We’re smarter than that
NIC Nichols wants to see the Gold Coast shake off its tag as a tourism town and develop into a city which fosters the creative industries
WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT THE GOLD COAST?
“For me, it’s a bittersweet love for the GC. I love how there are many aspects of the Gold Coast that are still somewhat undeveloped and undiscovered when it comes to culture, innovation and business but then I find myself always asking for more in terms of that progression.
“It’s somewhat partially why I enjoy doing what I do here because we’re in our own little pocket of originality still and I think it’s a nice thought of one day being able to potentially create influence here towards the future of the Gold Coast.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK CAN BE DONE BETTER ON THE GOLD COAST?
“Our identity and branding as a city. Finding the balance of being original as a city with cultivation while also trying to embody our tourism.
“I feel our tourism has taken so much precedence towards our branding that our city has lost some diversification and has just merged into one realm.
“I would like to see us break away from that mould and cut through all the cultural cringe that so many people here desire.
“Don’t get me wrong, our city leaders have done a great job so far on providing this city with strong infrastructure planning, economic growth and obviously tourism but what really needs to happen now is for them to let our millennial leaders really drive a pulse through it all creatively.”
IN YOUR TRAVELS. WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN
BEING DONE ELSEWHERE YOU THINK COULD WORK WELL HERE?
“I was recently in Shanghai and Hong Kong and I was really inspired by the youth and pop culture there.
“I think this is overlooked here a lot aside from the nightlife aspect but we honestly have the perfect environment and economy to embrace it.
“We already have beautiful beaches, a thriving surf culture with history and I would love to see it expand further into skate parks on the beach, more street art on our city walls, boutique street fashion stores for our tourists, world class art exhibitions, TED talks, music concerts on rooftops, movie premieres.
“I always hate the fact that major touring musicians play in Brisbane and why should we ever have to drive to Brisbane for anything else other than work?”
IF MONEY, LAWS, TIME AND APPROVALS WERE NO ISSUE, WHAT IS ONE BIG PROJECT YOU’D UNDERTAKE TOMORROW?
“I would like to see a dedicated tech precinct and hub created here, almost like a Silicon Valley but in somewhere in the northern suburbs like Hope Island.
“I feel that type of industry here would be a nice juxtapose to our Gold Coast lifestyle and it could really activate some of our inner suburbs and bring a unique corporate and innovation culture unlike what you see in any other Australian city.
“I can imagine tech crunch summits in Broadbeach and our city being an awesome test environment for great start-up ideas.
“The second would be some sort of super transport infrastructure.
A bigger airport for more direct flights and probably a bullet train to bounce between Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney.”
WHAT CONVERSATIONS SHOULD GOLD COAST MOVERS AND SHAKERS BE HAVING?
“I think there’s already great talk in the works for future plans and I know this firsthand by some of the people I fortunately get to work with.
“If I was driving the conversation solely, it would be towards really trying to take more creative risks for the city and allowing the people who really understand what we need from a cultural stand point to allow and take care of those responsibilities.
“My experience and perspective is that everything that is considered cool and creative on the Coast always seems to be community or business led and not government or council led.
“Too much cultural responsibility is left with them.
“It’s the youth, the locals and private sectors that just happen to have the best vision for this kind of stuff.”