TOBY ZOATES - "PUNK OUTSIDER" BOOK

Toby Zoates, artist, dancer, unrepentant poof, registered nurse, writer, award winning film maker/animator. I just assumed that Toby was a wild human whose life was cut short due to HIV or heroin (never assume! and Toby was never a heroin addict) sometime in the 80's or 90's. Well, how wrong I was. He's very much alive and had I even bothered to do some research I would have found his blogspot which he has kept for the last 15 years. So who is Toby's Zoates... he grew up in Melbourne, in his late teens he was befriended by someone who turned out to be a member of Anne Hamilton-Byrne's Family cult. He was dosed with massive amounts of LSD  after 4 sessions which he initially found terrifying he came to like the acid, Hamilton-Byrne even attended one of these ML Ultra-mind fuck sessions telling him he had died 1000 deaths in his previous lives for being a sinful homo. It didn't work and sometime after that he took off for a couple of years in India, a place he has a deep love for and returns to yearly. This part of his life is covered in his book from a few years ago (Vagabond Freak). Punk Outsider chronicles his life from '77 onwards. Sure, it's a kind of strangely written book, there's typos, poor quality images but this is strongly recommended... here's the official rap from the press release "Inspired by the likes of Orwell, Bukowski, Genet and Thorpe, follow the misadventures of anti-hero Arthur as he’s propelled by lawless desire down the roiling gutters of Sydney in 1977 and on to the 1990's; from Darlo to Pyrmont Squats to The Gunnery; from the anti-nuclear riots in '77 to the LGBTQ riots in '78; from the rock dives of Frenchs to the Trade Union Club and Selinas Coogee Bay; from The Prisoner's Action Group storming the prison system to nuns storming a "Right to Life" rally; from outrageous Situationist stunts to a filmmaker's soul-destroying quest; from Callous Park Asylum to Northcott Suicide Towers; from the Piccolo Cafe on the Cross to Mad Max in a Homebush quarry. Attempting to heal his flawed human condition, he overcame the obstacles thrown his way and achieved an exhilarating life; hoping to be a cutting edge artist and movie star he ended up an ignominious Punk Outsider.” You get the idea. Here's a fun fact, Paul Kelly got his name from graffiti Toby scrawled on a wall. If you see Paul, ask him and he will confirm this. Will Reg Mombassa of Mental as Anything/Tin Sheds/Mambo cop to the fact visual style was inspired by Toby, nah nah probably not.