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Interview:
Jack Lloyd Jones, Founder of Sydney Body Art Ride:
14th January 2004
Once
in a while something or some one "leaps out"
at me. Jake Lyoyd Jones and the Sydney Body Art
Ride are just that entity. Community, Charity,
Fitness, Fun and Sexiness all in one!
Q:
What's your background?
A:
Born in Perth, grew up at Harbord Beach, Left
School after year ten, One year Sweden, Two years
in Tumut on the family farm, (Elm Grove Sanctuary
up in the Goobarragandra valley, now sold. Parents
retired to Bermagui.) Back to Sydney, share houses,
bands etc, under 18 dole was $45 a week, rent
in Surry hills was $30 a week for my room. Met
Denise Matthews of Temora, went to India for seven
months together came back got married, lived in
Sydney and Tumut. Settled in Canberra. Attended
Animal attendant course at TAFE. Worked at the
Tax Office for a few years, transferred back to
Sydney when Denise was diagnosed with Leukaemia
and lived in Newtown, Denise died after undergoing
the full horrors of a bone marrow transplant.
I lived alone for a while and then fell in love
(not for the first time) with Natasha Marfutenko
from Bankstown. Natasha's parents were the children
of Russian refugees, Natasha's grandmother and
her family were taken from Byelorussia to Germany
by the Nazis to work on farms as forced labour.
Natasha and I married and travelled across Asia
and the Middle East for 13 months. When we came
back Natasha quickly gained employment at the
ABC as she had previously worked for the Sydney
Morning Herald. We lived in Leichhardt. Eventually
I found a position as an Assistant pantry hand
at Garden Island Naval base. Amusing for a while
but fortunately Natasha was soon able to recommend
me for casual work in ABC Archives, pushing a
trolley. I got a permanent job in the program
library, driving a golf buggy full of tapes for
broadcast round to master control each day, then
I got a job in cataloguing and moved from their
into film research, As the new chum I was soon
assigned to the job that involved the most running
around. 7.30 Report, I have been there ever since,
more than ten years. It's a humble role but I
love it.
Q:
How did you come up with the idea and what's the
association with the world famous World Naked
Bike Ride?
A:
Rang Bicycle NSW one day in connection with work,
they convinced me to start riding to work again,
ABC had moved to Ultimo so it was an easy ride.
I always thought it was sexist that women couldn't
go topless like men. WNBR is a pretty loose association,
everyone creates their own ride in their own style.
We wanted to make our event more inclusive so
we added the swimmers or bikini bottom minimum
rule.
Q:
What are your main aims and objectives?
A:
Fundraising for Child Cancer Research
Promoting Clover Moore's bike plan
Reclaiming the body from the wowsers
Giving ordinary people a chance to be artists
Q:
Who have been your biggest supporters to date?
A:
Natasha, my family and personal friends and my
ABC colleagues who have given up their expertise,
ideas and spare time. Catherine our designer,
Wendy our secretary, Phuong Le, the human dynamo,
Mayor Murray Matson, too many more to mention.
Everyone supports us, we have no opponents.
Q:
What has been the response to the event thus far?
A:
Disbelief followed by overwhelming enthusiasm.
Q:
What's the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
connection, and what "scoops" and "inside
stuff" can you put into the public domain?
A:
As little as possible please! The ABC people can
technically be X for this!
Q:
Why is freedom of speech and of expression, so
important?
A:
Take a look at the people on this planet who don't
have it…
Q:
What's your motto?
A:
Miracles and mischief managed.
Q:
How do you maintain the balance between sexy,
arty and not "over the top"?
A:
Sexiness is in the eye of the beholder.
Our
ride is about Art, we want to celebrate the Australian
volunteering spirit. We want to see all body shapes,
all ethnicities in our ride, it's our individual
differences bonded as a united community that
make us so powerful and make Australia such a
great place to live. That's the symbolism of the
Human Rainbow. We are great supporters of celebrating
sexuality but we already have the Sydney Gay and
Lesbian Mardi Gras to do that.
...end.
Editors
note: This even may be just the biggest thing
that Maroubra Beach has ever seen, and we are
delighted to be part of this even of mammouth
porportians. Watch out for the Media Team!
Websites
Sydney
Body Art Ride
World
Naked Bike Ride
Profiles
Maroubra
Beach
Philanthropy
& Charity
Body
Painting
Events
What's
On!
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