Hi, I’m Garry and I’m a Viking.

Well, my ancestors were. By the time I’d arrived in March 1972 the Vikings were long gone, but a lot of that adventurous spirit was definitely still alive inside me.

I grew up in a council house in Waterfoot, Rossendale with my younger brother and two older sisters. As this was before the internet, iPad, and computer era, I spent most of my youth letting out that adventurous streak amongst the great outdoors. Playing out, climbing trees, building go karts, exploring the local countryside, fishing, and generally getting into mischief.

Ah! Times were good back then. Kids today are missing out.

I put in the hard yards at work as well as in play. I got my first job at 11-years-old washing up at my uncle’s butchers shop in Waterfoot, 2-3 hours every night after school, for 50p.

Some things are more valuable than money

Unfortunately, my parents took this 50p from my uncle – until I realised anyway!

The good thing is, it’s not the money that compounds at that age, it’s the life lessons. And for those I’ll always be grateful.

I was lucky enough to work for my uncle for 7 years. He taught me the value of hard work and saving for the things I wanted. An approach to life and work that stands me and Viking in good stead today.

I had several jobs whilst I was at school – paper rounds, mowing grass, stable hand. I taught myself about financial independence. I built a work ethic to last a lifetime. A work ethic that still drives me today.

These were hard times, but they made me the man I am today. I’m grateful for that.

Driven to win by doing the right thing

As a typical Pisces (apparently I couldn’t have been born any more a Pisces in terms of the date!), I can get emotional about things.

But in the most positive sense of the word – I care. I want to do right by you, and I want you to do right by me. It’s the way business should be.

I’ve come a long way to get to where I am now, and I’ll do whatever it takes to be a success and that will come from doing the best job we can for every single customer at Viking.

I’ve had this mindset since I was young, and that will never change.

The evolution of the Vikings

My journey into the access world started in 2007. I was slightly down on my luck, some things hadn’t worked out the way I had expected them to, and I was looking for a job. A fresh start.

Then, a local access company offered me a role operating machines called spider MEWPs (mobile elevating working platforms).

I loved the job from day one and over the following nine years I worked hard and was lucky enough to play important roles in amazing projects all over the UK.

A promising career was building up and after a few changes at my employer’s business, I got thinking…

‘Maybe I could do this for myself?’

After several months of debating in my head, I decided I had to try. I knew leaving my old job wouldn’t be easy or go down well but it’s what I had to do.

I’m still thankful for the lessons I learned and the experience I gained from my previous employer; the job gave me the tools I needed to do what I’m doing today. It was just time to do my thing.

On March 1st, 2018 Viking Access was born. Now, seventeen months later as I’m writing this, we are growing and standing by our ethos of doing business the right way. We have our ups and downs (sorry!), but we love it.

Four machines, three plant trailers, a 7.5 tonne truck, a 4×4 towing vehicle, along with a huge bank of knowledge about running an access company, we’re on the right track.

Our team of Vikings have over 26 years’ combined experience in the access industry. Their roles have included rope access, driving truck mounts, window cleaning, delivery and collection, familiarisation, maintenance, and fleet management.

We’ve also recently welcomed on board the ex-senior operator and surveyor for the UK’s market leading operator of tracked spider machines.

As Vikings, we love new adventures. We offer a new and unique approach to hiring access equipment for any conceivable environment, and we get the job done first time.

Contact us

I’m proud of what we’ve built here and the processes we’ve put in place.

If you’re looking for a new access company or know anyone who is, I’d love to speak to you.

Give me a call on 07541 481867 or email me – Garry@vikingaccess.co.uk.

-Garry Buck

P.S. I’d be very interested to know which part of my story resonated with you the most? Leave a comment telling me about how you got to where you are now and keep the conversation going!

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