On the day that Mathew King's daughter was born, he decided it was time to change his life.
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After working in an underground mine for eight years, the NSW South Coast-based surfer saw a future that he didn't want for himself, punctuated by late nights, work he didn't enjoy and limited family time.
So, when his daughter came into the world 18 months ago, Mathew took a risk: he threw in the towel at his job and decided it was time to try something he loved.
"It was super scary, really hard," Mathew said.
"My wife, who is really supportive, we spoke about it and she just said, 'do you really want to be doing something like that forever?'
"And I didn't, I wasn't really passionate about it.
"I just decided I've got to do something that I love - I'm gonna get one crack at this, so why not?"
After quitting the mines, Mathew took a job at a local surf shop in Kiama so he could focus on spending time with his newborn daughter.
"I was just seeing heaps of people coming into the shop who were beginner surfers who were a bit intimidated when they walked in.
"I was like, man, if only someone would help people out like that."
"You're expected to spend over $1000 on a surfboard, but you'll read the product description and it's a paragraph and you think, 'I don't know what that does'," he said.
A few months later, that someone would be Mathew himself.
He launched "South Coast Kook", with the aim of helping beginner surfers through explainers and reviews, as well as a podcast to elevate local surfers and pick the brains of the pros.
"There are podcasts on the big guys like the Mick Fannings, but there's no one doing the local guys," he said.
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From local legends like Elicia and Spencer of Wollongong's girls' surfing group to Mark Kelly, the CEO of Global Surf Industries, Mathew has created bonds with surfers from high and low.
"The big CEOs of the massive companies and the small part-timers from the local area, they all love a wave as much as each other," he said.
"One question I like to ask all my guests is 'what was the best wave of your life?', and you just watch them transport to this different place, reliving that memory."
Now, Mathew is at home full-time with his eighteen-month-old daughter and working on podcasts and reviews in the stolen moments while she sleeps.
"I'm really throwing myself at it to try, giving it every chance that it has before the finances run out," he said.
And while the surfing has been an added bonus for Mathew, the project has given him what he's always wanted: the chance to spend time with his daughter.
"She's my biggest inspiration for it all - I just want to make her proud," he said.