EXCLUSIVE Neil Fox talks to Greenmystyle.com about electric scooters, family and Christmas magic

Neil Fox, Magic FM’s legendary breakfast DJ, tells Greenmystyle.com why he has decided to hang up the keys to his treasured Harley Davidson and is now zooming around town in a retro electric scooter. Maria Kaski talks to one of the UK’s most influential voices.

Hi Neil. Thanks for taking the time to chat to Greenmystyle.com. First things first, why did you decide to swap your Harley Davidson for an electric scooter?

Well, I’m the director of a green company, Green Rewards, and I saw these scooters on our website and thought they looked like a great idea – I wanted to try one out. If you’re going to be involved in a business that’s trying to get people to change their habits, you have to be prepared to do it yourself. I love riding bikes, I’ve loved them since I was kid, but also in London it’s a kind of necessary because the traffic can drive me insane.

What’s great about this scooter is that it really taps into what the average family can afford to do, ecologically speaking. Without making any sacrifice, people can adopt this as a really viable alternative to motorbikes or non-eco scooters. I know that a lot of people would prefer to do something positive for the environment but might be a bit lazy and not want to fork out on a really expensive product. I’ve always thought that if you can come up with a solution that ticks all consumer related boxes, most people will be interested. This scooter by Electrip does just that.

Most people are aware by this point that we need to do something to change our lifestyles, and my role is to convince people that we can make small changes that make a difference. A new, normal scooter will cost you in the region of £2,000, but these green scooters not only look like a proper scooter but are also sturdy and only cost £950.

The swap was initially going to be for a month. Will you be keeping your bike?

Once my month is up I”ll definitely be keeping the bike. So far I have been using it to scoot around town. I know my wife is going to use it too as it’s a really brilliant little thing. I only travel 4.5 miles into work, and although some people might be put off by the fact that it does about 30-40 miles on a full charge, that’s absolutely fine for relatively short distances.

Although I”d love to say that I”ll only use the Electric Scooter from now on, there are times when I will have to use my Harley for going out of town or for meetings that are further away.

But it’s important to remember that this issue isn’t black and white – people can’t just be classified as eco-warriors or Jeremy Clarksons – there is an in-between. Simple changes that don’t impinge on your quality of life is the best place to start. For example, there is a whole new generation of hybrid and electric cars that look great and are well built. They are perfect for people wanting to make the transition into greener transport. As much I’d love to take public transport everywhere, it’s just not practical for me, so if there is a shift towards hybrid and electric transportation that can only be a good thing.

What would be the biggest challenges facing someone that wanted to swap their existing motor for a more eco-friendly option?

One of the things that has struck me the most has been the silence of the scooter. I’ve been used to the Harley which is not only powerful but makes a lot of noise, and that actually makes you feel safer. With the Harley you can get out of difficult situations, but the solution is to learn how to ride scooters in a very different way. You need to treat it almost as if the scooter is like a bicycle and get used to the fact that people can’t hear you coming. But the scooter is a really great way of getting around. If you’re bored of traffic jams it’s a great way of getting to and from work.

But the scooter is so nifty, looks great and is good for the environment so there is nothing negative about it really. The only thing I would say might be a down side is its speed, but in London that’s never a problem given the traffic jams. Even on the scooter it takes me 12 minutes to get into work.

On a wider scale, the challenge for governments is to try and bring climate change and a greener lifestyle into the absolute mainstream. I think that to do that they probably need to drop the words green and eco because it tends to sadly give the impression of something swampy and hippy-like. Most people will hear that and think, ‘that’s not me’. But you don’t have to be like that.

You are the non-executive director of Green Rewards. How did you get involved in this and could you tell us how the scheme works?

I’ve always loved trees and there’s a lovely charity called Trees For Cities that I am now patron of. I got involved with them and it so happened that one of the key people within Trees for Cities was also the founder of Green Rewards. He liked my ideas and what I was trying to say for Trees For Cities and how I was getting the message across to people. He thought I would be great for Green Rewards. It’s an online shop but most importantly, it’s a company that likes to incentivise people for green behaviour as they are able to collect Green Rewards points that they can then use within the shop and spend online.

We’ve got some big meetings coming up with Boris Johnson to hopefully get him behind the scheme and discuss how local councils can get on board to incentivise their residents. For example, if people recycle properly they could get points to spend in the online shop. Every product has been vetted by a pretty harsh board. Everything is really credible and good but also looks great. We’re amazed by the fabulous things you can buy. I’ve put together 12 great products for Green Reward’s Christmas Cracker, which Magic FM has collaborated on, and it will allow people to see what they can get for their loved ones if they want to give more ethical gifts this Christmas.

Would you say you have become more eco aware since working with Green Rewards?

I read somewhere the other day that about 41% of the country feel that climate change is as a result of human activity. I find that shockingly low. Although I understand that we are in a natural cycle of global warming, I genuinely feel that we are speeding up the process. Yes, there have been cycles and yes, we are in one now, but  we are accelerating it in a terrifying way. It’s easy to see how we’re doing it as well, by burning fuels etc. It doesn’t take Einstein to realise how it’s happening and I find it quite sad that effectively 6 out of 10 people think it’s a lie. But, those remaining 4 out of 10 will surely try and do something about it so those are the ones that will be receptive to changing their habits and as a result have a positive effect on the planet.

Also, there are lots of things we haven’t done in this country that I think the government should push. Car sharing, for example. I sit on the radio every day and talk about the major traffic jams, the same routes are chock-a-block day after day, and most of these cars have only one person in them. Imagine if they had two! If everyone car shared there would be half as many cars – I know it’s the most obvious realisation but the maths is simple. And, it would take half the time to get to work.

I also can’t believe that office blocks are allowed to leave their lights on overnight. I think it’s a prestige power thing but if they turned half those lights off they’d save half the power. I think people need to be educated gradually to realise that it’s not cool. Fashion plays a really big part in this all.

But one thing I’ve realised is that you can’t just become green overnight, you have to make small changes to your life that over time will make an enormous impact on your well being and the world as a whole. And that’s why I think it’s important to get people like me on board, because I’ve never been an eco-warrior’ but I do realise that we need to do something and make simple changes.

As a parent you want to leave the world in a better place than when you got here, and if people don’t act now, we’re in real danger of not being able to do this.

Are you having a green Christmas? If so, how?

Well I’ve said to my wife that we have to try and buy as many of the 12 presents from Green Reward’s Christmas Cracker feature for people we know. If that’s what we’re telling people to do we have to try and do the same, and we want to!

What will you be hoping for under the Christmas tree this year?

The only thing I haven’t got and that I would really like is a telescope! I’ve always been fascinated by stars. We’ve got a house by the coast which has the most amazing skies. It’s not near a big town so you get the most fantastic visibility. I sometimes lie in the garden and look up at the sky. I want to show my kids the planets, the stars, the moon. Bit of an expensive ask though! To be honest what I’d like most is to wake up on Christmas morning with my kids jumping on the bed.

What makes Christmas magic for you?

That’s really simple…being with my family. This will be the first Christmas in 15 years that I’ve had Christmas Day off. I’ve always worked on Christmas Day and it actually used to be really fun. When I was at Capital FM I used to do my breakfast show and then Chris Tarrant would come in with his family – it’s a great day in which to really be a part of people’s lives. But my kids are little and I want to wake up with them on Christmas Day. They believe in Father Christmas and it’s lovely. As long as I’m with my wife and my three kids, I”ll be happy.