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You’ve been incredibly successful with your sport – how important were those early messages around responsible drug and alcohol use in setting you up to be successful later in life?
The message that got across most to me was to be a successful athlete I had to be healthy and being healthy meant staying away from drugs and alcohol. As a result, that allowed me to get up early every morning and train to the best of my ability. To be as healthy as you can it is all about eating right and drinking right and alcohol is definitely something you want to keep away from.
Tell us more about the time your encounters with the Life Education van.
The reason Life Ed stood out to me was that they came to your school in a caravan. That caravan hung around your school for a month or two, and when you finally had the opportunity to go into the caravan, there was a lot of excitement along with getting some messages across. I put a little notice up on Facebook [about Ocsober] and everybody remembers Harold, the Giraffe, Life Ed’s character. The last time I would have had anything to do with Life Ed would have been almost 11 years ago in primary school, but it’s amazing how the message has gotten across to so many different people just by having someone memorable like Harold.
What are some of the common misconceptions that youth in Australia today encounter about drinking?
That the cool thing to do is to go out and get pissed with your mates. That is something that needs to be changed.
So, something like Ocsober shows you can have fun without drinking?
Exactly, you appreciate the finer things – conversation, music and getting up and being healthy. If on Saturday night you’re not up until 2 in the morning, it means you can be up at 6 or 7 o’clock and making the most of the day. Creating that body that you want for summer is a lot easier when you are not out drinking and eating kebabs on the way home.
Once you are part of Ocsober, you are much more aware of how often you are drinking and how much you are drinking.
Ocsober offers ‘leave passes’ to participants who have a special event or occasion they would like to drink at. Do you plan to use any leave passes?
I am going to have to buy one leave pass because I have the Swimmer of the Year dinner, which is like the Brownlow. I’m going to donate $50 to the appeal just so I can have a few beers that night.
What do you hope to contribute by being an ambassador? Why is it important that you as an athlete and representative of Australia are on the Life Education site as someone who supports Ocsober?
As an athlete, it is a little bit harder to get across the fact that I’m going sober for a month because I don’t really drink that much anyways. I like to not drink any alcohol for 12 weeks leading into a major competition, so really, I wouldn’t be drinking much in October. I think it’s the fact that if I can push being healthy as a result of not drinking, that’s the main thing. You can achieve so much more in the day when you are not out late drinking and you wake up so much fresher the next day and with a thicker wallet as well. So, that’s the kind of message I’ll try to push – the healthy side – because being an athlete it’s not that amazing that I’m not drinking.
You don’t give yourself enough credit. Especially in the last couple of years with some of the football players being suspended and doping in the Tour de France and Michael Phelps, there have been issues with athletes and drug and alcohol abuse.
You are exactly right, but I take it for granted because that’s the way that I see things and the people that I train with see things, but if I do look at the broader picture you are exactly right. And it’s another reason why I should be doing this and it is such a good, positive message that I’m passing on.
Are any friends, family or teammates doing it with you?
I’m trying to sign up all of the NSW Institute of Sport. I actually have a meeting with the lady who is in charge of organizing events to try to get the hundreds of athletes involved with the institute involved in Ocsober. So, potentially there could be most of NSW best athletes all doing Ocsober.
What advice do you have for kids thinking about doing Ocsober but worried what their friends will say if they aren’t drinking for a month?
When I was in high school, that feeling of having that drink in your hand is like a safety blanket. What I used to do was take a six-pack of Primas out [little juice boxes] instead of a six pack of beer. It’s all about finding what you feel comfortable with. Even though I shouldn’t have had to do that, that was what made me feel comfortable in the fact that I wasn’t drinking. I could sit there while my friends drank beers and I was still participating in the actions that went along with drinking.
Also, don’t be afraid to stand up to your friends and tell them it’s not that cool to be writing yourself off. Just look forward to the next day when you are going to watch the sunrise and get active and healthy for summer.
Imagine you are 16 and telling your friends you are going sober in October and one of your friends tells you “Oh, that’s so lame.” What would be your response?
You would hope no kids would say that. When you look at it, it should in no way be an uncool thing to go sober. A response would be “I can make choices for myself, and I can still have a good time regardless of if I’m drinking or not. I have enough confidence in myself to socialize and be at ease without having to use alcohol to boost the way I feel about myself.”
Anything else you wanted to say about Student Edge?
Get involved, whether supporting someone you know doing Ocsober or supporting myself and keeping the vans going to school – it’s all about raising money so Life Education can keep passing on the message about healthy lifestyles.
If you would like to learn more about Ocsober or help keep Life Education and Harold, the Giraffe going, visit their website – www.ocsober.com.au
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