The Work Stuff
My first paid job was picking hydroponic tomatoes; however as a kid, I dreamt of being a videogame developer and spent a lot of time hiding on the farm playing Pokémon Red on my Gameboy. From there, while growing up I had a range of interesting roles, including working for a construction company, meat shop; doing night shifts on the swine flu hotline, and getting sponsored by Kevin Rudd’s surf team 😁
My professional career has evolved from Customer Service, Human Resources, Recruitment and lastly Business Consulting. I was first introduced to The Missing Link at Earthcore 2015 (Earthcore is heralded as Australia's "first" Bush Doof aka Outdoor Electronic Music Festival), where I met Dave Bingham and ended up becoming best mates.
This friendship led me to join The Missing Link, and I have been a part of the dream team now for just over two years. My favourite part of my role is working with our clients to discuss their Cyber security posture and how they can protect their organisation from cyber threats. Whether it be in-depth discussions or a chat over a beer, I love catching up with clients/partners and talking all things cyber.
When I think of inspirational people, the first names which come to mind are Richard Branson and Elon Musk. Both of them have surpassed the ordinary, changed the rules of the game and achieved remarkable things for mankind.
The Tech Stuff
The Cyber security industry is forever changing, and I always try to be across the latest technology trends and solutions. It’s crazy to think how much technology has progressed in the short space of time that we have been around, from rotary phones and floppy disks, to the world we live in today. The future of technology is endless, and who knows what this industry will entail in the future.
My favourite gadget is my PlayStation (don't worry I'll still be your friend if you play Xbox or PC 😉). If you were to ask me about my favourite videogames, how much time do you have? However, greatest of all time would have to be Grand Theft Auto San Andreas. Try changing my mind 😊
I have a passion for collecting vinyl records, with my collection covering anything from heavy metal to hip hop to electronica, and anything in between. I currently have over 900+ vinyl records in my collection. My most used piece of tech (besides my PlayStation) would be my DJ setup, including my beloved Technics SL1200MK2 turntable, which gets a workout every weekend.
High on my list of most-used websites would be Art of Skateboarding (collecting skateboards I wished I owned growing up), Discogs, and Mountainwatch (Always keeping an eye out for the perfect pow day).
The Fun Stuff
I grew up on the Bellarine Peninsula, which makes up part of the City of Greater Geelong, or locally known as Geetroit. I spent most of my time as a kid skateboarding with friends, loitering the local skate spots, playing videogames and listening to music.
Not a lot has changed, weekends are spent catching up with friends and family, skateboarding, snowboarding and attending gigs and music festivals. I guess it’s the story of Peter Pan, the boy who never wants to grow up.
I also get to come home to Bruce, our half Staffy cross Pitbull, that joined our family last year from the pound. It is crazy how quickly pets become a massive part of your life and the unconditional love they give you every day. While Bruce looks like a tough guy, he has not managed to eat our two guinea pigs, Gukki and Sake.
I've somewhat lived my life by my dad's famous quote 'If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room'. Because of this I have plenty of crazy stories to share including the time I was cruising the African Savana in the Kruger National Park, and a bull elephant charged our Audi, with only inches away from flipping our car!
Throughout my life, I have been fortunate enough to tick a lot of experiences off my bucket list – however, while one experience gets ticked off, two more gets added. The highlights (so far) have been cage diving with great white sharks, front flipping off a cliff while snowboarding in Japan, attending the Burning Man festival and surfing around the coast of Australia/Indonesia. I also achieved my Red grading in Krav Maga last year (the real-world self-defence system developed for Israeli Defense Forces).
My next tick (if COVID-19 lets me travel in time) will be hiking Machu Picchu while travelling to Patagonia to attend the next solar eclipse festival.
