He holds the world best time in the men's coxed pair (2014) and represented at the Rio Olympics in the New Zealand eight.

He received his secondary education at Hamilton Boys' High School as a boarder where he started coxing in 2006.

[2] Shepherd completed a master's degree at the University of Waikato in 2020, with a thesis on depression in autobiographical sports writing.

[6] At the 2012 World Rowing U23 Championships at Trakai in Lithuania, Shepherd won bronze with the U23 men's coxed four.

[8] A year later at the July 2014 World Rowing U23 Championships in Varese, Italy, he won another gold with the same boat.