"Not all heroes wear capes." This is so true... they sometimes wear fins too!
Lyndi Leggett wears fins, and to many she is an absolute superhero. A few years ago, sick of the corporate world Lyndi was trawling through social media and came across an article about David J Lawrence Sr and his son, Scuba Junior. Following surgery, David Jr was rendered disabled, paralyzed from the neck down. Today, albeit he is still paralyzed on one side, David Jr has regained use of his right side and leads a much more fulfilling life.
Lyndi reached out to David Sr asking what it would take for her to open a Scuba Gym in Australia.
The Scuba Gym Australia operates out of the Central Coast and provides diving possibilities for people with a vast array of disabilities. Throughout this episode Lyndi talks with passion about the successes of her divers so far (see below for links to the videos of those mentioned during the show) and what the future holds for The Scuba Gym.
The Scuba Gym is now a not-for-profit operation and Lyndi holds the golden ticket to the growth of it. Lyndi's dream is to see a Scuba Gym in every major city in Australia. Quite rightly so too.
If you would like to help Lyndi in any way possible then get in touch. You can email or send a message to Lyndi directly or through the show links and social media.
For those of you that would love to join the scuba gym but are not sure if you can. Lyndi has a qualified dive doctor who can talk to you about your disabilities and confirm if you can be authorised to get in the water and have a go at scuba diving. #getinvolved you'll love it!!
The scuba gym America
Nomadic Adventures is a registered Australian business and consists of the Scuba GOAT podcast and Nomadic Scuba, a travel booking agency specifically focused on scuba diving.
Are you a dive operation wishing to promote your business on the Scuba GOAT podcast and via Nomadic Scuba? If the answer is YES! then get in touch today via any of the media streams, email (info@nomadicscuba.com), or WhatsApp at +61499021920, and let's start getting creative and tell the world about your services.
Nomadic Scuba not only promotes operators but provides an online concierge service to divers wishing to travel. With our expansive network, we have the knowledge and know-how to organize your dream vacation so let's get planning!
Thanks for listening legends!
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00:00:00
Matt Waters: Hey there dive buddies and welcome to the show.
00:00:08
So this week we have an amazing guest coming on the show from
00:00:12
the Scuba gym and it is Lindy leggett. I met Lindy last week
00:00:17
at OZTek and was absolutely amazed at what she is doing. And
00:00:22
without hesitation, she was super keen to jump on the show.
00:00:25
So Lindy, welcome to the show. How you doing?
00:00:28
Lyndi Leggett: Thank you, man. Thank you for having me. This is
00:00:31
quite an honour.
00:00:32
Matt Waters: My pleasure. My pleasure, indeed. All right.
00:00:34
Well, let's, let's start right at the beginning and work how
00:00:38
did you get into diving?
00:00:41
Lyndi Leggett: Oh, wow,that far back. I was a water baby all my
00:00:46
life. I was always in the pool and the water playing around.
00:00:50
And once I had got out of corporate world for a break, I
00:00:54
overland through Africa on a big truck with 2526 crazy people. It
00:01:00
was a time of my life it was during that time as well. And I
00:01:02
found out that Scuba diving had actually become achievable and
00:01:06
affordable. Because it was when I was looking into doing it, it
00:01:10
was sort of a Navy SEAL kind of a thing that you you know, you
00:01:13
had to have a load of money or you had to be in Special Forces
00:01:16
to Scuba dive. So at the time that I found out about it, it
00:01:20
Patti had just made it recreational diving more
00:01:23
accessible and was getting the word out there. So I guess we
00:01:27
looked into it. As soon as I got back from Overland actually, I
00:01:29
looked into it. And incidentally, it was really
00:01:32
funny because once I decided to do it, all the mates in the
00:01:35
group, including Paul, we all jumped in. We all did.
00:01:40
Matt Waters: So this was a trip that you you did a trip with
00:01:42
Paul Toomer.
00:01:43
Lyndi Leggett: No, no, no, I was great mates with Paul Toomer
00:01:46
before we even got when he was driving around on his motorbike
00:01:50
across London delivering parcels for you know, in his courier
00:01:53
business, and then at night, we would go and watch him play in
00:01:56
the band, or, you know, we'd party every weekend together. He
00:01:59
was he's a great, great friend of mine before Scuba, even
00:02:02
Bloody hell.
00:02:03
Matt Waters: So So you. Let's take it even before the overland
00:02:07
through Africa. So you just mentioned you know, Paul, from
00:02:10
his days in London, so yes, you were corporate in London?
00:02:15
Lyndi Leggett: Yes, yes. So I left left home at 19 with a
00:02:17
backpack and never came home. I actually left Johannesburg,
00:02:20
which is which was my home address. And really weird story
00:02:25
is when I was in my teens, the house that we move to, when we
00:02:30
first moved to South Africa, we used to ride our bikes up and
00:02:33
down the sandy Park Sandy track, it was a shortcut that cars
00:02:36
would take to cut going all the way around the highway to get
00:02:39
around the hill, including my mom, she would take us to school
00:02:41
down the short term, the short, the short, short track. And on
00:02:46
days when we were like school holidays, or weekends, there was
00:02:51
this guy who was on his motorbike scrambling up and
00:02:54
down. You know who it is right? We found out years later when we
00:03:00
met in London, and we were comparing notes as to where we
00:03:02
lived. And he was like, oh, yeah, I used to get up and down
00:03:05
the little. It was you? Well, we
00:03:07
Matt Waters: were like kids watching you. It's an extremely
00:03:12
small world.
00:03:13
Lyndi Leggett: I know. Right? And well, I mean, the bond was
00:03:16
just, it just was such we had such fun in London, the whole
00:03:19
crew who who hung out together and then when we all got into
00:03:23
diving, it was so special because our holiday suddenly had
00:03:27
a focus on being underwater so we take all our gear we go to
00:03:30
Egypt we go you know all over the place together the Maldives.
00:03:34
We just had so much fun. It was it was great, great times. Oh,
00:03:38
cool.
00:03:39
Matt Waters: So did you get into diver before Paul?
00:03:41
Lyndi Leggett: No, we got in at the same time. So I got back
00:03:45
from Overland and I went Petey, I would be sick for some reason.
00:03:53
Then Paul became an instructor and I came back to Betty because
00:03:56
he crossed my eating cost me over I just retrained and and
00:03:59
got paid he was a bigger gig and because he had taken off with
00:04:03
it, I was like well I'm hanging out with my mate. I'm going to
00:04:05
petty route now. And since since then I've done all sorts so but
00:04:10
that's that some men this whole thing began.
00:04:14
Matt Waters: I got the gist that you guys knew each other, but I
00:04:16
didn't realise it was it was that far back. Oh, we got lots of
00:04:19
Lyndi Leggett: stories. Now all right now let's stick to diving.
00:04:25
Yeah.
00:04:27
Matt Waters: Yeah, brilliant. Brilliant.
00:04:29
Lyndi Leggett: Oh, he is he's a brilliant friend. Yeah.
00:04:31
Matt Waters: Okay, so you did London did an over trip in
00:04:36
Africa. And then while you get back to London and thing shot
00:04:39
this
00:04:40
Lyndi Leggett: conventional life. Yeah, career change. Let's
00:04:43
no longer programme computers, let's programme people. So that
00:04:47
was a career change into corporate training, which is
00:04:49
where I went career wise, and at the same time decided I'm going
00:04:53
to learn to dive that's going to be my my thing. And it certainly
00:04:57
is my thing has always been With a little gap for having children
00:05:02
and living in Seattle, which is pretty cold so, anyway, diving
00:05:09
was definitely is to this day, my place took my happy place.
00:05:15
What I do almost every day even when it's horrible outside
00:05:18
sometimes I still go out to work and die.
00:05:20
Matt Waters: Yeah, yeah. No Don't blame me for saying that.
00:05:22
I mean, I cried off I was I was almost gonna get in the water
00:05:25
yesterday. And was it two days? Two days ago? decided no, it's
00:05:31
not gonna be a good thing. It was crap conditions. We got
00:05:33
nothing but rain down here at the moment this insane Yeah,
00:05:37
anyway, digression there. So hold on. So. So we're done.
00:05:42
London, we're done. Right shot it. We're not gonna do a
00:05:45
conventional lifestyle anymore. We're going to do training.
00:05:47
People getting paged at how do you end up in Seattle. And
00:05:52
Lyndi Leggett: so my husband, I got him a job at Microsoft. I
00:05:54
was contracting at Microsoft. And he was he had moved over, we
00:05:58
got married, and he joined Microsoft. They loved what he
00:06:01
who he was. He's really good at what he did. And then we got
00:06:05
transferred. So Microsoft actually paid for us to move to
00:06:08
Redmond to Seattle, Redmond in Seattle, which is Microsoft
00:06:11
headquarters, where we live for three years. And I had our first
00:06:14
child. So my son, my son, who's now 14 Is our Captain America.
00:06:19
He was born in
00:06:22
Matt Waters: one. Yeah, how many kids you got? You got 2322
00:06:26
Lyndi Leggett: and two of my own and I have a bonus boy from from
00:06:29
Tim. His. His first child is 2425. Now so he truly is a
00:06:34
bonus. Boy, he's a beautiful human. Yeah.
00:06:37
Matt Waters: My son is 25 when I say that, yeah. Yeah. He's
00:06:43
taller than me as well. As a unit. Lovely fella. Wow. So
00:06:47
you've got one son who was born in America. And then so is it a
00:06:50
son or daughter, the other one
00:06:52
Lyndi Leggett: daughter who was born in, in cocoa in the bath.
00:06:57
Both of them would have been babies, but my son opted not to
00:07:00
but yeah, they see. I told you, what is my thing? Yeah, home
00:07:04
births both of them. So yeah. I know. Right. and I both Scuba
00:07:09
dive. That's the good thing about COVID because my daughter
00:07:11
was 10 when we had the first lockdown. And I said, right, you
00:07:15
go, get on to read, download the manuals and start reading. 10
00:07:20
years old.
00:07:21
Matt Waters: Brilliant. Brilliant. Yeah, absolutely. So
00:07:24
they're both and Herbie, is hobby still working for
00:07:27
Microsoft, because I've got some shit that he can sort out with
00:07:29
my outlook.
00:07:30
Lyndi Leggett: No, buddy.Take a ticket. By the way.
