I was born in Adelaide. When I was little – about one or two – my mum left, and we lived with my dad and stepmum. I have one brother, a half-sister, two stepbrothers, another half-sister and another half-brother. Our dad was in the military, so we moved around a bit: from Adelaide to Sydney to Singleton and back to Sydney, then Adelaide again.
I liked school, I went to a special school. I wasn’t treated well by some of the other kids. I have Fragile X, autism, epilepsy and schizophrenia, but my condition wasn’t medically understood back then. People didn’t understand me, and I found it really hard and hurtful to be misunderstood.
I left home when I was 17. I ran away, and I stayed with friends, squatted in old buildings and lived on the streets for a while. I got into a bit of trouble, and I even got stabbed once. Then I went back home, but I had a fight with my stepmum.
When I was about 18 or 19, I was put into disability housing. I was given a house, but no support. I didn’t really know how to look after myself, and I set my house on fire. After that, I was put into supportive accommodation. I got a full-time job doing lawn mowing. I did that for about two or three years, but I got bored and I quit.
I am 49 now, and I have my own place, with carers during the day. And people drop in and make sure I’m okay. It’s a nice home.
I’ve been selling The Big Issue for around nine years. My dad passed away three years ago, and this job has helped a lot. It’s made me happier. I love selling The Big Issue. I don’t like being told what to do; I like the freedom of working my own time and hours. And I like talking to the nice people, they treat me well, buy me coffees and lunch. Everyone knows me now. I also love the vendor breakfasts – the free food and talking to the other vendors. I help out, and get breakfast for other vendors, too.
I also like earning money. One day I was working outside an office building, and a man came out. He’d just lost his job and he gave me close to $3000. I freaked out, so I took it to the police station. They checked it out, and they said it was okay, and I could keep it.
In my spare time, I ride my bike, it’s a mountain bike. I ride around the block, to the park, or I go and do jumps. I’m a bit of a daredevil. And I play the drums. I’m hopeless, but drumming really puts me in a good mood. I love AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, Bon Jovi, hard rock, glam rock, heavy metal. I also love watching Netflix, especially horror movies and zombie movies.
Michael sells The Big Issue at Pulteney St, Adelaide.
Interview by Amy Hetherington
Photo by Ben Liew
First published in ed#729