Karine Rayson: Mental Health for Yacht Chefs | Get the Fork Out Ep. 27

[@clifbradley]

Let's be honest Brennan in terms of personal development, you created a podcast, you get on a motorcycle and travel the world to fulfill your spiritual guidance, whether you believe in that or not. I think you are a spiritual person in that you do things that make you feel fulfilled and whole. So beyond meditation and therapy, you are driven and just what you do with your videos by creating content in an industry you love shows that you have developed.

[@OliveOilandGasoline]

HAHAHAHA, I thought of that after the fact! The motorcycle trip has kept me sane and brought me so much perspective and wisdom that I'm not sure I could have gotten anywhere else. I really appreciate you noticing all of those things and giving me an outside perspective of what I'm doing. I didn't really think of it all in that way. Thanks man!

[@DanielBengtsson]

About meditation… I worked at a large IT-company many years ago and after burned out and being treated for a year I came back and started to slowly work my way back. After working there for a while I got a lot of questions about what happened and if I had any suggestions to others. I then booked the largest conference room we had and started to show whoever was interested, during lunchtime once a week, different types of meditation (but I had to call in relaxation officially). A common “mental anchor” is breathing but a lot of people do not find following your own breathing pleasant and relaxing so for a lot of people it was useful to test out different “types” of anchors and also different physical ways of meditating. Some liked to sit, some to stand and some to slowly walk (kinhin for example). I prefer standing meditations based on a visual or “audio” anchor rather than sitting meditation having my breathing as an anchor. So: As she said - test different things out… Just because a specific meditation works perfectly well for a friend does not mean it is the best for you. 🙂

[@OliveOilandGasoline]

Thanks for that Daniel, I need to keep exploring for sure, As I said in the video I love and respect meditation but for whatever reason I just kind of avoid it. I need to work on the discipline of working that into my routine.

[@rebekahlow5957]

I’ve been looking forward to this video for a month now. I’ve been behind the eight ball.I really appreciate this conversation with Karine. Mental health is a big issue in my life. This conversation was very uplifting. It was helpful to me to be reminded that I’m not alone. That lots of people have issues and there are solutions. We can make a difference in our lives. And seeking help is normal and not a weakness. I hope we see Karine again.Thank you Brandon for this wonderful video! Happy New Year from Vermont

[@OliveOilandGasoline]

Hi Rebekah! I'm glad we could help lift your spirits a little bit. It such a fundamental part of being human yet it gets overlooked in our society and talked about in hushed tones. It's bizarre to me that this is the case yet we all either deal with it directly or with a loved one throughout our lives. I miss Vermont! I hope you're having a nice winter!

[@verasindooroutdoorcooking8198]

Wow, this just hit me like 😳🤛🏼. What an eye-opener! I really thought it would be amazing to work in a place like that - the view, the glamour, and all of that. I always asked myself why I see so many posts on Instagram about urgent searches for yacht chefs. I thought people would be lining up for a job like that. Now I understand. And Karine, she's amazing. I love her serene way of speaking and understanding. I loved this episode in so many ways. I really think that many chefs in your situation who don't dare to talk about it will feel encouraged to do so. I truly believe this was very helpful for many people in your industry. Just think about the good it will do if at least some follow up with therapy or just reach out for a conversation… 💪🏽⚓️

[@OliveOilandGasoline]

Yes, that's exactly it. I feel like if we can even help one person this video will be worth it. It's a hectic, fast paced competitive industry and it is not an easy way to make a living or a career. There is a line for the jobs on board these yachts but it takes a special kind of person to be able to do it well. Nice to see you. on here Vera!

[@clifbradley]

Poor leadership is absolutely a huge factor in people not getting along in yachting. Constantly working to the absolute best possible standards is tiring and without the support and leadership of people at the top, you won't retain crew and things will slip. Then when things slip, the leadership cracks down harder and harder. Which just opens the cracks deeper. But at the same time, we deal with a lot of shallow superficial people so when you have people reaching out to help, we are so cynical, it's difficult to know that people are sincere.

[@OliveOilandGasoline]

Spoken like an ex yachtie! You hit the nail on the head with all of it but the first part rings true for every industry. The second part was a very intelligent observation, we do deal with a lot of strange people and different stages of our career and it does tend to make us cynical over time.