00:07:36
Matt Waters: Microsoft, it's a pain in the ass. Going great
00:07:40
guns at the moment. Cuz everyone keeps talking about merch for
00:07:42
this show. And, you know, and the network that's that's that
00:07:47
I've got and then building. It's all constantly building and
00:07:49
people saying I should do this should do that. And I just love
00:07:52
promoting other people's products. So I thought, You know
00:07:56
what, I'm going to jump on the bandwagon and just do an online
00:07:58
store and do some drop shipping, that kind of thing. So I'm
00:08:01
setting all that up at the moment. And got the got the
00:08:06
domain name, you know, for the website, and this morning, but
00:08:09
an email to go with it. So it all matches up. And it's quite
00:08:12
nice and pretty. But of course it goes through Outlook. So
00:08:15
there's the stumbling block. So I've got an email that I just
00:08:17
have no bloody clue how to fix it at the moment. Yeah, I'll
00:08:21
throw the Mac out the window. That'll probably help. Anyway,
00:08:26
digressing. Again. All right, yeah, you'll find that I do a
00:08:29
lot of tangents. That's great. So did Seattle. And then did you
00:08:35
go from Seattle to Australia? Or back to London first?
00:08:38
Lyndi Leggett: Yes. So we came back to live in Australia. My
00:08:42
husband is an Aussie. And we came back to live here with it
00:08:46
was, you know, grandparents, all of that stuff and an opportunity
00:08:51
to come back home at a good time. So we did that. And he
00:08:55
moved up, we moved up to the Central Coast, which is where
00:08:58
I'm based now. And when my kids were little, and that's when I
00:09:02
looked at corporate training and went well, you know, I've got
00:09:05
get on a train at six o'clock in the morning and get back at six
00:09:07
o'clock at night with two little children who I actually don't
00:09:10
want to leave all for all of that period of time to go back
00:09:14
into corporate world. Because I could only get gigs up at
00:09:17
Newcastle or down in Sydney to do the work that I do in the
00:09:20
corporate was in the corporate space. So I had I actually
00:09:24
watched the HMS Adelaide be Scotland and I had the idea
00:09:28
perhaps I should get back into diving. I was pretty qualified
00:09:31
already. I made it to rescue diver. So I convinced my husband
00:09:35
this would be a great opportunity for me to go into
00:09:39
diving and I walked into a couple of dive shops, one of the
00:09:42
owners, a good salesman that he is he gave me a whole lot of
00:09:46
bump about it all and I said if I become a dive master
00:09:49
instructor would you have three or four days a week for me? And
00:09:52
he said, Oh, absolutely. So I did. And then once I qualified I
00:09:55
walked in, I went right. What do you want me to do? And he looked
00:09:58
at me I said, Well, I've qualified now you got to pay Me,
00:10:01
I'm working. It was good. He did for a while and then Winter came
00:10:08
and he said, oh, so I don't have four days for you maybe one
00:10:13
winter we don't have clients I said what the hell up and he
00:10:15
just convinced this man, my husband this is good. So I, I'll
00:10:20
let you in on a little secret. I actually started a company
00:10:22
called Hell of a scrub and I dive under boats to this day and
00:10:26
clean them. Okay. Yeah. So how long have a scrub you might want
00:10:30
to
00:10:32
Matt Waters: scrub how good the scrub.
00:10:37
Lyndi Leggett: I tell my clients that you can tell your wife you
00:10:40
got to scrub it now. Not just any old scrub up. They love it.
00:10:45
They're mostly retired. I'm
00:10:46
Matt Waters: here so they love it. Does it does it what does it
00:10:48
pay? Well,
00:10:50
Lyndi Leggett: it does pays me to exercise pretty much every
00:10:53
day that I'm not in the pool with my Scuba gym clients. It's
00:10:56
not something I'm going to continue forever. But it was it
00:10:58
has certainly done done as well. And it built itself up really
00:11:02
from poor ranchette. Just talk. So that's how that grew. That's
00:11:07
why I'm in the water most days apart from today. It's filthy
00:11:09
out there today. And the wind is howling. So I just play it safe.
00:11:13
But yeah, so in just to cut to the chase, I was doing some
00:11:18
corporate training. It was a three day intensive leadership
00:11:21
programme that I was teaching every three or four months parts
00:11:24
of it as I became qualified as the only trainer in Australia to
00:11:27
teach this particular programme. The company was is called report
00:11:31
leadership. It was very intense training. In fact, it was the
00:11:34
trainer that I loved, how she trained was so impressive that I
00:11:38
wanted to rise to the occasion and step up and, and push myself
00:11:42
and saw this as an opportunity because there's only a was well
00:11:45
paid gig. But I it took a lot of learning. I mean, the script was
00:11:48
three days long, essentially, I had to learn it by heart. Yeah.
00:11:51
I'm not just a movie script that actors can learn, you know, a
00:11:55
couple of hours with the lines. No, this was three days. I'll
00:12:01
tell you something. Anyway, as I was, as I was going through that
00:12:06
it wasn't happening quick enough. The training wasn't
00:12:08
happening every month, it was happening every three or four
00:12:10
months. It was just taking a long time to qualify. I was just
00:12:13
about there. And the guy who was working for suddenly said he's
00:12:17
gone broke. Like you're kidding, anyway. But that's six months
00:12:23
before he came to me with that I had seen I've been putting it
00:12:26
out there as I do put it out there to the universe. I need
00:12:29
more. There's got to be doing more with my life. I can't be
00:12:32
waiting every three or four months to get a training gig.
00:12:35
This is not working for any of us. And that lo and behold up on
00:12:40
social media, can I see the video that David put together of
00:12:43
the Scuba gym? And I can't tell you how many times I've watched
00:12:45
it. It was that many? And then I messaged him and I said I love
00:12:50
what you do. Can we do that in Australia? Can we at least have
00:12:53
a conversation? And he said sure thinking you know she's in
00:12:58
Australia wants to do this and I rang him. I rang him at I don't
00:13:02
know, it was about 10 o'clock at night, Sydney time. And he
00:13:05
answered the phone. It was a Sunday night sort of being
00:13:07
Saturday morning for him and he answered the phone and I could
00:13:10
hear him saying to his wife Kim,
00:13:12
Matt Waters: it says trainee on the phone.
00:13:15
Lyndi Leggett: He was so excited. And and we bonded and
00:13:18
we called each other a lot and talked and talked and talked and
00:13:22
talked and then he said come over and I'll teach you what to
00:13:25
do because I said you know what medical qualification do I need
00:13:27
to do what you do? And he he said you don't? I figured it
00:13:32
out. Okay, let me backtrack because it's for those people
00:13:35
who haven't heard of the Scuba gym, and how amazing David and
00:13:38
his discoveries are about what we do underwater. His son became
00:13:44
a quadriplegic and 11. So my son when I heard about this, he was
00:13:47
12. And I heard about Scuba Jim. Yeah, no, he was 11. He was 11.
00:13:50
So David Jr. became a quadriplegic, and he living at a
00:13:55
growth on his brainstem right in the centre of the brain. life
00:13:58
threatening hex ever cut out at 11 Little kid, merican football
00:14:02
player, beautiful human, just came out of the operation
00:14:06
acquired, wow, that would just be dead. As you've got a child,
00:14:09
I would just destroy any family, Lauren's family, they rose up
00:14:16
and they did everything in their power to rehabilitate him to
00:14:19
make him whole again, and nothing was working. And his dad
00:14:23
knew about hyperbaric oxygen treatment. And we know that it's
00:14:26
good for burn victims. And we know that professional sports
00:14:30
woman and men use it, but it's very, very, very expensive. We
00:14:33
all know that as divers. In any country, it's very expensive. So
00:14:38
David just thought outside of the box and decided well, the
00:14:41
pool is a hyperbaric environment. So why don't I just
00:14:45
take him into the pool. So he did Imagine that 811 going into
00:14:49
a pool this is like 1213 years ago, so it was fairly new right
00:14:53
to take disabled people are not really that new but a
00:14:57
quadriplegic who's a kid Anyway, he took him in, he started
00:15:02
exercising him and he did a lot of work stimulating his nervous
00:15:05
system. And lo and behold, David Jr. Now walks. So from being
00:15:08
labelled a quadriplegic he walks drives a car. Yeah. Yeah, that's
00:15:14
what I see in this video. It reacted the same way. Oh, you
00:15:16
should I want to do that. How do we how do we do that? Is that do
00:15:20
I need medical training? Because if I do the I'm not very
00:15:22
patient. I don't think I would last at university. Just not at
00:15:28
all. And David said, No, I figured it out. I learned and I
00:15:31
can teach you. I said, Okay, game on,
00:15:34
Matt Waters: let's do this. Yeah. Holy crow.
00:15:37
Lyndi Leggett: Think about when you've been teaching a
00:15:39
leadership programme, and you've been teaching people to step out
00:15:41
of their comfort zone and to take action and to have courage
00:15:45
and to have conviction, you then have to do it yourself.
00:15:47
Matt Waters: Yeah. Yeah, that's the scary
00:15:52
Lyndi Leggett: just the trainer, but actually do it in your own
00:15:54
life. It was like, Oh, my turn. Okay. Yeah.
00:15:58
Matt Waters: So what was his name? Again? Sorry, the founder,
00:16:01
date, David Lawrence, David. And when? When did when did David
00:16:05
what year? Did David Shut up?
00:16:08
Lyndi Leggett: Was that 2018 2008? She sounds around about
00:16:14
them
00:16:14
Matt Waters: shaping going a good 10 or 11 years or something
00:16:17
like that before? Yes. Yes.
00:16:18
Lyndi Leggett: So he's got he's hasn't just helped his son. He's
00:16:21
helped a lot of people. Yeah. He came from an IT background as
00:16:25
well. And he knew he couldn't go back to it. He knew it to do
00:16:27
this for the rest of his life. Yeah. So the benefits of being
00:16:31
he's found also, we haven't helped people to walk against
00:16:36
we've had stupid things like COVID happening, which have
00:16:39
locked us out of the pool. But we've had amazing stuff
00:16:42
happening in our Scuba gym in a really relatively short space of
00:16:44
time, for me is profound, and it keeps me going every every week
00:16:50
back to do it. And you know, when you have those moments of
00:16:52
what the hell, I've only got one person because everyone else was
00:16:55
cancelled because they're all sick or something's happened to
00:16:57
go, why am I doing this?
00:16:59
Matt Waters: No, you're doing a fucking marvellous thing. You
00:17:01
really are.
00:17:03
Lyndi Leggett: Thank you, buddy. Yeah, pretty exciting.
00:17:06
quadrupole, quadruple amputee, who's been emailing me a few
00:17:11
times, which would be odd. He's an amputee, how was he supposed
00:17:14
to email me? He sent me a message saying, I've just passed
00:17:18
my dark medical, we better book a date. I'm like, Oh, this is so
00:17:21
exciting.
