Kiwi Gavin Shoebridge was working at a radio station in Slovakia when he got the gig recording in-service announcements in English for the country's trams, buses and trains. Photo: Supplied
A Kiwi was on a train in Slovakia when she heard a familiar accent come over the speakers.
It was a New Zealand voice and it belonged to Gavin Shoebridge - the English announcer of the Central Europe country's national rail carrier.
So how did a New Zealander wind up with that job?
Shoebridge was working as a broadcaster for the English version of Slovak Radio, when his colleague who also worked a public transport announcer told him about the job.
"I had like a thousand stations to read out in the microphone, which took me a long time but we got there," Shoebridge told Nights.
"I did a lot at home, I had a studio and a microphone, I'd sit there a couple of hours through the night and read them slowly. You've got to read them slowly, trying and keep the intonation flat, not too excited.
"Like 'the next stop is, pause, Banská Bystrica' in a flat tone so it can be included in a list."
Who is this New Zealander and how did he get a gig doing English voice-overs for Slovakia’s national carrier??? pic.twitter.com/VcWYnn8cG5
— Molly (@molliotti) September 12, 2024
Some of the pronounciations of place names were difficult for Shoebridge, but it was even moreso when the train branched out to towns in the Czech Republic.
"I struggled with some of them. Czechs have like this r with a crown over the top of it and I just for the life of me can't do it. It's impossible."
Unfortunately though, it appears the Kiwi's voice won't be on the Slovakian public transport system for long as he's been told he will be replaced by AI.
"I still exist on the trains though, and knowing how slow the Slovak bureaucracy upgrades [are] … I'll probably be tormenting passengers for years to come."
He's now taken up a stint as a YouTuber.
"If you get a chance to go to Slovakia, do it, it's just a fantastic place, out of this world."
Photo: slovakrail.sk
