Nat Astwood has a diverse and expansive career and has worked as a performer in the creative industries, a teacher in the education sector, a martial artist in the sport, recreation and community field, as a customer service professional in the retail industry and as a military officer within the Australian defense force.
They completed a Bachelor of Arts – drama/acting (ECU, 2003) and have appeared as an actor in a few theatre productions and short films.
After pursuing postgraduate study in creative industries (QUT, 2006) they followed with a Graduate Diploma in Education – secondary drama teaching (Griffith Uni, 2010) and taught at various schools on the Gold Coast and in Cairns where they now reside.
Historically they won a world championship in Taekwon-Do as a 3rd degree black belt (2012) and were a Gold Coast ‘sportsperson’ of the year finalist where they operated the largest self-defence school in Queensland.
In 2019 Nat joined the Royal Australian Navy as a Training Systems Officer and their current lived experience is as a full-time, military reservist holding the rank of Lieutenant within the Directorate of Navy Culture in the position of Assistant Deputy Director Navy Coaching.
Most recently they have been performing as a drag king and walking the runway as an age diverse and gender diverse model. They have exhibited in installations at various galleries and performed at various theatres in Cairns, Sydney and Melbourne.
In 2023 they won a silver medal at the martial arts world championships in the expressive creative patterns division where they performed at Sydney World Pride Mardi Gras as a drag king.