After graduating from Sydney University with a Bachelor of Arts (Art History and Spanish), Mark was a lost soul. Having backpacked around Europe after high school, he decided to again escape to Europe for a one-year working holiday and although he didn’t find himself, he felt somewhat qualified to pursue a career as a travel agent after returning to Australia. However, a nine-month stint at STA Travel proved he wasn’t resilient enough to be on the frontline as a retail agent, whereupon he retreated into the world of horticulture and garden design for five years.
But after a holiday to Indonesia, which sparked a passion for Asia, Mark returned to the travel industry working for Asia specialist tour operator Travel Indochina, where he stayed for almost 12 years taking on various roles in sales before settling down in his ideal role as a product manager. An incurable bout of wanderlust took him to South Africa, North America, and Latin America where he stayed for nine months practising Spanish, including two months volunteering as an English teacher in the Ecuadorian Amazon, teaching English to staff at Napo Wildlife Centre and to the local indigenous community.
Mark’s a self-confessed ‘tennis tragic’ who loves playing and watching tennis, and aspires to attend all four grand slam tournaments. Wimbledon and US Open are the remaining two tournaments yet to be ticked off the list. He also loves to write and isn’t afraid to be the first clown to get out on the dance floor.
