We’d go to the footy club and I thought people were laughing
at my dad – I wore hand-me-downs and he wore tradie clothes
and I thought people looked past us.”
So, as Garside entered high school, he had two lives: one at
school and one at the boxing gym. At school, he was trying to
live up to his expectation as a “Garside boy” – to emulate the
behaviour and attitudes of his older brothers. In the gym,
positivity ruled alongside discipline, hope and togetherness.
Then, on that consequential day in 2013, when the Reach
Foundation visited his school, Harry Garside’s two lives merged.
As the organisation conducted its workshop, they began
an exercise requiring partners to stare into each other’s eyes
without saying anything. With an odd number of participants
in their class, Garside was paired with a Reach Foundation
volunteer. “Because I was partnered with someone from
Reach, I couldn’t take the piss,” says Garside. “We started
[the exercise] and it was like he was looking into my soul
but also that he had my back. I didn’t know him – I never
knew him – but I trusted him.”
Garside later revealed things to his friends that he’d never
told them before; off came the protective cloak of cynicism,
hidden fears and bluster he’d been wearing – the one that
separated his life as a teenager from his life at the gym.
“WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DO,
DO THAT. AS LONG AS IT FILLS YOUR
CUP, THAT’S ALL THAT MATTERS.”
He explained about the addiction and mental health issues one
of his brothers had experienced. He talked about his own
suffering and fear. That day, he also painted his nails and
said that one day, he was going to be a champion.
Seven years later, in 2020, 23-year-old Garside went to the
Tokyo Olympics. He’s since turned pro and has, so far,
maintained a record of 1-0, with one knockout. Admittedly,
that record is only one fight old, but that fight was against an
opponent with nine professional wins and just one loss – and
Garside dismantled him in the first round. He is well on the
road to becoming an Australian – if not world – champion in
the highly competitive lightweight division.
Most importantly, though, his successes haven’t only been
in the ring. Boxing is Garside’s dream, but a future in the sport
is as difficult to predict as Melbourne weather. But whether
wins or losses come, he says, he is moving forward as himself,
without fear of failure or judgement.
“Whatever you want to do, do that,” says Garside.
“You don’t have to explain it. As long as it fills your cup,
that’s all that matters.”
DAV I D J O N E S . C O M
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