00:17:25
Matt Waters: You know, what I didn't ask was clearly your
00:17:29
buddies with Paul, are you doing anything with raid? A raid?
00:17:32
Because they've they've jumped on board with depth therapy as
00:17:35
well? No.
00:17:36
Lyndi Leggett: Yes. So I'm Paul and I have to get together. So I
00:17:42
little inside secret, as I teach, mostly read. I do a
00:17:47
little bit of naui. But I teach mostly read, I know, I'm Patty
00:17:50
and SSI instructor, but I actually don't continue my
00:17:53
professional subscription to them across the fortune if I had
00:17:56
four. And I actually prefer raid to all of them. Not because of
00:18:02
Paul, although he has a lot of influence in my life. But
00:18:05
because of the flexibility and the teaching around it. Yes,
00:18:10
some skills that they have updated, which makes sense to
00:18:13
me. And there's some that are flexible, which should be
00:18:17
flexible. Whereas Paddy is this, this, this and this and you tick
00:18:21
boxes and away you go and exercise very much the same. Now
00:18:25
is very much more detailed. I found course. Which is good.
00:18:29
Which is but it's hard to get detail on a four day course.
00:18:33
Yeah. Even even with regard to some of the right stuff, it's
00:18:39
it's having the flexibility to be able to say okay, we're going
00:18:43
to come back and we're going to revisit that you've you've the
00:18:45
core skills, your great diver, some of these other things that
00:18:48
are extra we're going to revisit in your next course. And I think
00:18:53
that's a better approach. As a trainer, yeah. In terms of
00:18:57
retention, people need to be able to retain the core stuff,
00:19:01
not be overwhelmed with all of it.
00:19:04
Matt Waters: That's the thing. And I had this I had a very
00:19:06
similar discussion with Jeffrey Glen chopper when he was on the
00:19:11
show a few months back. And he's he's a extremely good
00:19:16
instructor, tech instructor. And the reason that he's good is
00:19:21
that he's the he's doing more or less exactly what you're doing.
00:19:25
And as an instructor you develop the skills, your own teaching
00:19:29
skills, from those standards and experiences and requirements
00:19:34
from the training agencies that you're affiliated to. You can
00:19:37
find that that that little gem that's really good to use in
00:19:41
PADI and SSI and now in and raid, and there might all be
00:19:45
little different gems but that makes a better instructor and a
00:19:49
better course for you, your student. I got again when it was
00:19:54
time to backtrack a little bit here but you just mentioned
00:19:56
about watching the videos and same progression with with
00:19:59
people Have that young lad that you've got at Versailles. His
00:20:04
video is amazing.
00:20:06
Lyndi Leggett: And his anxiety makes me cry when he came to us.
00:20:08
He's moved into inland now but when he he would ring me up out
00:20:12
of the blue and say Lindy I can click my fingers. I can click my
00:20:17
fingers. Yes. And he got so excited. And I was just Well,
00:20:23
Matt Waters: yeah, so just for those people who are listening,
00:20:25
because they're not gonna have a clue whose desires do you might
00:20:29
give him a bit of a background on his story?
00:20:31
Lyndi Leggett: Sure. So as I came to us, he was 11. So he was
00:20:34
our youngest diver. So all of our clients will call divers
00:20:37
because if they do the dive, and die has hip Tonia. So hip, Tony,
00:20:42
for those who don't know, is pretty unfair, really. I mean,
00:20:46
all illnesses are at this one is not very, very nice for a little
00:20:49
fellow. It's his connective tissue isn't like ours. So when
00:20:52
he runs, his arms are a bit floppy. When he plays, he said,
00:20:56
He's dislocated his knee and his shoulders that many times he
00:20:58
said he had had seven or eight operations on his knee when he
00:21:02
came to us, you know, whopping great scar that they keep
00:21:05
opening up. And so his mom said, I just want to give it a go. I
00:21:09
just want to see how it looks like this might be good for him.
00:21:13
I said, Okay.
00:21:14
Matt Waters: Well, let's, let's just point out that, you know,
00:21:17
you say about him, dislocated his knee. That was simply by
00:21:21
walking. The dislocations were occurring was no.
00:21:24
Lyndi Leggett: Yeah, walking, playing with his mates in the in
00:21:26
the in school grounds. So you just, you just can't play like a
00:21:31
regular kid? Because he hates himself. Yeah. Yeah. And because
00:21:34
of this connective tissue problem, then it just and the
00:21:37
doctors said that if he doesn't get some kind of help, he's
00:21:41
going to end up in a chair. By the time he's 16. Yeah. Which
00:21:45
isn't a very nice prognosis for someone who's only just really
00:21:48
beginning life, exactly. And becoming a teenager. So when he
00:21:52
came to us, he came on the first week. And then and it took a
00:21:55
while to get in as most of them do, we, our first session with
00:21:58
any person is an hour and a half just to settle them in, get them
00:22:02
geared up, talk it all through, etc. And then get under water
00:22:04
and see how they present their diagnosis and see how they adapt
00:22:09
and work with the exercises we give. We get them to do. So he
00:22:14
loved it. Afterwards, he had an ice cream and he was just full
00:22:17
of he was you know what was really special as, as you know,
00:22:21
that 90% of the population are terrified of going underwater.
00:22:25
So for somebody who's got a diagnosis that is not very nice.
00:22:30
Whether it's autism or hip, hip Tonia, or MS, or any of them.
00:22:35
It's pretty incredible to go back into your world and say
00:22:38
I've been Scuba diving. The lift for them is huge, just to be
00:22:43
able to say that his brother had never done it. His brother was
00:22:46
much older than him. And he was like, Hey, I've been Scuba
00:22:48
diving way. And that's, and that's cool. It's so cool. And
00:22:52
he loved it. And he had a there was two weeks before he came
00:22:55
back because he was coming during school. So he would come
00:22:58
just before school at nine o'clock appointment, and then he
00:23:00
off to school. And so there were two weeks, and then he came
00:23:03
back. And then he went to his knee surgeon and the knee. So
00:23:05
you only been to us for two sessions. And the knee surgeon
00:23:09
looked at his knee and said, What have you been doing? And in
00:23:11
the video, his mom explains his mom says exactly what I'm going
00:23:15
to tell you. She said we've been to Scuba therapy. And he said,
00:23:18
Well, what is that? And she explained and he said, Well, you
00:23:21
got to keep doing it because we're not going to do his knee
00:23:23
operation. He had seen that much change meant that much change in
00:23:26
his knee that he put off his surgery for a year and said
00:23:29
we'll wait a year and see what happens. That's amazing.
00:23:32
Amazing. It was amazing. Because then not only did his knees
00:23:35
start healing itself, but then then he rang up and he said that
00:23:39
he could click his fingers. And then he told me that he could
00:23:41
like one of those dreadful candles that you have to pull
00:23:45
and click. I mean, it's like
00:23:47
Matt Waters: the most people the to trigger lighter. That's right.
00:23:51
Lyndi Leggett: And he was so excited. He could light the
00:23:52
candle. Yeah. Wow. Yeah, that's, that was I and he was he was 11.
00:23:58
When he came to us. He's sadly moved inland now so he's not got
00:24:01
access to our therapy anymore. But of course when lockdown
00:24:05
happened, he went backwards immediately. Yeah, they've
00:24:07
ordered which was really sad. So we starting again. That's okay.
00:24:10
This was starting again. But yeah, we had lots of stories.
00:24:16
Lots of stories. Yeah.
00:24:18
Matt Waters: And what was he going to say has gone inland?
00:24:21
Has he gone?
00:24:22
Lyndi Leggett: Somebody made up of?
00:24:24
Matt Waters: Oh, wow. Okay, so,
00:24:27
Lyndi Leggett: Mama dad moved. Yeah. So this Adam, Adam has
00:24:30
Spinal Bifida Adam walks on crutches. He drives a car. He's
00:24:35
pretty mobile. When he gets tired, he will use his chair.
00:24:38
And he came to us regularly like every week once he got into it,
00:24:40
he loved it. I think the social side of it as well helped Adam
00:24:43
big time. You would be in his late 30s. I would if I remember
00:24:47
correctly. And I said to him after months of coming at him
00:24:50
what's changed for you, buddy? Come on, give me something I
00:24:53
need to know. Like, give me Have you had any benefit from coming
00:24:57
other than our beautiful company? He said, Oh, I can cut
00:25:05
my food. I've been able to cut my foods for about five years.
00:25:09
Oh, wow, what? He goes, Yeah, that's pretty exciting. So I
00:25:16
know right, you have to stop and think about that for a minute go.
00:25:19
Matt Waters: Um, I'm literally just thinking about, I'll tell
00:25:21
you what I'm thinking is the fact that these guys and ladies
00:25:26
are in water, and that weightlessness is just giving
00:25:30
them the freedom to be able to move the limbs that would
00:25:34
probably get injured or cause some sort of injury.
00:25:38
Lyndi Leggett: So the water helps. Absolutely. So for those
00:25:43
who are mobile, the exercises we get them to do. Disguised as
00:25:49
fun, yeah, we have a, we have a lot of fun. Of course, there's
00:25:55
kettlebells, and of course, his dumbbells. And there's stuff
00:25:58
that we would expect in a gym. But there's a lot of fun that we
00:26:02
have on the water. And if you hide the fact that there's
00:26:05
something clever going on in the background with a bit of fun,
00:26:09
then magic happens. I'm telling you, magic happens. And what's
00:26:13
really cool about the results that we've we've had is that we
00:26:17
didn't expect them, like you want someone to walk again. But
00:26:20
when somebody tells when Adam said, I've cut my food, I had no
00:26:23
idea that he couldn't cut his food. So for him to tell me that
00:26:26
was huge. There was a massive and then Megan with the cat
00:26:29
jumping on her lap, and suddenly she's stroking it, she hasn't
00:26:31
been able to strike a cat for three or four years. Now the cat
00:26:34
now she's stroking the cat and she just looks at Kara and says
00:26:38
you've got to find in the video and this and send the video. I'm
00:26:40
stroking my cat.
00:26:41
Matt Waters: And Megan is the lady that's in a wheelchair.
00:26:44
Lyndi Leggett: She's the lady with MS is a lovely story about
00:26:47
Megan and how her lung function improved just from what we do
00:26:52
with her underwater. So her physio gave her a spirometer
00:26:56
spirometer you got to second it lifts the balls, there's three
00:26:58
balls in three different tubes. And depending on how strong your
00:27:01
lungs are, you can usually get three balls up in the air. She
00:27:05
couldn't even get one in the air when she first started one.
