It started before I could drive
Growing up in Scotland, competitions were just part of family life. My parents entered them regularly — my mum once won a perm and I laughed at it (sorry Mum, she still brings it up). My sister entered a Tetley Tea comp on behalf of my gran, writing about how brilliant she was — and won. My parents then sent my gran a single teabag in the post with a note saying "have a drink on us." She'd already told all her bingo friends about this special prize. Mortified. The actual prizes turned up a few days later — tea bags, biscuit tins, tea towels, the works.
My sister also won a helicopter trip for two. She picked me to come with her. I was about 11. Flying around in a helicopter at that age — that one stuck with me.
Then, when I was a teenager, a mate of mine won £100,000 in an Irn-Bru competition. He was 17. He took a big group of us on holiday, bought a car, gave some to family, and put the rest into property. That one comp genuinely changed the direction of his life. I watched that happen and thought — this is real. This matters.
The Scotland years
I started entering myself during my apprenticeship. A colleague of mine was obsessed — entering everything, all the time. I wasn't as systematic back then but I picked up a few good ones. A trip to London to see Mudhoney, all expenses paid. A recording of an Ocean Colour Scene boxed set — only 50 people in the room, I sat right next to the band and left with autographs and guitar plectrums. Small things too, like winning the school raffle (I'd sold extra tickets, so the odds were in my favour — a habit that's stuck).
I moved to Australia about 17-18 years ago and took a break from comping for a while. When I picked it back up, I noticed something pretty quickly: the opportunity here is enormous compared to the UK. Fewer people entering, brands spending serious prize money. Sometimes both.
The Australian chapter
Since then, comping has taken me — and the people I love — to some extraordinary places. A few highlights:
Glastonbury VIP — $40k worth of festival
"My Dad asked Buzz about Scottish influence in the Apollo mission. Buzz mentioned his mum's surname was Moon. Dad's reply: 'So what you're telling me is the second man on the moon was Scottish? We'll take that.' Buzz smiled."
Tossing the coin with Alessandro Del Piero at Sydney FC
London, staying in Mayfair. James Bond speedboat up the Thames.
The best part of all of it isn't the stuff. It's sharing it — taking my mum somewhere she'd never go otherwise, sending my parents on a cruise, giving my sister a honeymoon. Some of the best experiences of my life came from a competition entry I almost didn't bother with.
Why I built AusComps
Honestly? Because I'm genuinely passionate about this. That feeling when a phone call or email comes through saying you've won a major prize — it's an adrenaline rush. Even a small win brightens up your day. I've experienced that hundreds of times and I never get tired of it.
The platforms that existed for Australian compers hadn't changed in decades. Forums from the early 2000s, no mobile experience, no decent search or filtering. I knew from years of comping and building digital products that something much better was possible.
So I built it. AusComps is my attempt to give every Australian comper the tools, the listings, and the community that this hobby deserves. I'm still entering comps myself, still learning, and still very much one of you.
People often tell me I'm lucky. I disagree. Push the numbers, stay consistent, and you create your own luck. That's what AusComps is built around.
What AusComps gives you
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