Geelong's Irish-born defender Zach Tuohy loves a laugh more than most.
But when he lets it slip that he has invested in a blow-dry parlour that his brother-in-law developed in his hometown Portlaise, the 28-year-old's well-honed defensive instincts kick-in.
Geelong’s Zach Tuohy is an irrepressible character.
With an expression of mock horror he begins to scramble as he might if a gaggle of small forwards had him surrounded in the MCG goalsquare.
"It was his idea. He came up with it and I just sort of … can you write down it's like a tattoo parlour or something cooler, please, rather than a blow-dry parlour?" Tuohy pleads to Fairfax Media.
"Just make it sound good, will you?"
The laughter is infectious as the father of one realises he's done and, in metaphorical terms, the ball is heading back to the centre.
"[I'm] going around with stickers all over me trying to look tough and I own a blow-dry parlour," Tuohy said.
Of course, Tuohy has nothing to be embarrassed about as his football career is turning into something remarkable and people are beginning to recognise his contribution to both the Cats and the game.
He has now played 134 consecutive games, having begun the unbroken run way back in the first round of 2013 when at Carlton, and has slotted into Geelong's backline as if he's been at the club for a decade, finishing third in their best and fairest last season.
In round 18 he stood up under pressure to kick a goal after the siren, landing Geelong a remarkable, and crucial, win over Melbourne.
Inevitably, the kick was highlighted but his mark, under pressure from potential All-Australian defender Neville Jetta, was, in many ways, more remarkable.
Once the excitement died down Tuohy went home and stared at the Guinness in the fridge before deciding to pass and sit on his couch with a pint of milk, and speak to excited family back home.
The Cats get around Zach Tuohy after his match-winning goal against Melbourne.
"That was incredible," Tuohy said. "At the risk of building it up to be more than it was, it was just a home-and-away game … but geez, it was pretty special."
Home for Tuohy is split between Geelong, where he lives with his wife Bec and son Flynn, and Portlaise in County Laois.
His father Noel is a local politician, having worked at Portlaise prison for 30 years while his mum Marie is a nervous wreck when watching her son play football.
Although he says he didn't have a sporting pedigree Tuohy's respect for them shines as they fostered his love of sport and in more general terms, life.
Having played soccer, hurling and Gaelic football as a child, he first kicked an Australian football when he was about 17 after talent spotter and sports manager Gerard Sholly spotted him in Ireland and invited him to spend a fortnight at Carlton.
Wanting to become a professional sportsperson, Tuohy packed shorts, T-shirts and a pair of slides without thinking too much and headed to Australia, with his first stop a Carlton reserves game in Ballarat featuring fellow Irishman Setanta O'hAilpin.
"It is the coldest I have ever been in my life," Tuohy recalled. "Setanta gave me his jacket and I would have looked ridiculous because I had shorts and slides and the biggest, furriest jacket you have ever seen."
He took time to thaw out too as he struggled to feel at home, staying at the Vibe Hotel across the road from Princes Park.
"I just used to wander across and I wasn't really training much so I was just wandering around the club by myself and I just didn't enjoy it," Tuohy said.
"I made myself come back because I knew I would regret it if I didn't but as soon as I came back the second time I loved it."
Zach Tuohy in the early part of his career with Carlton.
His desire was a reflection of his character as he watched the game endlessly back in Ireland and, in his words, kicked the skin off the football he had been given. All the time, motivation was building.
"I wondered if I could mix it," Tuohy said.
By the time the 2010 international rookie selection made his debut with the Blues in 2011 he was already one of the best kicks in the team and was entrusted with kick-in duties.
At that time he used to rock up to games thinking he had to put his game face on. Now, at Geelong, in an environment that suits him down to the ground, he is more himself.
"I get serious about six minutes before the bounce," Tuohy said.
He's found that approach suits him best but his attitude should not be mistaken for flippancy. He still struggles to move forward after a loss.
"It is just my personality. I do dwell on bad performances. I am still one of those types that gets real 'shitty' and in bad moods. I do overthink it," Tuohy said.
But, he admits, he also finds more moments than most to see the lighter side of life, that part of his personality earning him a reputation at Geelong as the resident trickster.
Engaging and down to earth, he says in reality he can be a nerd, loving to listen to podcasts by people such as Joe Rogan and Sean Carroll and hitting a golf ball when time permits. The breadth of his wit has been revealed as he embraces media as a potential path beyond football.
He expects to remain in Australia beyond his football career but says the pull of home remains strong with Australians often underestimating how hard it is for young Irishmen to leave their local club and move here.
Tuohy admits that during his time at the Blues he even played for Portlaise in the off-season, a habit he has stopped in recent years.
"It's so hard to give up club football and it is close enough to impossible to go back and sit in the stands and watch," Tuohy said.
He hopes he will still be playing rather then sitting in the stands deep into finals. Right now, the thought of helping the Cats win the flag is what is really blowing his hair back.
And playing the game that dragged him across the world wearing just a pair of shorts and slides. "It's a very fun game. It's so fun," Tuohy said.
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