When Nick met Lucas of Content with Media

When my friend, plant and machinery PR guru and the man behind Content with Media, Peter Haddock’s son Lucas asked his dad how Nick Drew became the Digger Man Blogger he said “Well, why don’t you ask him” and that is exactly what he did when we met at last years Engcon Dig Day event.

The DMB platform has come a long way since those early days where it originally started as simply the Digger Blog, primarily as just a bit of fun and a part time side line affair with the now defunct Contract Journal website. It was online editor Will Mann who gave me my first opportunity to do this amazing job, one for which I will always be eternally grateful.

When the recession hit back in 2009/10 Reed business publications decided to get out of the construction industry trade press, but the blog had been so successful, they kept it going for quite a while after Contract Journal had finished. However virtually overnight they eventually pulled the plug on that too. It was at that time that I took my blog to the pages of the Construction Index, where I remained until 2013.

As I mention in the video below, during my visit to New Holland in 2013, I was approached by Graham Black the long-time editor of Earthmovers Magazine who suggested that there could be a place for me at the magazine, of which I have been an avid reader since it first launched back in 2004. It was a daunting but extremely exciting proposition which I simply couldn’t turn down and as such I joined them sometime later, carrying on the blog which we renamed the Digger Man Blog to avoid confusion in the future. I continued to operate machines for a couple of years doing the blogging and journalism on the side, but in the end, it became to tricky to continue with both roles. At the end of the day employers want to see that “lump of meat in the seat” day after day and from my perspective it was unfair to mess them about, so I took the leap of faith into going full time. Admittedly there has been times when its been a struggle, you can earn a lot more money operating machines, but the experiences and opportunities that have come my way have been amazing and I have met some incredible people along the way in the main.

Anyway, checkout my informal video interview with Lucas, a young man who is going to go a long way in this industry over the coming years I’m sure! #cwmrespect