Football writer's journey: 3

AJ Rochester: Host of The Biggest Loser

So I'm retired from teaching after 17 years. A virus left me unable to walk very far, and with a low immune system. See earlier posts under labels attached to get the whole picture.

Phone rings.

I'm sitting with the heater on, four tops and a beanie. I'm cold. I'm always cold. And Canberra can be very cold in winter, particularly if you can't walk to get warm.

"Hi it's Aj Rochester."

That's what happens when you can' t work and have been retired due to ill health. If you sit at home long enough a celebrity is sure to call!

I'd never heard of AJ, but within minutes I recognised her talent and potential.

http://www.healthybodyclub.com/

Aj would be the first to say her business skills were not fully rounded. But she did have a vision and she is a highly talented individual.

Her achievements in life are truly amazing. She went from 117kg's to 65kg's and is now the host of Channel Ten show 'The Biggest loser."

So what could sick boy do for her?

I have some business skills. And her business was in turmoil.

I put my energies to work, came up with a plan, and threw myself into it.

My health deteriorated to a point where I just had to stop.

So an opportunity to get involved in a startling business opportunity slipped away.

Aj's website and business has improved dramatically, and her business problems appear to be resolved. Did I help? Sure to a point, but when I left there was still some major issues to be worked through.

So back to doing nothing, my eyesight started to go in one eye. My walking was up and down, and my bed was getting plenty of use.

Time to stop, to rest. I decided to take rest until my daughter went back to school in Feb. I wanted to see if I could slowly improve my health, and my walking.

Feb was 4 months away.

On the first day of the new school year. I was happy. My daughter was back at school and I could sit around the house and do nothing.

I'd entertain myself by following football through fans websites and watched the A-League on TV.

I have an Arsenal fan as a friend. He's a nervous Arsenal fan. He'll only talk about them when they are winning, which is most of the time.

"Why don't you write something," said my Gooner mate.

"I'll meet you at Tilleys on Friday and we both bring something we've written."

I went away and thought about this.

I had written a book before. Ten years ago. About Sexual Abuse. A Catholic priest named Fr. Sam Penney abused me for ten years. At times the abuse was daily.

I told my story, Penney went to jail. I survived!

So I had written this story. But I'd never written anything since.

Football is my passion, so I went home and searched the web for a football job.

You see I need to be motivated, with a purpose.

I found Bill.

Bill was a retired journo, living in the South of France. Over 30 years in Sports journalism and having just finished work at the 2006 World Cup, Bill was setting up a football website. http://www.netfa.com/

He wanted Australian football writers.

I watched a game on television and sent him a report.

Bill edited it brutally, but he published it on his site. I noted every change.

I was published by the time I got to the cafe on friday to meet my Gooner mate.

No money, of course. That's another story.

But suddenly I was a published writer of football. I lay in bed a little taller that week.

"Bill, I'm off to the Grand Final in Melbourne next week."

"Write a diary piece. You know the fan's you meet, pub you went to etc."

Now that was a challenge. To travel was going to be hard enough. To meet and greet and put a story together, well that would be something else. And a very different style.

Part 4: of this five part story.

Writing for Netfa, self-promotion and my first ever football interview.