Writer and broadcaster Titus O’Reily was born in Melbourne and raised by the Sisters of Collective Misery, a kindly but sombre order who placed an emphasis on sport above all other things, including religion.

At the age of eight, Titus set off from Melbourne for London in a rowboat containing only himself and a positive attitude, arriving just two months later thanks to a powerful stroke and favourable currents.

In London, Titus developed a love of drinking, writing and ice skating, the last being something he did professionally across Europe for almost a decade. Upon returning to Australia, Titus turned to writing about sport, carving out a reputation for inaccuracy and being difficult to work with.

Titus’s unique take on sport has been hailed by some of the most respected figures in sport as ‘awful’, ‘childish’ and ‘barely comprehensible’.