I remember growing up here and just thinking
it was really the end of the Earth.
I'd look over the horizon and I'd always want to know what was beyond the horizon.
Two years ago, this city slicker faced
burnout and east coast COVID lockdowns.
But the all-time low led him home, where he's now
happier than ever in a place he was once desperate
to escape from.
I remember my grandmother asking me
as the only boy in the family when I would be taking over the farm.
And I looked at her quite straight in the eyes at a very young age.
And I said to her, 'Oh no, I won't be taking over this farm.
I'm going to be living in my own apartment with my own air conditioner'
because having an air conditioner when it's 40 degrees out here
was pretty much the most luxurious thing I could think of.
Honestly, I
really don't think I ever thought
I would work on the farm as a serious vocation
or really even spend any kind of amount of time here as I grew up,
I was determined to get to the city, I was determined to get that apartment.
It would take decades for Fred to realise he was wrong to dismiss
farm work so early.
At the time, he was quick to head east to the glittering lights
of Sydney and Melbourne.
I used to love nightclubbing, so I remember
I got my mates that I was staying with,
they drove me around and they showed me the sights of Sydney for the first time,
I saw the Harbour Bridge and I saw Bondi Beach,
and I saw all these iconic locations that I'd only ever seen on TV.
And they're just laughing at me
because I'm just like, 'Wow, wow, oh, take me to the Rocks now'.
Fred dived into a career in nightclub promotions, marketing and entertainment,
eventually establishing his own marketing business,
meeting his partner and buying an apartment on the Gold Coast.
I went,
'Oh, I've just achieved my life's dream.
I now own my own apartment with my own air conditioner'.
So I was, you know, about 45,
I'd worked, I'd saved, I bought something.
I then started building a business.
I put everything into my business, and I'd worked so long
and so hard building that business because failure wasn't an option.
And I kept thinking, and I know this doesn't matter, but I kept thinking,
if this business doesn't work, I failed and everyone's
going to know.
And at some point there
COVID hit, we're in Queensland,
we're not able to visit family over here.
And I really think I was suffering from some kind of burnout
in my life at that stage.
And that's
when the thought of returning home actually seemed like a good idea.
Yeah, I thought I might come out and give you a hand with the chaser bin.
Are you ready?
Back on the farm, Fred is combining
the best of city work and country living and revelling
in being home.
Well, work hasn't stopped,
so not only am I helping with harvest at the moment,
my partner, Vince, is out driving the chaser bin as well so he's loving
getting to drive some big machines and helping out.
So we are doing some farm work.
I also run quite a successful marketing business.
So yeah, I work in the entertainment industry still, I consult.
I do marketing for different shows,
I'm still involved in kids entertainment.
We did the Wedding Singer musical last year.
Thanks to technology, this is actually the first time
in my life that I've actually been able to do my work here.
It's a really exciting time to work remotely and to live regionally.
So all of those things I needed to be in the city for just don't apply anymore.
I can actually get my work done anywhere.
But there are so many memories on this place that come back to me when I walk around.
There's so many stories I've remembered, there's so many experiences and things
that I've seen here that have brought back just these wonderful memories.
And I have this deep connection to this land as well. So,
yeah, I really feel right now
that I've come home and that this is the right place to be.
I really feel like I am here
living my best life in the Midwest.