steven dunne

by mia hadjigeorgiou

Security guard Steven Dunne may work full-time in an abandoned factory in Rochdale, but his self-taught drone piloting skills set him apart as a potential high-flyer…

Aged 28, Steven currently lives in Rochdale with his partner and 1-year-old son, working 60 hours per week as a security guard after being offered the job two-and-a-half years ago completely by chance.

After walking past the factory one day and getting chatting to the on-duty security guard, Steven was offered a position at the site in security.
However, while he says he “[doesn’t] mind” the job, and it’s “all worth it” to provide the “absolute best life possible” for his son, his true passion really lies in drone piloting.

Dunne first became interested in drone piloting two years ago when he began to feel isolated at work, in such a large open space, yet with so few people to talk to. As a result, he decided to buy a drone, and originally purchased a “cheap one from Wish” for £30, which was “really s*** but definitely got [him] interested”, and helped him learn the basic skills of how to pilot a camera-drone.

From there, Steven continued to hone his drone piloting skills, and teach himself new tricks; he now flies an FPV (first-person view) drone to capture extensive camera footage of the factory along with dozens of other locations.

When asked what his favourite part of piloting was, Steven said: “It’s hard to explain. When I’m flying it’s just peaceful if that makes sense? At first, I got a proper adrenaline boost from it, but now it’s just freedom, and peaceful, and an escape”.

He admits that if given the opportunity, his first objective would be to connect with other drone footage content-creators like himself, before hopefully then connecting with companies in the advertising world who would be interested in using his footage. Steven also expressed a keen interest in one day potentially owning his own drone-servicing business, with the freedom to work for himself doing something he thoroughly enjoys, while still providing everything he can for his little boy.

His self-taught skills and selflessness are nothing short of admirable, and his work speaks volumes for itself. So, while Steven may not be known on the drone circuit at the moment, no one should discount this potential high-flyer just yet…