you also need to know your military career is over. It certainly made me think. And actually, it was the best thing that anyone could have said to me. I don't think maybe she thought I could take it because I know a lot of guys, I think they struggled for a long time thinking they were still going to have a career. Whereas it took me 48 hours to get my head around it. And then I immediately went, right, okay, what am I going to do?

5:38Alex Chisnall:Did you? So from the first week of being at Headley Court, I was already thinking about, okay, what's next? It was the initial, you know, I had a young family. It was like, okay, I need to find something where I'm going to earn money. And it was, you know, okay, I started, you know, you start looking at London. You're like, okay, what am I going to do? And it's, you know, potentially, whatever it might be, business, consultancy, finance, that type of stuff. Because you do, you kind of think, actually, I need to earn money. What skill set have I got? Yeah, and what can I do? Well, it's leadership, it's management, it's that type of stuff.

6:09What is there? Yeah. And you start looking at that, you know, you kind of realise it involves, you know, wearing a suit, commuting, probably being on a train, long hours, not seeing your family. And I was like, you know what? Moreover, I wanted to run my own diary and be my own boss. I kind of came to the realisation that that wasn't for me, that wasn't going to work. And I needed to do something myself. And then that's how the idea evolved. You start reading all the business books and, you know, the stats, whatever it is. You know, 70 % of businesses fail in the first three years. And I thought, well, if I've got any chance of this being successful, it's got to be something I'm passionate about.

6:50If I'm not passionate about it, I'm just going to give up anyway because the failure rate is so high. What am I passionate about? Well, it was cycling, cycling industry. Can I do something? So the idea kind of evolved whilst I was in rehab. And I was lucky I had the time outside of the rehab, you know, the work you do. You kind of you'd finish at four. So you still in my hours in the day. And you also had that period in between your rehab sessions when you're back at home. So I'm like, well, I'm still getting paid here. Now is the time to try and set this up so that as and when I get medically discharged, hopefully the business is up and running.

7:25And I was lucky to kind of that's how it worked out.

7:27Alex Chisnall:So you went like literally all in on that, that one idea. Yeah, they weren't like a whole bunch of things that you were kind of juggling a few. No, no. And I think probably to the surprise of my wife at the time, I did go literally all in. Before she knew it, I had like prototype frames turning up, all sorts of stuff. And I was spending my compensation money on bits. And yeah, I think she was a bit like, well, yeah, this is like full on here. I'm like, well, I've got to make this work. And how did you get your first customers? Yeah, that was tricky. so I owe a lot to my first first ever customer she's now bought probably three or four bikes really it's that lifetime value of that customer yeah but it's more than that I will say her now I'm sure she won't mind Francie Clarkson, Jeremy's ex-wife and she was an incredible supporter of injured folk patron for Help for Heroes and when I was at Headley Court there was one of the exercise rehab instructors set up a team called Team True Spirit and he was getting loads of injured people to go and do an Ironman triathlon up in Bolton and there was a group of people there was all sorts of different injuries there was quite a few marine guys doing it and I couldn't because of my I wanted to be part of this but I couldn't so I said look I'll come along be a mechanic or drive the minibus or take photo and I did all that.

8:56And to raise the profile of the team, Mark Elliott, one of the founders, well, although there was Brendan and Emma Parry, but he was also kind of the third founder that they don't really talk about. But Mark Elliott's still working for Help for Heroes. And he kind of liaised with all the, I guess, the celebs and VIPs. He kind of reached out to Francie and said, oh, could you be part of this? And she helped raise the profile through her media contacts and so on. and she did the Ironman. Anyway, we're chatting away and she's like, so what's your story? And I told my story and this is at the point where I was just thinking about setting up the business but I'd had business cards made and everyone took the mickey out of me because I had business cards but no business.

9:39Alex Chisnall:And again, you go back and you think, what an idiot, you look like a complete... However, I always tell this story quite often. It was probably the best thing I ever did because I had a business card and I said to her, oh, this is me. This is what I'm doing. And she said, oh, I might buy a bike. I then go back into hospital for a month. It's kind of on the back burner for a bit. That was kind of the back end of the summer. Wind forward, I then had my operation August, September, back into recovery, January. I get this phone call, and it's Francie, and she's like, stupidly, I've signed up for another Ironman, and I'm thinking perhaps I need a new bike.

10:13Now, she probably didn't need a new bike. I think she was essentially wanting to help me out.

10:18Alex Chisnall:Do you? But I hadn't progressed the business idea anymore whatsoever. Oh, see, okay, yeah. And I was like, oh, right, okay. Well, you know, I had to go back into hospital and explain the whole story. And she's like, oh, right, well, you know, the events in July or whenever it was, you know, I'm keen. And I kind of thought, nah, she's just saying it. February, she's back. How's it going with the – I was like, shit, I'm going to have to do this. It's probably another screw it, just do it. and I was like, bugger, I need to get on with this because she wants a bike. And so that really pushed me. It's a real catalyst.

10:56Yeah, a real catalyst. A real catalyst. And she's the first ever customer. And she was really instrumental in introducing me to a very good friend of hers who when I launched the business, they had a design consultancy. They designed retail outlets for top brands, Gucci and so on. And they have a pop-up shop in Mariborne where they'd test products. They had a shop front on the high street. And they said, right, you can have that for a week. And God knows how much it would have cost.

11:25Alex Chisnall:I was going to say, Marlebone, yeah. And it's a big shop frontage and inside the whole lot. And that's where I launched. And then, yeah, so they, yeah, they were, that was my first customer and she, and we're still very good friends now. That's amazing. Do you think that that was literally like the breakthrough right at the very start or otherwise? yeah I think with everything that's a bit of luck but you've got to make the most of your luck as well thanks for listening and if today's episode has inspired you to take action why not take the next step come and meet me at the Festival of Entrepreneurs this November at the NEC in Birmingham you'll be able to meet many of the founders you've heard on this podcast along with hundreds of ambitious entrepreneurs from across the UK I'd love to see you there so just go to festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk to register for your free yes free ticket