QUICK CHAT
MODERN FAMILY Where do you live? We live on a 22-acre piece of lush countryside in Maleny. First job? My first job was at Hungry Jacks. I was so desperate to earn my own money so I got the job right on the day I turned 14 and nine months. What are you currently working on? Currently working on a range of art prints so that I can work from home and still be available for my daughter who starts school in January. Your family includes? Two dads and a daughter. Plus seven chickens, a cat, and we just bought three miniature Galloway cows. First car? My first car was a VH Holden Commodore that sounded like a V8, but really, I just had a hole in my exhaust that I couldn’t afford to fix! Favourite book? I’m not really a reader these days with having a young child, but I am currently reading her a range of cool bedtime stories – we love to mix it up.
What are you reading now? Raising Girls.
BIO
Favourite song and why? Gosh, I have so many! I do love Life is a Highway by Tom Cochrane as it was a song that was on my CD player when I first went solo travelling around the world.
father
Best advice you’ve been given? All good things come to those who wait. My mum often says everything always works out in the end, somehow it does eventually.
This 36-year-old stay-at-home dad is part of the real-life modern family and is raising his daughter with partner Holt. In addition to spending time with his loved ones, Mr Leysham has an addiction to travel and a flair for design and style. He shares the beautiful snapshots of his family’s life with the 17,500 followers on his Champagne Dad Style Instagram account and his blog site.
Melissa McDonald, Lawyer
Ian Griffiths, Director
What is your favourite place on the Sunshine Coast and why? Maleny. I just love living here. It’s beautiful, green and has a friendly and welcoming community. If you could change one thing on the Sunshine Coast, what would it be? That drive to Brisbane and back. You just never know how long it will take or what the holdup is going to be next.
Barb Koper, Conveyancing Manager
Can you nominate a day in your life that turned out to be a turning point and why? Yes, it was a day I was struggling on accepting I was gay and felt scared, exhausted and at the end of the road. Luckily, my best friend called in that moment and asked me to come over. I did, and let it all out that I was gay. From that moment, I felt secure enough to tell my family and friends and never looked back. Your greatest regret? Not asking for help in difficult situations when I needed it.
“Don’t be afraid to be yourself. Don’t care what anybody else thinks. Just be you”
If your life was a book, what would be the title? What on Earth is he up to now?
Simon Leysham
Best day in your life and why? Easy – the day my daughter Olivia was born. I felt I had everything I had ever wanted in life right there in my arms.
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For more than 40 years, Ian Griffiths and the team at Griffiths Lawyers have provided expertise, results and old fashioned personal service to thousands of individuals, families and businesses across the Sunshine Coast and beyond.
What achievement are you most proud of? Being a stay-at-home dad for the past four years to my daughter. It’s been hard and lonely at times, but she’s almost off to school and I could not be prouder of giving her that time, just like my parents gave us.
You are happiest when? I’m always happiest when I’m with my family, just pottering around the home. Also when someone asks, ‘do you want another glass of champagne?’. Yes, the answer is always yes.
How do you deal with your frustrations? Running! I love to exercise, but running is how I relax and free my mind. If you could tell your 18-year-old self-anything, what would it be? Don’t be afraid to be yourself. Don’t care what anybody else thinks. Just be you. If you won $1 million, how would you spend it? I would buy my parents a house so that they could retire and see who else I could help after paying off our mortgage. What does Father’s Day mean to you? Father’s Day is a day to show the special superhero dads in our lives just how much they means to us. It’s also a great time to reflect and be proud of how bloody hard being a dad is.
Know someone interesting on the Sunshine Coast? Email leigh@myweeklypreview.com.au.
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6 My Weekly Preview | August 31, 2018
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