Anton Lock has made his way to all corners of the globe, spurred on by the power of perspective.
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The 33-year-old former Kendall resident is enjoying a 15-year roller coaster ride that has taken him from Port Macquarie to Sydney, Japan and Columbia.
Mr Lock currently roams the world with tours in Australia, France, Bangkok, Taiwan and Japan as part of the drumming ensemble, Taikoz.
"I've had a crazy 15 years," said Mr Lock. "I've been to Japan about 11 or 12 times to perform, study and tour with Taikoz.
"In the last five years I've been travelling to Columbia with my own DJ drumming show.
"Coming from a regional area in New South Wales the opportunities have definitely been less than a city.
"I've been living in Columbia and seen parts where it's quite a poor country, you see how the opportunities there are even less.
"I think that perspective is really important and I'm definitely proud of being an Australian.
"In Australia you can find anything you want to do.
"Classical music, contemporary dance, electronic music are all within reach.
"All these opportunities are out there."
Mr Lock was a former student at Kendall Central, St Joseph's in Laurieton and St Paul's High School before successfully auditioning for the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
Along the way he studied martial arts, ballet and eventually traditional taiko, a sacred drumming instrument of Japanese Buddhist and Shinto religions.
"You've got to be sensitive not to just take things without understanding them," he said.
"I've studied them in depth because I'm not Japanese and I'm not South American.
"You have to be comfortable with your own sound."
Adapting from life in Australia to Japan, and now Columbia, hasn't always been a smooth transition, said Mr Lock.
"When I first went to Japan it was really hard to make the language switch because I'd never formally studied it," he said.
"Then when I went to Columbia I was learning and speaking in Spanish but I'd also bow like you do in Japan. People would say 'what are you doing'."
Mr Lock will return home to perform at the Port Macquarie Glasshouse for Taikoz's production, The Beauty of 8.
"The Port Macquarie Glasshouse is a special theatre to me," said Mr Lock.
"It's one of the best theatres I've played in across the world.
"If you go inside and clap your hands it's just a beautiful sound. I'm really looking forward to hearing it again."
