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Matt Watson welcome to my podcast thank
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you very much mate mate it's great to
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have you here I've got um I got some
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questions and some notes here but
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chatting with you for the last 20 or 30
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minutes just outside I I don't know if
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I'm going to need them you're an easy
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conversationalist and it's a hell of a
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story first of all I think it's worth
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mentioning you turned up um five minutes
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before you turned up you called me
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asking me if I wanted a coffee uh which
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I think SE speaks a lot about you oh
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thanks yeah I think it's just uh Menace
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I think maybe yeah um I'm honestly
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grateful um that you know you got you
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reached out and got in touch with me and
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um wanted to get me on and I guess I've
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I still still feel like that um every
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year like you're like you're a reluctant
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celebrity oh see even that word we um
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I'm conscious that um people know who I
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am these days but every year honestly uh
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when it comes down to a start of a new
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series I've think look this is the year
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everyone's going to be sick of me you
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know and and I'm GNA have have to
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disappear so that's why after 20 years I
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just feel so uh grateful that I've
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chosen to to end the the TV side of it
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at least anyway and um yeah people have
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been saying the nicest things so anyway
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there was a long wind away of saying
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thanks for having me on yeah oh no no no
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yeah in a way um so we're recording this
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just as the um the first episode of the
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20th season is about to start um it must
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feel like a bit of like an obituary or
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something um no it doesn't no but you
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get you're getting all these flowers and
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all these accolades and it's like oh
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[ __ ] like as part of you thinking oh
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people actually really do love this and
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uh am I doing the wrong thing yeah no um
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well so there's two parts to that um no
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I'm I'm not doing the wrong thing like I
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just feel like so sure more sure than
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just about anything that I've ever done
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that um it's the right time to wrap up
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the TV side of it for a number of
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reasons but um yes people do and I was I
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was not going to do this last series
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like um we did a TV series um building a
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house which was um in the B of islands
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did really well on tally it took us
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three and a half years to build it and I
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I felt like once that house was done I
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put so much energy into it I was just
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going to hang out there perfect my home
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brew and um decide you know decide on my
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next move from
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there but it was then I sort of looked
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at you know and and social media is is
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one of the good things about it is is
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it's an opportunity for me to see what
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people think of the shows and stuff and
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people can't wait for the next series
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when's your next stuff coming out and I
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realized how much people you after 20
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years people have grown up watching the
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show and I'm like it's not right for me
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to just go okay well that was great and
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let it kind of fade away you feel like
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you owe it to the fans I do and I I it
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um and I wanted to do a season where um
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I wasn't going into into the season
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going man I have to make this work to
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make it rate so I can keep my sponsors
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so the TV network stays interested I've
