A decade has passed since I first sat in the editorial office at Fairfax Media on the two-month journey to my first solo magazine – the June 2015 issue (magazine months remember, not calendar).

I’d contributed to the magazine from not long into its life – thank you Jon Addison for taking the punt on a bunch of truck-crazed young blokes from within the industry. But the hot seat was a different world entirely, the learning curve beyond vertical.

Why did I take it on? There were two reasons. One, I’d been mildly critical of our old ‘bible’ in the preceding year or so, which put me in an interesting position. I’ve witnessed drivers over the years criticise ops guys, yet decline the opportunity to take control of the phone, RT, and dairy. I therefore had no choice if I was to hold to principle.

Two; I wanted to prove that one of us could look after our own magazine in the event we needed to. I wanted to do the driving community proud.

I’m still terribly starstruck when meeting and interacting with those in the industry I consider heroes, especially when they ring me, their name and number lights up on the phone – ‘Is this for real?’ I think.

In my 10 years at the helm, I’ve got to see, photograph, write about and interact with every corner of an industry I have been passionate about from the time I saw my first truck. It’s always been trucks … when life has derailed me, it’s trucks that have re-railed me.

Then there are the people I’ve met within, those I worked for, and those who have worked with me – partners and co-workers. Every day, I underserve those who devote their work lives to making New Zealand Trucking Media’s content vehicles the best they can be. They’re an incredible group of inspirational people, utterly dedicated, and I can’t do enough to try and do better by them. To them I say, it has been one of the honours of my life to be part of yours.

Lastly, the two names that are the reason all of us are here. The two blokes who took a deep breath and launched a magazine in March 1985 where nothing had been before. They changed the course of their lives and ours. To Trevor and Jon, every single one of us will be eternally grateful. Here’s to 40 fabulous years that’s been, and hopefully 40 fabulous years ahead.