Rod is the owner of Cooper Cricket and has been making cricket bats since 2013 and tinkering with cricket bats since...well, he can't remember!
Rod is a cricket lover and has been involved with cricket from the age of 10 years old when he first started playing cricket in sunny old Townsville!
A signwriter by trade, creating unique one off creations has been something that Rod has done over and over again with sigange. To be able to mix that into making cricket bats for the actual cricketer that will use it is one of the reasons why Cooper Cricket was started in the first place.
WHO IS ROD GREY?
Born in Geelong, I grew up all the way up in Townsville in sunny North Queensland.
All I wanted to do as a kid was play cricket...nothing else mattered. My mum loved cricket and was often the scorer when I would play. She was kind enough to allow me to get private coaching and it wasn't too long after that's I started playing rep cricket for North Queensland and then A-Grade for Norths in Townsville when I was 16. I continued to play in Townville until I was 35 before stopping to start coaching my son's cricket sides.
I still loved cricket but I then fell in love with coaching. I was lucky I could fall back on the technique taught to me when I was younger and pass that onto my son. Naturally it was my son who used the first Cooper Cricket bat!
We are in Brisbane these days and I am extremely lucky to be supported by my wonderful family. My wife Roxanne, son Lachlan and daughter Charley. I couldn't do this without them and without their ongoing support.
Favourite cricketing moment?
Scoring 121 against an all Queensland Country attack and helping the team chase down 300 odd in a team that didn't win too many at the time.
Funniest cricket story?
Being part of a misfit North Qld team in under 15's in Cairns and one wild an scary night mixing it with the locals!
What is it about cricket you love the most?
It's the ultimate leveler. You can be going great one game then come crashing down the next. It teaches so many lessons that can help you through life...there is nothing quite like it.
Favourite movie?
I'm still a big kid so Transformers the movie (animated) is still my favourite however there are soooo many....any champion sports movie, all of the Marvel movies, Star Wars, funny kids movies...too many to choose just one.
Favorite food?
Can't go past my mum's spaghetti bolognese recipe!
What do you do in your time off?
I don't get to do it much these days but I'm still a big kid so I love playing Xbox or Playstation...RPG story game set in the future like Mass Effect or Cyber Punk is right up my alley!