00:27:09
Yeah. So she would talk, talk, talk, talk and then stop and
00:27:12
breathe. And then carry on so mid sentence.
00:27:15
Matt Waters: So she had run out of breath, out of breath.
00:27:19
Lyndi Leggett: And she and her voice was softer. So as soon as
00:27:22
she started working out with us, you could hear her improving
00:27:24
just by the way she spoke. Yeah, you could just hear she had more
00:27:27
presence. She had a you know, she had a full a lung capacity.
00:27:32
Which just that in itself met like if you're getting more
00:27:35
oxygen in your body. Yeah, that's gonna happen.
00:27:38
Matt Waters: 100% There's no way around it.
00:27:41
Lyndi Leggett: Yeah, so and for her. I mean, she got every time
00:27:45
she came. She got out of her chair and now she's walking. I
00:27:48
know she's, she's got MS. She for those people who don't know
00:27:52
the story. Megan has multiple sclerosis and has a lesion on a
00:27:55
spine upon around the C three C four area on the spine, which
00:27:59
makes her and a quadriplegic. She has minimum tiny bit of
00:28:03
movement in her left hand only and a frozen shoulder her left
00:28:06
shoulder is frozen. So her right arm isn't frozen. So we can we
00:28:10
can move it around. But she can't. Okay. He has. She had
00:28:13
very minimal movement in the right side. Her left side she
00:28:16
had she could tap numbers on her phone. But she couldn't put her
00:28:20
hand to mouth. Right. And her shoulder being frozen. She
00:28:25
couldn't move that either. So. And MS is as we know, there's no
00:28:31
cure for it. Yeah, but what we did find everyone's waiting to
00:28:40
hear what I'm going to say. We're used to we got to do a
00:28:45
whole bunch of exercises and we got to so we walked her legs. We
00:28:49
moved her underwater. So from sitting all day in a chair from
00:28:53
having three carers around her two of whom had to hold her in
00:28:56
place while they dressed her on a sitting on her bed. They had
00:28:59
to hold us to sit in a bed after working with us. She was holding
00:29:02
herself up by herself. So that means her core had kicked in.
00:29:08
Yeah, right. So all of her core had now kicked in and well,
00:29:14
that's massive in itself. Now on the lung function that's now
00:29:17
working as well. There were other things I'm not going to
00:29:20
say but one pretty cool thing was the cat. So we got it to do
00:29:25
press ups. This took time, right? It's not overnight. We
00:29:28
got to doing press ups on kettlebells. So we have heavy
00:29:30
kettlebells and we hold her feet and she has to do the work with
00:29:33
a little bit of help but she does the work. And that combined
00:29:37
with moving her hands up a hockey stick, okay, because we
00:29:41
play with the autistic people underwater with hockey sticks
00:29:44
and all sorts of fun stuff. And so we use these props for
00:29:47
everyone. And she was doing this really hard work to get it up
00:29:51
and I gave her a squishy. Like of those brain balls they
00:29:54
squeeze. So of course it's squishy in and they float. And I
00:29:58
had a just to work dexterity in her hands and to get them
00:30:01
muscles moving from one to another. She was putting the
00:30:03
ball from one hand into the other, one hand into the other
00:30:06
by herself. I'm standing behind a camera filming this. The video
00:30:09
is on the YouTube, our YouTube channel so people can see it for
00:30:12
themselves. She let go of the ball, and the ball rolled up her
00:30:18
chest, and she automatically caught it. She's a quadriplegic
00:30:24
man. She's not supposed to be able to do that. She's not that
00:30:27
she's a quadriplegic. How's that? How's it how did she catch
00:30:30
the ball once she wasn't even looking? It's like a natural
00:30:32
reaction that you I would have done because everybody, it was
00:30:35
just an instant grab. She did exactly that, which tells me,
00:30:39
which tells everyone if you're paying attention, the neuro the
00:30:42
nervous system is so complex. No one knows really what's going on
00:30:45
in it. Yeah. And when her professor heard who's her
00:30:49
neurologist, I actually met him through COVID. It was it's a
00:30:53
weird story, but I actually met him and I said to him after the
00:30:56
appointment, my son have to go and see him he's it's quite
00:31:00
actually, it's a funny story. So I'll tell you locked down, did
00:31:02
my son's knee and he said, playing X Box weird on his chair
00:31:06
for so long that he got dropped foot 12 or 1313 year olds are
00:31:10
not supposed to have dropped foot. That's like an old age old.
00:31:14
Matt Waters: What the hell is drop foot?
00:31:15
Lyndi Leggett: So he could when he walked, he couldn't lift his
00:31:18
foot up. So he it was his left foot so he could move it left,
00:31:22
right down, but he couldn't lift it up. So he would drag it.
00:31:26
Okay, what the hell? Why don't you lifting it up? So all sorts
00:31:31
of people went see all sorts of X rays. Eventually we get into
00:31:34
see Professor heard his neurologist, and he jabs him in
00:31:37
the knee and goes, Yep, you got drop foot, it'll come back now,
00:31:40
don't worry, we got to just exercise and so and then funny.
00:31:44
At the end of the appointment, I said, Professor hood, I'm an MD,
00:31:47
from the Scuba gym, your clients are my clients, we've got a few
00:31:50
in common. And he looked at me, of course, it was the days when
00:31:53
we had to wear masks. Whatever you're doing, keep doing it,
00:31:58
because it's working. This is the Professor of Neurology
00:32:03
telling me that. I thanks. Did everyone hear that?
00:32:07
Matt Waters: What? Why isn't? Why isn't this so many other
00:32:10
places that are doing this as well then?
00:32:12
Lyndi Leggett: Good question, you know, out of the box mat.
00:32:15
Matt Waters: It is it is out of the box, but surely they've been
00:32:17
using, you know, aquatic kind of therapy.
00:32:21
Lyndi Leggett: Well, the, the I don't know the trick, but the
00:32:26
what David did was say okay, let's just use the gear. So we
00:32:30
have a so people ask, it's diving, I'd surely I need a
00:32:34
medical? Oh, absolutely you do. Because you need a medical
00:32:37
you're coming into the pool. If you're having seizures, we
00:32:39
absolutely need to know that before we let you in the pool.
00:32:42
And you will have to have a doctor signing off to just
00:32:44
follow it. So not everyone will need a doctor to sign them off.
00:32:47
We have a diver medical that is all approved. We have our own
00:32:51
diver doctor who is based in Arizona. And he if I need to
00:32:55
refer anyone on or if I need to ask him questions. He has said
00:32:58
to me, call me email me ask anything. Just that's how cool
00:33:03
this guy is. He's a wonderful man. And so if I need help, or
00:33:08
and that's he's amazing, amazing guy. specifically trained dive
00:33:13
doctor. Some people will go off and see their own doctors and
00:33:16
get signed off. So that is a dive medical. Where was I going
00:33:19
with this?
00:33:21
Matt Waters: What? Why other?
00:33:24
Lyndi Leggett: Oh, that's right. So because it's taking, it's
00:33:28
using Scuba gear.
00:33:30
Matt Waters: Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So aqua aerobics. Yeah.
00:33:35
Lyndi Leggett: It's hydrotherapy on steroids. As one of my physio
00:33:39
team members said to me once, yes, this is high hydrotherapy
00:33:43
on steroids. Yeah. And the end because it's combining two
00:33:47
things, one Scuba gear so that we don't teach them. So we give
00:33:50
them the rundown. We give them the we have the conversation
00:33:54
about so you can't move your arms. So we get to watch you and
00:33:59
we get to dive for you. So we get to do a few signals. If you
00:34:03
want to go up, you move your eyes up or your head. Yeah. So
00:34:06
communication is very limited. As you know, it's even worse
00:34:09
when you got people who can't give you hand signals. Yeah,
00:34:12
yeah. And go on. And those people who need to have someone
00:34:19
staring at them all the time that we are underwater, so if
00:34:22
I'm working on their legs, or their or their arms, or usually
00:34:25
their legs and feet that I work on, I have to know that the team
00:34:29
person say you, for example, if you came to help me, or watching
00:34:32
them like a hawk to make sure that regulator stays in or if
00:34:35
they've got a full face mask, and they've got cerebral palsy,
00:34:38
like our client chairs, that, that that full face mask doesn't
00:34:42
leak. Yes, it's black. So we can't tell we can't she can't
00:34:46
signal to us other than look up. Yeah, I want to go up and then
00:34:49
we've got to rip that thing off real quick. If it is leaking.
00:34:52
Now, let's never happen Touchwood it never does. But
00:34:54
these are all things we got to consider. And that's why what
00:34:57
could be one of the reasons why people haven't done it before.
00:34:59
They haven't put two and two together like David, hang on
00:35:02
hyperbaric. Let's check them in the water. And then let's
00:35:06
combine a few things that stimulate the nerves. This Let's
00:35:08
exercise and let's. So I have come back from a accelerated
00:35:13
learning background as well. Personal Development, for me was
00:35:15
always a big thing in my life, I always ask the questions of the
00:35:18
world. And one of the gigs that I did was working overseas in
00:35:22
the UK when I would live there. I taught kids accelerated
00:35:24
learning skills. So it's not teaching them as in school, but
00:35:26
although we went into schools, we would teach them a programme
00:35:29
in schools that taught them about their brain and how the
00:35:32
left on the right side talks to each other. And some of those
00:35:34
techniques I use underwater, okay, because why not,
00:35:38
especially with the cognitive people. So we like juggling.
00:35:43
It's so cool to juggle balls takes so long to come down. You
00:35:46
can really get it. Yeah. Even the game of noughts and crosses
00:35:52
on a slate. Yeah. That's not even accelerated learning. But
00:35:56
it's still fun to play with some of our autism clients. Because I
00:35:59
love it. Yeah.
00:36:01
Matt Waters: It's like decode stop stuff.
00:36:02
Lyndi Leggett: Yeah, yeah, exactly. Exactly what you do on
00:36:05
DECA? Yeah.
00:36:06
Matt Waters: So just just going back to the medical side of
00:36:09
things. First thing that popped into mind there as well, was
00:36:15
that the possibilities that not many people using Scuba diving
00:36:19
in therapy, is that they're just under the assumption that it's
00:36:22
too dangerous and can't do it. Correct. Yeah. Sport, so well
00:36:28
done for ignoring that hurdle. And just getting on with it.
