Damian has lived all of his life in Kalgoorlie, and was the first McGay actually born in Kalgoorlie-Boulder since his paternal grandfather, John Bruce McGAY in 1917.

Damian is single, and has another distinction in the McGay family as being the only non-drinker or non-smoker.

Minor hobbies are his car, his work, his computer games and his habit of hanging around with a lot of friends in bars - mainly because he is the one who stays sober and can drive them home.

At the age of 12, Damian took up martial arts as a hobby. Specifically Zen Do Kai. His dedication and the help of his teachers and friends have seen Dee rise to the rank of Black Belt - second dan. All on a "no-allowances" basis. Everybody is very proud of him.

You see, Dee was born with cerebral palsy, and has significant physical disabilities.

Damian's latest achievement in a life of single-minded determination and dedication is to have been chosen represent Australia in the World Championship Disabled Athletics in Nottingham in July 2001.

This story was chronicled in an article in the Kalgoorlie Miner newspaper in March 2001.

As will be seen in the Kalgoorlie Miner article, Damian was literally "the boy from the bush" who decided to have a go at this athletics thing after watching the televised events of the Disabled Olympics in Sydney 2000.

So, building on his already-excellent fitness (from his martial arts training), he headed off into the bushland surrounding Kalgoorlie morning and night.

No trainer or coach, no specific encouragement apart from his own internal will, and without even announcing his intentions.

The Kalgoorlie Miner article chronicles the results. The other well trained athletes in the State Championships were left watching the heels of the Bush Kid as he left them in the dust. All this, and Dee had never seen the inside of a modern athletics stadium until then.

Nowadays, Dee is still pounding the bush around Kalgoorlie, in preparation for Nottingham.

He is getting advice from the local athletes association and some coaching input. Some financial support has been promised by local businesses and individuals.

If you'd like to keep track of Dee’s progress towards his latest goal to Nottingham, contact him at damian@mcgay.com.