(Something like a phenomenon) Baby!

A casual Q and A with Ray McGill.

What? You haven't heard of the casual? Read on...

Tell us a little about yourself. What have you been up to lately?

I am 22 and from Perth living in Wollongong working in Sydney in GIS and playing bass in the bands Bane of Isildur and Metal. I have a girlfriend who's name is Claud, she started the Let's Get Casual group thing and I have a cat named Eddy. Lately I've been getting ready to move to Sydney so I can save myself some time and leave more time for being casual.


How did you come to embrace a casual lifestyle over a life of leisure?

For me there is nothing more leisurely than a casual lifestyle. There was no trigger or start, its just what I do. I don't like to sit when I drink and just standing around not resting on anything isn't really comfortable after a couple of hours so it really is an obvious move for anyone I'd have thought.


How did the casual come about?

The casual came about naturally, it's just what I do when I have a drink. My girlfriend Claud for some reason found it amusing and decided to take photos of me doing it every weekend and then the she started the Facebook group and at last check we had about 575 members, people just sort of embraced it. I can understand why - it's a pretty bloody good.


Who is the causal for?

The casual is for everyone. it's just about relaxing and being comfortable so even if you can't physically put your foot up the mentality can still be there.


How does one 'get casual'?

It is pretty simple really, just find a coffee table, foot stool, bar stool etc etc and put your foot up on it and just relax. You can lean on the knee if you want or put your hand on your hip or whatever. It's all pretty casual. For me I like to get a nice stable stance so I can rest my drink on my knee, other people like to go a bit more extreme but we'll get into that later. Basically just think of the 'fold back stance' made popular by guys like Steve Harris and you'll get the idea.


Steve Harris



Eddy (Not the cat) getting casual



Some guy at Section 8

Are there any rules for getting casual?

I guess there are rules, its all pretty casual though. As I have mentioned I prefer there to be a bend in the leg, anywhere from about 80 to 100 degrees is optimal from a comfort perspective. There have been a few people get a bit confused and posting photos which are really quite unrelated but they were removed and for the most part its seems people have understood what it is getting at quite well.


Tell us about the Extreme Casual. What's the most extreme casual you have been?

The Extreme Casual is more of a recent development and, I must say, I'm a bit 'old school' with my casual and don't go overly extreme. The Extreme Casual is when the casual can be a bit dangerous, maybe you're on a cliff edge, maybe you're on a freeway, maybe your foot is just really high up. But yeah as I said I'm a bit old school and think you shouldn't go so high as to not have a bit of a bend in the knee. Thats really the crux of the casual. My most extreme casual? I hate to disappoint but I really can't think of anything exceptionally extreme, maybe casual on top of someone else's leg or something... but yeah usually a few too many 'casual scotches' for anything extreme.


Is there a time and a place for getting casual?

Anytime and any place as far as I'm concerned. My favorite time is the first scotch of the weekend. No better start to a Friday evening than being home from work and pouring yourself a nice casual scotch, putting your foot up on a coffee table, listen to some Heavy Metal - perhaps Virgin Steele, maybe Grave Digger, who knows? - and relaxing. Especially with Summer on the way I expect instances of casual to multiply so get out there and get into it!


Any last words?

Remember to start low to the ground. It's a rookie mistake to try and go too high to early and no one wants a Friday night to end early because of a groin injury. Stretch if you have to and finally get Casual!


Shout out's to:

Everyone who is a part of 'Lets get Casual' especially Claud for starting it and Andrew 'Lt Casual' Dowling for promoting it in every aspect of his alcohol fueled existence.




Go check out the Let's Get Casual Facebook Group. Trust me, Casual is the new cool.