This is a little insight into my story and personal journey from Consultant in Aviation Medicine to Master Roaster at my own business.
I am a former British Army doctor. At the end of my 20-year medical-specialist training pathway, I had just started a consultant role in aviation medicine. I had flown 600+ hours over five years as a qualified pilot of an army helicopter, further developing my skills and knowledge.
Then life took an unexpected turn.
Despite using the complex controls of a helicopter and over 25 years’ motorcycling experience, I was not able to predict and avoid the car that crossed in front of me on my way to work in 2019. I don’t remember the event but am thought to have had only a few seconds to respond while travelling at 80 kph.
So I hit the side of this vehicle and flew nearly 20 metres, landing on my head! Fortunately, my Apple Watch detected the impact and called for help, resulting in an Air Ambulance dispatched to my rescue.
I ended up in surgery within the critical 4-hour window to relieve building pressure inside my nutshell. There have sadly been long-lasting effects of this damage to my brain, which include ongoing visual and cognitive impairments.
So… no return to my medical career.
My wife, Ruth, is also an excellent doctor and specialises in Functional & Integrative Medicine. She looked after me tirelessly to get me home from hospital to be with her and our much-loved Maine Coon cats. She found a private rehabilitation team and they did their absolute best for me until we emigrated here to BC in June 2022.
For many years prior to my brain injury, I was a coffee lover (yes, probably a geek too!) and my shiny Quick Mill espresso machine took pride of place in our kitchen. During the always ongoing rehabilitation following my injuries, a former colleague’s son, who owns River Coffee company in the UK, was kind enough to introduce me to the world of coffee roasting.
Being a lover of gadgets—and coffee—this was right up my street.
And so, the Utterly Wilde seed was sown.
Following our relocation to Canada, I began home-roasting beans in our garage, then expanded into the basement as my gadget collection and local customer base grew.
Through the kindness of friends old and new, Utterly Wilde is now located on a local farm as this project gains further—and very welcome—support from our community.
There will be much more information on this website about my ‘cutting-edge’ equipment once I’ve collated it; my ultimate aim is to be a planet-friendly and energy-efficient roaster for my intelligent, professional, coffee-loving, and technology-loving Canadian customers—whoever and wherever in Canada you may be!
What’s “Utterly Wilde” all about, anyway?
Our surname is Wilde and I’ve found felines fascinating and lovable since I was a little boy, so it was probably no coincidence that I married a crazy cat lady—the beautiful Dr. Ruth Wilde. And much of the last five years has been spent rehabilitating and recovering from my motorcycle accident, often with the help of a cup of coffee and our Maine Coon cats.
Hence our logo as part of this next chapter in our lives… which we will always fill with utterly wild(e) cats!
