Greg Donovan acquired a $300k redundancy payout. Then he took the largest punt of his life and began the Massive Crimson Bash music competition

Greg Donovan had all of it. A suburban Sydney residence, a doting spouse, three treasured youngsters, and a wise company profession spanning 20 years.

The “suit-and-tie man” poured every thing into his insurance coverage job. Managing individuals was rewarding and Greg felt a stable grip on every rung as he climbed the company ladder.

Then out of the blue, he was despatched on his means, made redundant with a “pocket full of cash”.

Most individuals of their 50s who unexpectedly find yourself with a $300,000 windfall would choose to place the cash in a pleasant protected place. To Greg, that sounded “fairly damned boring”.

“I needed to do one thing greater than sit round and watch my cash in a balanced superannuation fund,” he tells Australian Story.

Folks known as him loopy. His monetary advisor could not watch. However Greg may see his desert dream changing into actuality.

He determined to gamble the lot on an outback live performance with “Australia’s largest rock star”.

“They thought I used to be nuts. I assumed, let’s roll the cube,” Greg says.

This wild punt marked the start of Greg’s unlikely journey to working “probably the most distant musical competition on the planet”.

A life-changing prognosis

Greg and his spouse Raylene have been “childhood sweethearts” who married of their early 20s and had three kids, Laura, Matt and Stephen.

His “fairly vanilla life” was ticking alongside nicely till 2008, when “one thing occurred that was finally going to alter our lives”.

Greg and Raylene seen their son appeared unwell.

“He was pores and skin and bones. He was losing away actually,” Greg says.

Stephen remembers wanting within the mirror and being “greatly surprised”.

“I simply noticed my ribs and I noticed my hips poking out and my shoulder blades and I appeared like a skeleton,” he says.

A blood take a look at confirmed Stephen had kind 1 diabetes, which he discovered tough to course of as a 14-year-old.

“[Stephen] actually suffered mentally and bodily after the prognosis. It was tough,” Greg says.

“Kind 1 diabetes is an incurable illness. It might severely shorten your life span. My coronary heart went out for him.”

Greg’s all-time low

Greg’s son Matt watched an absence of management overcome his dad’s already fragile psychological well being.

“He felt like he had numerous accountability to have the ability to take care of the household and on this scenario, there was nothing that he may do in any respect,” he says.

Work, on the time, had additionally been demanding. Greg felt crushing strain hurtling in the direction of him from each facet of his life.

“I do not know what you name it, a nervous breakdown, however issues simply get an excessive amount of and you are feeling like you possibly can’t go on. That is the place I ended up in round about 2010,” he says.

Raylene struggled to observe as her husband crumpled with excessive nervousness. She feared for his security when it led to despair, then suicidal ideas.

“That was a extremely arduous time for our household. For 2 years, he would ring me nearly daily saying that he would not be coming residence,” she says.

Greg spent six weeks as an inpatient at a psychological well being facility, discovering consolation within the one freedom he had – working.

It allowed Greg to “really feel human” once more and address the truth of fending his demons away in an unfamiliar setting.

He could not treatment Stephen, so Greg ultimately determined that working to boost funds and consciousness for kind 1 diabetes was the following neatest thing he may do to assist.

“The toughest working occasion on the planet” appeared like a super all-consuming purpose for Greg.

The 4 Deserts grand slam

The 4 Deserts Ultramarathon Sequence requires contributors to run throughout 4 multi-stage 250-kilometre occasions via deserts in Namibia, Mongolia, Chile and Antarctica.

“I assumed, nicely that is it, that is acquired to be the toughest factor I can discover,” Greg says.

He desperately needed to maneuver ahead along with his life. This was Greg’s alternative to hold out a grand gesture, to make his household and Stephen prouder than ever.

“As soon as he did have this concept, it did really feel like we have been getting the happier Greg again,” Raylene says.

Greg pulled a workforce of 5 collectively, together with his then 20-year-old son Matt, to run the 4 deserts in a single calendar yr, and “break a world file basically”.

