Greg Smith

Hi Greg, tell us a bit about yourself, are you from the Hastings region originally?

I was born in Sydney and moved to Sawtell when I was 11. When I finished school I trained as a chef, which led me to Sydney and then to South East Asia. I spent about 7 years over there cooking, mainly in Indonesia and Thailand, plus a short stint in Hawaii. I returned to Port Macquarie in 1999 and opened the Beach House. That’s when I met my beautiful wife Angela, and together we decided to go back to Indonesia where I took the role of General Manager at a luxury tented camp only accessible via sea plane or boat! We had 3 years on the island, and our daughter Matilda was born there, so it was a special time for us. We returned to Australia in 2004 and I was keen to find a more family friendly career; so, when the opportunity to buy Constable Screen Printing & Embroidery came up, I jumped at the chance. Angela is a creative  person, so she looked after the graphic design, whilst I handled sales and production.

You are a familiar face around Port Macquarie and Lake Cathie, tell us about your ties to the community and sporting clubs.

I got to know a lot of people being the face of Constable for 20 years, but I’ve always loved sport, so it was easy to get involved in that. I’m a member at the golf club, I played OzTag, helped run the local comp for a while and was lucky enough to win at state and national levels. I even managed to represent Australia a handful of times! Now days I just run around at Lake Cathie playing community touch football. We love to throw the footy around, have a laugh and keep fit. But I think my greatest community passion started around 4 years ago when I was invited to join a bunch of blokes for a men’s workshop. I thought it was brilliant and something that more men could benefit from by improving their mental wellness and making smarter choices for themselves and  their families. And so, Self Seen was born. I jumped on board immediately to help set the structure so we could spread the word and to give genuine support for men in our region.

Self Seen is a fantastic initiative, congratulations mate, you’ve done some great work there. What’s on the horizon for Self Seen in 2025?

We’ve recently found a space for the Self Seen Wellness Hub, which is on track to be fully functional in January. Ben Cudmore, the team and I have worked hard to get this space ready and we’re really keen to see it up and running. It wouldn’t have been possible without the generous help of the Hastings community, and I’m just blown away by how generous and supportive they have been.

Lastly, what’s your favourite thing about Lake Cathie?

That’s hard as I don’t think it’s just one thing. The lake and the surrounding beaches are awesome but it’s the culture of this little community which I think I find the most enjoyable, we can go to Lake Cathie Tavern for dinner and raffles on the Friday night and at the table having a beer with us is a local doctor, a builder, a painter, a bin collector and a bloke that used to dress up as Big Dog! We all enjoy each other’s company, so for me that’s village living at its best. Thanks Greg. 

~ Article and images courtesy Focus Magazine