“I keep pushing to see how far I can go. That’s exciting for me.”

Q What was your first job?

My first and only job is a freestyle BMX athlete. When I was about 17, I got a job as a cabinet maker but it only lasted half a day. I walked out at lunchtime and then never went back.

When you started out with BMX, did you imagine it could turn into a career?

I didn’t start out thinking that I wanted to be a professional BMX rider. I just started going to the skate park, started enjoying it and then obviously along the way realised I could make a living from it, but not initially.

When did you first get into BMX?

I was about 12 when my family moved close to a skate park. My brother was going down there so one day I just went down there with him. It was around the same time I started high school and it just became a hangout spot. I was just enjoying riding with my friends.

Has sponsorship been important in the sport?

It was a big step forward for me. In 2013, I got my first paying sponsorships. I could just focus on riding my bike every day and competing. I was able to start travelling and could cover the flights. I didn’t have to worry about working a normal job during the day. I could just focus on perfecting my craft on a bike.

What was your earliest money lesson?

My dad would give me 20 bucks each weekend to mow the lawns. I would just save it so I could get new parts for my bike. I guess that probably came from my parents teaching me smart ways about using money.

How did your upbringing shape your relationship with money?

We never really went without when we were growing up, but Mum and Dad never had a whole bunch of money. They just worked normal jobs and we’d just get by. Any money Mum and Dad had they would use wisely because there wasn’t much left over. I guess I never really wanted to live pay to pay. Now, I invest a lot of my money.

What wisdom do you hope to share with your kids?

I would like to teach them that hard work does pay off. If you set a goal and you really want to achieve that goal, then as long as you put in the hard work and really focus on that goal, then anything is possible.

What motivated you in the early days?

I guess at the start I enjoyed the progression, I enjoyed challenging myself, and over the years I realised I was pretty good at it. I could continue pushing my own progression. And that’s still the case now. I try and perfect new tricks and keep pushing my own limit to see how far I can go. That’s exciting for me, just challenging myself along the way.

What’s the best investment you’ve ever made?

Buying two houses before the Covid boom. I bought my first house in 2017 and lived in that for a year and then at the end of 2018 I was looking for a bigger property so I could build my skate park in the backyard … purely because there were no training facilities here that replicated the size of ramps at international competitions. So, I either had to build my own skate park or move overseas. I decided to invest the money. Initially it was about $70,000, and I’ve spent an extra 20 grand on it since then. Essentially it was to push my progression and help me get to the Olympics and it paid off perfectly.

What have you done with your Olympic gold?

It’s in the living room. I got it put in a frame and the frame has a few photos from Tokyo around the outside of the medal. The frame opens up so I can take the medal out and put it back in.

What is your favourite thing to spend on?

I enjoy travelling and checking out new places and new cultures. I travel quite a bit – obviously not too much in the past couple of years. This year it’s picked back up. I went to Belgium, which was a new place for me, and I’m heading to Abu Dhabi in a few weeks. The family comes along to the bigger events. We all went to France in May, which was pretty cool.

How did it feel to receive the Medal of the Order of Australia?

I wasn’t able to go to the ceremonies, so I literally only got it in the mail about two weeks ago. I was blown away. It was amazing. It was not something I thought I would ever receive.

What’s the next challenge you have set yourself?

I still enjoy what I do and enjoy competing, and I would love to get to the next Olympics and do my best to back up the Tokyo performance.

Can you finish this sentence? Money is good for …

travelling.