After Mr Lawson’s house had partially burned down three years ago (an incident that while traumatising, thankfully left him uninjured), his ex-girlfriend called to see how he was doing.
Fast forward to the present day, and the couple are now married after a Buddhist wedding ceremony last week in Nepal.
Mr Lawson and new wife Tiffany are now in Phuket for a two-week honeymoon, and are surprising locals with their unusual mode of transport.
Mr Lawson is a quadriplegic, meaning he has no use of his legs and limited use of his arms, after he broke his back in a dirt bike crash 14 years ago.
So when he decided to come to Phuket on his honeymoon, Mr Lawson enlisted the help of good friend and Phuket resident Ryan Doran to get his thinking cap on.
Mr Doran decided to create the perfect transport set up so his friend would be able to explore Phuket’s best sights – he built a sidecar that was capable of holding Mr Lawson’s 4WD motorised wheelchair.
“I’ve never smiled so much. Everyone has been taking photos,” Mr Lawson said. “It’s given me that freedom right back.”
Reaction from officials who have seen the pair cruising around the island’s streets has also been positive.
“They love it – I’ve had nothing but the thumbs up,” Mr Lawson said.
But don’t think the two are on a boys-only tour of Phuket – Mr Lawson’s wife Tiffany sits on the side of the sidecar and together the newlyweds have explored Phuket Town and Chalong, visited Kata, Karon and Nai Harn beaches, and spent time at Phromthep Cape.
“We’ve gone hand in hand down the beach at sunset, which is easy because my chair goes very easily on the sand,” said Mr Lawson.
Because of the great reaction to his sidecar, he and Mr Doran are planning on setting up a tourism business in Phuket that specialises in helping people in wheelchairs get around the island, and also doing tours for people in a similar situation to himself.
“But it will also be for anyone who wants to ride in them – which is most people because the set up is cool. It’s ‘tae maak’, it’s good style,” Mr Lawson said.