Bull Bars, Bonnets & My Height

I can’t remember when I started being referred to as short. It was a disadvantage during school sports but it didn’t impact my life until I became an apprentice. And by then, it wasn’t just height that was a challenge, but my size in general.

Being small in stature meant that I had less height, less body weight and less muscle mass to do the job. That knowledge, alongside standing next to bonnets and bull bars that towered over me, was intimidating.

It meant I had to ask for help.

As an apprentice, fresh to the industry and only just learning the basics of the trade, asking for help was a frequent occurrence. Whether it was asking for a second opinion, borrowing a tool or being shown how to do something, it was necessary to seek technical support.

But lowering a bull bar or lifting a bonnet wasn’t a mental challenge. It was a physical challenge.

Asking for help because a bull bar or bonnet weighed too much for me alone meant I was incapable of a simple, routine event of my job. And so asking for help meant showing vulnerability. It was admitting: “Yes, there are parts of the job I can not do.”

Or, so I thought.

Never once did any of my peers react poorly or make an off-hand comment about my size. Because the reality was everyone had a limit. The same bull bars and bonnets outside my capabilities were still a challenge for my taller or stronger peers. Which meant, they often asked for help as well.

The longer I was in the industry, the more I learned about its culture. Once, it was an expectation to eventually have a ‘bad back’ as a mechanic. It is still normal to lift heavy loads or twist to access hard-to-reach places. But that expectation of hurting our bodies in the long run – and the behaviours that lead to that – are no longer accepted by the industry or its people.

Safety and well-being are at the centre of all industries now. New tooling and equipment exist to reduce the physical toll some jobs can take on our bodies. The mechanical industry is no different. Whether it’s using an overhead crane, a forklift or an extra set of hands, there are better ways to lift loads. There is a culture of helping one another and access to equipment to do the manual handling in our stead.

So, while there were parts of the job I couldn’t do alone, it wasn’t a weakness. It meant I had to learn to do the job slightly differently. I would utilise tooling or ask for help more often.

As I progressed in my apprenticeship, I built strength as a by-product of doing my job. My muscles adapted to make the job easier on my body. While there was a limit to the strength I built in the workshop, it was enough to become more independent in my repairs. And the more experience I gained, the more I learned to use my body and strength more effectively.

Even now, qualified and experienced on equipment much larger than highway trucks, the same rules apply. There is a limit to my strength, same as everyone else, but just because I’m smaller doesn’t make me less valuable to the industry. I built muscles naturally, simply by doing the work. I learned to work smarter – not harder. I also didn’t have to prove I was an asset to the business despite my size. It was clear very quickly that my ability to contort my body between a wheel and the chassis was helpful for others. It was an advantage that taller or stronger people couldn’t learn.

So, between bull bars, bonnets and my height, I learned size didn’t matter. We all have different strengths and challenges as people. That’s not limited to just our physical build. The industry has changed and is still changing. It’s made it more accessible to all shapes and sizes of people. And those changes don’t just benefit smaller people like myself. It benefits the well-being of everyone.

So, don’t let your size hold you back from a career that you’re passionate about. There’s so much more to succeeding in a trade industry than size! You’ll probably find that you have more to give than you know.

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