Pop Therapy 'People Said I Was Effeminate' He's a millionaire pop star, selling trillions of records, but there was a time when he wasn't hitting the high notes.  DARREN SAVAGE GARDEN discusses how he was bullied for not being 'one of the boys'. What happened? I got picked on a lot at school.  I went from being really popular at one school then I moved and suddenly I really didn't fit in.  People would make fun of me because I was smart, I could sing and I was interested in things that weren't considered manly, tough, or cool. So why did they start bullying you? I was into things that just weren't what guys were into at all at my new school.  I would sit and read, write poems and lyrics and try to sing as much as I could.  Where i'm from - and especially the school I went to - those things weren't supposed to be done by guys.  We were supposed to be out playing footy and stuff. People thought I was really effeminate cos in their eyes what I was doing was girls' stuff. How did you deal with it? I stuck to it and never gave up on what I believed in or wanted to do.  And whether people thought that it was effeminate or not, I didn't care. Was it a tough school? Yeah, kind of, but when I was young, school was like another universe.  The kind of requirements and criteria that made you cool are like the complete opposite of what they are now.  All the people at my school who were picked on have now ended up being doctors, lawyers and pop stars!  It's the ugly duckling thing: some of the kids who are the ugliest when they're young end up being supermodels. What made the bullies stop? Well, it wasn't just one thing, it was a process.  I suppose you could say it was me growing up and realising that what these people were saying and calling me didn't matter, and that I couldn't give a damn for them anyway.  They saw they weren't getting a rise out of me any more and it kind of wound down. Does it bother you now? No, but I definitely went through a period in later life when I was really concerned with how I looked and what I wore, which I know was down to my school days and the insecurities I was still carrying around with me.  I now know that coolness or attrectiveness is definitely something that comes from within.  All the people who are really cool and look great - they just wear it, you know?  They're just that way, no matter what clothes they're in or what they're doing. Did you learn from the experience? Oh yeah.  The years I spent in high school being called names and pushed around have helped me in what I do so much.  I think it's the reason why I've been able to connect with our fans so much.  In my lyrics I talk about self-esteem and stuff.  I think the people who listen to what we say identify with it and can relate to it cos they feel or have felt the same way. How long did you have to put up with it for? After a couple of years they kind of ran out of things to say or do to make fun of me and they could see that it wasn't making me do anything different at all.  I was who I was and they could see I was strong enough to know that. What advice would you give to someone going through a similar situation? My advice for anyone would be - and I know it sounds like a cliche - to be true to yourself and stick to your guns.  Believe me, you will beat them! Ever heard what happened to the people taking the mick? All the people who were calling me names and making my life hard either got themselves pregnant really young or wound up in jail.  Me, I'm a millionaire pop star!