Worried you look stupid? British teenager hires a PR firm

Remember Jamie Neale? He’s been in the news this week for his miraculous survival in the Australian Bush.

The teenager went for a walk, leaving his mobile phone behind, during a gap year in Australia and got horribly lost. He survived by sleeping under logs and grazing on berries, nuts and whatever he could find.

He was able to see the search and rescue helicopters but unable to draw their attention. The pilots didn’t see him either. 12 days later and he stumbled out on to track in front of some other hikers. He was 9 miles from where he got lost.

Now; some of us might wonder why he’d go off hiking, alone, in the Bush without a phone. Silly? Much.

Neale, on the other hand, sees a story. He’s hired the Australian PR firm 22 Management to sell it. Sean Anderson, who runs 22 Management, reckons the story could be worth up to £500, 000.

Hat tip to Gemma O’Reilly over at PR Week for the insight.