Sport & Entertainment

A blog about all things career-related.

On The Couch With: Darcy Wright

Quiksilver Buying Manager, surfer, and all around nice bloke Darcy Wright recently took part in Reboot’s surfing workshop, with sensational results.  We chat to Darcy about what he’s been up to.

First off, what is your background?

Well, I started on the frontline of retail and worked my way up the food chain reasonably fast (lucky break huh?), and had a great opportunity to get into buying with the General Pants Group in Sydney. There I learned a lot of “best practice” and worked with some very knowledgeable and inspiring characters – they knew how to have fun too which made for a great work environment.  From there I had an opportunity to move across to Quiksilver – a brand I’ve been passionate about since I was a little frother – and eventually was shipped down to Torquay to where I am today.

What is your current role at Quiksilver?

I am currently the Buying Manager for our retail business looking after 43 stores in Australia and New Zealand.

Can you give us a snapshot of a day in the life of Darcy Wright?

Get up early, check the surf,

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Sport & Entertainment

A blog about all things career-related.

Everybody’s goin’ surfin’………

As previously touched on on this blog, we have recently developed GXY’s Reboot program, a platform for current and ex athletes to discover their passions outside the sporting landscape, and put into practice when they are no longer able to perform on the footy field, tennis court, diving board, bowling alley…you get the drift.

On April 19th of this year, a group of ex-AFL players congregated for the pilot session of the career workshop, held in sunny Torquay in Victoria to embark on a day of kickin’ it on the waves Point Break style.  Without the dead Presidents masks.   Or bank robberies and drug busts.  Or getting shot and flung out of a helicopter.  Hmmm, ok maybe Point Break was the wrong analogy….

But I digress.  So these five ex-footy players, namely Shane Valenti, Simon Prestigiacomo, Taylor Gilchrist, Tristan Francis and Jamason Daniels, gathered at uber-hip eatery St Ali in South Melbourne, before embarking on the first ever Reboot program.  From the café, the talented posse loaded into a mini bus (or mega car if you like), and ventured off into the unknown.  Seriously, these guys

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Sport & Entertainment

A blog about all things career-related.

Getting career-ready with Reboot

Participants join the GXY team on the sand at Jan Juc

We’ve launched a new initiative to help professional athletes transition to successful careers after sport. Called ‘Reboot’, the program aims to give participants a clearer idea of who they are, what they want and how to get there. In late April, we piloted Reboot with five ex AFL players.

The program was the brainchild of GXY founder, Mel Bridge, and Pete Summers, who was delisted from Essendon in 2004. Mel had worked with numerous ex-athletes at GXY Search, as well in previous roles at Adidas and Ripcurl, and been struck by the unique challenges they faced in transitioning to new careers. It was not, however, until Mel was coaching Pete Summers, her (then) electrician, that the idea of a course specifically for ex-footballers arose.

Pete explains: “The process Mel took me through was nothing short of life changing. Initially I just wanted help with my business plan, but Mel could tell my heart wasn’t in it so she took me through a series of exercises to clarify what I really wanted from my career. It

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Sport & Entertainment

A blog about all things career-related.

From boots to boardroom: AFLPA’s Ian Prendergast

Ever been curious about what it takes to hold down one of those Jobs in Sport (yes, in caps) that you only ever see on television?

We thought we’d ask Ian Prendergast, General Manager of Player Relations for the AFL Players Association.

By way of background, Ian was picked by Carlton in the 1998 Draft. He was elevated to the senior list in 2001 and made his AFL debut in Round 17 against Hawthorn.  He then went on to play 65 games, and became known for constantly running opponents into the ground. His supreme athleticism stemmed from his days as an elite runner.

While still playing, Ian got a law degree from Monash University. This set him up for a great career after sport. He worked as a lawyer before taking on his current role with the AFLPA.

So, what did Ian have to say about his high-profile career?

1. Tell me about your transition from sport to a professional career?

I really struggled with the transition initially, despite the fact that I was pretty well prepared (I”d just completed a law degree and knew I would be getting the flick half way through the season.). I had spent eight years playing at Carlton. Following my de-listment, I moved to Adelaide with

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Sport & Entertainment

A blog about all things career-related.

Introducing.. New GXY Tribesters!

The GXY tribe has grown and this week with three new starters– Erin, Haylee and Pippa, joining Nick who has been with us now for three weeks. The girls have come on board with wide eyes and big smiles and have quickly slotted in alongside their respective partners in crime; Dave, Yvonne and Jayde.

Amongst the excitement (and continuing office renovations) we have upgraded our database system, or as Mel likes to say “traded in the Ford Fairmont for a Porsche.” As we write this, Dave is letting out sporadic gasps of excitement at its amazing features – seems the only thing it can’t do is make us lunch, which is ok because apparently Pippa is a great cook so we may add this to her job description instead.

Speaking of job descriptions, we may have to include “Dave-Watch” to Erin’s role as she is to head up our Sydney division with him. Erin is a mover and shaker –a Perth girl at heart, she has lived in 6 different cities so far including London.  Soon she is to go back to City #4 when she joins her fiancée and their Maltese-Shih tzu, Bongo,

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Sport & Entertainment

A blog about all things career-related.

On the couch with AFL player agent, Lucy Mills

Lucy is an AFL player agent who was actually the first woman to gain accreditation by the AFL Players Association . Lucy works for Connors Sport Management, who manage many high profile players including Luke Hodge, Adam Goodes and Chris Judd (as well as his bride-to-be Rebecca Twigley!). Lucy completed a Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Sports management at Deakin University.

What does an agent do?  Amongst other things, we negotiate contracts for clients, liaise with the media and work hard on building networks with potential clients and families.

How did you get started in the industry?  I’ve been with Connors Sports Management since 2002. After completing an 80-hour work experience placement for my university degree they offered me a part time job while I finished my degree, and I’ve been here ever since!

What do you enjoy most about the role?  I love the fact that no two days are the same. Dealing with a wide variety of people is really interesting and challenging at times. Also as ours is a very small agency so I work across all aspects of the business.

What is the toughest thing about you role? 

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