Next time your child builds a sand castle at the beach, don't dismiss it as idle play. The kid could make a career out of it, and Dennis Massoud is living proof.

Massoud, from Noosa Heads in Queensland, has overcome serious disability to travel the world for 30 years sand sculpting everything from dolphins at Rye beach carnival to giant kangaroos at festivals in southern China. 

The job got a little crazy in Abu Dhabi six years ago, when a sheikh gave Massoud free accommodation in a $US13,000 a night suite, with personal chauffeur and butler, in the eight star Emirates Palace Hotel  

Massoud was paid $US2000 a day to sculpt forts in front of the hotel and do workshops for wealthy children at a beach for two weeks. 

His task displaying and teaching at Moomba  promises to be more down to earth.

Massoud has succeeded despite being deaf in one ear, and nearly blind from a bout of mumps as a teenager, combined with a spray can accident and a separate assault. He has some vision in one eye, and uses his hands for depth perception. 

The job was his salvation two years ago after a collision with a drunk driver left him with broken ribs, both legs and one arm broken and a punctured lung.

In previous accidents he had broken his back twice, and broken his neck once. 

"I'm always in constant pain, however when I'm sand sculpting I'm not aware of it. It takes out out of yourself," he says.

From Friday to Monday in Palms Lawn, behind the rowing sheds near Princes Bridge, he and colleague Etual Ojeda, from Spain, will display likenesses of Moomba monarchs such as Ian 'Molly' Meldrum and Dame Edna Everage.

From Saturday to Monday, they will give free workshops teaching the public how to build simple structures such as dolphins and castles.

Massoud's tip is to pre-mix sand and water for even distribution of moisture. 

He says to be a professional, you need talent, strong knees and back, and stamina – he has toiled in bitter cold, searing heat and desert storms. 

Shovelling and shaping sand looks easy, but casual helpers often find they can hardly move the next day.

As a child in the 1960s, Massoud carved faces in the sand at a Noosa beach to entertain tourists.

In 1986, he left a successful commercial photography business to revert to his love of sand sculpting, and now runs the business Sand in Your Eyes.  

He has a genuine passion for sand sculpting and will busk for fun.

"My favourite thing to sculpt is mermaids on the beach. It just feels very relaxing. All sand sculpting is very meditative. Very therapeutic."