About The Author, Steven Shackel

CONTENTS

In order of relevance


Excellence Award



This website has been accessed many thousands of times from around the world including enquiries from:
Argentina, Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Croatia, Denmark,  Dominican Republic, Egypt,
El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala,  Hong Kong & Mainland China, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel,  Italy, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sumatra,  Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela, Yugoslavia, Zimbabwe and of course the UK, USA and Australia

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Steve Shackel rehearsing.
His life away from ALS/MND research...

Steven Shackel, JP was born in London, England around midnight of the 24th/25th September 1951. He is 190cm/6'3" tall and weighs in at over 100kg/220lb.

At the age of fifteen he immigrated with his parents to Australia and spent the next couple of years frantically saving money to return to England. At the age of sixteen he grew a moustache to make himself look older. He is now at a loss as to what to grow to make himself look younger.

Precocious, he qualified to attend university at an early age but instead "life happened" and he began to travel. In seeing the world he worked in offices, factories, ditches, building sites, sewers, shops, restaurants, a large zoo and even a plaster gnome manufacturer's.

He has been a member of Mensa, a karate champion, musician and commissioned artist. At one time he was the youngest art director in the UK, employed by a large, international publishing house.

Steven has over thirty years experience in communication as an author, editor, copywriter, graphic designer, illustrator, radio announcer and lecturer.

He has been a consultant to large and small businesses plus various Local, State and Federal Government departments in promotional campaign planning, graphics, copywriting, and the production and editing of instructional manuals and promotional and educational materials.

See the Your Home website for an online version of his work (winner Banksia Award, Australia) as principal editor and contributing author, this is now university and industry required reading throughout Australia.

In the past three decades he has taught classes in communication, broadcasting, public speaking, advertising copywriting, drawing and painting, graphic design, guitar, meditation, relaxation and creative thinking.

He has written, co-written, illustrated, edited and/or published various books, manuals and articles on topics ranging from humorous to scientific and technical.

He has won awards for his writing, poetry, acting, art and karate and is trained and licensed to handle, relocate and care for highly venomous snakes and other Australian native fauna.


There's something on your hat...

Somewhere in there he also designed a number of houses and gardens.


Our House Viewed from the Riverbank
House from South before the trees grew... then in early spring, several years later.


Looking west across the river at sunset

For more than a decade Steven researched the potentially beneficial effects of supplementary and other readily available medications, liver function and secondary illnesses that may influence the progress of neurodegeneration. Some of the results of that research can be found on this website.

Currently, he is (sporadically) writing and illustrating a book on gardening techniques and design and has the inevitable unfinished novel and movie script awaiting completion.

He has already co-written, illustrated and published an Australian bestseller "Cube" (now out of print) and "Eyes of the Beholder', a novella still available from the authors.


Yes, that is the neck of a bottle on my pinkie finger so I can play
bottleneck/slide on my steel-bodied resophonic guitar

Since his early teens, Steven has been involved in community volunteer and charity work and fund-raising projects.

At fifteen he received an award for community service in the UK and over the years has undertaken long and short term projects including running an animal care shelter; creating a community park; rehabilitating and fostering native wildlife; recording "talking books" for the blind and disabled; teaching remedial English; was an advisory board member, public speaker and lobbyist for improved disability services.

His most challenging single project was planning and coordinating a large community festival including a rock concert and numerous other simultaneous events to raise money for an international charity.

Although a fulfilling and integral part of his life, these ventures have allowed little time or opportunity to accrue personal wealth and he struggles to continue his ALS/MND research, largely unfunded.


They all make very different sounds and are played in different ways. There used to be twenty six of them. The others were sold to pay bills - only fanatical guitar players can truly comprehend the loss. Sigh...

My 55th birthday present, a small, custom built fingerpicking guitar. A friend made it based on my design brief. I call it "The Pup" but it barks as loud as the bigger guitars.

For over thirty years Steven Shackel has lived in Goulburn, NSW (Australia's first inland city, about 100miles/160km south of Sydney) where he resides with his beloved wife, Vicki, in a passive-solar house he designed and built, overlooking the Wollondilly river.

Steven does not swim or drive a car, always needs three more guitars and detests looking for items that were not there in the first place.



My wonderful wife, Vicki

Two surviving lab rats - Souki and Steve Shackel 2012

Back to top