Meet Neil Millgate – gym-goer, kayaker, world champion, and proud Warriewood Brook resident.
At 82, Neil Millgate is living proof that retirement doesn’t have to mean slowing down. A resident at Anglicare Sydney’s Warriewood Brook retirement village, Neil fills his week with more activity than most people half his age.
He hits the gym three times a week, trains for dragon boat racing another three times, and spends two days kayaking – for two hours each session.
“You’re only as young as you feel,” Neil says. “You can be old at 70 or young at 82 – as I like to think I am.”
Turning a challenge into a passion
Neil’s fitness journey started at age 60, inspired by his wife’s battle with breast cancer and her discovery of dragon boat racing during recovery.
“After a few weeks of her doing it, she said I might like it too. That was in 2006 – and there hasn’t been a month since when we haven’t been dragon boat racing.”
What began as a way to support his wife became a shared passion that’s taken the couple around the world. They’ve won multiple championships, including gold at the Sydney Lunar New Year Dragon Boat Festival and competed internationally at the 2024 Club Crew World Championships in Ravenna, Italy.
“When you’re racing, you give 100 per cent,” Neil says. “Everyone in the boat is putting in the effort – it’s such a team sport.”
From the office to the water
Neil says he never wanted to retire – and worked until he was 74 – but when he finally did, he threw himself into sport.
“It’s funny because when you do retire, you suddenly have all this time to fill,” he says.
“I chose to fill it with the gym, kayaking, and dragon boat racing – and I absolutely love it.”
A new kind of retirement
For Neil, retirement has been anything but restful.
“People think of retirement as slowing down, but for me, it’s been the opposite,” he says.
“I’ve taken up new sports, made new friends, travelled the world. It’s been fantastic.”
Want to see Neil in action?