10 minute read
TALL TIMBER
by nzlogger
Story: Hayley Leibowitz
YOU ONLY GET ONE SHOT OUT IN
the forest I reckon. I see it as the world’s most dangerous job. The number one thing is staying positive and coming to work fresh and clear-minded. You go to work safe; you work safe; you be safe and come home safe. That’s what I tell each and every person on a daily basis,” says James Wilson, better known in his role as logging influencer, JDubb.
With close on 40,000 followers, it’s clear his message of positivity is striking a chord with loggers around the country. And he ought to know. A third generation experienced tree faller, now also training new recruits to the industry, he’s seen it all: “I’ve seen people come in stressed, depressed, bringing with anger from home. There were a couple of times when I was younger, you know, just trying to learn how everything works, I was a part of that. As I grew older I could see the younger generation coming in and I recognised that I was once like that, so I had to change things around and just be that person that could uplift morale. Lead them in the right direction.”
That ethos comes from a solid grounding. Born and bred in Tokoroa “the timber town”, JDubb’s grandfather, Jim Wilson, was an old school logger back in the 1930s “cutting big native trees down with a handsaw”, while his father, David, with 40 years in the industry is currently foreman of Rosewarne Logging, Crew 83, where JDubb works. Then there are his uncles who own mills. JDubb dabbled in chicken farming and welding, before his true passion took root. “So it all started back from my dad’s dad, then my dad. One day my dad just said, ‘You’re gonna come start with me in forestry’. So that’s when I began. I was 19. Now I’m 34. I’ve been a tree faller for seven straight years. I’ve never been in a machine that cuts a tree down in my whole life.”
And that’s the way he likes it, his “number one most favourite job” being tree falling. When the old loggers called him by his initials, JDubb (for W), his first year in forestry, the nickname stuck, as did his calling to the forest: “I’m by myself and I feel like I’m my own boss when I’m underneath all those trees. I’m the single… the only person in amongst thousands and thousands of trees and when I take a whole tree down and leave a nice layout
Above left: JDubb reaching under a log to grab the feral to lock into the automatic choker. Above centre: On one of the good-sized trees he's felled in his time. Above right: JDubb’s home town, Tokoroa, ‘the timber town’. Left: JDubb’s slogans reflecting his positive values. Opposite page: Logging influencer, James Wilson, AKA JDubb, deep down in the Ngahere.
for the boys, I feel proud of myself. I love the sound of the tree when it cracks off the stump and hits the ground.
“If it wasn’t for my Dad I wouldn’t be in this position,” he adds. “He taught me everything to do with the bush. I might not know everything but I can give you something good out of what I’ve learnt. When he took me into the logging industry, my Dad told me that there’s a lot of good talent out there and there’s a lot of bad habits. You take every good thing out of a logger and you take it on board with you and you leave all their bad habits behind. Once you grab every good talent, you take them all and absorb them and you put it into your own style, and you use it and from there you teach the next ones that are coming up.”
Reaching out
He’s making absolutely sure to pass on those lessons and dispense that knowledge with the help of social media. For JDubb it’s all about positivity, safety and his passion for the industry: “A lot of people can relate to my stories because they go through the same things on a day-to-day basis. The struggle is real out there you know, with negativity – going to work negative and thinking negative and being negative and being a negative person towards other people. I’ve seen that through my whole career so far and that’s something I don’t like.”
Wanting to lift people’s morale and create “a vibe that everybody wants to jump on board with” soon garnered him a social media following: “If I can uplift someone else’s day, that makes me even happier.”
The next logical step was developing his own brand and slogans that sum up his Above: JDubb cutting up edge trees on the skids. Below: JDubb’s grandfather, Jim Wilson (right in all photos), back in the 1930s up the Cashmore hills behind Kinleith in Tokoroa, falling native trees.
ethos to connect with people. The first was Positive vibes keep it live, because you need positivity in your life to be able to have a love for something so big, says JDubb. Next came his Loggers Life brand. “I’ve got five Ls there on my brand, Live, Love, Like Logger’s Life. I live for the logging life, I love the logging life and I like it so much it’s just the logger’s life. I chose the five Ls because it’s like a star with five points. The chain around it represents the fact that we’re all linked together,” he explains.
