"I wasn't a swimmer at all, it was only when I was injured (that I got into swimming)," Mr Madex said.

"I did three years physio and I just wasn't coming good.

"I swam four laps of the indoor pool, which is shallow, and I was absolutely buggered."

It was a moment that impressed upon Mr Madex the importance of swimming.

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"I came home and I said the kids are going to do two sports only, and one of them is going to be swimming," he said.

"I just realised right away that it was going to change their life."

Since then, Mr Madex fell into lifeguarding - a profession he never intended to join.

"I'm a broken down shearer who got into swimming, and through swimming my girls ended up in the Ararat swimming club, and I progressed through to a coach," he said.

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"Because of that I got registered as a lifeguard. I didn't work as a lifeguard but I had the qualification."

Like many Australians, the COVID-19 pandemic was behind a major life change.

"During the first lockdown I was a bus driver and wanted a change of employment," Mr Madex said.

"I rang the council and said I was a qualified lifeguard looking for any hours and it just so happened I spoke to the head lifeguard and I managed to secure that position."

Lifeguarding is an extremely rewarding role, Mr Madex said.

"I find it a really rewarding, rewarding job; every day is different," he said.

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"The perception around lifeguarding is that it can be boring, and of course it can be but if you're outgoing and accept that there will be quiet times, you engage with the public and get to know people that you haven't known.

"I'm fairly well known around the town and still people I meet in town that I lived with all my life and you end up making quite good friends with them.

"It's also rewarding to see kids learning to swim and you can watch their progress through their classes, from when they couldn't swim one stroke to when they're swimming 25 metres.

"As a coach I do try to pick out the better swimmers and see if we can get them involved with the Ararat Swim Club."

The role, as lifeguard and plant manager at Ararat Pool, has allowed Mr Madex to continue spreading his love of swimming.

"My passion is, around the swimming side of things, is that it's a part of our culture," Mr Madex said.

"If you can teach kids to be safe in the water and still have fun, it can be handed down through the ages.

"There's not enough kids that know how to swim these days... I know that there are swimming classes and school swimming courses that the government has instituted, but there are still so many kids that can't swim 20 metres to save themselves.

"I find it a bit frustrating; it's it really is a life skill... part of learning to swim is that it can save your life."

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