THE founder of a new dispute resolution service called Right Against Might has outlined the inspirational personal story which led to the establishment of the company. 

Chris Joseph created the RAM Group to hold the world’s biggest businesses and organisations to account on behalf of underdog consumers. 

Using a unique approach, the company aims to secure “swift justice” without resorting to legal action for thousands of people across the UK with nowhere else to turn. 

For Chris, the company represents the latest chapter in an incredible life which changed forever 45 years ago. 

In 1978, then aged 20, he lost his right arm after he was pulled into the gearbox of a gantry crane while he was working in an iron foundry. 

It was caused by an absence of health and safety precautions and a lack of care by employers with insurance policies covering them against workers’ deaths. The firm at fault was fined £250 over the incident. 

Before the accident Chris had been planning to become a Catholic priest, and had been training in a monastery. 

He decided against this path, but his training as a priest helped because he had training in mind over matter and was able to use that to control the pain when the accident happened. 

Chris, from Stockton-on-Tees,  said: “I couldn’t play the piano anymore. That was my first thought when I came out of the gearbox. Then, my second thought was, get a grip, you’re bleeding to death. 

“That was when I had the thought about being very similar to Monty Python and the Holy Grail when he’s taking on the Black Knight and he’s squirting blood in all directions. So there was an element of humour that crept into my head, even though I was bleeding to death. 

“When I arrived at hospital, I actually said to the nurse when she set up the drip at the end of my bed and I just said ‘can you please fill it with Heineken? I understand it refreshes the parts other beers can’t reach’.” 

He said remains of his severed arm dropped into a furnace which was producing components for a power station project in Argentina. He was able to watch the World Cup finals in hospital and the irony of Argentina winning was not lost on him. 

Explaining how he was able to turn his life around he said: “I just taught myself to do everything again and you have to think like a child, you have to review the way you’ve done things and then think of a better way of doing it, or a clever way of doing it, like tying shoelaces and stuff like that. And there were 13 operations while I was in the hospital.” 

After having a silver hook fitted to his stump, he decided to spend his £23,000 in compensation on buying a house and renting it out. He went to work in a cheese factory, where he designed an innovative stock-taking system for the firm. 

Chris returned to university and changed his course to cover communications, broadcasting, film studies and systems thinking. 

“I was already creative and thinking with one hand made me even more so, driving, adapting, re-thinking, and I met a woman at the university who would love to become my wife and mother of my three children.” 

He said he did not want to become an accountant and applied for a job with the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, but was turned down because he was “too nice”. He applied to six other agencies and was offered a position with one of the smaller agencies. 

“Basically, they hired me and they paid me nothing apart from my expenses and gave me a six-week trial, which the government paid £45 pounds a week for, as they were getting paid £45 a week to employ this disabled bloke and that’s how I got the first job in advertising.” 

After 11 months, he was promoted to new business director, and, ironically, he was subsequently head-hunted by Saatchi & Saatchi to work as a creative new business consultant. 

He suffered a leg injury while ice skating at a Saatchi party and decided to set up his own agency while he recovered. In three years, the firm had a turnover of £15 million and employed 43 people. 

After a successful career, he decided to use his experience to set up Right Against Might to champion the cause of other people who have faced adversity due to the actions of large organisations. 

Chris has gone on to become a bestselling author through his new book Zest! Seller. 

He’s also a long-term mental health campaigner who has successfully challenged several multinational companies in the High Court in London. He has also taken on and beaten the banking industry. 

His trailblazing work established the legal precedent by which all creative agencies now retain copyright in their pitch work. 

He credits losing his arm with the development of his creative thinking and his subsequent success: “My brain has had to wake up and think differently. I had to completely re-learn and it was almost like I had to sort of look at my shoelaces and think, ‘how the hell do I tie these?’ 

“Somebody said to me, what about Velcro? But I wanted to be able to choose whatever shoes I wanted, whatever tie I wanted. I can tie a bow tie one-handed. 

“There’s all sorts of things. It’s a question of adapting and learning different ways and means of doing them and not being defeated.” 

He added: “I regarded myself not as a man who had lost an arm, but as a one-armed man – there is a difference.” 

BREAKOUT:  

If you need support resolving a dispute, Right Against Might can help and want to hear from you.  Visit https://rightagainstmight.com 

Explaining his work, Chris says: “Truth is simple and black and white.  

“We may not be lawyers, but you don’t need to be one to know the difference between right and wrong and when someone is telling the truth. 

“We offer a unique creative dispute resolution service. We are experts in iconoclasm, using an infinite pool of creativity both in lawful message and method. We have a proven demonstrable reputation, and a track record for intervention in disputes of all kinds. 

“We usually resolve and settle them quickly. We have a dogged determination to seek justice and see right done as quickly as possible so you and your opponent can move on with your lives. We use the court of public opinion, it’s usually much quicker than a court of law but we know how to use both. 

“RAM (Right Against Might™) offers a service of unashamed irreverence towards ‘Goliaths’ who can be individuals, organisations, and companies who seek to crush powerless ‘Davids’. We empower you, helping you fight back and think ‘outside the box’. Although acutely aware of the legal tramlines we must not cross, (we always work within the law) and with excellent legal minds and experts at our fingertips, we know where to go, who to talk to, and most importantly, what to do to disrupt inertia, redress the balance and seize the initiative. 

“Each dispute is different and interesting and sometimes we work pro bono. With years of experience in the advertising industry, we produce communications or campaigns that are legal, honest, decent and truthful. Our imagery, messages and media clout are powerful and we work creatively and strategically with you in myriad ways. My message if you are a ‘Goliath’ and if you ever hear from us, is to please just do the right thing.”