WELL SETTLED IN CAIRNS

QThe plan is to stay in Cairns with your family post-basketball?

AThe kids are settled with school, one of them is off to high school next year, and the wife has a good job in town too. That was a big part of it. We feel like Cairns is a great place to be, in the short term, well for the first five years or so post basketball for me anyway. We have not looked too long term yet but Perth and Darwin is where the family is. I feel like Cairns has been home for a while now. We are keen to set up here in Cairns and put some roots down for the next phase. The city is small but it has everything you need. For now, Cairns is home.

QYou have been working behind the scenes for a couple of years to develop your post-basketball career in the media world, can you tell me a little bit more about it?

AI have my videography side business, which is called Power Forward Media. I have been able to do some work during the season for the Taipans and in the off-season for businesses around Cairns. There has been a lot of different interests and I have found some good results already. They are one to five minute videos for social media. I can focus on people, or their business, and hopefully be an extension of their brand. A lot of people are looking for video content these days. However, I am keen to keep an open mind because there could be different things that contribute to the business side of what I do after basketball. There has been a bit of talk about keeping me included at the Taipans as part of the club in some capacity. It could be a connection with past players at the club. I would like to stay involved in some capacity. I am keen to let the dust settle and then make a decision going forward about what I will do.

QHow much do you feel your Tropic Zone videos helped the fans of the club connect with the players?

AIt served a few purposes. I wanted to expose a few of the players per- sonalities and the fans enjoyed getting an insight into that side of things. It is good to see that the guys are real people and like to have a laugh – you get to know the players more intimately. The filming and editing side of it is my vice. I enjoy creatively putting something like that together. It has been a hobby for me, until now. I can now hopefully make it a real job. It was cool to film and use as a platform. It was great to build up my own skill set as well as to have a purpose. It is important for me when you have to deal with the stress and pressures of playing basketball. It really was a good outlet.