I grew up in East Bentleigh with my grandparents. Spent a lot of time with Grandpa, building billycarts and slingshots – really outdoorsy. He died when I was about 12. Now I haven’t got any family, so my customers are sort of my family.
I lived with relatives for about 40 years, and there was a time I was homeless for six months. At first, I didn’t understand the streets. I slept in a laneway where there was no-one around and I got assaulted. The main thing I remember was the cold. Even if it became 30 degrees during the day, you couldn’t warm up: you’d still be cold from the night before. I feel sorry for myself when I look back and think how I was living then.
I’ve always been an early riser, from doing paper rounds as a kid, getting up at 4.00am to sell the Sunday newspaper for 30 cents. Seeing Big Issue vendors around the city, I thought I’d give it a go.
[Vendor support manager] Gemma chose Parliament Station as my pitch, and it suits me to a tee. I treat everybody as my best customer. People ask why I’m happy all the time. If you’re really down in the morning and get people smiling back, it changes how you’re feeling and really does make your day better.
I say good morning to absolutely everybody, even if I don’t get a “hello” back or they don’t buy the mag. Sometimes you can work on somebody for six months and finally get a smile. Sometimes you see a person every morning for years and then suddenly you don’t see them anymore, which can be sad.
The first boarding house I moved into after being on the streets was a bit rough, but I’ve been in one for about five years now which I’m very happy in. I’ve got my own room, toilet and shower, and I know everybody there.
Last year I was riding my bike when I got hit by a car and fractured my pelvis. I couldn’t walk or use my leg, so I was in bed for about a month. In eight years selling The Big Issue I’d never taken a day off. When I came back, the office said they’d never had so many people calling, wanting to know where I was. That was a very good feeling, knowing I was missed.
As you get older, you’ve got to keep exercising. I go swimming once a week for hydrotherapy. On weekends I like finding a park for a barbecue, packing my tongs and tomato sauce, some sausages and bread. I also watch women’s footy: I go for the Kew Bears, my local team.
Without the money from The Big Issue I don’t know where I’d be. Sometimes I get up and think maybe it’s time to stop, but I want to keep going back to work. I like seeing the other vendors and wishing them good luck. I’m getting advice from everybody, but I do my own thing. I think it’s working for me. Got my technique down pat.
Mark sells The Big Issue at Parliament Station and Coburg Farmers Market, Melbourne.
Interview by Eliza Janssen
Photo by James Braund
Published in ed#769