[@markuswunsch]

Great interview on an important topic! Mental health issues are unfortunately still widely stigmatized which keeps many people from actually growing. And Karine is right that it’s so important to know your strengths, weaknesses and needs and communicate them. The latter also applies to leaders. This said after opening up to my team about my bipolar disorder (and some other aspects like all the entrepreneurial stress) a lot of things really improved across the entire company. Thus, I can only encourage everyone in a leadership position to be more open; because more often than not it starts top down. Also liked all the (indirect) info you gave in the interview in regard to what we owners can/could do to improve crew conditions.

[@OliveOilandGasoline]

It's definitely still carrying that stigma. I also think the term "mental health" is too broad and covers a vast multitude of things from the small to the mort horrible crippling disorders. Even though the term is very benign 'mental heath' it carries a ton of weight and like you said, stigma. That would be a good idea for a podcast, what owners could do during the build process and into operations to help crew deliver the best guest experience possible through better working conditions. I have no idea who I would have on as a guest but let me think about it. An owner or a captain that would be willing to be honest.

[@JyttesTrailCamera]

"8 hours of sleep would be amazing, but I know how unrealistic that is..." That right there is systemic in the charter yachts. Many of these yachts are seriously undermanned for the work that is expected. Personally I blame the owners most of all. They're unwilling to pay for the extra crew, and most unwilling to allocate the space needed for said crew (hence the stuffing of 2 crew in a cubby hole), as that would mean less guests or less 'amenities' for guests. Also, where the industry used to be 'cruising and eating' it's now a floating circus, with a flotilla of toys and non-stop entertainment/treatments... and it doesn't reflect in the number of crew. In other words, the workload is heavier than ever. Designers, brokers and yards also bear their share of the blame, in their apparent unwillingness to explain to a would-be owner what space allocations for all crew areas are needed for a well-functioning boat. Sorry for the rant 😄 Great video this one, I'm becoming a huge fan of your channel. Keep'em coming!

[@OliveOilandGasoline]

You nailed it. I agree with you on all points. Expectations just keep getting higher and higher in all departments and a majority of brokers, shipyards are selling the idea of less crew because of technology. They're building bigger boats with less bunks.

[@JyttesTrailCamera]

@@OliveOilandGasoline Anybody aspiring to be a yacht designer should be forced to work a full season on one, half on deck, half inside. Equally, any and all yacht owners and charter guests should spend minimum 1 night in a crew cabin, and while they're down there, have them visit the galley, laundry room (if such exist) etc etc. Maybe some would learn what makes their beloved floating hotel go around?

[@tg.garloo4271]

This is a HUGELY valuable video, and it's almost impossible to find.

[@OliveOilandGasoline]

It's because I haven't posted it yet! 😂. How did you find it?

[@OliveOilandGasoline]

It's public now.

[@clifbradley]

In a lot of ways being in yachting is like being in prison. In that sometimes you have insane 'wardens', you could get a chef that doesn't care what you like to eat, or doesn't care about the crew, you sleep in cramped small uncomfortable beds, you are overworked to the point of exhaustion, your friend group is extremely small. But in many many many MANY ways...yachting is NOTHING like prison. I see how people feel like yachting is similar to prison if you don't know what prison is like. I never had a problem with being in yachting, but you always hear horror stories and the people that constantly complain.

[@OliveOilandGasoline]

I don't think it's fair to compare it to a prison, I agree. The parallels are quite funny though! I don't think it's fair to prisoners to be compared to yacht crew, they'd tell whoever said that to fuck right off! 😂

[@dwho3]

great video , are the new ships going to use less crew. some kind of ratio ,staff to guest would be better

[@OliveOilandGasoline]

Yup less crew and higher expectations. Not good.

[@meridacavediver]

I think this is a much bigger topic, but specifically on the comment "some people don't know how to lead"... this is land based as well. I can't speak to statistics but I can assure you that this problem exists in land based environments and at the executives level. I'm only speculating here, but I find that a lot of poor leadership stems from people having nothing but a title... and using that as justification for respect and or malicious treatment of others. It's a massive issue

[@OliveOilandGasoline]

That was something that I think I brought up in the video. "Our Industry" and how harmful it was kept being promoted as the problem, when in reality depression and suicide is a human problem non specific to an "industry". Same goes for leadership. I don't see any separation between "land" and "sea" jobs and good or bad leadership.