00:36:32
Lyndi Leggett: It was David I followed his lead. I'm, you
00:36:35
know, sitting on the shoulders of giants, to be honest, he he
00:36:38
went to naui. Because we have to be now he certified instructors
00:36:42
to run Scuba gym here. And he went to know and worked with
00:36:46
them. That's who he had trained with already said he really was
00:36:49
in the naui system. But now he, because of the results he got
00:36:52
with his son, they listened. And then he then so then he set up
00:36:58
the processes. We've got agreements with now in place
00:37:01
that allow us to do what we do. Plus agreements with doctors,
00:37:06
and the red tape in Australia is insane. So I found a way
00:37:11
through, and here we are, okay.
00:37:20
Matt Waters: I'm just trying to wrap my brain around everything
00:37:22
we've just spoken about. It's just saying, in a good way, in a
00:37:25
good way, it's a great way. Yeah,
00:37:28
Lyndi Leggett: I can tell you some more stories if you while
00:37:30
you're wrapping your head around it.
00:37:35
Matt Waters: Well, what about the equipment? I mean, you've
00:37:37
just mentioned or we've just spoken about, you know, the
00:37:40
hazards, especially with the regulator, do you use Nicolas
00:37:44
Cage or just just standard regulator, centre
00:37:47
Lyndi Leggett: regulator all we have a full face mask that I use
00:37:51
only, only if my cerebral palsy clients really can't keep that
00:37:56
rig in? So the thing about what we do is we always pushing
00:38:00
people to improve the mind and body. And if you get your mind
00:38:05
on board, the body will come along to the party, as we've
00:38:10
seen so many times. And dare I bring the idea of walking on
00:38:15
fire as an example, you get convinced your mind you're not
00:38:18
going to be on your feet, and you won't I know, because I've
00:38:20
done it several times. Yeah. So if you get people underwater to
00:38:23
believe that they can put their hands flat when they are like
00:38:27
this. They they will eventually Yeah. And that's what we've
00:38:32
found by just constantly pushing them. So the full face mask is
00:38:36
great for those who are new, who need to use it. But we really
00:38:41
want to get them on the ladder, because then we get them using
00:38:43
their jaw biting and not going back to the old ways.
00:38:47
Matt Waters: Yeah, yeah. So do you get to the physios and stuff
00:38:53
like that refer their clients to you or as
00:38:56
Lyndi Leggett: they do? Okay. They do. We have had interest
00:39:00
from physios. We have had a gentleman who came to help us
00:39:04
one of so I mentioned our team are incredible. I couldn't do
00:39:07
what I do without the help of the volunteers who are all
00:39:10
qualified divers who come to help and if they're not
00:39:12
qualified, they're on deck and now first aid trained. So we
00:39:17
have so that in itself is pretty special, to have physios come
00:39:22
and say I'm a diver and I'd love to help and then to go. Wow.
00:39:27
Okay, yeah, we could, there's plenty to do here. One of the
00:39:30
friends who's a who's a physio from she qualified in Holland,
00:39:35
her qualification because this is Australia. So she, she wasn't
00:39:43
allowed to practice without re qualifying to some crazy degree.
00:39:47
So I said, Well, what if I teach you to dive Will you come and be
00:39:51
underwater with us? And she said, Yeah, hell yeah. So she's,
00:39:54
she's been helping us underwater as a physio and I have taught
00:39:57
her to dive and it's amazing because then she Things First
00:40:01
off to the to the party as well which is extra, which is
00:40:04
brilliant. But we have had physios in the past and up in
00:40:08
Newcastle wanting us to run programmes up there. It's just a
00:40:12
it's just a matter of getting enough clients for us to travel
00:40:14
up the road to get to Newcastle. Yeah,
00:40:16
Matt Waters: the logistics, I suppose. What's it what's the
00:40:18
what's that lady's name? The physio.
00:40:22
Lyndi Leggett: Oh, I'm here from Holland is mica
00:40:24
Matt Waters: Mica? Shout out, shout out to Mica. Wow. So you
00:40:33
set up in 2019 2018.
00:40:37
Lyndi Leggett: We started in in April 2019 actually in the pool.
00:40:41
So I went over to the US as it turned out, I had one last trip
00:40:44
out there. And with the leadership training on our tag
00:40:47
time on the end to go and see David and his family, meet Jr.
00:40:51
and meet the naui team, meet all the people just be in the water
00:40:54
be in the Scuba gym in energy, and absorb as much as I could
00:40:59
while I was there. And it was amazing. It was a great, great
00:41:01
time was fabulous to be able to give all of the family a big hug
00:41:05
and thank Jr for taking one huge hit for the team because he's
00:41:09
done. He's I mean, because of what he's happened to him. He's
00:41:12
changed the lives of everyone through his mom and dad's work.
00:41:14
So it's incredible. Yeah, there's so many people who've
00:41:16
benefited from this and will continue to because of you know,
00:41:20
people like me crazy to go on continue to stuff.
00:41:26
Matt Waters: It is yeah, there's one thing that we haven't
00:41:28
pointed out yet as well is that you know, we tried to get this
00:41:32
recording done and and ad for Monday just gone. But because it
00:41:38
was Mental Health Awareness Day, but the mental health of your
00:41:44
clients divers bodies, must be remarkable.
00:41:51
Lyndi Leggett: It is. And just on that note, we've actually
00:41:54
just used this last lockdown time to put together a Scuba
00:41:57
warrior programme. So that is specifically for people with
00:42:01
anxiety or post traumatic stress. And it's not a disorder.
00:42:05
It's just post traumatic stress. It's a different approach to
00:42:08
dealing with it that we've taken on. And it's only well it's
00:42:13
because I know people with post traumatic stress I live have
00:42:18
experienced being a child of a veteran. My dad never came home
00:42:22
with PTSD. But my uncle did. And it was it was in my face until I
00:42:28
understood really what was going on. And that was only not that
00:42:31
long ago. I was like, Wow, no wonder porn. Carell was grumpy
00:42:37
with kids, and we never moved. Never move anything out of place
00:42:41
because you would lose it. And now I know why he had not he's
00:42:44
had nightmares every night he was ambushed. So my uncle was
00:42:47
ambushed. I don't know if I told you the story does take and his
00:42:50
jaw was almost entirely blown off. So Zimbabwean it was
00:42:55
through this and Bob, we survived. We were my dad served
00:42:58
as a military policeman and my uncle served as well in a
00:43:00
different, different area. And Uncle rouse jaw is almost blown
00:43:05
off. His voice box was shattered. The doctor said he
00:43:07
would never speak again. He said that he's written up a story
00:43:10
about it. And he said in his story that he was holding his
00:43:13
jaw in place as they were putting him on a stretcher and
00:43:16
loading him into helicopters. And he was saying praise message
00:43:20
that had nothing left that's holding his jaw in case you've
00:43:24
covered in blood. Throat Oh god. I remember seeing him he had you
00:43:29
know that in like platoon and those sorts of movies where
00:43:31
they've just got a hole here and around the throat for the voice
00:43:32
box and everything else has bandaged up, their whole throat
00:43:37
has bandaged up and he couldn't speak he was writing in
00:43:42
hospital. I remember seeing him and he was he was writing. And
00:43:45
my two cousins his two boys. Gosh, they were they were young
00:43:48
when that happened. That was in 1977 on the 23rd of November
00:43:51
1977. That's when that happened. And sadly the point about the
00:43:56
reason I tell you the story is because trauma doesn't just
00:43:58
affect the person who it has happened to. It affects the
00:44:03
whole family. And people don't understand that a lot of people
00:44:06
don't, especially Australians, because they've never had a war
00:44:09
on their own land. They've always gone off to war to other
00:44:13
countries. We've never had one here. So people it's not in
00:44:16
their face enough to understand how our veterans and these
00:44:21
people who serve, suffer and struggle and how it affects
00:44:24
their whole tribe, their group their family. The ripple in the
00:44:29
pond is amazing to prove that my uncle's as I said his ambush
00:44:34
happened his accident they call it happened on the 23rd of
00:44:36
November 1977. Fast forward 15 years to the exact day. His
00:44:42
older son Lee had a horrific car crash and died on the exact day
00:44:47
of Uncle Morales accident is met the 365 days in the year. How's
00:44:52
it possible? Oh, come on. The whole family was traumatised by
00:44:55
that one day because of what happened to route so it doesn't
00:44:58
get it doesn't end there. his youngest son, Trevor, my
00:45:01
youngest cousin, he had a horrific motorbike accident last
00:45:05
year. On the 24th of November, the day after he's still alive
00:45:11
thank God but he broke his back. chasis so, so come on like
00:45:19
Matt Waters: that's that's that's a really shit week via
00:45:22
shit two days for everybody in the family every year then.
00:45:26
Lyndi Leggett: Everyone and can you imagine how rather than and
00:45:30
his wife Kay, my aunt felt when Trevor had his accident, like,
00:45:33
Hi, this is second son. Now day after this is ridiculous. So we
00:45:38
so we are so grateful Trevor is still with us. And able to walk
00:45:42
He's managed. He's walking again. His knee was shattered.
00:45:46
And yeah, he damaged his back. So horrible. And so trauma
00:45:51
affects the whole family. I get that totally do understand why
00:45:54
Rao was grumpy was when we were kids. And perhaps why their
00:45:59
relationship with his sons wasn't crash hot. Because Oh, my
00:46:03
God, it was never treated in those days, it was called shell
00:46:06
shock. And you just get on with it. You'll be right me. Yeah,
00:46:08
no, no, no, no, no, no. So our Scuba warrior programme, we
00:46:12
honour the service, we honour the person, you're not a number.
00:46:16
When you come to us, you don't have to talk. Just if you can,
00:46:19
you know, come we'll teach you to dive or go diving, or even do
00:46:22
missions and, and make it a bit special. It's more about the
00:46:25
tribe and becoming part of a tribe, and be finding a place
00:46:28
where you want to be and being able to apply that to life. If
00:46:33
you can dive for most people, you can do anything. Because
00:46:36
everyone's terrified of diving one. Camera out Yeah. Take a
00:46:43
photo.
00:46:45
Matt Waters: I think the nail on the head there as well as,
00:46:47
particularly when it comes to PTSD and military personnel. I
00:46:51
mean, I've got 17 years service in UK forces. Thank you for
00:46:56
being nervous. All right. It was it was great fun. But the thing
00:47:01
that that you miss when you leave is the camaraderie you
00:47:05
always keep in touch with the people that you're close to in
00:47:07
the military. But that actual feeling of being part of a
00:47:12
community isn't really the same. And anything else you ever do in
00:47:18
life? Yeah. And the closest thing I found to it is Scuba
00:47:21
diving.