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come into this filming this season with
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going I don't I nothing left to prove
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I'm just going to have a real good time
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shooting this last season so I did it
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for myself as well um and then last week
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just putting a post on social media
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saying well look hey we're we're repping
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up the TV show number of people say I'm
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crying I don't know how to break it to
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my kids it's like hang on I've not died
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you know I'm still be releasing content
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it's just not going to be on it's not
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going to be on T so yeah it is a um a
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surreal thing on that but I I certainly
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don't see the um AIT so or or the it
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doesn't feel like an ending okay well no
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end of an error in a way but um but I I
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feel like you're you're probably getting
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out and CH pivoting at a good time
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because um I think that the medium of TV
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free to Air TV especially as dying and
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now there's a way you can do the content
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release it on your own sort of um
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digital platform and uh it can still
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reach the people even a greater audience
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yeah so I um we started a um television
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production company me and my mate Kiza
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22 years ago and we um I I liked madfish
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TV and Karen liked tight lines
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television and we so so to sort it out
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we wrote the names on a Bits of Paper
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and we pulled it out and our company
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became tit lines television um which I
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ended up kieren uh after a few years
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with find another career path and I
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stuck with tit lines television eight
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years ago I looked at that name and had
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the word television in it and I went to
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the company's office and I changed it to
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tit lines media because I could see
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eight years ago the writing was on the
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wall for for TV and that's when we
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started ultimate fishing TV which is our
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own platform where we could post our
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content straight to the audience but
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when you've got TV contracts they get
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writes to everything first and we
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couldn't release any of that content so
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TV was still getting our all of our
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energy and all of our our best content
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but that platform was slowly chipping
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away in the background and then if I got
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time I'd go and I'd shoot something
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specifically for our online for our
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social media and um it just grew and
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grew and it's still growing by 4,000
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followers or subscribers a week wow
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what's your what's your YouTube numbers
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um YouTube is not great about 200,000 I
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think okay well I'm sitting here with I
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just clicked over 3,000 this week so
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to me that sounds great yeah yeah um we
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are like I mean I I still like we're mid
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production on this last TV series and
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honestly all my energy is going into
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that to try and make it the best TV
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series I've ever made and after two
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decades of doing this you deserve this
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um freedom and flexibility to do things
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on your own terms but let's go all the
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way back because it's such a fascinating
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story The Matt Watson Story So you
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you're sort of raised in like a fishing
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environment family of commercial fishes
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so that's what you always s of wanted to
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do yeah and then you have like a fist
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fight at a Christmas Day cricket match
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yeah um well my fist didn't really get
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used cuz I got knocked out pretty quick
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so so how old are you at the time I was
