Behind the scenes
Up Close and Personal: Adrenalin Interviews Michael Chester
Michael is an original Aurenda team member who has been with the company since it began more than five years ago. When Aurenda first started up he was the 'man' of the office, which was useful if a light needed changing and a picture hung on the wall. Gradually, however, a few more blokes have been employed at Aurenda so Michael is now off the hook and able to concentrate on some of his other passions in life, which some might not know about. Michael is the President of The Coeliac Society - Australia-wide! He also travels the world constantly with his partner, Richard, and more recently has taken up cycling in order to participate in the Red Sky Ride. Like most of the team at Aurenda, Michael has a soft spot for pets; Michael and Richard own two dogs (Cuba and Honey), a cat (Kits), and two Siamese fighting fish (Sushi and Sashimi).
What’s your role at The Coeliac Society and how long have you been a part of it?
When I was diagnosed with coeliac disease six years ago, I joined the Board of The Coeliac Society of Western Australia as a way of finding out more about the complete lifestyle change that is required in order to maintain a strict gluten free diet for life. After four years as President of the Coeliac Society of WA, I was elected President of The Coeliac Society of Australia.
Our focus at a national level is to increase the awareness of coeliac disease amongst doctors and in the wider community. We know that one percent of the Australian population has coeliac disease, but four out of five people are undiagnosed: that translates to approximately 200,000 people across Australia who are living with the day-to-day issues and long term impacts of having coeliac disease without knowing it - and therefore unable to manage it. If you suffer from a 'funny tummy', the best piece of advice I can give, from personal experience, is to ask your doctor about being tested for coeliac disease! (See www.coeliacsociety.com.au.)
What travel destinations are on the calendar this year?
Richard works for Qantas so we are very fortunate to have lots of travel opportunities. We spent Christmas 2006 in Whistler with my family - it was my first Christmas in the northern hemisphere in 11 years and it was postcard perfect, with 15 cm of snow falling on Christmas Day! We had a weekend in the Clare Valley early in 2007 and I was also able to make a quick trip back to Vancouver in July to spend more time with my parents. In September, we went to Spain to visit a friend who moved there earlier in the year. I think we’ll stick close to home for the summer: after all, you can’t get much better beaches anywhere in the world than in WA!
Other than home (Canada), what is your favourite place to visit, and why?
Despite the political turmoil and the devastation resulting from the tsunami, we have been to Sri Lanka three times and hoping to head there again in 2008. Sri Lanka is an absolutely stunning country, very compact (about the size of Tassie), with palm-fringed tropical beaches in contrast to much cooler hill country, where we’ve stayed in colonial bungalows overlooking the tea plantations. Apart from the most amazing variety of curry dishes imaginable; the wildlife (we’ve seen elephants, crocodiles and a leopard in the wild); the temples dating back 2,000 years; and of course the friends we have made from our visits there; we have also sponsored a child in Sri Lanka through Plan, and have been fortunate enough to visit him on one of our trips. So there are many reasons for us to keep going back.
Have you taught any of your pets any tricks?
We adopted Cuba and Honey as adults from two different animal refuges in 2006, so it’s been very interesting to see what little ‘tricks’ they already knew and what they have been teaching each other! It turns out that Cuba is obsessive about fetching a tennis ball and brings it back every time. Honey is good at chasing the ball - but not so good at bringing it back! Cuba is also obsessive about licking, so expect a very wet greeting if you drop past our house!
What did you want to be when you grew up and what is your main passion at the moment?
Although I had great aspirations to be an architect, halfway through my first year of Architecture at uni, I realised that it wasn’t for me. Fortunately, the choices I made after that enabled me to migrate to Australia and have lead me to where I am today - working in a great business with a fantastic team of people and a career that I never could have possibly envisaged or predicted!
My latest passion is cycling - by necessity! I took up cycling in 2006 so that I could participate in the next charity bike ride that Deb was arranging (missed the first one due to my travels) and if I’m going to enjoy myself riding 750 km over eight days, then I better prepare myself by riding the 6,000 km in training before 2-9 March 2008 when the Red Sky Ride is on!
What or who do you use/ draw on as motivation and inspiration in your everyday life?
Shortly after my father retired, he became quite ill. It took a trip to the Mayo Clinic in the US to arrive at a diagnosis of a very rare condition that only a handful of people in Canada have. Over the past 15 years or so, he has faced a number of health battles. During this time, my mother has cared for him tirelessly, and both of them remain upbeat and positive. The challenges that my parents deal with on a day-to-day basis make the challenges I face seem inconsequential and certainly achievable.