In 1983 Lachlan Forsyth's New Entrant's teacher said he was "capable of writing a simple sentence independently" but needed "plenty of motivation" to write. By 2005 Lachlan's love of writing, speaking and language provided all the motivation he needed to chuck in an unfulfilling career in financial services, and enrol in Journalism School.
After graduating Lachlan was offered an Asia New Zealand scholarship to work in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. During that time he wrote about government-sanctioned kidnapping, the intimidation of ethnic minorities, and investigated claims of corruption and wrongful imprisonment. He also feasted on deep-fried spiders, treated his own broken finger with a homemade splint, and narrowly avoided being mugged a chain-wielding street-robber.
Since 2006 he has worked as a reporter for 3News and Campbell Live. Based mostly out of Christchurch during that time, Lachlan has reported extensively around the South Island, usually from wet, muddy places that his colleagues didn't want to go to. Lachlan enjoys tackling almost any subject, but it is those dealing with the human condition that make him proud to be a journalist.
Lachlan is influenced greatly by the works of John Simpson, Bill Bryson, Robert Fisk, and Bear Grylls..