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17 17 and and so your uncle gave you a
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hiding or something oh help me with a
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cricket bat CRI like like accidentally
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or or strike you with a so yeah let me
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establish let me establish this a
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littleit we're painting a very
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interesting picture of the Watson family
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as a broader group yeah so we're a very
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competitive family big family God and
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we've got this uncanny thing where we've
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got an even split of left and right
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handers amongst the BLS so on Christmas
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day that's how the teams would be
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divided lefties versus righties and uh
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we'd do volleyball um touch rugby and
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backyard cricket and um we the righties
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we'd done pretty well in the touch rugby
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which ended up being more like a game of
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League by the end of it um we lost the
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volleyball and it came down to the
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backyard cricket and it came down to the
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last ball and like you know you imagine
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hot summers's day everyone's had a few
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tins on Christmas day and it was me
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bowling to my uncle in and he owns the
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you know he owned the commercial fishing
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boats I'd been I'd worked all my school
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holidays and and weekends for him since
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I was 14 and I built up enough SE hours
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to get my Skippers ticket so my plan was
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you know basically come straight out of
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school and go and work fulltime for my
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uncle you know running one of his boats
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um I had told Mom I was going to go to
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she wanted me to be the only male in my
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family not to be a commercial fisherman
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um I think she I think she wanted me to
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be a lawyer or a doctor or something and
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pinned all their hopes on me because my
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brother was a dropkick so sorry
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Benny was a joke um and um so yeah so I
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I remember feeling so happy that running
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into That Christmas Feeling my last exam
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is behind me I'm never going to open
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another book in my life I'm just you
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know my life's going to be out in the
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ocean catching fish and um so but it all
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come undone with one bowl of a cricket
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ball so I knew my uncle in couldn't play
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a fast straight Yorker um for those that
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don't know the Yorkers a high speeed
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delivery aimed at the toes and he was
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hopeless if you pitched it up fast so I
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come in all the way back to the closes
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line and comeing off the long run up and
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I ripped it in as hard as I could maybe
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because I had a few beers that came out
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the hand wrong and it was a beamer a
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full toss that just got them B right in
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the middle of the head like sced them
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and cuz it was the last ball and we'd
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already had a big argument about no
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balls in backyard cricket and the Bloody
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lefties had said no there's no no balls
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in backyard Cricket so we win right and
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so I'm high-fiving my cousins and
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everything I see can see my uncle
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running at me with the bat like holding
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it up like he was going to hit me and I
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thought n he won't hit me but he did he
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did SC me with a cricket B um that's
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like over the arm over the body well I
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got my arm up and it kind of glanced off
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my shoulder which was a good thing and
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it got me on the jaw and of course
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anyone that's being whacked good in the
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jaw knows and I thought [ __ ] I can feel
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my legs going here like and then next
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thing I'm like Oh hell I've falling over
