Going the distance with Brody

by Nicholas Duck

There are many reasons why the general public can be so enamoured by sport, not the least of which being the way it can parallel everyday life in uncanny ways.

Take boxing for example. Like life, each round brings new challenges, new obstacles to avoid and new chances to find an opening for an advantage.

Life throws punches and sometimes it'll even knock you down, leaving you to wonder if you're able to get back up.

Young Warragul boxer Brody Masterson knows the fight all too well.

At just 17 Brody has taken his talents nationally, representing Victoria and winning state titles, all while dreaming of eventually fighting for Australia in the Commonwealth or Olympic Games.

But every time he takes to the ring, the challenge pales in comparison to the journey that Brody has faced to get to this point.

Brody was born into a family dealing with its own struggles in life. Growing up, his father was rarely in the picture, spending stints in prison. The times he was at home were hardly a relief - Brody's father had a history of violence that reared its ugly head on more than one occasion.

"My parents weren't really in it," Brody says of his childhood. "They were in and out, in and out. My dad was going in and out of jail and was abusive, to put it short. My mum was too mentally unwell to ever look after us."

The instability at home led to misbehaviour outside of it. By his own admission Brody was hardly a model student, getting into fights with other students and consistently yelling at teachers.

"I was pretty naughty," he says, a little bit of a laugh following the statement.

Things never escalated to the alcohol or drugs that his father used but it was undoubtedly the start of a slippery slope that Brody found himself quickly sliding down.

It wasn't until age 10 that Brody was exposed to what would become a major guiding force in his future - boxing. Ironically, it was his father who introduced Brody to the sport, signing him up at the local Warragul Boxing Club.

Brody can see the lighter side of it, describing the irony as "pretty funny." At first, there was just one issue - Brody hated boxing. He railed against it, refusing to go to training.

Despite that, there was one person who refused to give up on him. Warragul Boxing Club head trainer Daniel Smith kept the faith, seeing not only the potential in Brody's boxing but the future it could give him if he were to stick fat.

"At first it was like how anyone is. You rock up, he teaches you what you're doing," Brody explains.

"He always saw potential in me and he never gave up on me. He's always had confidence in me, he's always believed in me and he's just helped me get through. "I didn't even want to rock up and Daniel, because Daniel only lived a block away from me, he used to drive to my house, knock on my door, pick me up and then go to the gym. He'd make sure I go to the gym."

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and that was the case for Brody's relationship with boxing. With Covid-19 lockdowns shutting down sport all over Victoria, Brody began to miss his time in the gym. He says he was "a bit surprised" by how much he wanted to go back.

"I just missed it. My dad was pushing me to fight, he was always saying to Daniel 'when's Brody going to have his first fight?' I wasn't too keen on it but it grew it on me.

"And then I ended up convincing myself that I did want to fight. Then I started doing the proper training, I'd rock up to the gym three nights a week at first. Then I started doing the running and then eventually I started doing it every day."

It's a hell of an effort, especially since the Warragul Boxing Club found itself homeless for a year and had to train under headlights before finding a permanent facility in North Rd.

Boxing, combined with the time Brody spent at the Blackwood Centre for Adolescent Development and some outside influence helped him turn things around.

Still studying at Warragul Regional College, Brody has been working his way through both school - now with much better behaviour - and his rise up the boxing ranks.

Issues in his home life still tend to pop up every now and then, namely a period where he was between homes, living with different people who would take him in, but now Brody is living with his grandfather and looking ahead.

When asked if he thinks much about his journey, he pauses.

"I try not to. I don't really think much about my past, it kind of gets me upset so I try to focus on what's happening right now.

"Boxing was kind of like a stopping point for me getting any worse, I guess is a way of putting it.

"I was never on drugs or anything. I've never really liked the stuff my dad did and I always thought badly of it but if boxing wasn't there I might not have stayed away from it. I might have continued to do what he's doing."

A big part of his recent journey has been the support he's received from Variety Victoria. After being put in touch with them via a friend's parent, Brody was selected for Variety's Heart Scholarship, helping to fund his trip to compete in nationals, and was recently named Variety's Young Sports Achiever of the Year.

It was during his acceptance speech that he relayed the road he's travelled and the way his future is now open to him.

"I can't be an Olympian with a criminal record," he said, his words ringing true with everyone in attendance.

It's because of that support that he was recently named as the face of Variety Victoria's Christmas Appeal, which calls on Australians to donate funds to help disadvantaged, sick, or children living with a disability receive the support they require to thrive.

Still young and with plenty of life to live, one thing's for sure - Brody's taken plenty of life's punches, but now he's ready for a counterattack. To donate or find out more about Variety's Christmas Appeal and the work they do, head to varietychristmasappeal.org