You’d think being a pro-skater would help to pull the ladies. Not so, according to Karlheins Sohl, who didn’t find love until he ditched the skateboard for rollerblades and morphed into Kitty Kat Karli: possibly the NT’s first roller derby dude.
Named so for his feline agility and cheetah speed, Kitty Kat Karli used to compete with women, and it was during one such comp that now-fiancee Alexandra Jones, skated past him. Cue two smitten kittens.
But he’s actually the Australian of the Day #74 for a few more reasons.
Karlheins is the kind of bloke who’s been and done everything. After he “bailed” on pro-skating (okay, it wasn’t just the lack of ladies – there were demanding sponsors and recurring injuries) he worked his way through stints in retail, video editing, graphic design, disability support to where he is now: in the Northern Territory Government.
Before you get your hopes up, he’s not a politician. (If only).
The job he’s had for the past 10 years is Master Record Keeper (or similar title) for the NT Government – something he loves. Making those in power more transparent and accountable is his “way of giving back, making my own small difference to the world.”
When he should be running for office isn’t at the office, he plays a mean jazz piano set or reminisces about his days in a post-hardcore band called Test Theory. After a tour of the country, the band didn’t quite make it, but Karlheins still likes to experiment with his own music genre, “bedroom.”
And there’s still Kitty Kat Karli, skating round as Secretary to the Darwin Derby League and part of the newly formed and only men’s roller derby group in the NT, the Gentlemen Rollers of Darwin.
He dreams of becoming a team member of the Australian National Men’s Derby Team, the Wizards of Oz.
In the meantime, though, he’s pretty content with all the different things he’s got going on at the moment.
“When you find something you can immerse yourself in, time flies. You’re happy.”
Photography extraordinaire and CommBank Australian of the Day snapper Rhett Hammerton has been fighting off crocs across the Northern Territory to bring in the very best stories of everyday Aussies making the country more awesome. If you take a gander over to www.australianoftheday.com.au, you’ll find stories of outback Mardi Gras, remote police officers, Indigenous rangers, croc experts and Pommy plumbers walking round Oz. Before you do though, take a sec to read about two more legends.
THE X-FILES RETURNS … 60KMS SOUTH OF DARWIN
Alan Ferguson has seen his fair share of unusual things, travelling Australia and living in the NT. None, however, have come close to his paranormal sightings, and photos no less, of “the boys upstairs”.
He’s pretty much Australia’s very own Agent Mulder, and the NT’s resident UFOlogist.
If that’s not worthy of being an Australian of the Day #86, we don’t know what is.
Alan’s been noticing odd “flickers” of light in the sky above his Acacia Hills property for the past decade or so. He gets this gut feeling, an uneasiness, and he knows there’s something not quite right out there in the vast skies of the remote Top End.
Getty – Matteo Colombo
He remembers his first extra-terrestrial encounter well:
Years later, having left the “hoo-ha” of the bigger cities behind, Alan settled in the NT, loving the casual lifestyle best summed up by “people leaving their keys in the ignition.” ‘Straya at its best.
Now, when he gets that feeling, he grabs a tripod and camera, and runs out the backdoor to capture the sky. He puts the photographic evidence up on his website, and documents the encounters on his blog and local Darwin radio.
Does he encounter cynics? Sure. “About a 50/50 reaction” of belief and scepticism, he says.
Alan doesn’t care much about the sceptics anyway. He knows publishing his photos is a “must”.
“They’re up there. You just need to be open to it,” says Alan.
THE FIRST STOP-MOTION ANIMATOR OF THE NT
Al Oldfield has always been a “cutter and paster”, crafting nifty things from his little tacker days right into his adult career: as a stop-motion animator and visual artist.
Back when he was living in Melbourne, Al cut his professional teeth on the 2008 film Mary and Max (from the makers of the Oscar-winning Harvey Krumpet). It was his “first break, a dream job” that firmly planted the seed of “stop-mo” love.
Not even a move up north with his partner, just a year later, could reshape his passion. At the time, though, he reckons he was the only stop-motion animator in the Top End.
Picking up some work in primary schools around the Territory, Al saw little minds searching for something creative to sink their teeth into.
“You walk into a classroom, introduce yourself and say, ‘I play with plasticine all day.’ The kids just stare at you and say, ‘No way, that’s a job?!’ It’s kinda magic,” he says.
We, for one, would not say no to a pay packet based around sculpting from play-doh all day.
The kids were old hands at this and after a few terms he was “teaching them what I’d learnt at uni, even the fancier techniques.”
The end product? Stellar stop-motion videos that have done the rounds at film festivals and picked up awards from Best Primary Film to People’s Choice.
While the precocious kids were squirrelling away with their plasticine, Al was working with Anglicare NT to create short animated stories encouraging older people in remote indigenous communities to seek respite and care.
“Animation is a friendlier way to discuss the harder topics,” he says. “It makes it easier to talk about them … but still keep it light.”
Occasionally he’ll hear a “I’m going to be an animator!” from the depths of his classroom, but he’s pretty sure it’s too early to tell. Still, those kids have talent; and Al to thank for it.
What a champ. Australian of the Day #70.
