Gary Todd left Dundee for Australia in 1987 when he was 18 for three main reasons — his fear of being “banged up”, Margaret Thatcher, and a belief he had no future in the city.
He says it was the best decision he ever made, despite missing his mum Annie and his dislike of the continent for the first four years he was there.
Gary, now 55 and living in Sydney, went on to become a best selling author by taking to print to talk about his love of boxing.
Now, 34 years after making the move from the city, Gary has written another book this time about his young life in Dundee and dedicated it to Annie.
Gritty autobiography
Named Annie’s Prayer in memory of his mum who died in 2011, Gary’s latest book — due to be published next May — is a gritty autobiography that pulls no punches.
It could even end up on the big screen if the story catches the eye of filmmakers in Hollywood.
He said: “I have written two international best selling books but Annie’s Prayer took me to a different level of emotional writing as this is very personal to me.
“The publishers are talking about releasing Annie’s Prayer on May 5 2022, the anniversary of my mum’s death, which is also Mother’s Day in Australia.
“This will be very strange and pretty bittersweet for me.”
He said that, unusually, he wrote the screenplay of the story first and the book came later.
He said: “I originally wrote 39 pages for my kids to read and it just morphed into Annie’s Prayer.
Hollywood beckons
“I was asked to write the screenplay for a guy in Hollywood and it is currently doing the rounds. I’m taking things as it comes. The book was always my priority.”
Gary grew up with Annie in St Mary’s and in one of the now demolished multis in Ardler. His dad was never really around and eventually ended up in prison.
He can still recall the trauma of having to testify against his dad in court aged just 10.
He said: “My biggest regret in leaving Dundee was leaving my mum behind. I loved my mum and it was heartbreaking to leave her.”
Dad pushed mum around ‘like a rag doll’
In one passage from his latest book Gary recounts a terrifying episode when he was only six years old and his dad burst into the family home and threatened his beloved Annie when mother and son were getting ready for bed one night.
It reads: “Suddenly there was a loud banging noise and just as my mum jumped up there was a screeching, splintering noise I had never heard before.”
Gary goes on to remember in the book: “I then saw my mum being pushed like a rag doll back on the bed, being tossed out a pram and it was then I saw him.
“I was confused and as he came through the front door into our bedroom. Confusion turned to absolute terror as he raised a long butcher’s knife up while grabbing her by her sky blue nightgown and holding the knife to her throat.
“I knew this man. It was my dad.”
Lochee Boys’ Club
Gary first became involved with boxing in Dundee with Lochee Boys’ Club — he says mostly in a bid to be able to defend himself if necessary.
He says: “There were a lot of bullies around and I hated them — I didn’t like fighting and preferred to go out with the girls but I decided I would learn to box.
“I used to train hard and also did a lot of marathons to get fit.”
Gary said that when he was 18 he felt his life was going nowhere and thought about moving to London.
However a chance to go to Australia came up so he decided to take it.
He said: “I couldn’t see a future for myself in Dundee, other than getting into trouble and possibly ending banged up in prison.
“It was also at the time of Margaret Thatcher and I blame her for opportunities not being created for people like me.”
Gary eventually took the plunge, even though his mum wasn’t keen for him to do it, and moved to the other side of the world.
Greatest boxers
During his years involved in the boxing world in Australia, mostly sparring and on the side-lines rather than in the ring itself, Gary met some of the greatest boxers ever.
These included Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Ricky Hatton, Mike Tyson, Marvin Haggler, Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder and Sugar Ray Leonard.
Gary got on to the circuit with many of the top boxers and that was what prompted him to write his boxing books.
They became best sellers in the boxing world and sold 300,000 copies.
He is now hoping that, despite being thousands of miles away, his latest book will appeal to everyone still living in his home city and beyond.