“I assumed the concept was loopy, completely loopy. I feel all of us did,” Laura says.

By means of meals poisoning, dehydration, harm and excessive temperatures, the workforce accomplished “the desert grand slam” in 2012 and raised about $150,000.

“What I realized was that I may make a distinction. I wasn’t as helpless as what I initially thought,” Greg says.

“I may take motion, I may make one thing occur.”

However in true Greg model, it was solely the start.

‘It is too arduous’: 250km run problem 

Whereas most individuals could be exhausted, Greg felt the logical subsequent step was to launch his personal occasion.

“Understanding how life altering it could possibly be and the way distinctive these occasions are, it occurred to me, ‘Why is not one thing like this in Australia?’,” he says.

Raylene thought Greg “had rocks in his head”. However she additionally knew he had the grit and dedication to see any concept via to the tip.

Greg recognized an outback city, with a inhabitants of 100, as the proper base for a working occasion.

Sitting on the sting of “the world’s largest parallel sand dune desert”, Greg had little doubt Birdsville in far western Queensland was it. However he needed to see it for himself.

Conventional proprietor and park ranger Don Rowlands gave Greg a hen’s eye tour of Munga-Thirri Nationwide Park, generally referred to as the Simpson Desert, on a helicopter experience.

“Greg and his workforce have at all times been respectful of our have to be consulted and likewise of our tradition,” Don says.  

“My preliminary response was ‘this isn’t going to work’. It is arduous, it is harsh nation, it is powerful nation. And as soon as they see it, they will pack up and go residence.”

However Greg had already began mapping the course in his head. Hovering above the purple sand and huge gibber plains, he knew, “that is the spot”.

“What I noticed was simply superb. The landscapes, the dunes, the salt lakes,” Greg says.

The Massive Crimson Run, a 250-kilometre course via the desert beginning and ending in Birdsville, was launched in 2013.

It was a milestone second for Stephen, who determined to affix the gruelling occasion “as the last word proof that you could nonetheless do something as a sort 1 diabetic”.

Area to play or pause, M to mute, left and proper arrows to hunt, up and down arrows for quantity.

Making music in the course of nowhere

Understanding how far the runners and volunteers must journey, Greg needed to supply some leisure.

“John [Williamson] agreed to return out and sing on high of the Massive Crimson dune,” Greg says.

To his shock, individuals outdoors the working group began contacting him and asking if they may purchase tickets.

On efficiency day, the stage was made up of “nothing greater than a few pallets”, an amplifier, audio system and John Williamson on his guitar.

Williamson says, “the ambiance was unbelievable”. However carting gear up a 40-metre sand dune proved to be a sensible and logistical nightmare.

The gang adored the music however struggled up and down the dune every time that they had to make use of the loos or head to and from camp.

Nonetheless, Greg noticed the potential.

“It simply opened our thoughts to the truth that we may placed on a music occasion in the course of nowhere and folks need to come and purchase tickets for it,” he says.

In 2014, Greg and his household determined to run a music occasion individually, previous to the working occasion.

But it surely price them “a bucket load”. Nowhere close to sufficient individuals bought tickets to cowl the bills of bringing stay music to the desert.

“We misplaced some huge cash and went residence with our tail between our legs,” Greg says.

He put it within the too arduous basket and returned to his day job in Sydney. However as Raylene anticipated, Greg was not one to surrender.

Then, “one thing huge occurred”.

Playing on Jimmy Barnes

After 20 years within the insurance coverage trade Greg was made redundant.

“It was a little bit of a shock,” he says.

His colleagues weren’t shocked. Greg had been spending an excessive amount of time on his facet hustles.

“Somewhat than feeling depressed about it, I assumed, nicely the upside of being redundant is you’ve got acquired a pocket full of cash and in my case, in all probability round $300,000,” he says.

It was time for Greg to “revisit this music factor”, up the ante, and produce some nice acts to Birdsville.

