When  did you first get into kayaking and who encouraged you to give the sport a go?

My father took up Canoeing when I was very young. We moved from our farm in Gippsland to Echuca so he could train more. My journey in Kayaking started from there when I was 4-5 years old and grew slowly as I got older. 

I remember my father training for a World Championship when I was in primary school. Some mornings I would train with him in the mornings before school. It was around late primary school that I began training 5-6 sessions a week and aiming as high as possible. Watching my father race at World championship level showed me what was on offer in our sport. 

What were some of your earliest kayaking successes and when was it you realised you had a real talent for the sport?

I managed to be selected in several national teams and spend most of my 20s travelling the World training and racing spending European Summers training and racing in Denmark, England and Sweden. 

Who were your biggest supporters, mentors and inspirations at the beginning?

I was fortunate to spend time in the Victorian Institute of Sport program with Agnetta Anderson as a coach. I struggled a bit with injury and illness during that time however. 

What have you gone on to achieve in kayaking and where in the world has it taken you? What have been some of the highlights?

Some highlights were a 4th in a World Championship, 2nd in a World Cup but I actually think the best performance was a stage of the Murray Marathon trying to catch 20 seconds on Ramon Anderson (Olympic Medalist and World Champion).

The stage was around 20km into my home town, Echuca, we stayed the same distance apart and is my favourite performance. 

Tell us about your role today as a coach and the message you try to instil people you work with?

My coaching began mostly because of another influence in my Kayaking, Liz Hirrschoff. When I finished racing I took some time away from the sport. During that time Liz became very ill with Cancer and we discussed the sport and some of the people she was working with. When Liz passed away I took some time and began coaching. My key messaging has changed over time and coalesced I guess. 

• Enjoy the people around you on the same journey. We have a great group of people in the squad at the moment and that makes training, travelling and racing easier. Work hard in a directed way towards your goals and what ever happens you will be successful. Do the work and work on rolling out your best performance and you have won. 

• The journey to be the best you can in a kayak will hold you in good stead in other areas of your life. 
• Have other things in your life that you enjoy. Education, work, art, reading, Jiu Jitsu whatever. Something you can enjoy away from training.

• Anything is possible in your sport. You can actually do anything. 

What can our readers expect from your website?

My new website is under construction. It contains ways of tapping in to my coaching and training services ( I work with athletes from other sports too). I also have programs for schools around PE, Student leadership and welfare programs that will be available on the site. I currently deliver these programs in schools now.