Australian boxer Harry Garside bought his first car at the age of 18; a 2004 second-hand Holden Commodore.
“It was also the only car I could afford and we got it from a family friend for around $8000 at the time. It was a dark blue Commodore station wagon I loved. I had so many fond memories of driving it around,” Gardside says.
The Movember ambassador who has won a bronze medal at the Summer Olympics five years ago and continues to advocate for mental health and wellbeing, says getting his licence was his ticket to freedom; and now is a place he likes to have in-depth conversations with his friends.
“I grew up in Lilydale and a Holden Commodore was classic cop bait purchase,” he says.
He didn't get pulled over in his first year of driving; but he says eventually it did happen to most teenage drivers in the area.
“I always drove sensibly, but a red P Plate in Lilydale and a Commodore usually attract the cops,” he says.
Garside would drive his wheels to the top of Mt Dandenong – a rite of passage for young guys who just acquired their licence and lived in the neighbourhood.
“It was a great first car; very spacious and I’d drive up to the Mt Dandenong Ranges all the time with mates,” he says.
“We’d always go to the Mt Dandenong lookout – a cool thing to do with some of your mates and gave us a real sense of freedom at night and after school driving up there."
His parents loaned him the money to buy his first car; eventually paying them back with part time retail and then tradie work he did before he launched into a boxing career full time.
“I didn’t have the money to buy my first car, but my parents were kind enough to loan me [the money] and I slowly paid them back – I worked my ass off for that car,” he says, laughing.
Before Garside made the full time focus to boxing, he was working at Kmart to pay his parents back.
“Then I started going to work with my dad as a roof tiler when I finished high school,” he says.
“I did that for a year and then got a job as a plumber; something less dangerous as I wanted to focus on boxing and had to protect my body as much as I could.
“I am the youngest of three brothers – and my cars were always more like an A to B type relationship, whereas my older brother spent a lot of money fixing his up."
Garside would drive his car to Bonnie Doon – where The Castle was filmed – and up to the Murray River to camp with friends.
“We’d always drive to the border of NSW along the Murray every summer. A chance to really give the car a good run too,” he says.
According to Garside, he was the only son who passed his L and P tests on the first go.
“I have always been the better driver,” he says with a smile.
As an ambassador for Movember, he’s all about encouraging men to engage in conversations with mates on road trips; ignoring phones and technology to get back to the enjoyment of travel.
“I love the freedom that comes with being in a car, from the day I got my licence, it’s always been about going someone to catch up with mates – the pub or Philip Island for the Moto GP. I’d be in the car with my dad for two and a half hours talking – a chance to really connect; there’s that sense of vulnerability when you’re in that road trip zone and it’s a nice way to connect with others."
Blaring on the radio in his Holden Commodore was a playlist of Aussie hip-hop acts including The Hilltop Hoods and Bliss n Eso.
“My parents also raised me a lot of music from the '70s – Queen and The Beatles were on high rotation in the car – so it was always a mix of '70s and Aussie hip-hop playing.”
Jane Rocca is a Melbourne journalist and author who writes for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald’s Sunday Life Magazine, columnist The Dish at Good Food, Harper’s Bazaar Australia, ABC Arts. She has written four books and hosted a podcast series Some of My Best Work with Mushroom.
