ISOLATION has plenty of downsides, but Port Adelaide forward Charlie Dixon has used all his newfound downtime to fix up his collection of cars.
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The self-confessed petrol head got his love of cars from his dad and he's used restoration as an escape from football.
"I think it's extremely important to have a passion outside of football," Dixon told AFL.com.au.
"It can become very consuming, (so it’s) very important to have something away from the game and to release that pressure a bit."
The two cars he's putting work into at the moment are a silver Monaro and a green 1967 F Truck.
"I've got three cars at the moment but none of them are running," Dixon said.
He's recently stripped the interior of the Monaro back completely, while the F Truck is a shell at the moment and will take up most of his time.
Dixon loves to hit the racetrack with the Monaro when it's up and running, as it's a "bit of a handful on the street."
"It's a single turbo, 383 stroker LS, makes about 850 horsepower on the tyres so it's pretty lively," Dixon said.
Power teammates Ollie Wines and Tom Clurey have even taken the Monaro for a spin on the racetrack.
Restoring the cars has helped Dixon find a sense of purpose and he's even started his own YouTube channel recording what he's doing in the shed.
The channel has been great for advice, and the forward has even made a few friends through the car community the along the way.
While there's been some upside with the last two months for Dixon, it hasn't been an easy ride.
The key forward has bleached his hair blonde "like half the AFL" and has battled through the same emotional toll that most people would be feeling.
"What I've been missing the most about isolation would have to be my family, I've been struggling a little bit with that," Dixon said.
"Also the boys (from Port Adelaide) are my family as well so missing them a lot."
Returning to training will give Dixon less time to work on his cars, but he'll love seeing his teammates again.
