My Event World - Johnny Palmer

I got into the events industry because it was the perfect mix of creative design, management, engineering and had a good commercial future.

I have worked here since I set it up at the age of 16. That was 13 years ago, I think that makes me a veteran.

I was attracted to this particular role because it challenges me, it is always changing, and it gives me great stories to tell friends and family. I always feel like the one with "the cool job".

Not many people know that I grew up on a farm in Tasmania and started playing with audio equipment at the age of nine, then started DJing at 12.

My worst experience at an event was having to manually transport two artics of production gear across a field that turned into a swamp after it rained. That marquee definitely wasn’t put in the right place.

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt it’s that transparency and honesty are the most valuable traits in business. And to drink plenty of water.

The best event I’ve been involved in was one I am not allowed to talk about yet due to non-disclosure agreements. As of July I’ll be able to tell Event magazine all about it. Watch this space.

If I could do it all over again I would not have done much differently. I think that all experience is good and even mistakes help to create the person we are.

The one thing I can’t stand is the assumption that events are "always stressful". This is absolutely not true. This profession can be calm, relaxed, fun and doesn’t have to involve being tired all the time.

Outside of work I spend my time with my wife and son, walking my dog Dudley, eating, drinking and sometimes thinking about work.

If money were no object I would still do my job exactly as it is. Although SXS would have some very fancy new gadgets, a private jet, an atrium and roof garden at the warehouse, and water features in the office. 

The one thing I can’t do my job without is a distance measurer, a Leatherman and a really, really fast computer with four monitors.

If I could switch places with anyone else in the industry it would be our special effects technician, Dave Williams. He gets to play around with gadgets, gizmos, pyros, and water screens all day in our workshop. The coffee here is good, so what more could a guy ask for?

If I ruled the event industry there would be compulsory professional qualifications for each service and safety-critical aspect of this industry. I also think we need more industry-specific statutory regulation of activities. The professionals would have no problem with adhering to these, and it would cut out the others.

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