G'Day to Samuel, our M8 of October!

“Find out who you are, and do it on purpose”. Anyone whose life motto comes from a Dolly Parton quote is definitely someone we want to know! This is now our fave Dolly quote, second only to “The higher the hair, the closer to God”.

Our M8 of October, Samuel Gowdy now lives his life with purpose and the joy of self-discovery but this wasn’t always the case. Like many of us, he was fumbling  through trying to please everyone else for validation and acceptance.

From a young age, he found himself in a vicious cycle of anxiety, depression and self-doubt and he does attribute that to growing up gay and the challenges and bullying that can present. Again, as many of us do when life can seem out of our control he found so-called solace in self-medicating, namely alcohol. Turning that around is no easy feat, and this aspiring writer has done just that, and we find that so inspiring and we knew you would too.

Meet Samuel :)

NAME : Samuel Gowdy “Rowdy”

AGE : 34

CURRENT POSITION : I work in the “exciting” world of corporate communications by day, but I’m a writer at night.

WHERE IS YOUR HOME TEAM : Born in Meanjin/Brisbane Australia, but I grew up in Yeppoon (quite literally) by the beach.

WHO DO YOU PLAY FOR NOW : Back in Brisbane, after a lot of interstate moves.

WHAT’S YOUR GAME PLAN: I want to establish a career as a writer. I’ve worked in communications and public relations on and off for years, but I always wanted to write, act in and create projects that align with my own interests, especially as they are now. Things that really excite me.

WHAT’S YOUR STRATEGY TO ACHIEVE IT: I think quitting drinking was the first step. Since then it’s about figuring out what I like about myself, what I can do realistically and what was just “wishful thinking” or an over-inflated ego. I’m all about staying in the day now, accepting where I am right now, and not being resentful that I’m a little bit further behind than I’d like to be at this age. So, it’s sort of a morning checklist for taking each day as it comes as I work toward bigger and better things.

LIST 1 OR 2 ‘GOLD MEDAL’ MOMENTS IN YOUR LIFE: Oh, quitting drinking and really taking a look at my life and what I could do with it, is the gold medal moment of my life (so far). For me, drinking was an excuse to not grow up and really move forward and actually do the hard work on myself. My mental health and my physical health are so intertwined these days, but mostly, in a good way. I think I can be hyper-critical and shy away from celebrating things like “personal bests” or working on my anxiety and self-doubt (which was rampant), and actually put some poetry online and work on improving my storytelling, or celebrate a personal best with where I’ve gotten myself to physically – in fact, that’s probably my second gold medal moment, being comfortable with being uncomfortable and putting myself out there either way.

WHO ARE YOUR CHAMPIONS: Anthony Hopkins is one, definitely. He’s got so many really unique insights into just being able to live with humility and still be proud of what you do. But then I could go down a bit of an egocentric rabbit hole of writers and artists etc. Oscar Wilde, Basquiat, Sam Lanksky – usually people who have gotten somewhere in spite of what the world hurled at them.

IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT MAKES AN EVERYDAY CHAMPION: I think it’s about being authentic. Not in the way that we use it now, not like making sure you don’t use an Instagram filter (filters are great), but that in your everyday life you show up for people as yourself, and have hard conversations, be honest and open about yourself and just show empathy and support as often and OpenGL as you can.

WHAT’S YOUR MOTTO: Ironically, my “family motto” is Honestas; which is Latin for Honesty… but my personal motto, which is probably a little more “on the nose” is “find out who you are, and do it on purpose.” Which is a Dolly Parton quote, and infinitely better. Haha.