From working on yachts in Monaco to selling houses in Bayside, meet Michael Townsend

Before he entered real estate, McGrath’s Michael Townsend was a deckhand on luxury yachts in the Mediterranean. Now based in St Kilda, he sells homes in Melbourne’s own bayside playground, near to where he went to school, and is happy his life has tracked full circle.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Malvern and I went to Caulfield Grammar from primary school to year 12.

What were you like as a teenager?

I loved school. Caulfield Grammar was a school very conducive to sport. I loved team sports, and individual sports as well.

Which ones did you do?

Mostly AFL and athletics – and cricket and tennis. I was quite a good runner at high school.

Do you still run?

I run every second day at least. It’s a great way to relax and clear the head. From my point of view, running is incredibly efficient. I usually have audio books or music while I run, so I get some information in while the physical activity clears my head.

After school, you did a health and behavioural science degree at Deakin University; what did you do when you finished?

I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, although I thought I’d like to go into business one day. After I finished at Deakin, I spent three or four years in the French alps for winter and then I went down to Monaco to work on the huge yachts for summer.

Were you a sailor before Monaco?

No, not at all. I had to do a course, like a watchman’s certificate, about safety and fire issues. They wouldn’t give you a job if you didn’t do the course, so I came home to Melbourne and did the course for a week and went back to Monaco.

What sort of boat were you on?

The first boat was named Lionheart. It was owned by Sir Philip Green, who was worth about $5 billion – it was just huge wealth beyond anything I’d ever seen.

It sounds like a life-changing experience.

More so when I switched to a smaller boat going down the Amalfi Coast to Greece. This smaller boat had an owner-captain and he sailed it himself. I had more contact with him and he would open up about his life and his business. A lot of his guests were his business associates and a lot of them had made money from real estate.

Did this inspire you to enter the property game?

I came back after travelling and felt like, “You’ve had your fun, now it’s time to do something”. One of my friends had started in real estate so I did the one-week course at the REIV and got a job at an Elwood agency, Rand Corporation, which doesn’t exist any more. I was 27 or 28, so quite late by some standards.

Have you always worked around  St Kilda?

Yes. I started my career in Elwood. In mid-2011, I joined Hodges St Kilda and, in 2012, I became a director. I was 29. My business partners and I left Hodges in 2015 and opened the first McGrath office in Victoria.

Has the internet and social media changed your work?

Yes – there’s a knowledge and scrutiny now. But my mindset is, you don’t turn up to work and start being a real estate agent. From day one, I’ve been like this: I’m the same person at  home, at the footy with mates, and at work.