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my legs are gone and then next thing I I
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noticed is my dad um who is also a lefty
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um but you see at the moment my uncle
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hit me with a cricket bat the team's
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kind of split we went back to tribal
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family
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routs left and right's out left and
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right's out now it was it's War yeah so
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the old man come and punch uncle on the
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face I was just like oh my God it's an
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all and brawl it was yeah yeah yeah
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Auntie Glenn has had the hose out hose
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trying to
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hose yeah it was a horrendous scene for
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a Christmas day you know family
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gatherings you know and um yeah I saw my
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commercial fishing career disappear as
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my uncle did a burnout off up the road
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in his Ute he last parting shot he threw
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a coffee cup at my Ute
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on the way past and I thought oh man
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guess I'm not going to be a fisherman
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but um I had another Uncle um or my
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auntie Glenn's boyfriend at the time was
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uh a roofer and he said oh you want to
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come work for me and I said yes sweet I
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didn't even know what he did was the
00:10:14
same day the same day one door closes
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another door open and that's how I
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became a roofer I so I CU I've heard
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this story before the Uncle Ian one how
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does he how's the relationship now how
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does he feel about you telling the a
00:10:26
does he love it or embarrassed yeah I'm
00:10:29
I don't know we've never really spoken
00:10:31
about it um I in a lot of ways I've I
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mean because it's such a good story
00:10:36
right in a lot of way and a lot of ways
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I feel bad about it because he's a good
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guy right he's great guy and like he was
00:10:42
my hero growing up you know he was the
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greatest mullet fisherman and way mouth
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he's done incredibly well for himself
00:10:48
but I don't know what it was it was a if
00:10:51
you get hit with a ball like you're
00:10:53
you're in a rage and he probably
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immediately regretted it oh yeah oh
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absolutely absolutely but you know we're
00:10:58
from that area you guys don't talk about
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that sort of [ __ ] we just um you know
00:11:02
see each other next Christmas the very
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the very next time I saw him was the
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very next Christmas Day we downgraded to
00:11:08
a tennis ball for sa no no we see my mom
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banned banned all
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sports all sports were banned for about
00:11:15
four years and then when it finally came
00:11:17
back and it was actually um back at um
00:11:20
uncle Steve ay glennon's place again um
00:11:23
we we said come on let look we're not
00:11:25
going to get into a punch up again let
00:11:26
us play backyard cricket and we'd been
00:11:29
going about five minutes and I jokingly
00:11:32
just gestured to throw the ball at my
00:11:34
Uncle Ann and my mom pulled the stumps
00:11:35
out of the ground we got another two we
00:11:37
got we got another
00:11:39
band so yeah I mean yeah I mean it
00:11:42
wasn't on but you know I I do a lot of
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always feel bad because he's not a a a
00:11:47
violent man or or anything like that it
00:11:50
was um you know it was a and and I don't
00:11:53
bear any any ill will you know like at
00:11:56
all that's a great story but you're
00:11:58
painting a picture of your family is is
00:11:59
it a Bogan family um no South I don't
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know I mean because it's my family
00:12:05
you're you're in it you're just they're
00:12:07
your family right yeah
00:12:09
um um I mean we we're from all of us
00:12:15
from South Oakland so Way by way I don't
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mean ban as a derogatory
00:12:20
term I I would just um say
00:12:25
kiwi working class hardworking um family
00:12:29
like and everyone in my family's done
00:12:31
done really well through hard work um
00:12:35
you know so I I always had that as not
00:12:37
just with my mom and dad but you know
00:12:40
aunties and uncles I I just great role
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models for people that just got up every
00:12:45
day and worked hard you had a party hard
00:12:48
yeah work hard play hard yeah and and it
00:12:50
was the it was the mentor then like
00:12:53
literally I think it was my generation
00:12:55
that started saying that but it was our
00:12:57
parents that we saw doing that you know
00:12:59
they just going to work and working hard
00:13:02
never complaining about it um and then
00:13:05
and maybe maybe to be fair probably
00:13:07
playing you know in in the light of 2023
00:13:10
probably playing a bit too hard that was
00:13:12
like the the the peak of kiwi binge
00:13:15
drinking culture ER I feel anyway yeah
00:13:18
you and I are about the same age and it
00:13:19
was definitely that generation where you
00:13:21
know eating is cheating and no someone's
00:13:23
in the Hydraulics
00:13:25
man all of that yeah yeah yeah um yeah
00:13:30
it's great there's another another term
00:13:31
which um sounds derogatory almost like
00:13:33
the word Bogen kiwi batler I feel like
00:13:35
you like a kiwi kiwi betler sounds like
