Tate Smith

straight mate SAMPLES

Wolf Tate Smith chased gold in London and won. The handsome, charismatic kayaker tells Matthew Myers about living the Olympic dream, how fit the Spice Girls are, and what’s going on under those wet suits!

30 DNA

Photography BY Kate Maloney.

water

Blood. It’s a different kind of show and I love it.

Eric Northman is a great vampire dude.

Who’s your diva?

Delta Goodrem. I like how she conducts herself and I don’t mind her music. She’s Australian and she’s stunning!

Do you support gay marriage?

Yes. I don’t have a problem with it. The problem appears to come from the older generation and people who are big on religion.

But the world is changing for the better.

Rowing is training in itself, but what else do you do to keep fit?

We do a lot of cross training, running, cycling and a bit of swimming and gym. Strengthening and conditioning is a massive part of kayaking.

We’re in the gym pretty much every second day

Tate with his wife and inspiration, Rachel.

doing a lot of core work for upper and lower body. You’ve got to be really strong and that transfers to the water. We focus on upper body, but we need strong and conditioned legs too.

Great looks, killer body – would you ever consider modelling?

[Laughing] I don’t see myself as model material. I think other guys in the crew have better bodies than me!

We’ve seen you walk across Abbey Road… you’re a catwalk natural!

[Laughing] Yeah, that was good fun. I’d had two hours sleep and we went out to Abbey Road, put on our zoot suits, got the medals out and crossed it about thirty times to get that shot. I’m not a massive fan of The Beatles but when the opportunity came up I thought we had to do it. We thought it was an awesome

idea. I have to get that shot framed.

What’s your favourite Beatles song?

I like Come Together from that album, and it’s appropriate, too.

Where did the Wolf Pack label come from?

The Hangover – the guy with the beard talks about his “wolf pack”. We were in a training camp and someone came into the group and caused a bit of trouble. I said he didn’t fit into the Wolf Pack and it stuck. It was pretty funny and raised the mood a bit.

Who’ve been your greatest inspirations?

I’d have to say my mum first and my wife Rachel second. There’s a long list of coaches, too, but I can’t go past my mum and my wife.

Matthew Mitcham (diving) and Gus Johnston (field hockey) are inspirational to the gay community. What advice would you give to young guys striving for sporting success?

Be determined and give 100 per cent. Be prepared to work hard but the bottom line is to enjoy what you’re doing.

Are the Wolf Pack headed for Rio? That’s the plan at this stage. It’s a long way away but I’d definitely like to go around again.

You’re a licensed plumber by trade. Is it back to the overalls in between Olympics?

I’m trying to keep off the tools because it’s pretty physical work so I’m looking for something else to do and I think the media will keep me busy for a while. I’d like training to be my job as I keep working towards Rio. The Oarsome Foursome starred in the Goulburn Valley fruit ads. Have the four of you considered promoting something?

Absolutely. Hopefully we’ll pick up something that’ll set us up for the next four years.

What about an ad for Rio underwear?

Oh, that would be great. Are those undies still around?

I’m sure a lot of people would like to see you rip open the zoot suit to expose your Rios!

[Laughing] Yeah, now’s the time to do this!

Having said that, are you a jocks, boxers or freeballing man?

I like my jocks, but I guess I do all three.

What about under the zoot suits?

Under them we are freeballing.

And they are very revealing.

Yeah, unfortunately for the rowers. They have to get straight up on the medal stage in their zoot suits, but we get to go and change into our tracksuits.

Some of the pictures of the Olympic rowers were very popular on the internet.

Yeah, I know!

Do you think some of those were PhotoShopped?

I don’t know. There are some big rowers walking around. Have you seen the size of them!

I guess when you win gold you do get excited.

[Laughing] Yes, in www.tsmith.com.au different ways!

more

DNA: Firstly, congratulations on winning Olympic gold in the K4 1000 metres sprint.

How does that feel?

Tate Smith: Pretty amazing, actually. There was a lot of hard work and sacrifices along the way and years of training but it all went into getting the gold medal, which is the ultimate prize. It’s a dream come true and it’s still sinking in.

Can you describe your experience of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies?

We didn’t go to the Opening Ceremony because we wanted to focus on training so we stayed in Hungary and only came to London two days before racing. We missed all the hype of the first week. The Olympics are massive and can be quite draining and distracting, so we stayed away from all that. However, once we finished racing we moved into the main village and went to the Closing Ceremony.

What were the highlights of the Closing Ceremony for you?

It was very relaxed and had a great atmosphere. London did a great job. It was like a rock concert. George Michael was really good and it was great seeing the Spice Girls driving around – it’s amazing how fit they are ten years on. The real highlight for me was when the flame went out, symbolising the end of the Olympics. It was good being among the other athletes; a fantastic experience.

The Olympic Games appear to be about the camaraderie between countries? Did you make any new mates?

It’s a bit hard during competition because you’re so focused but once you’ve finished you do meet other athletes. To be honest, there are heaps from your own country that you don’t really know so it’s good to get to know them as well and find out how they went and what they do back in Australia.

At the beginning of the Games, the Australian media headlined our lack of gold medals. Did this filter back to the athletes?

I don’t think so. It was noticed that we didn’t get off to a good start, but everybody was more positive about it. We all thought we could do our best and didn’t think about it too much. It confirmed that winning gold is bloody hard.

Elite level athletes who come out – would you agree it’s a bit of a non-issue these days?

Absolutely. Definitely. The world is changing and it’s great to see. For me, personally, I don’t see it as an issue. It’s great for everyone to do sport; look at the Paralympics. That’s why the Olympics are great. All that other stuff is left out of it.

Do you know gay guys in the kayaking world?

No, I haven’t come across gay guys but there are a few women. I think it’s in the culture, like with surf lifesaving.

If you were gay for a day who’d be your type?

Probably Alexander Skarsgard from True

DNA 31