STORY BY MAHMOOD FAZAL, PHOTOS BY DANNY WOOTTON

In 2018, Alexander Hancocks fled the smoke of Sydney city for Hepburn Springs. At Pancho cafe, a local favourite, he is greeted affectionately, “I love that people talk to each other and say hello in the morning,” he explains. It’s been almost a year since that warm Valentine’s Day when Alex opened the doors of his men’s clothing and retail store, Buster McGee.

“My partner's last name is McGinniss and my mum would call me Buster as a child, that's my nickname. They say that you should have an affinity to your brand.” Buster McGee is nestled in one of the most historic rows of shop fronts in Victoria, on Howe Street in Daylesford. “I just didn't want to have to go down to Melbourne to buy clothes, especially on the weekends if I needed a shirt to go out,” says Alex, “I love the look of the shops. Buster McGee is located next to the Secret Garden and DA Apothecary, then Bistro Terroir and The Donkey's Tale.”

Although, Alex has settled in to the Daylesford ethos, he still speaks with an English accent that is simultaneously distinguished and inviting. He was raised near the quaint Cathedral city of Lichfield in England, “I’ve always been a bit of a free wheeler. I'm gay. So that was another challenge to deal with in terms of living in a small village. My father was a policeman. I was finding myself for a very long time.”

After achieving exceptional grades in high school, Alex decided to study Anatomy at university. But his heart was never in it. “My parents really wanted me to go. My sister is an archaeologist, so my dad would say, ‘she’s going to dig up the person and Alex is going to tell you how he died.’ I just didn't like the whole idea of student life. I then stumbled into aviation.”

Alex worked as a revenue management analyst, controlling the number of seats sold at a particular fare level for passengers travelling on the London to New York route. His demeanour becomes still, he says, “Then 9/11 occurred. I can still remember it clearly. I was on the phone to a colleague in New York and the phone line just cut off and then we kind of rushed to see the towers falling on TV. And people just started cancelling bookings.”

When something shakes you to your core, it’s often best to start afresh. For Alex, it was about revisiting New South Wales, the state he had adventured throughout in his early twenties. “I came over to Sydney to work for a large media agency, and did that for a few years. I realised I needed to create a bit of separation with work so I bought a house up in the Blue Mountains.” But it was more than just the city that was weighing him down.

“I just got a little bit burnt out. My partner was in Hepburn Springs, so I decided to make the move to Victoria. And then took a year off, recharged my batteries and launched Buster McGee, a new business. I'm a Libran,” laughs Alex, “And I'm probably not the best team player. But I’m very much about reinventing myself quite frequently.”

Buster McGee is a shop where men can reinvent themselves too. From Italian toothpaste to corduroy shirts by Scotch & Soda, Buster McGee has shoppers covered from the essentials to the extravagant. “I just like curating the product and putting it together, seeing what works and moving it around. I love the visual merchandising side even though that's not my background. Alex smiles before quietly confiding, “the one thing that I probably spent the most time thinking about was Mary Portas and her show Mary Queen of Shops.”

Alex infuses Buster McGee with the inviting attitude that Daylesford cultivates, “I try and remember people's names and really basic things, because people love being recognised. I give people fun nicknames so I can remember their background. It’s just pulling on all my past experiences to drive the business.” And for locals and visitors alike, it has quickly become an essential taste of the local personality.