There was a lemon tree growing close to the Ngaruawahia Bowling Club.
"Me and my mates used to throw lemons on to the bowling green," he said.
This upset his father, Gene Gregory, who was a member of the club. He was told to help with the clean up and do jobs around the club.
The youngster got to know club members, had a few roll ups, and within a year joined the club.
Gregory was a natural and had won nine centre titles by the age of 17. He played with his father and they won a centre gold star together in 1999.
He continued bowls when the family shifted to the Kapiti Coast and won the boys singles at the inaugural New Zealand secondary schools championships in 2000.
Gregory kept on winning but became disillusioned when not selected in New Zealand under-25 and under-30 teams.
"I lost a bit of direction in my life and fell off the horse a bit," he said. "When I played with my old man he used to guide me in the right direction but when he moved back to the Waikato I stayed in Levin to study."
He became too involved in the social side of bowls, lost form, giving up for seven years.
Gregory returned to serious bowls in 2008, joining the Professional Bowls Association.
"I still had fire in the belly and had unfinished business in the sport," he said. "I had fallen in love with bowls from the start and missed it when I was out of the game."
His record in the past three years has been impressive, with wins in the New Zealand PBA to gain direct entry to the Scottish Masters singles and the world singles championships at Potters Leisure Centre in 2009.
Gregory won the New Zealand open singles last season and in July helped New Zealand win the PBA transtasman challenge at Tweed Heads when he beat former world champion Steve Glasson (Australia) in the final 9-5, 7-5.
Gregory has set himself a five-year target to make the New Zealand bowls team for the world championships and Commonwealth Games.
He will be tested this weekend when he plays in the 21st North East Valley Invitation Singles for the first time against the best bowlers in the country to compete for his share of the $15,000 prize money.
Other bowlers playing in the event for the first time are New Zealand under-25 representative Nathan Glasson (Christchurch), national champion Blake Signal (Wellington) and PBA champion Murray Glassey (Hawkes Bay).
North East Valley
Invitation singles
• Dates: October 21-24 (section play Friday to Sunday, quarterfinals Sunday 2.45pm, semifinal Monday 9.30am, final Monday 1pm).
• Venue: North East Valley Bowling Club.
• First held: 1990.
• Multiple winners: Rowan Brassey (1995, 1997, 2007), Andrew Curtain (1991, 2003), Jim Scott (2000, 2001), Russell Meyer (2004, 2005), Shannon McIlroy (2006, 2008).
• Prize money: $15,000 (winner $5000).
