Having grown up in Merewether Heights, near the beach, Scott could smell the sea spray from his home. And whenever he attempted to surf, Scott could taste saltwater – usually as he was unceremoniously dumped. He remains, to this day, one of the few from the Merewether area who can't ride a surfboard.
Realising he may not have had what it took to be the next Mark Richards, Scott instead dropped in on journalism and story-telling, and he's been riding that wave for 40 years.
After training and working in Newcastle, Scott was employed as a television reporter for the Nine Network before joining the ABC. He was a reporter and occasional presenter for The 7.30 Report. At the end of 2007, Scott was appointed the ABC's Russia Correspondent. During his posting, he reported on everything from the 2008 presidential campaign to Russia's conflict with Georgia. He also attended the launch of a Soyuz rocket, and he witnessed Norway triumph at the 2009 Eurovision contest, perhaps that nation's greatest musical moment since A-ha stormed the pop charts.
Returning to Australia in 2010, Scott was a presenter on the ABC's news channel and also directed and presented three documentaries: Oll – The Life and Art of Margaret Olley; The Hunter, based on his book of the same name, exploring by kayak the river coursing through his home region, and; Arthur Phillip – Governor, Sailor, Spy.
Clearly a believer in taking the long way home, Scott is now working on ABC Newcastle and ABC Upper Hunter's Saturday Morning program. But the important thing to Scott is he's home, talking with fellow Hunter residents about the things we love and the things that help make us who we are.
When he's not talking, Scott is writing (he is the author of seven books), kayaking and doing his bit to support the region's economy by enjoying a glass of Hunter red – although he rarely does all three things simultaneously. And he fervently believes his surfing ability is just waiting to be revealed.
So if anyone wants to take on a hopeless cause and teach Scott to surf…