One night, two years ago, Jim Maher was driving a haul truck at Bulga Mine listening to podcasts when he had an idea. Fast forward to today and Jim, along with his mates Lachlan Cromby and Jai Brook, have created a business called ‘Night Work Nutrition’.

Jim, Lachlan and Jai all started together at Bulga mine near Singleton as trainees.

A couple of years ago, Jim was listening to podcasts on sleep and nutrition and discovered how bad shiftwork was for your health. He did some research and found there wasn’t really anything around to help make it better.

“That’s when I pitched a meal replacement idea to Lachlan, and we got into the research and development. We spent a good six months looking at various products and trying to work out how we could do better.

“12 months after that we brought Jai on board,” said Jim.

Little did Jim and Lachlan know, but their call to Jai couldn’t have come at a better time.

“My dad had throat cancer and went through a bout of radiation. He rang me up devastated,” said Jai.

“The radiation had cured the cancer, but his health had started to deteriorate. He was struggling to eat and didn’t want to eat around his workmates as he struggled to get his food down.

“Now, he’s having our Night Revive shake every meal and it’s reduced his radiation scaring, he’s able to get all his nutrients in and he’s more active.”

The crews at Bulga are seeing the benefits too.

“It’s been incredible,” said Lachlan.

“We’ve seen people at work lose weight, they’re looking more alert and focused and second crib at work people normally have their fatigue break but the guys are telling us that they don’t need that sleep now.

“I saw a supervisor pinch a scoop from another supervisor’s bag the other day! Everyone loves it and they’re truly seeing results.”

Night Revive is designed to support the body’s needs during sleep recovery while you work nightshift. There’s 20.4g of protein per serving, Vitamins C, E and B to help maintain energy levels and support immune function to ensure you stay focused.

There’s green tea extract, guarana extract and caffeine for a natural energy boost and dietary fibre from psyllium husk to promote digestive health and keep you feeling full.

“Our snack bars are hemp bars, and we went down that route for the health benefits of hemp compared to a protein bar,” said Jim.

“We’ve got our advanced sleep mask too which blocks out 98% of light. They’re lightweight and very comfortable.

“Our products aren’t just for miners, if you’re a paramedic who doesn’t have access to a fridge or a microwave or the right food, you can have one of these shakes and get all the vitamins, minerals, fibre and protein you need.”

All the products are made in Melbourne and shipped up to the Hunter. For now, the boys are busy packing and shipping orders themselves, however, they are looking into local distribution options as their business grows.

Jai said a few people have asked them if they want it to be their way out of mining, but they don’t plan on going anywhere.

“If anything, it’s made us fall in love with mining more. Don’t get me wrong, nightshift is hard, and it always will be, but it doesn’t seem so hard anymore. We genuinely love our job and what we do and now we have something that makes us feel better.”

“We’re very proud of our coalmining origins,” Lachlan added.

Night Work Nutrition’s website is not only for their products, it also has links and information to various sites for your overall health and wellbeing.

“We want to be in a position where people suggest us, say that we have the products and everything to help them. We just want shift workers to eat and sleep better while unlocking the best versions of themselves,” said Jim.

Follow Night Work Nutrition on Instagram @nightworknutrition and follow them on Facebook. For more info on their products, to purchase them and a whole lot more: https://www.nightrevive.com.au/