Hearing his brother play Wipe Out by the Beach Boys on the drums was the moment Johnny Brennan got into music.
He was eight at the time and living in the UK when he felt the strong beat ricocheting off the drums and instantly fell in love.
Now living in Mandurah, Mr Brennan is starting to turn his love of music into a career.
"As a young adult I started writing songs and I really enjoyed that," he said.
"I got a feeling inside that I could do this as a job but you're always fighting your head that's saying 'no you can't do it' but I thought I'm going to win that fight."
Mr Brennan definitely has won that fight as he received six international awards alongside his producer Tony Edwards and film maker Peter Renzullo.
The music videos, Juvenile Escapades and The Fat Lady Sings, won awards at international film festivals including in France, India, and Russia.
"When I was winning them it was a bit surreal," Mr Brennan said.
"The first one was in France and I was just putting my son, Jacob to bed - the next I was on night shift and it won in India so it hasn't really sunk in yet."
Juvenile Escapades
Juvenile Escapades is a heartfelt song about trying to find yourself as a teenage boy and getting up to mischief.
"When I was 12 I started hanging around with about 10 kids and we were just running a muck - at that age I thought I could do what I wanted," Mr Brennan said.
"As life goes on I lost a couple of good friends so I thought I would write an upbeat song - it's a celebration of their life."
Five teenage boys from the Stray Cats Theatre Company brought Mr Brennan's vision for the music video to life.
Liam Drag, Joel Hansen, Daniel Monteiro Pais, Jaxan Bower and Brody Murray had the time of their lives as they acted out smashing a shed, stealing a motorbike and running from the police.
"I was kind of shocked when it started winning awards but then I realised this is an amazing music video and it's great to see it winning awards," Mr Bower said.
"Johnny put his heart and soul into the song and the music video so he definitely deserves it," Mr Monteiro Pais said.
The actors are now keen to pursue big dreams after seeing the success of Juvenile Escapades. Some more specific than others.
All the boys want to go to WAAPA and be in movies with Mr Drag already set to complete a drama summer school at WAAPA soon.
"I've got two big goals - I want to be on the Graham Norton Show and then my other is to win some sort of award like an Oscar," Mr Hansen said.
"I'm working my way up to major feature films and trying to earn a living out of what I love doing," Mr Monteiro Pais said.
"I want to continue acting in stage shows but I would also like to be in movies - it's always been my dream to be in the show Alexander Hamilton," Mr Bower said.
The Fat Lady Sings
It was a chance meeting with singer Carol Kidu at a barbecue that saw Mr Brennan's song, The Fat Lady Sings come to life.
The first moment Mr Brennan heard her voice he knew he had to capture it for a song.
The recording went perfectly but when it came time to film a music video, Ms Kidu was no longer in Australia and the pandemic made it impossible for her to get back.
"We came up with the idea to all dress in black and have the same background so it looks like we are in the same room," Mr Brennan said.
"The music video turned out great and now it has won four awards - I can't believe it.
"My mother passed away two years ago and I just hope wherever she is she can see what is going on - I want to keep singing for her."
This article originally was published in the Mandurah Mail.
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