BRINGING DIRECTION TO THOSE BEHIND BARS.

Veteran V8 racing driver Andrew Fishtail Fisher has made an historic visit to a maximum security prison. The Lotus Glen facility has 700 inmates and is located close to Cairns.

 

Fishtail says the unique opportunity came after a huge amount of persistent effort was made by two of the inmates. The men had been following Fishtail’s exploits on and off the race track for a number of years and asked him if he would be willing to visit them. They prepared a proposal for the prison officials and then followed through with a lot of red tape and paperwork.

 

“To say this was a miracle is not too far from the truth” says Fishtail, “there has never been a program like this approved that was organised by the inmates and there has certainly never been a vehicle allowed into the facility before”.

 

“I was amazed that it all came off without a hitch. Much of the thanks goes to one of the detention centre staff members who worked with the inmates to make it happen and took responsibility for the events on the day”.

 

There were some pretty serious security measures in place including being finger printed and body scanned. Fishtail quipped “I was just glad they didn’t need to do any cavity searches!”

 

“Before I knew it there I was in a room full of inmates. It was a great experience, they were really engaged with what was said. They are just every day blokes, real men, and a lot of them followed motor racing so knew who I was. Racing at the front of Australia’s most robust and aggressive Championship definitely gives good street cred. It certainly helped me to connect with these guys”, explains Fishtail.

 

“As part of our time together I challenged them to see the past as the past, they can’t change what they have done, they can only focus on the future. It’s their choice, they can choose their own legacy. It’s all about one decision, one action, one day at a time and staying focused. People don’t have to let the past define who they are as a person. I told them they can either let their legacy be based on mistakes that were made or it can be based on making a difference in life and adding value to the community when they get out.

They have the power to re-establish what they want their legacy to be. I was able to be very blunt with these men, I didn’thave to be subtle because they have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

 

The General Manager came in during the presentation and saw how the inmates were reacting to the talk. Both he and the prison guards felt the inmates responded in such a positive way that they reversed their previous decision to not allow Fishtail to start the car and therefore one of the highlights was watching the guys faces light up as the Jesus Falcon bounced off the rev limiter.

 

Fishtail left the Lotus Glen Correctional Centre and went to their low security facility known as The Farm where many of the inmates are preparing to return to society in the next few years.

 

“The content of my talk was particularly valuable to these guys as their release is imminent and I was able to focus their attention on changing the cycle that many of them are in. I challenged them to think about making important changes which will have a life long impact on them and their families”, said Fisher.

 

Fishtail says the positive response of the inmates and staff has inspired him to look for opportunities to present Life Choices at other prisons across the nation.

 

A source from the centre said “the inmates reaction to Fisher and what he said was remarkable, the guys were extremely impressed and appreciated Fisher giving up his time to come and meet them. They were certainly challenged to think about their future in a different way.