00:47:22
Lyndi Leggett: Yeah, and not that it was we can compare what
00:47:26
you went through. But I would say the same applied when I
00:47:29
overloaded the group of friends. No one actually could understand
00:47:33
and still don't, because it was a bit vague, sometimes some of
00:47:36
the stories that we tell anyway, but yeah, that camaraderie, I
00:47:43
mean, the friends that I have from that trip, or just they
00:47:46
will be with me forever, you know, those sorts of people, I
00:47:48
don't have to see them. I haven't seen some of them for 20
00:47:51
years, but I can pick up the phone. And they're, they're just
00:47:54
that that's pretty special in life to have that sort of a
00:47:57
connection with a group or a few people. So if we can create an
00:48:02
environment where people can come and it's not about I don't,
00:48:05
I don't sell here. I'm not here to make pots of cash off here. I
00:48:10
want us to do stuff that pays it forward that we can, you know,
00:48:14
help out other people. And if you come you can, you can become
00:48:18
a volunteer at the Scuba gym and help disabled people because I
00:48:21
promise you it's not just the clients who are disabled who
00:48:24
gets something out of coming to Scuba gym. One of my volunteers
00:48:29
is a very, very bright bunny. He's an engineer. And he said to
00:48:32
me not long ago, I can't tell you how scary this this was. So
00:48:36
what do you mean, you're qualified diver, you've died all
00:48:39
over the world doing all sorts of crazy shit. And you're
00:48:42
telling me this is this is I'm not good with people. This is
00:48:45
it's really confronting to having to lift people onto a
00:48:48
hoist and be almost in their faces. But it's amazing to be
00:48:52
can be a part of it. Yeah. So he got something quite special that
00:48:56
I hadn't even really considered. Not that I expect everyone to be
00:49:02
weird and crazy a little bit like me, but just you know, if
00:49:04
you're a diver, there's something about your look your
00:49:07
outlook on life and, and being able to step out of your comfort
00:49:11
zone because we all do it. That's what diving is for a lot
00:49:13
of people, it's just going into a whole different comfort zone.
00:49:17
One that is particularly scary for others. But for us. So
00:49:21
technical diving for me, there was a time where I did that. I
00:49:25
would love to do cave diving, but it's not right up on my list
00:49:27
of things to do. There's other places I would love to go up and
00:49:30
see up to the very roof with you guys in November and see the
00:49:34
coral spawning That for me is just magical. And that's the
00:49:38
diving I love is the magic side of it all. And I'm sure there's
00:49:41
magic down at 100 metres. I'm sure Paul will tell me I'm just
00:49:46
not in a hurry at the moment to go down and see it.
00:49:49
Matt Waters: Yeah, yeah, no, I hear you. I hear ya. And I
00:49:52
suppose your focus isn't really on the the individuals that are
00:49:57
there and volunteering and you know, just picking up on what
00:50:00
you said there about not recognising the benefits that
00:50:03
they got. Because you're trying to do everything for that
00:50:06
individual that's come for the help. So you don't necessarily
00:50:09
see what's going on outside of that environment either.
00:50:14
Lyndi Leggett: One of my team, another team member messaged me
00:50:17
and said, Hi, I'm local. I actually have post traumatic
00:50:20
stress, but I'm actually a dive instructor. And I just want to
00:50:24
get back in the water because of the PTSD. I just want. Is it
00:50:27
okay, if I come and dive with you at the pool when you're
00:50:29
doing? And I'm like, Yeah, mate. Are you kidding? Absolutely
00:50:33
brilliant. What do you need, you know, to have just just ticked a
00:50:37
lot of boxes, and he's become a really good friend. Right? It's
00:50:40
just amazing. So you know, he, he loved it, because their focus
00:50:43
is not on them. You're diving for other people. And you're
00:50:46
watching and you're giving, and there's a different there's a
00:50:48
synergy and an energy that I can't explain until you've been
00:50:52
underwater with these people, and got involved. And I think
00:50:56
that's, I'm going to not go unicorns and fairies just yet.
00:51:00
But that's the holistic view that I wish that more people
00:51:04
understood and bought into because it's so powerful to be a
00:51:08
part of that journey of helping somebody to heal and to
00:51:13
rehabilitate or to learn the high five Scuba dive, high five,
00:51:18
that we've got our one some of our autistic clients, they just
00:51:20
absolutely love and and just to see the joy. That is, that's
00:51:24
what, that's what it's about. For me, I'm going to start
00:51:26
pricing
00:51:27
Matt Waters: much right. I think it refocuses as well, I mean,
00:51:30
you, you know, like you say, not doing the unicorns and fairies,
00:51:34
but you look at everyday life now, especially, you know, in
00:51:38
the cities, Sydney, Newcastle, that everyone's running around,
00:51:41
everyone's busy, you know, the focus is on the phone, or the
00:51:44
computer or work and the stresses and that continual
00:51:48
grind. And just getting into the pool and helping someone who is
00:51:52
effectively helpless. And seeing a huge benefit is in itself a
00:51:58
huge benefit to the people that are actually experiencing it
00:52:01
away from the environment of what we're doing now looking
00:52:04
through TV screens all the time.
00:52:07
Lyndi Leggett: 100%. And that's the, the magic that we find out
00:52:12
I mean, just having people with anxiety who come and learn to
00:52:15
dive push themselves, set underwater blowing bubbles just
00:52:19
to calm down. And now, you know, dear friends who are there in a
00:52:23
heartbeat who want to help. It's just an amazing transformation
00:52:26
to watch. And actually, I find a bit of an honour to be in that
00:52:30
position to be able to witness change in people, whether it's
00:52:35
very physical, whether it's more cognitive mental stuff, or being
00:52:39
able to help I'm not sure if you saw the video that we put
00:52:42
together, the cleanup we did not long ago and my beautiful friend
00:52:46
Sophie who does a lot of our videos. She's an amazing friend
00:52:50
and amazing asset to the to the Scuba gem team, because she's a
00:52:54
professional cinematographer. And her work is outstanding, but
00:52:58
to be able to give her the opportunity of coming onto this
00:53:01
amazing boat that again was gifted to us by the gentleman
00:53:05
who's who said to me, let me help this is what I got. I was
00:53:08
like wow, well we're going to take veterans can we test run it
00:53:11
and get Sylvia to come and she was she just to be able to sell
00:53:15
on this beautiful boat and cruise around our waterways and
00:53:18
jump in the water and clean up of it and make videos for it was
00:53:22
just a gift.
00:53:23
Matt Waters: Hold on a moment. You've got a boat.
00:53:25
Lyndi Leggett: No, no, no, it's not ours. It was gifted it was
00:53:28
actually a gentleman, dude. Come on. Yeah, no, he he's actually
00:53:37
one of my boat clients. And he said to me, do I know any free
00:53:40
divers? I was sitting on the Marina getting ready to to head
00:53:44
off home and I said what do you why do you want free divers? And
00:53:46
he saw I've got this boat. I really want to use it. I want to
00:53:49
take free divers out and see what about Scuba divers. Hello,
00:53:52
I'm in my wetsuit like aloe. And he said Oh, and so I explained
00:53:56
about my actually if you if you are willing to let us use your
00:54:00
boat and you drive us places, I have my Scuba warrior programme
00:54:04
which this could be a fantastic synergy of services, they will
00:54:09
you know will take the veterans they will have a fabulous day on
00:54:11
your boat will go diving or clean up the ocean. Or we'll go
00:54:16
look for starfishes or go and find what our marine biologist
00:54:20
friends want us to find. Because they're professors at the
00:54:22
university and they're looking for particular seahorses mother
00:54:26
find them whatever it takes just to keep the focus and the
00:54:30
missions out there for our Scuba warriors but also to pay it
00:54:33
forward to make sure that we are contributing to a bigger
00:54:36
picture. That's what it's about. And David said yeah, let's do it.
00:54:40
Matt Waters: Let's take my boat that's awesome.
00:54:42
Lyndi Leggett: Ah, amazing to be you know, just it's just when
00:54:46
you gifted stuff like that it's it's pretty special.
00:54:50
Matt Waters: Yeah. How big is the boat? How many people can
00:54:52
you take?
00:54:54
Lyndi Leggett: We have with gear it's it's a bit of a cruise boat
00:54:57
so it's beautiful boat cruise, but we had Two divers, two
00:55:01
camera people and him. So there were six of us. And I would say
00:55:07
we could probably fit another two more divers, I would say
00:55:08
four divers with tanks and all the gear would probably be
00:55:12
enough for the back of his boat to handle.
00:55:14
Matt Waters: Yeah, yeah. I can't imagine six veterans on the back
00:55:19
of a boat having a few good dives. And I'm sorry,
00:55:27
Lyndi Leggett: for everyone listening. I'm sorry, I didn't
00:55:30
do it the wrong way around. It just be life changing, which is
00:55:37
really what it's about for me to be able to have provide an
00:55:42
opportunity to help people change their lives. That's
00:55:45
pretty cool.
00:55:47
Matt Waters: So how many? How many veterans have you gotten?
00:55:51
Lyndi Leggett: We've got? Well, we've got a handful at the
00:55:54
moment, literally a handful. We're just about to run our next
00:55:57
warrior programme. Unfortunately, we haven't had
00:56:00
great weather, as you well know, which really puts a dampener on
00:56:03
the diving industry and has done for the last couple of years.
00:56:05
But this last year has been horrendous for diving. Last year
00:56:08
was fabulous. We had the best August In fact, we were grateful
00:56:11
for lockdown because we got to do recreational diving without
00:56:15
taking students anyway, was great. And that what we saw was
00:56:19
unreal, just up here at the Haven and Terrigal was unreal.
00:56:23
But this year has been absolutely miserable. We haven't
00:56:25
really had the same. Having said that we did see sixth graders is
00:56:29
just amazing. On our first pilot course, was the Scuba warrior
00:56:34
pilot course we had, we don't get to see greenhouses, maybe
00:56:37
one once a year. If we're lucky at the Haven, we had six, six of
00:56:41
them cruising around us for for open water dives. Nice. Yeah, it
00:56:45
was. It was unreal. And we had, we had so we had mum and son and
00:56:50
Dad and son and a couple other veterans on it. And it was very
00:56:55
special for them because they were the child and the child
00:56:59
would be, you know, barely 20. So I'm not talking a kid. But
00:57:03
just to have that bond and have that time that magic time
00:57:06
together of seeing sharks and beautiful sharks and being in
00:57:10
this very special place was was amazing. So it was really good
00:57:14
bonding for everyone, particularly those veterans who
00:57:17
had signed up with their kids.
00:57:19
Matt Waters: Yeah, yeah. Now, I wanted to also expand on we had
00:57:24
a very brief chat about the veterans last week. And you
00:57:30
asked me about doing trips, expeditions? Yes.