With 33,878 Facebook followers of all ages from around the world, he has extended his logging videos to include a general message on staying positive, not only at your job but in your life as well, he says. His signature design Deep down in the Nga (for ngahere/forest) pays tribute to his Maori heritage. The designs he develops for his merchandise and logos are printed by Kingdom Print and Apparel, a Whangerei based family business that does custom digital artwork, printing and apparel for the logging industry. JDubb is also Ambassador for Protos NZ, reviewing their safety gear.
Who better to captain positivity than someone who knows life’s obstacles firsthand: “I’ve always been a happy go-lucky guy but I’ve been in situations where I’ve been down rough roads, I’ve seen rough things, I’ve been in dark holes. I’m a person who’s strong willed, I’ve come out of them and I know for sure in my mind that there are hundreds, thousands of people out there who have been in that position, who have been down that road, who’ve been in dark places and I can uplift them and pull them out of there to join me in this life that I live today.”
In the tough world of logging “there are times where it can be quite hard and a bit of a struggle” says JDubb: “But the main thing I say is you come to work with a clear head. You don’t bring anything that’s out of work into work. Safety is a big issue. If only everybody could just stick to the safety rules and not take short cuts or cut corners… that’s what safety’s about – teaching people the right ways.”
Above: JDubb's banner depicting his love of the forest in his signature design.
Grooved Drums and Sleeves
Then there are the practical challenges of the job. As a groundsman who hasn’t been around much machinery, he says the hardest thing for him is weather changes: “Stormy weather. You know, like I’m out on the ground, I have no shelter. And some days we have torrential rain that will start when I do, at half-past-six in the morning until I knock off at half-pastfour. Plus the crew does overtime. So I could be in the weather all day, every day if it decided to rain for a whole week. Me and some of my team mates, we’re not in machines like other people, so we do have it a lot harder and if you aren’t prepared with wet weather gear, a change of clothes, a good lunch, it can really ruin your days.”
Depending on “the way the hill is, the lean of the trees” he can fell over 200 trees in a good day. “Not that I count, but I know when I look at it. At the moment I’m the head breaker outer for Crew 83. So I have three people under me. I’ve got to train my trainees to be in my position, so that’s a whole ’nother job.”
A positive future
As to the future, JDubb sees himself as being “that number one person who can guide people and be a good influencer, be an inspiration to some people and be a leader”.
“With two sons and a third on the way, just going to work every day and being able to bring home money that puts food on our table and clothes on our backs, and keeping my family happy, is my hobby at the moment,” he adds.
Not bad for the boy who started as a poleman on the hauler, unhooking logs and “just trimming up on the skid with the boys” in his Dad’s crew. “I learnt the basics, the ropes and chainsaws and then I became a skiddy cutting up logs, measuring them, getting them all ready for the trucks. That was before all the processors come in. And then straight after that I moved onto being a breaker outer, going down the steep hills and into the gulleys and on the backlines. Then it was on to getting log-making and breaking out qualifications. Now I train the youngsters straight out of school. I try to teach them to be positive.
“It’s very dangerous. Anyone can go and cut down a tree, but you need to be skilled, confident and competent to do it as a job. Just knowing the specialised and technical cuts and the safety rules around it, makes all the difference,” he Above: JDubb carrying two coils of strawline to the backline to do a tail shift for the northbend system. Below: Running the drop line out on the Boman Carriage to the next drag. Opposite page: Hooking up logs down the hill under a TY90 hauler.
says. “Forestry is an active job. Your mindset has to be full into it. You need to be motivated.”
His message for those considering forestry? “Give it a go. Don’t be shy, you never know where you’re going to end up. If it wasn’t for my Dad I wouldn’t be in the position I am. He’s my number 1 idol, my inspiration and it goes back to my Dad’s Dad where it all started. It’s my passion. I love forestry. I wake up… I just love the smell, just going out there and smelling the fresh pine needles, the fresh air… It’s a really good place.”
Follow JDubb on Facebook at https:// www.facebook.com/JDubbYo NZL
SAVE ON INFRASTRUCTURE! INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY! IMPROVE HEALTH AND SAFETY!
