Last year was a challenging one and the coronavirus certainly threw a few curve balls Alex Dyson's way.
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The 32-year-old was travelling overseas, taking the trip he never managed to when he finished year 12 at Warrnambool College.
"I was taking the gap year I never had since I went straight from uni to working at Triple J," Dyson said.
"I went to a few music festivals, visited some friends and began writing my very first book.
"I also spent four straight days on the Trans-Siberian Express, so there was plenty of looking out of windows and eating Russian two minute noodles as well."
Dyson's plans to return home and open comedy club Comedy Republic were put on hold when COVID-19 hit.
"My book launches got cancelled, hosting gigs and DJ sets cut, my overseas work postponed, not to mention the Comedy Republic had to chuck up the Gone Fishin' sign for seven months," Dyson said.
"But I was able to do my daily podcast All Day Breakfast with Matt Okine which kept me sane in lockdown.
"Although my anecdotes were pretty dire as there are only so many talkback topics you can do about dishwashing liquid or squeaky floor boards before you need to get out and experience more things.
"I also ended up hosting online exercise classes I called ZOOMba, so my 2020 had a lot more lycra in it than I anticipated."
Dyson said the pandemic taught him the importance of connection.
"It's such a crucial thing, I don't think I'll take it for granted again," he said.
Dyson said things were looking up, with Comedy Republic now open and able to operate at 75 per cent capacity.
His first book When it Drops has been well received and he is about to release a children's book for younger readers.
When it Drops is about a young boy who is a bit of a social outcast so makes songs alone in his bedroom.
"That is until one of them gets leaked online and goes viral, which sends him on a path to stardom, regardless of how reluctant he is to follow that path," Dyson said.
He said that when writing the school auditorium in the book, he had memories of his days at Warrnambool College.
"I remember being in Holiday Actors in the town hall in Dennington and I had written something and I read it out and Tom Ballard said I should be a writer.
"That was the first time I considered it as an option," Dyson said.
He said he was surprised and delighted by the response to his debut book.
"You spend so long on something and there's absolutely no way to anticipate how it will be received, but it's been such a pleasure to hear from people who enjoy it," Dyson said.
"It also made the CBCA Notables list, so that was a nice surprise.
"But yeah, the most joy I get is when i hear from young people who it made an impact on, there's really no substitute for that."
He said he was open to a launch of the book in Warrnambool.
"I would love to," he said. "Anyone want to host it? Collins Booksellers? Warrnambool Books? Afterparty at Highline? When we're back to normal I'd love to give it the launch it never got in the place that inspired so much of it."
Dyson, who ran as a candidate for Wannon in the 2019 election, said he had recently attended a March 4 Justice rally in Melbourne.
He said he had mixed emotions when he attended to show his solidarity for women.
"Too many women, too many Australians have had to not only suffer abuse, but then tolerate the minimisation of their experiences," Dyson said.
"I just wanted to show my support for their efforts at changing this culture."
He said it was great to see so many people attend, but sad that injustices for women were all too common.
"It was a mix of inspiring and frustrating," he said. "There were some incredibly strong and passionate people who gave me so much hope for the future, but there were also plenty of older women with signs that read things like: "I can't believe we still have to protest this shit' so I couldn't help but lament the current state of Australian politics at the moment which seems to not be changing quick enough."
Dyson said the best thing people could do to push for change was listen.
"I would encourage people to listen," he said.
"Really hear and try and understand what those affected are trying to communicate. You don't have to take what is said personally, but you also don't have believe that there is nothing you can do to help. Being prepared to get a little bit uncomfortable - whether it's having tough conversations, apologising for past wrongs, or even calling out your mates when they overstep the mark are just a few things that can have a positive effect."
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