Lockies career has taken him from nursing at the Royal Brisbane Hospital to training as an acrobat with the Nanjing Acrobatic Troupe, founding performing arts companies, and later completing a BA in journalism and creative writing at Curtin University. That blend of clinical discipline, creative problem‑solving, and clear communication still shapes how he works today.

In 2007 he left a full time career in the arts and ran a consulting business, Fullsky, for the next 14 years. While was lobbying on behalf of Christmas Island he encountered the ARLF and undertook the Australian Rural Leadership Program. From 2020–2025, Lockie also held executive roles at the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation, helping scale national leadership development across rural, regional, and remote Australia.