Children's author DC Green once played - and beat - world surfing champion Kelly Slater in a game a pool.
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He also covered the world surf tour as a journalist for numerous publications around the world.
And while that lifestyle had many advantages - and adventures, he says getting children, particularly boys, to read is his life's work.
The seven-book author visited Telegraph Point Public School on May 23 as part of a four-week North Coast and Tablelands tour.
"I've now spent a decade as a children's author and enjoyed writing the Erasmus book series," the author said.
"The chance to visit schools is always fun and I can get all warm and fuzzy about getting kids to read.
"In my own school days I was a bit of a class clown and would end up getting the cane too often, but now I can turn up at a school, still be a bit of clown and get a lovely morning tea."
While he still loves to joke around and make fun of different situations, he has a deep understanding of his role as an author.
"I want to write stories that children like and want to read. There are just so many alternatives now. We compete against DVDs, computer games and television, but if children don't want to read you have failed as an author," he says.
"However, there are also many books available that cater to the different genres.
Hopefully, if I can go to a school and get kids engaged, they can become lifelong readers.
- DC Green
"Hopefully, if I can go to a school and get kids engaged, they can become lifelong readers."
DC Green was born in Macksville being moving to the NSW South Coast with his family at the age of 10.
His love of writing was evident from an early age including his first effort - a comic book called Casey the Cop which featured 'lots of pictures, 24 words, the majority of which contained the word 'poo''.
Along with the Erasmus book series, he has penned a horror-superhero-comedy called Stinky Squad, and Three Little Surfer Pigs.
School principal Duncan Adams said the author's visit continued to build on a budding relationship between the school and Port Macquarie Library.
"We want to encourage a love of reading and writing at the school," he said.
"One way to do that is to tap into authors like DC Green who can inspire a whole lot of kids to get involved.
"Reading is a bit of a curse for some children, particularly boys, but DC's skill is to build a scaffold for kids to hang their writing on."
For information search for DC Green author on Facebook or visit the library.