Richard Branson is clearly in bits after his cycling crash, but he turned it into global free publicity like only he can.
If he’s not the best person in the world at getting free publicity, there are very few ahead of him. So when Virgin boss Richard Branson had a bad crash while cycling he turned it into a major public relations coup.
On a serious note, Branson looks very beat up after the incident and said he genuinely thought he was a goner.
He said he was shocked he was still alive and once he realised he was, he couldn’t believe he wasn’t paralysed.
He was out cycling on Virgin Gorda, on the British Virgin Islands, at the time of the crash and was later brought to Miami for X-rays. So, to be completely fair to him, it must have been quite a shock.
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Still on the deck but already sensing and seizing the public relations potential...
But what Branson did next was genius in its simplicity. He made sure he got lots of photos taken; of his injuries, being treated by the doctor and even while he was still on the road unable to move after the spill.
He then put together a blog on the incident, stuck in all the photos and wrote about how he was training for his Virgin Strive Challenge event; being sure to stick in plenty of mentions and links to its website.
The result was more publicity than you could shake a stick it. All over the world.
He wrote on his blog: “A couple of nights ago I went cycling on Virgin Gorda with Holly and Sam as part of my training for the Virgin Strive Challenge.
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Getting patched up; he seems to have taken it well to be fair.
“I was heading down a hill towards Leverick Bay when it suddenly got really dark and I managed to hit a ‘sleeping policeman’ hump in the road head on.
"The next thing I knew, I was being hurled over the handlebars and my life was literally flashing before my eyes.
"I really thought I was going to die. I went flying head-first towards the concrete road, but fortunately my shoulder and cheek took the brunt of the impact, and I was wearing a helmet that saved my life.
“My bike went flying off the cliff and disappeared. We’ve since recovered the crumpled bicycle, completely destroyed. My cheek has been badly damaged and my knee, chin, shoulder and body severely cut.”
The set wouldn't be complete without the "I'm in bits but I've still got my thumbs up meaning I'm incredibly brave" shot.
He added he had already travelled to Miami for x-rays and scans, “but have been extremely fortunate that apart from a cracked cheek and some torn ligaments” he is OK.
Incidentally, the Virgin Strive Challenge – “striving for big change” – will take the participants from the Matterhorn to Mount Etna.
Participants will next month hike into Northern Italy from the base of the Matterhorn, cycle the length of the country, swim from Italy to Sicily, mountain bike to the foothills of Mt Etna and trail-run to the summit of the active volcano.
Branson and his team hope to raise over £1.5m for Big Change, “a social impact accelerator that helps young people thrive in life, not just exams”.
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