Meet your vendor.
My name is Ben. I’m the eldest child of two. Apart from some horrendous eczema and a few other health problems, I had a pretty great childhood growing up in a peaceful street in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.
As a kid I was blessed to have cousins that lived next door, and my best mates all lived close. A big backyard, a cubby house out back, a dug-in trampoline, heaps of toys, bikes with a great big bike track down in the local valley. Although the memories have mostly faded, and I can’t remember how it felt, all my best experiences are from that time period.
School was boring as a kid, but I don’t know too many people who like school at that age. I couldn’t wait to grow up so I could start earning money with my dad, and take care of all my family. He was my hero, working 12 hours a day, six days a week to provide us with an above-average lifestyle.
But life doesn’t always stay great. By the time I’d left primary school most of my family had fallen away, and all that was left was my divorced parents, my little sister Chloe, Nan, Uncle Dale and Aunty Pauline.
Socially, high school was isolating, and I lacked the verbal skills to avoid trouble without my fists to back myself up. I really began to flounder. I decided I needed to reinvent myself as a “nerd” in order to stay out of jail. I did gain an appreciation for learning through the nerd years. I never much cared for the people around, as my focus remained the same: get wealthy, help my family and stay away from people who would get me locked up.
I never could think of what I wanted to do after high school, so when my biology teacher told me she’d be disappointed in me if I didn’t apply for biology at uni, I applied and got in. I lasted about two weeks and dropped out, but I love telling people I went to uni: it makes the rubbish I talk more valid.
I’ve worked as a courier and done some labouring work over the years. I’ve known about The Big Issue since its inception – my mum used to buy it, my friend Les suggested I start working there and I’ve been involved in selling since 2018.
What I most like about selling The Big Issue is it forces me to engage in community, and it funds a pretty reasonable lifestyle. I am currently saving for my tax bill and video games, and I do whatever my budget can afford. My customers would not believe the difference The Big Issue makes in my life and the lives of my fellow vendors. I cannot overstate it enough. My main goal is to live a rock star lifestyle without having any musical talent.
Ben sells The Big Issue at Woolworths Metro, cnr George and Tank Sts, Brisbane
Interview by Lorna Frost
Photo by Andrew Porfyri
Published in ed#751