“Still Got a Few Stomps Left”: Local Man Refuses to Replace Iconic Tyre Bead Doormat After 34 Years

Sandy Shores | Editor-in-Chief | Sutherland Shire Gazette

21 September 2025

GRAYS POINT  - Despite losing three rubber strips, 12 plastic beads, and the will of his entire family, local dad Greg Withers, 62, has once again refused to replace the front doormat, insisting it’s “just getting broken in.”

The doormat in question - a battered but still operational slab of woven recycled tyre and multicoloured plastic beads - has been stationed at the Withers' front door since Bob Hawke was Prime Minister. Once hailed as the pinnacle of non-slip utility and shin damage, the mat now serves mostly as a nostalgic injury hazard.

“I bought it from Mitre-10 in '89,” Greg told The Sutherland Shire Gazette, patting the mat like an old labrador. “That thing’s seen more action than our wedding album. Rain, hail, muddy footy boots, Avon reps… she’s held the line.”

Family members disagree. “It’s more of a tripwire than a doormat at this point,” said daughter Zoe, 27. “It doesn’t remove dirt. It removes skin.”

Greg’s wife Karen has tried everything - leaving Bunnings catalogues open to the doormat section, feigning tripping incidents, even starting a quiet replacement fund on GoFundMe.

“He says he’ll replace it when it ‘finishes the job,’” she sighed. “I assume that means it has to physically maim someone.”

According to Brett Lennox, Lecturer in Domestic Attachment Psychology at Loftus TAFE, Greg’s refusal is not uncommon. “These mats represent more than foot hygiene,” he explained. “They symbolise an era of homeownership, emotional repression, and refusing to buy new things on principle.”

Zoe has reportedly started using the back door. Karen uses a discreet indoor mat hidden under a decorative basket.

As for Greg? He continues to defend the mat like a war veteran with something to prove. “When that last bead falls out,” he said, squinting into the middle distance, “then - and only then - we’ll talk.”

Until then, visitors are advised to approach with caution - and closed shoes.