00:57:35
Lyndi Leggett: Not just our veterans, please man if we could
00:57:38
do. So for me. For me, the bigger picture is to get Scuba
00:57:42
gym running across Australia, I think that we need disabilities
00:57:46
needs the disability sector could do with the Scuba gym in
00:57:50
all big cities up and running. That would be awesome. But then
00:57:54
we don't just want to keep people coming to therapy. We
00:57:57
want to help those people who are taking the plunge and
00:57:59
learning to dive to actually go and travel. And when you said to
00:58:03
me You run a Scuba travel business, I just got very
00:58:07
excited and said what about disabilities and let's can we
00:58:12
put chips together so we're very good friends with Willie campus.
00:58:16
So they are based up in Queensland and they have great
00:58:19
big campus camper vans that are specifically decked out for
00:58:23
disabled people so they can get their chairs and they can go
00:58:27
cruising around Australia in a camper, which is fabulous. And
00:58:30
if we could do the same sort of thing with Scuba, I'm not
00:58:33
suggesting we get a camper but I'm thinking if we had dive
00:58:37
trips that we could take people to see some amazing stuff when
00:58:41
we know that the other end we've got a boat that we can use that
00:58:46
can take a wheelchair because not all boats can and it's
00:58:49
really tricky to find you know sometimes it's tricky to find
00:58:52
boats or people or outfits all people out there who are willing
00:58:57
to allow us to come on board and with a wheelchair or with an
00:59:01
amputee or you know somebody with something like that. So
00:59:06
that would be cool if we could you know work towards some a
00:59:10
trip like that. That would be awesome. I've got a little plan
00:59:12
in mind already. Not to go anywhere but to help out
00:59:17
autistic clients who are not qualified to dive but they are
00:59:22
my clients and we have worked with him for months and months.
00:59:27
I have a connection at the I don't know if I should tell you
00:59:30
this actually because this is a bit special. I have to point
00:59:34
this out. All right. Well, you can tell me choose to put it in
00:59:39
I'll tell you. I have bonded with the Sydney aquarium and my
00:59:45
plan is to get them to when they open up the tank dives again, is
00:59:50
to be allowed with my those of the few that I would recommend
00:59:55
of my autistic clients to do a tank dive so they get to Here's
01:00:00
what it's like to dive with sharks, okay, in Sydney
01:00:04
aquarium. And the problem with that is you have to be a
01:00:07
qualified diver and there's a few red bit of red tape to, to
01:00:10
cut through, but we're on our way, put it that way, and they
01:00:13
haven't opened them up just yet. So,
01:00:15
Matt Waters: hey, couldn't you have a look at the IOSH scheme
01:00:20
or system for training as a way of manipulating that so that you
01:00:24
can qualify people manipulating? Could you manipulate the
01:00:28
training so that qualifying disabled people as a diver,
01:00:35
Lyndi Leggett: some some of my clients can qualify. So that's
01:00:39
different, but the people who choose who I just want to make
01:00:43
this like a special end of year thing, I'm hoping that they will
01:00:46
let us do it with the, with my team rather than their team.
01:00:51
Because my team have worked with these people day in and day out.
01:00:55
And I would, I wouldn't be happy to have a guide with us who's
01:00:59
with the aquarium. And but if we could lead it, so to speak, or
01:01:04
run it
01:01:06
Matt Waters: that way, that would make sense just one day,
01:01:08
Lyndi Leggett: that would because they quote, they're not
01:01:10
qualified, but they're, they're signed off to dive down to, you
01:01:14
know, between two and forming as deep as, as our dive doctor, and
01:01:19
the pools off. So. So that's what I'm thinking. And we know,
01:01:24
particularly me know how to cope with those who may well freak
01:01:29
out. Because we don't know how they're gonna react, some might
01:01:32
chase after them. That's something I would love to do.
01:01:40
But, you know, it's just because of all the time I've spent with
01:01:43
them. I think, if I have to go and do five or six tank dives,
01:01:46
I'm happy to Yeah. Now that was the ultimate experience. We
01:01:50
amazing, be on fire for four months.
01:01:54
Matt Waters: They just end up going going back home and even
01:01:57
in any wheelchair. What you've done today. Just jumped in a
01:02:01
tank with a bunch of sharks. You know, how many people can say
01:02:04
that?
01:02:05
Lyndi Leggett: Especially if you're in a wheelchair? I mean,
01:02:07
really? Yeah. And what will be super cool. When I did a tank
01:02:11
dive in Cape Town aquarium. Soon as we got in and went down, all
01:02:16
the tourists who were in the, in the aquarium watching the fishes
01:02:19
rushed to the to the glass and took photos. So it would be
01:02:25
amazing to have to have someone from the press perhaps there to
01:02:29
go, wow, look at these amazing people. They've got disabilities
01:02:35
or cognitive or physical and yeah, they are diving with
01:02:39
sharks.
01:02:41
Matt Waters: If you if it comes off, let me know. Because I'll
01:02:43
rock up and bring the microphones and take the piss
01:02:47
out some silly questions. Yeah,
01:02:49
Lyndi Leggett: absolutely. Well, Matt, good. Maybe you will come
01:02:53
in with us?
01:02:54
Matt Waters: Well, you never know. I don't know. I'm not a
01:02:57
massive fan of aquariums, which clearly not members are. But I
01:03:02
can see. Yeah, I can see the relevance. And this is the only
01:03:08
time I would actually agree with an aquarium to be honest. Yeah,
01:03:14
but anyway, back to the trips. Yes, I was trying to I'm trying
01:03:17
to think of when he was asking about it and talking about it, I
01:03:20
was trying to think of locations that would be able to
01:03:22
accommodate wheelchairs. And I think that's the difficult, but
01:03:26
I can understand, I can think of a lot of places that we could
01:03:29
take people who were amputees but just the wheelchairs, that's
01:03:33
the difficulty.
01:03:35
Lyndi Leggett: We can Well, we can adapt, certainly, there's
01:03:38
ways that we can, we can take things, and D locks and all
01:03:44
sorts of things to clip them into place. It's just being
01:03:47
getting them in and out of the water. And having the expertise,
01:03:52
it might mean a few of my team will have to come. It just
01:04:00
changes. I think it changes the way we have holidays. So just
01:04:04
like we've I've done amazing dies, as I'm sure you have and
01:04:08
how long will that continue it just to be able to give other
01:04:11
people that feeling of an experience of even if it's
01:04:16
worked for us? Doesn't matter? Yes. It's just amazing for them.
01:04:21
And you know what, there's a whole sort of lot of chemicals
01:04:24
in your body that when they are fired off, whether it's not
01:04:28
adrenaline because you've seen a shark, whether it's just
01:04:31
oxytocin or dopamine, or whatever it is, that all helps.
01:04:36
Those are the drugs that help the ones that your body fires
01:04:39
off automatically from having these amazing experiences. And
01:04:42
that's I reckon, what helps with the healing is just a personal
01:04:46
opinion just to be in that different space and out of the
01:04:50
usual headspace and excitement of going on a holiday and then
01:04:53
the adventure of going on a dive holiday for the first time ever.
01:04:56
Matt Waters: Wow. Yeah. Well Yeah, we're gonna have to do a
01:05:02
lot of looking at locations and say this can work.
01:05:07
Lyndi Leggett: I have a contact who can speak to that where he's
01:05:10
been he's in a chair as well has been for years of setting up No,
01:05:14
he would know okay, where there's some good spots we could
01:05:17
start off with. It's also about Yeah, finding the boat we could
01:05:20
so one of the guy who we use for our other cleanups when we are
01:05:25
using a barge clean for shore JOHNNo that barge we could
01:05:30
easily get a chair on and lock it into place. The problem with
01:05:33
what we do with the with the barge and clean foreshore is not
01:05:37
really designed for disabled divers particularly because it's
01:05:42
sometimes you can't see any funny face other times it's just
01:05:46
dangerous and dangerous for disabled not necessarily for us.
01:05:51
Able bodied but able bodied can get out of a situation quickly.
01:05:54
Yeah. So So yeah, we need to find a boat overseas that will
01:06:01
would be happy for us to or even a shore dive. We can take the
01:06:04
chair that goes in the sand. Do some cool shore dive somewhere.
01:06:09
Matt Waters: Do you reckon you could get the Jamaican get to
01:06:11
Koh Tao from Thailand? I reckon it's a bit of a you know, you've
01:06:16
got to get on a ferry to get across from the mainland. And
01:06:20
there's so many resorts there that are beach front. And if
01:06:24
you've got wheelchairs that go over beaches, sorry beaches,
01:06:27
just very easy to get into and go and dive at the front of the
01:06:31
pool. So easy food as well. Yeah. Excuse me, there's,
01:06:37
there's actually a, I gotta say, I'm thinking of Jim Donaldson
01:06:41
now who's who's one of the owners of Big Blue, I used to
01:06:44
work at Big Blue a few years ago. Now he's just relocated and
01:06:52
refurbished an amazing pool area. And it's like 40 metres
01:06:56
from the beach and the runoff, getting down to the beach.
01:07:00
There's no steps going down to the beach, it's all ramp and
01:07:04
then onto the sand. And I don't know if you've ever heard about
01:07:08
the diving at Kota, which is not insane, current solid kind of
01:07:12
stuff. It's 2030 metre visibility and the best part of
01:07:16
most of the year. But the reason I mentioned big blue, not just
01:07:21
because I'm part of the big blue family, but Jim is massively
01:07:25
passionate about rehabilitation, and especially for veterans as
01:07:30
well. He asked me about it years ago. So I know that he's one guy
01:07:34
that if I put you in chats, he would be 100% on board with
01:07:39
saying yes,
01:07:41
Lyndi Leggett: I would love to talk to him. And I know that
01:07:43
people who are the people who listen to your podcasts, so you
01:07:47
never know who listens, there'll be someone or maybe a few people
01:07:50
who jump back at your comment, send you an email back or send
01:07:53
me one saying, Hey, I'd love to help. I've got a boat or I've
01:07:58
got something or I know someone you know, all of that helps out
01:08:02
so much. So feel free for those people who are listening who've
01:08:06
got some ideas to join the tribe. Come and talk to us. Yeah,
01:08:10
Matt Waters: get involved. Hashtag get involved.
01:08:14
Lyndi Leggett: Make a difference. That's a good thing.
01:08:16
I use a lot make a difference.
01:08:17
Matt Waters: Yeah. Yeah. And it's difficult to comprehend how
01:08:20
much of a difference you're making on so many different
01:08:22
levels. That's marvellous. So what's the what's the what's the
01:08:26
big picture for for the Scuba gym in Australia, then what's
01:08:31
the if you've got an end goal, or are you just, you're gonna
01:08:34
stay? Sorry, go?
