BOXING CLEVER: When we say Fully Charged is a low-budget production, it is no exaggeration
Six months ago, at the outset of the Coronavirus in the UK, we stated our intention to keep ‘providing a little positive energy against adversity‘.
Ahead of what will be another incredibly challenging six months, we can reaffirm our commitment to providing regular, positive content on the channel and the podcast.
Behind the scenes though, things have been slightly less straightforward. This is NOT a plea for sympathy, just a reminder, if it were required that we don’t inhabit a bubble. Far from it.
We also thought it was high-time to shine a spotlight on the incredible individuals that make up the Fully Charged team*. Let’s start with the boss…
*NB please note that almost all of the team members pictured on the website work on a part-time basis.
ROBERT
As everyone knows, Robert is the beating heart of Fully Charged, and pandemic-related concerns aside, is on fine form at the moment.
Recent shows with Charley Boorman (talking about Long Way Up) and his peerless review of the Polestar 2, are just two of our favourite recent episodes.
But with an annual output of ~100 episodes and ~50 podcasts a year, it makes sense to spread the load and share presenting responsibilities.
As well as regulars, like Rory Reid, Helen Czerski, Maddie Moate, Chelsea Sexton & Andy Torbet, we have been delighted to add overseas correspondents, including Elliot Richards in China, and Stephane Kox in Europe.
DAN
As MD, I admit to having the best job of all; not only do I get to work with Robert on the direction Fully Charged takes, but I am also involved in working out what stories we should cover, and ensuring that the business is commercially sustainable.
My philosophy has always been around carefully cultivating Fully Charged, while protecting its innate ‘Robertness’. As long-term clean energy and electric vehicle advocates, Robert and I are fortunate enough to be on the exact same page.
When it comes to content, we are absolutely inundated with episode suggestions, and we have some superb electric car, electric vehicle and clean energy episodes in production for your viewing pleasure.
Commercially however, it is a very challenging time for Fully Charged, as it is for most of our audience. YouTube revenues are vanishingly small, so when we thank our Patreons and YouTube Members, it is with ALL sincerity.
Financial support from these sources, while gratefully received, are not enough to keep the lights on at Fully Charged, so in recent years we have supplemented the channel with LIVE events in the UK and the US.
With the exception of our Electric Drive-In, LIVE events are on hold for the rest of the year, and as such we are really struggling commercially. Naturally, we are actively considering other opportunities that do not compromise the channel’s integrity.
BEN & THE PRODUCTION TEAM
When you consider the commercial and lockdown-related challenges the Production Team have had to deal with over the last six months, it could be considered that the group has been performing miracles.
But it’s been even tougher than that, as Ben, our tireless production director, has been seriously ill since Easter. He has really been through the wringer, has had several major operations, and remains in a critical condition even now.
We are doing everything we can to give him and his family the support and time he needs to make a recovery.
Robert and I are incredibly proud of the way in which the team has pulled together in this time, and would like to pay thanks to Maia, Stuart, James 1, George, Andrew, Louis and James 2 for stepping in to provide additional support.
Each and every one of them plays an important part in keeping the Fully Charged Show on the road.
Additionally, we would also like to pay tribute to Martin, for turning images like the one above, into truly memorable thumbnails like this…
THE WIDER TEAM
We would also like to pay tribute to the rest of the team; whether it’s those that look after all of our communications output (Sophie, Paul & Alex), those that look after our events (Gina & Jo) or those that look after our commercial incomes (Chris & Christina).
They too have been working flat-out in unprecedentedly difficult circumstances. It won’t surprise you to know that businesses in the sector – not least the car companies – find themselves in an unenviably, uncertain position.
It’s against this backdrop that we are operating, and regrettably we have had to reduce the amount of resource in the business (both in terms of the total number of people, but also in terms of the amount of time people work) as a short-term measure.
While absolutely nothing has changed in respect of the medium-term to long-term future of Fully Charged, this is obviously unsettling for all of those involved, and is of course sadly reflective of what is going on globally.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
When it comes to the bigger picture, we are acutely aware of the worsening economic conditions around the world.
How could we not be? In the UK, we are bracing ourselves for a bleak winter, with or without Brexit being factored in.
Of course, more than 75% of our audience are from outside of the UK, and economic conditions vary from country to country. It’s a hard truth that many countries have not been as hard-hit by COVID as the UK, although few are unaffected.
However, when it comes to clean energy and electric vehicles (of all shapes and sizes) the evidence so far suggests that the sales of all of these technologies will continue to grow globally and locally, despite the shrinking markets around them.
But one of the things we are extremely mindful of, is the cost of many of the things that we cover, which often puts them – electric cars in particular – out of the reach of ordinary people.
So rather than exclude people, we are keen for Fully Charged to cover much more of the ‘no cost’ or ‘low cost’ options that exist, in the coming months too, because we know all too well, what it’s like to operate on a budget.
And finally, if you believe in what we are doing, and want to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy, then please spread the word amongst your friends and family to help us hit 1 million subscribers by the end of 2021.
Thank you from us all at Fully Charged!
DAN CAESAR, MD
