EVERY so often you meet one of those people who seemingly boast talent across a diverse range of fields. Nick Gill is one of those people.
In his 20s he played professional AFL, with stints at Melbourne, North Melbourne and Adelaide. Keen Aussie rules fans will best remember Gill for his five-goal match-winning haul for the Crows in 2008.
However, a long list of injuries - including a broken leg and torn Achilles tendon - restricted his AFL career to 16 games.
But for most Novocastrians, Gill is best known as a co-host of Hit 106.9 FM's popular morning radio show with Jess Farchione and Nick 'Ducko' Allen-Ducat.
The announcement last week that Gill had been axed from the trio after eight years on Hunter airwaves, due to Southern Cross Austereo's cost-cutting measures, led to an avalanche of outrage from listeners.
There was also teary announcements made by both Gill and Allen-Ducat.
"It's a little bit disappointing, but I'll find something else to get passionate about and move onto the next adventure," a typically upbeat Gill tells Weekender.
"I've had plenty of lives already, let's find a new one."
One of those lives - or another string to the 41-year-old's broad bow - is music. Even during his footy days, Gill was a passionate musician.
He's played in bands like Adelaide rockers The Last Broadcast and Jupiter Lead, produced comedian Sammy J and written songs for Guy Sebastian and Wes Carr.
In 2020 his twins Otis and Harriet, 6, were discovering music when Gill and his wife Georgette struck on the idea to create a children's band.
Soon Gill enlisted his friend and Samoan musician, Komiti Levai (All Together Now), who in turn brought in vision-impaired Newcastle producer-musician Matt McLaren and Torres Strait Islander vocalist, Pamalyn Hyde, to form The Quokkas.
The final piece of the puzzle was registered music therapist, Stef Tuyl, who successfully auditioned to become the pink Quokka.
"Our group is formed off the idea that we wanted to create music to send a message to kids of exclusivity and acceptance," Gill says.
"We've seen a lot of music in the children's sphere that does that really well, but what we wanted to do to differentiate ourselves, was to not only have the content that sends that message, but to have the personnel that sends that message as well.
"If you can't see it, you can't be it."
The Quokkas have released the EPs Everybody's Welcome (2020), I Like You Just The Way You Are (2021) and Be Kind (2022), and this week they dropped their debut album Songs For Everybody.
It features songs like All Bodies Are Good Bodies - which promotes body positivity and acceptance - and others like Put Your Hands Up, a celebration of music and dance.
"I've been writing music for a long time and when I had kids you obviously start listening to kids music and seeing what's around," Gill says.
"We wanted to do something right from the outset of people's lives to try and make - it sounds like a grand plan - but the world a more united, harmonious place."
The Quokkas' grand plan is to pitch their animated video clips, which are produced by Newcastle's Toybox Films, to ABC Kids and take their music national.
The five-piece regularly perform around the Hunter and have had interest in Melbourne.
So what's tougher? Playing AFL in front of a packed Adelaide Oval or singing and dancing to a room full of preschoolers?
"They're two industries where you get judged very harshly," Gill laughs. "In AFL, you get judged very harshly as you have everyone baying for blood if you're not doing well for the team that they love so much. I get it, people are very passionate about their sport.
"In a very different way, kids bless them, will tell you exactly what they think."
Of course, Gill's biggest fans are his twins Otis and Harriet. Gill is especially grateful to have Harriet.
In utero she was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition and she was not expected to live beyond three days. However, she defied expectations. But by the age of six months she'd hardly improved.
"She was very emaciated and hadn't put on any weight," he says. "She was essentially dying, if I was to put it brutally.
"There was nothing for it. At the six-month mark we were told if we did any surgery it probably wouldn't help her that much, but it could make her a lot worse."
Eventually Gill and his wife decided to take the chance and Harriet underwent successful surgery in Sydney. These days Harriet is "thriving".
"She's at school now and runs around like a regular kid," he says. "We see a cardiologist still and she'll have some troubles down the track and she has bit of dickie heart, but she's doing really well.
"I don't want to sound cliche, but everyday is just a blessing with her."
The Quokkas album Songs For Everybody is out now.