01:08:36
Lyndi Leggett: I've got I've got a few people. I've got a lot of
01:08:40
people who who get in touch and say, Have you got a Scuba gym in
01:08:44
Melbourne? Have you got one in Adelaide? Have you got one, I
01:08:47
would love to have one in every big city because as I said,
01:08:50
there's a need for this sort of work. And there's an opportunity
01:08:55
for the right sort of people to take on this project. Because it
01:09:00
does it's not. It's not a Scuba, it's not a Scuba school and the
01:09:03
Scuba shop as per what we know. It's a very different mentality
01:09:08
and a different type of qualification. If that's the
01:09:11
right word that we would be looking for, not to say that you
01:09:17
haven't got your own stuff to bring in and help with the Scuba
01:09:21
gym, there's definitely that as well. So the three programmes we
01:09:25
run our therapy, Scuba camps and also the Scuba warrior
01:09:28
programme, Scuba warrior programme we could certainly
01:09:30
share across Australia with a bit of work to help people
01:09:34
understand what's involved in that. And again, it's not about
01:09:37
selling our veterans gear because it's not. It's not
01:09:41
that's one of the problems I find with this whole Scuba
01:09:44
industry is you get on a cheap course consumption 50 bucks and
01:09:47
you get qualified and then the way to make the money is to pack
01:09:50
people on. Sell them. Yeah, yeah, that's not that's not how
01:09:54
it works.
01:09:55
Matt Waters: We know dogshit model, quite frankly.
01:09:59
Lyndi Leggett: It's horrible. So that's not the sort of people I
01:10:01
would like to have involved in what we do, it's a different
01:10:04
type of different type of person and bigger picture more sees,
01:10:10
sees, understands and sees the holistic side of life that we
01:10:13
do, and wants to bring their own magic to that as well, which
01:10:16
would be super cool. And there's a couple of people I know
01:10:19
already who have reached out, and it's just a matter of time
01:10:22
before we can, we can set up Scuba gyms across Australia, and
01:10:27
it is going to happen, we are also working on a very special
01:10:31
pool because we then have a very special pool up here on the
01:10:34
coast, which we need someone working with members of
01:10:38
parliament to help us get somewhere with that. So we can
01:10:42
have a hub for the Scuba gym here on the Central Coast. And
01:10:45
then take it out there. And the more people who help the
01:10:48
veterans, you know, if it's not, if it's not our programme,
01:10:50
there's, there's other ways we can, they can be involved. So
01:10:55
it's really about changing people, maybe inspiring people
01:10:59
to change the way that they think about what they do. And
01:11:04
maybe take the focus off of the money side of it and making
01:11:08
selling again, focusing more on the people and the bringing the
01:11:11
tribe together, especially after what we've all just been
01:11:15
through, think it's a great time to have a step back and go hang
01:11:19
on a minute, let's let's start again, let's change the way we
01:11:22
do this and, and focus on the people and helping each other
01:11:26
very much of a tribal way of looking at life. And sharing,
01:11:31
and not being afraid to share not that's really important, as
01:11:35
I've found in what we do. And the more that you give, the more
01:11:39
you get. I swear to God, there's so many examples. I get given
01:11:43
stuff all the time, not just secondhand wetsuits from
01:11:46
veterans and old masks that are really shouldn't be in a museum.
01:11:50
There was I just love it when they send me this stuff. It's
01:11:52
amazing. But I you know, I the boat, David lets me use his
01:11:57
boat. So he drives it, I don't. But it doesn't cost me anything.
01:12:01
It's just such an amazing human just being able to do that. And
01:12:04
more people send me wetsuits, brand new ones. I got nine the
01:12:06
other day.
01:12:07
Matt Waters: Wow. Where'd that come from? Right.
01:12:10
Lyndi Leggett: From, from T T ws hire my friends who had become
01:12:16
friends because they heard about what I do. And they will. He is
01:12:19
a professional water skier, the guy who runs the company, and he
01:12:23
said to me, how can I help? And I said, what really? And he goes
01:12:27
yeah, I'm I'm connected to went to manufacturers because of the
01:12:31
work I do that help and I said hell yeah. So Trojans ski
01:12:37
charging skis diving. Something else they got us the suits, but
01:12:41
it was paid for by TWA is higher. And they arrived on my
01:12:44
doorstep the other day nine beautiful suits. Awesome.
01:12:47
Lovely. So yeah. And David was incredible, incredibly generous
01:12:52
to begin with. So he sent the model when he flew out at his
01:12:54
own expense to train me up. Amazing men.
01:13:00
Matt Waters: What about? I'm just thinking of it, because
01:13:02
it's, it's I think it's something that the majority of
01:13:05
people that are listening to this podcast would want to do.
01:13:10
My only fear would be how do you if I if I was to start up a
01:13:15
Scuba gym in Sydney? You know, how would I be able to support
01:13:20
my fund or my finances, doing the Scuba gym? Is there any kind
01:13:24
of support coming from the government because of what
01:13:27
you're doing.
01:13:28
Lyndi Leggett: So if somebody wanted to start a Scuba gym,
01:13:31
they would have to come to me because I have the licence for
01:13:34
Australia. So we would work, we will work together to ensure the
01:13:39
success of their Scuba gym, and how we get funded. So we are a
01:13:45
not for profit. Now we, which is exciting. This is our first year
01:13:49
of being a not for profit. And we have now got more access to
01:13:54
grants doesn't mean say we're going to get them. Because we're
01:13:56
not for profit, it means that we've got more chance of getting
01:13:58
them than we were as a for profit company. So it honestly
01:14:03
if people want to start a Scuba gym is about getting in touch
01:14:05
with me. And we can make it happen. I can show you how we
01:14:10
can start generating more of an income for you. It's not going
01:14:14
to be massive to begin with because it takes time. Yeah. The
01:14:17
more that we the more that we get out there. So we're working
01:14:21
slowly. It's taken a while but slowly but surely we're getting
01:14:25
into royal rehab, which is the spinal injuries Hospital in in
01:14:31
ride. Okay, that's taken a long time. But to have that, so
01:14:36
somebody you don't want to it's it's better that we work
01:14:39
together as a team to build to build the Scuba gym across
01:14:43
Australia. And so yeah, if people are listening and they
01:14:46
want to get involved, come and volunteer. Be a member of the
01:14:51
team jumping, have a conversation. It may not be what
01:14:53
you like it may be to confronting it might be to whoa
01:14:59
Half a dozen things. I'm not sure I like that. Okay, then
01:15:02
don't do it. That's not your gig. It's not you're not in any
01:15:05
trouble. But then we have people who find out what we do and just
01:15:09
one gentleman has just retired he's never going to dive again.
01:15:12
He just brought me all his gear. Yeah, caught the train out from
01:15:14
Sydney and brought me all his gear. My really thank you. And
01:15:18
it's in great Nick. I was gonna get it service but the guy might
01:15:21
technician you services. All my gear said I took some of that
01:15:23
apart and could see that it's actually been done recently. I'm
01:15:26
not going to take it apart, doesn't need it. So other people
01:15:31
that mean, there's so many one people find out what we do. One
01:15:34
gentleman went on, got a whole bunch of people to volunteer
01:15:38
their gear that they were selling online. To give him a
01:15:40
give it away. Like, and he rings me up he goes, I've got two
01:15:44
crates of gear for you. What?
01:15:48
Matt Waters: Is your house big enough for all this?
01:15:50
Lyndi Leggett: Well, yeah, that's yeah. And to begin with
01:15:53
when starting this model of with not selling gear, and it's not
01:15:59
an instant money spinner was hard, was really hard. But it
01:16:04
paid off. And it's beginning to pay off more as we are able to
01:16:09
help people again and this craziness subsides that we've
01:16:13
been through, people are coming out again, going, Okay, let's
01:16:17
take another look at life. I mean, the clients that are
01:16:20
coming, coming back out again, especially the very vulnerable,
01:16:24
which is great, because you know, it, it's time to move on
01:16:27
and it's time to to get back out there and live life and not be
01:16:30
scared anymore. Yeah. Well, that's it. I know, it's easy for
01:16:33
an able bodied person who's fit and healthy to say that at the
01:16:36
same time, surely, these last couple of years is just that for
01:16:40
most people, like really? Come on. We've wasted so much time
01:16:45
It's time to get out and live again.
01:16:46
Matt Waters: Yeah, yeah, this way. I mean, it's one thing,
01:16:49
it's the price, the priceless thing in life, isn't it time,
01:16:52
you know, once it's gone, you're never gonna get it back. Plain
01:16:54
and simple. That's right. Just gotta make the most of it.
01:16:57
Lyndi Leggett: And people who who have been and gone and gone
01:17:01
backwards in their therapy will know that firsthand. They will
01:17:04
know and that's the sad part. So it's really now a good time to
01:17:10
to say well, actually hang on. We're underwater for God's sake.
01:17:14
Let's get underwater exercise. Let's be in that world. Let's be
01:17:19
part of the tribe. Let's learn let's be living out of our
01:17:22
comfort zones. That's where the fruit of life is outside of your
01:17:25
comfort zone.
01:17:27
Matt Waters: outside your comfort zone and then a good a
01:17:28
good community
01:17:30
Lyndi Leggett: in a great community. Absolutely. Yeah, for
01:17:33
sure.
01:17:34
Matt Waters: Happy days. Right then Linda? Linda Lindy I also
01:17:39
Linda, I don't know why. It's been an absolute pleasure
01:17:42
talking to you. And I want you to keep me posted on you know
01:17:46
when I can come up, because I'd love to come up and help out. I
01:17:51
might be a dribbling wreck. I can imagine it's quite emotional
01:17:54
at the side of the pool. But yeah, I'd love to.
01:17:58
Lyndi Leggett: I'd love you to join us then we Awesome Thank
01:17:59
you, man. Yeah, for sure.
01:18:02
Matt Waters: Happy days. Okay, well, we're gonna sign off for
01:18:04
now. As Lindy said earlier on anyone who wants to get in touch
01:18:08
with Lindy can do through the show. I'll put a load of links
01:18:12
in the in the show notes. And I think we can find space on the
01:18:16
homepage on Scuba podcast to slap at the Scuba Jim there for
01:18:20
a hyperlink over to your website. No problem at all.
01:18:23
Lyndi Leggett: Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. I
01:18:25
look forward to meeting more like minded people.
01:18:28
Matt Waters: Lovely stuff. Lindy absolute pleasure to speak to
01:18:32
everybody. Bye.