When Chris Gillin blows out the 28 candles on his birthday cake this weekend he'll have just one wish in mind - a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
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The Warrnambool man has worked tirelessly to raise funds to find a cure for the genetic disease that has nine types and, as yet, no cure.
Muscles progressively slow and eventually all voluntary muscles are affected, including the heart and breathing muscles.
On average, a wheelchair is required from age eight to 11, with an average life expectancy of mid to late 20s.
Chris is a man on a mission to change these statistics through his fundraising group Muscular Dystrophy Awareness Warrnambool.
In January, he was told his campaign had broken a national record, raising more than $80,000 for muscular dystrophy in the past two-and-a-half years.
This money will be used to fund medical trials and research into a cure.
The figure also means Chris' group is the highest MD fundraising group in Australia.
Next month Chris will travel with parents Mandy and Ashley Gillin to Melbourne's Crown Complex to be special guests at a gala ball for their achievements.
"We're pretty excited, it should be an awesome night," Chris said.
"We are extremely proud of our efforts."
Rather than rest, Chris has vowed to continue his fundraising efforts, the newest accolade spurring him on.
"We will just keep ticking along doing what we have been doing towards our next goal of $100,000," he said.
Chris knows all too well how debilitating muscular dystrophy can be.
Diagnosed with the disease in 1994, by the time he had reached his teens the young man was forced to face the reality of a wheelchair-bound life.
"Living with MD is tough," he said. "Each stage gets tougher and tougher.
"You start out walking then slowly it starts getting harder to get around, then go into a wheelchair. Then everything starts getting harder to do and need to rely on mum and dad for everything.
"It feels like you have done a workout and have tired arms and legs, every day is like that.
"The thing I found hardest was mental, coming to grips with going into the wheelchair.
"I knew I needed it but I fought it to the end. That's what was hard for me."
By 1993 Chris had a younger brother to share his future adventures with.
Aaron "Azza" Gillin was a dark-haired version of Chris.
The pair of tots soon became inseparable, playing cricket in the backyard of their west Warrnambool home, wrestling their way through a football match and spurring each other on at the local playground.
"I played indoor cricket for four years," Chris recalls.
"Aaron played one year only because he was bored from watching all the time so thought he would just join the team. We both got a trophy for winning the grand final.
"I think that was our last ever game."
By 1994 both brothers had been diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
"We were inseparable because we were brothers but also because we knew what each other was going through so we hung out a lot and always did stuff together," Chris said.
"It helped that we liked the same things, but we just loved being together."
As the boys grew older, they would learn of their inevitable mortality.
"It's tough when you get older and find out about the life expectancy," Chris said.
"But mum and dad brought us up to enjoy every day and live each day to the fullest. 'Don't let anything stop you from doing what you want', they'd say, and we never did let it stop us.
"We have had a great life thanks to mum and dad."
Together the 'Gillin Boys' created a fundraising group and began their mission "to raise as much money and awareness as possible in the hope of finding a cure for future generations'.
In 2016 the pair created the green laces campaign, selling green shoe laces, stickers, loom bands and hosting community fundraising events.
"The green laces started for a one-off footy game between Warrnambool and Camperdown," he said.
"Then the Seahawks jumped on board that same night.
"It was a huge success, then people started asking about the laces so we just kept it going.
"Then we went on radio and did a video with Liam Fitzgerald and the campaign went nuts."
The funds the paired generated during this time was split between Save Our Sons Duchenne Foundation and Muscular Dystrophy Australia.
The green laces crusade soon spread outside the region to the wider AFL community.
Deep down I know he's in a better place now. It still doesn't feel real sometimes but I just keep going and work harder on the campaign because that's what he wanted me to do. This is his legacy too so we need to keep going.
- Chris Gillin
Chris and Aaron soon had their efforts recognised within playing groups.
"I have always been a football and Geelong Cats tragic," Chris said.
"But Aaron never really liked footy until he met Jimmy Bartel at Fun4Kids when Jimmy had just been drafted and they began a friendship ever since that moment.
"Aaron was just as passionate as me but only for Jimmy and the Cats."
Through social media the spirited duo spread their message further afield, bringing the boys into contact with some sporting celebrities.
"Probably my favourite was Gary Ablett junior," Chris said.
"But we have had great support from Nathan Sobey, Jimmy Bartel, Marc Leishman, Levi Casboult, Corey McCullagh and Brock Hallett, Mia Clifford, Kate Darby, Maddie Boyd, Renee Garing, but so many more as well."
Mid campaign, in October 2017, Chris faced possibly his greatest challenge, losing his younger brother Aaron.
"It was devastating," Chris said.
"Deep down I know he's in a better place now.
"It still doesn't feel real sometimes but I just keep going and work harder on the campaign because that's what he wanted me to do.
"This is his legacy too so we need to keep going."
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