Jamie Caven reckons his decision to become a professional darts player in 2007 is the best thing he's ever done but it was pending job cuts in his workplace in Derby, England, that provided the incentive.
The year before he was taking part in a national amateur darts event and happened to beat Phil Taylor - the man nicknamed "The Power" and recognised as the greatest player ever.
"I qualified and along the way beat Phil and then won the tournament. Phil did a bit of a speech saying the game was going to get bigger and suggested someone needed to put some money behind me because he said I had talent. My eventual sponsor just happened to be in the room so that's how it started."
At the time the 41-year-old Caven was working for a Government department that was on the brink of massive job cuts. Being a newcomer he knew his chances of long-term employment were remote so he made the decision to try his hand at darts.
"It's the best decision I've ever made. I made qualified for the World Championships at my first attempt and then qualified for every major every year since then. I was making very good money."
"I was knee high to a grasshopper when I started playing darts. I used to watch my dad play. He practised at home because he was playing a lot of pub league darts. And I used to watch it on TV too when the likes of Eric Bristow was playing. It just went from there."
Initially he put in a lot of practise to try and catch up with the leading pros but not as much these days. He lives in Derby with his wife and away from tournament play has other commitments associated with the sport, including his own darts academy and exhibitions. But he'll still be throwing "arrows" three or four hours every day.
Caven's played all of the top players at some point in the last decade - the likes of Taylor, Michael Van Gerwen, Raymond van Barneveld, Peter Wright, Gary Anderson and Dave Chisnall - and made five quarter-finals in the major televised events. And he's won seven ranking pro events to date. He was world youth champ in 1993, has made the last 32 of the World Grand Prix series seven times, was in the last 16 in the PDC (Professional Darts Corporation) World champs in 2016 and in World matchplay champs in 2013.
"There have been some highs and some lows as well but that's part of the game. But I've got some great memories and it has given me a very good living for the last 10 years," he said.
He was brought here by Craig Dunn, director of DartsNZ. Dunn is a teacher at Whanganui High School but runs DartsNZ as a sideline.
"It's very rare that professional sportsmen of this calibre get to Whanganui for exhibitions like this. Actually it has never happened before," Dunn said.
The St Johns Club function saw people from the audience compete against Caven with more serious matches against the visiting pro by top calibre players later in the evening.
Caven's southern tour started in Australia just after New Year's day and the NZ leg of the tour has seen him play in Dannevirke, Whanganui and Timaru before heading home at the end of the month.
He's made the tour in what is a rare period of down time in his programme. Once back in the UK, he's on the tour almost straight away, playing every weekend from the start of February to the end of July. Then come the big money tournaments including the PDC World champs.
Like all the pros Caven has a nickname. His is "Jabba" and has nothing to do with a certain character in the Star Wars movie; he's a diabetic which means he self-injects insulin.
"My mates knew what I had to do and came up with that nickname. But the first time I heard it publicly happened when I was playing in a tournament. I was well behind my opponent and needed a boost. Then this lone voice shouted out 'Come on, Jabba!' I had no idea who it was but obviously it was someone who knew me. It was just the tonic I needed. It got me out of a slump and I went on and won."
He said the popularity of the game is hard to pinpoint.
"In UK it's crazy and it's growing so fast in Europe now. I do get why it's popular for myself and the other players because we thrive on it and it's our job. You go to a football game and there are thousands in the stands watching the ball. At least you can follow the ball. But in a darts venue, with a very small board as a target you aren't going to see much at all.
"I know it's shown on big screens but I think for the spectators it's the atmosphere rather than the game being played. Everybody gets dressed up, they have a few bevvies (drinks), they dance and sing and really get into it. It's a massive party really for them."