“I assumed, nicely the largest title in Aussie rock is Jimmy Barnes. Let’s examine if Jimmy would possibly need to come out and play the bash”.

Laura thought her dad was “loopy but once more”. She fearful he’d “blow the entire redundancy payout” with no return.

Greg’s former colleague David Turner says he thought the gamble was “actually removed from wise”.

“I might have suggested Greg to place his redundancy cash to his retirement plan, not take a excessive threat,” he says.

His monetary adviser echoed this suggestion.

Jimmy Barnes’ supervisor John Watson had no clue that Greg was punting his redundancy payout on the present.

“I might by no means heard of Greg Donovan once we acquired the method from Birdsville,” John says.

“However the truth that it was in Birdsville. There’s one thing concerning the tone of the method that simply made it stand out from the tons of of others that come throughout the transom.”

When phrase unfold that Jimmy was coming, Greg was ecstatic. The Massive Crimson Bash “took off” in 2015.

“We acquired 3,200 individuals and we mainly lined our prices. It was the beginning of the journey,” Greg says.

The loopy concept that paid off

In 2018, when it turned apparent extra individuals most popular to take heed to music within the desert fairly than run 250 kilometres via it, Greg dropped the Massive Crimson Run.

Within the phrases of John Watson, “the Massive Crimson Bash is now established as one in every of Australia’s iconic music occasions.

The occasion has turn out to be a full-time dedication for the household, however Stephen says it is all been for the perfect.

“We’re constructing one thing collectively,” he says.

Facet stage, on the primary night time of the occasion, the household continues their ritual of stopping for a quiet second of reflection to recollect the place all of it started.

“It is a actually emotional time,” Greg says.

With their arms wrapped round one another, Greg tells Stephen, “that is what you’ve got created, and we have created collectively as a household. “[It’s] a proud second.”

The household’s epic challenge, turned skilled enterprise, has allowed Stephen to return to phrases along with his kind 1 diabetes. “We discovered such an incredible factor out of it,” Stephen says.

The occasion now raises cash for the Royal Flying Physician’s Service.

An unintended music promoter

Beloved Australian acts, together with Jimmy Barnes, Missy Higgins, Kasey Chambers, Jon Stevens, Kate Ceberano and Chocolate Starfish, performed the 2022 Big Red Bash.

“It is good and refreshing to return throughout any individual who’s nearly gotten right here accidentally however has accomplished it so extremely nicely,” Missy Higgins says.

Speaking to a handful of punters within the sea of people that have made the pilgrimage to “Bashville”, it is apparent music is not the one attraction.

“There’s simply one thing iconic about it. The placement, the vibe,” a five-time volunteer says.

On the sting of the desert, with no water, no energy, no sewerage, and no communications, “so many various kinds of individuals come collectively”.

There is a tangible group spirit past the plumes of purple mud.

From burly blokes wearing eyebrow elevating drag, to a doggy desert trend parade and a Nutbush dance world file try – the three-day competition has confirmed a large success.

“I might describe Greg’s journey from the insurance coverage enterprise to turn out to be a promoter as unfathomable,” music promoter Marc Christowski says.

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Regardless of Greg’s upbringing amid the pub rock scene on Sydney’s Northern Seashores, “there’s not a musical bone” in his physique.

Now 60, he says working “probably the most distant musical competition on the planet” simply type of occurred.

“Name me the unintended music promoter, however actually I am in all probability the world’s oldest teenager,” he says.

“I imply that is only a celebration out right here, actually. [It’s] so cool to have all these individuals, they’re simply having the time of their lives, having a celebration within the desert.”

Standing atop the 40-metre huge purple sand dune overlooking the primary stage, and “the second largest metropolis west of the Nice Divide in Queensland”, Greg is aware of he is made the best resolution.

“Comply with your coronary heart and you are taking these possibilities and also you observe your ardour,” he says.

“What I’ve accomplished is the perfect funding I’ve ever made. I am my very own boss, I am my very own man, and I simply love what I do.”

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