‘The feeling I get from watching somebody succeed and do that thing they didn’t think they could do far outweighs any cheque’
Until two years ago, Jamie Rudd was ‘living the dream’; he ran a successful design and brand consultancy business, and enjoyed helping people to communicate their brands to their clients. In July 2018 his life changed in a split second; Jamie’s car was hit at 50 miles an hour by a car veering into his lane. Two strangers stopped to help and held Jamie’s head up, allowing him to breathe and ultimately saving his life. After a three-hour rescue operation, Jamie was taken to intensive care with life threatening injuries. A year into his recovery the metalwork in his left leg collapsed, leaving him in further intense discomfort and unable to walk without pain, but early in 2020 he had a further operation on his leg, and now feels that ‘there might be light at the end of the tunnel again’.
Since his accident, Jamie sees the world in a different light, and talks about the different way of thinking that he has developed since then; it has brought home the importance of friends and family in his life and not taking them for granted. He stresses the need for empathy and patience, as ‘just because something is hard for one person doesn’t make it hard for the next’, relating this to the different situations we all find ourselves in in lockdown. Finding his recovery and rehabilitation incredibly traumatic and frustrating has taught him the need to give himself a break, stop and reflect on his emotions and put in the work to understand himself, as well as knowing when to reach out for professional support.
Prior to his accident, Jamie and his friend Chris Bolton discussed producing an independent magazine, and after Jamie’s life-changing experience their creative direction for this became clear; SoulKind was born. SoulKind is a magazine that focuses on sharing tales of human endeavour, exploration and resilience to inspire others, and seeks to understand what it is that drives people to take on adventures and achieve great things against the odds. A central part of Jamie’s own recovery journey involved the inspiration he got from the positive mindsets and stories of others, and he is excited to be able to share these incredible stories with others.
Find out more about SoulKind here: https://www.soulkindpeople.co.uk/
