Andrew Loulanting could so easily have strayed down the wrong path.
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"I was going to go that way," the cruiserweight kickboxer said.
So what stopped him? Who led him down a path that leads him into a ring at the Hellenic Club of Canberra on Saturday night?
It is there Loulanting will faces Charles Joyner for the MASA K1 south pacific cruiserweight title in the main event of Hybrid Combat Series.
Yet the 27-year-old, who is the youngest of six, is adamant he wouldn't be headlining a show in his hometown after a year like no other if not for the influence of his four brothers and one sister.
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"I'd get bashed by the brothers here and there," Loulanting said with a hint of a laugh.
"They were very caring. I was lucky to be spoiled and stuff like that, everything just looked after me.
"Only one has left [Canberra], but every brother and sister is here in Canberra. We were [very close], but my older brothers used to get into a lot of trouble, in and out.
"My second oldest brother was deported to New Zealand. I was going to go that way and then I didn't. It's good having all that experience around you of what not to do.
"They always steered me on the right path because they went down that road. They didn't want that for me."
So instead he finds himself in the main event of a show so many didn't believe would get off the ground this year amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Hybrid Combat Series promoter Shane Tipa had two shows - one in March and one in June - scrapped due to restrictions.
Loulanting looms as a fitting headliner given he has been a regular on Monaro Fight Circuit shows before the promotion rebranded to Hybrid Combat Series.
So impressive is the Canberra product that last year Tipa says he fought on an undercard for King of the Ring in New Zealand, "which is probably the biggest kickboxing show on the side of the world".
"A lot of people thought we were flown over the New Zealand to make up the numbers, and he came close to beating a former King in the Ring champion," Tipa said.
"He lost on split decision, considering we were supposed to be there to help make up the numbers, he gave his opponent a run for his money.
"That's when people started to take notice of who Andrew Loulanting is and what he could potentially be. Here we are, this is why we've got to this point now."
Yet Loulanting admits for some time he was not one of those people craving a return to the ring when the sport was halted by the coronavirus outbreak.
"I fight at 90 kilos, and I was at 120 kilos probably about four or five months ago," Loulanting said.
"I'd seen my life, it wasn't as if I was doing anything wrong but I was just staying inside more, I wasn't doing anything.
"I'm a big believer that as a man, you need to have a goal. I know that sounds so cheesy but I didn't have a goal or anything like that. I just went back to the gym just to have a goal.
"I slowly found that passion to fight again. It wasn't like this big wake-up call where I was like 'I need to get back in there', it was like fighting was my girlfriend again and we were going through that romance stage again.
"Now it's like 'this is why I missed you'."