00:13:38
someone that's um has nothing but bad
00:13:40
luck after bad luck but I I sort of
00:13:41
frame it as differently someone that's
00:13:42
just grinds and works [ __ ] hard and
00:13:45
get what they're after I that's a
00:13:47
wonderful compliment I don't I don't see
00:13:49
that derogatory at all I um I um see
00:13:53
someone that works hard um whatever
00:13:56
their circumstance um with whether they
00:13:59
manag to get ahead or not hopefully they
00:14:01
do um kiwi B I just see that was a
00:14:03
really kind thing to say about somebody
00:14:06
oh well that's cool you're you're like
00:14:08
you're a guy and we'll get into the
00:14:09
whole M Watson story but you've um like
00:14:11
in spite of every obstacle that's that's
00:14:13
coming your way like you you know you've
00:14:14
defied the odds and you've made your own
00:14:16
luck yeah like in a big way yeah yeah I
00:14:19
mean I I get told I'm lucky all the time
00:14:22
and it used to really annoy my wife
00:14:25
would' go out somewhere and people would
00:14:26
come up for a for a photo or to say get
00:14:28
or whatever and they'd say oh man you're
00:14:30
so lucky you got the best job in the
00:14:31
world you're so lucky and would be like
00:14:34
why don't you tell them about you know
00:14:36
how much bloody stress you're under and
00:14:38
all that like no that's that's if if
00:14:40
they think that I'm out fishing every
00:14:42
day and I've got the best life in and I
00:14:44
do have good life like I'm not
00:14:45
complaining about at all um that means
00:14:48
that I'm I'm portraying that dream you
00:14:51
know and and of there watching that man
00:14:53
that guy's got it easy or got it good
00:14:55
well I'm doing a good job so I I would
00:14:58
you know I wouldn't want to break
00:15:00
anyone's illusion and if I turn around
00:15:02
and said them actually mate I'm just
00:15:03
about going broke I don't know where I'm
00:15:04
going to find the money for the next
00:15:05
series you know all of this sort of
00:15:08
stuff um you know that would kind of
00:15:10
ruin that yeah you're sort of like an
00:15:12
unlikely TV star in that TV's always
00:15:14
been one of these um Industries where
00:15:16
there's there's someone sitting at the
00:15:17
top that either gives you a tech or a
00:15:18
cross and decides if you're going to be
00:15:19
on the TV or not going to be on the TV
00:15:21
and you've just sort of like penetrated
00:15:23
your way through in spite of that
00:15:25
gatekeeper and it's remarkable mate yeah
00:15:28
and buted heads with a few Gatekeepers
00:15:30
and and there is no way around them like
00:15:32
if they decide that and that's why I've
00:15:34
had to switch networks like what and
00:15:37
sometimes it felt like the higher the
00:15:38
show rated when when we were just
00:15:40
winning like all genres like head
00:15:43
to-head with everyone we were just
00:15:45
rating the pants off of things a lot of
00:15:47
the people that were working at the TV
00:15:49
networks were people that had their own
00:15:51
ideas and dreams about TV shows that
00:15:53
failed and I only found out this in sort
00:15:56
of retrospect um and I don't know
00:15:59
whether it was professional jealousy
00:16:00
they're like who's this guy that was a
00:16:02
roofer who's never been to Media School
00:16:05
never done anything who does he think he
00:16:07
is coming in here and getting ratings
00:16:09
like that um and the you know I had the
00:16:13
words quoted to me from a TV exec which
00:16:15
I thought was absolutely ridiculous you
00:16:17
know ratings aren't everything Matt I'm
00:16:19
kind of like well if we're not rating
00:16:21
ratings are everything and you're gone
00:16:23
yeah they live and die by the way they
00:16:24
get every [ __ ] day so we had to
00:16:26
bounce around networks and I was
00:16:28
constantly trying to convince people
00:16:30
that it's worthwhile but the main thing
00:16:33
that allowed us to keep going was that
00:16:35
they weren't paying us it was no cost so
00:16:37
it was no cost no risk and our sponsors
00:16:41
bore that risk we're going to fund the
00:16:44
series and um I know people think
00:16:46
they're sponsors but for me like
00:16:48
honestly itm fishing show it's got the
00:16:51
name itm in it and it would be just the
00:16:54
nothing if it wasn't wasn't for them and
00:16:57
um you know I'm just I'm I'm not here on
00:16:59
your show to try and plug itm but as an
00:17:03
independent Creator you can plug them
00:17:05
all the [ __ ] you want really absolutely
00:17:07
and and I'm I'm well aware of the
00:17:08
situation you get like they come on in
00:17:10
the early days when when you've got
00:17:12
nothing they come on with good faith and
00:17:14
maybe because they like you as a person
00:17:16
and then 5 years 10 years 15 years down
00:17:18
the track it's easy for one of their
00:17:19
competitors to come on and try and
00:17:21
counter offer yeah um when you've
00:17:22
already established but they your day
00:17:24
ones yeah exactly and so um not just a
00:17:28
lot of the sponsors that we had at day
00:17:30
one um I get H up particularly like you
00:17:32
know fishermen like um fishermen are
00:17:34
passionate about their gear and
00:17:36
everything they use and a lot of them
00:17:37
will look to me and they'll like um and
00:17:40
I'll get hit up at a boat show or even
00:17:42
at a a pub or something okay Matt like
00:17:44
if you weren't um sponsored by stab
00:17:46
craft What boat would you actually have
00:17:48
and you know and what what wagon would
00:17:50
you be toying it with what what tackle
00:17:52
would you use and I say to them you know
00:17:53
what before IID even thought of the idea
00:17:55
of a TV show I had a staby craft boat I
00:17:58
had a Toyota I had Shimano tackle I had
00:18:01
Fern I had all of those Brands and I
00:18:03
paid full retail for them and I've still
00:18:04
got them to this day and yes all their
00:18:06
competitors have come along some have
00:18:08
offered me some crazy money um but um I
00:18:13
I'm a loyal person and um um don't get
00:18:16
me wrong if the gear was rubbish it
00:18:18
would be a different story but you know
00:18:20
I was I was that um Enthusiast wanting
00:18:23
to do my research and buy the best gear
00:18:25
and I felt I did and I've stuck with
00:18:27
them and they've stuck with me minutes
00:18:29
and that has been a massive part of the
00:18:32
success of the show um and um loyalty um
00:18:37
can be hard for some people I think in
00:18:39
terms of commercial terms when you're
00:18:40
being offered a lot of money in the long
00:18:42
term it pays off um because it's not
00:18:44
only I mean let's say um opposition to
00:18:49
staby craft comes along and they offer
00:18:50
me um a bunch of money and I go yeah
00:18:52
I'll take it that's a good bunch of
00:18:54
money and one day I'm saying I love
00:18:56
these staby Craft boats next day I'm
00:18:57
saying hun yeah exactly I'm saying that
00:19:00
that doesn't just affect um staby craft
00:19:04
that affects all of my sponsors because
00:19:06
they rely on um the end user getting my
00:19:09
honest opinion and all of a sudden
00:19:12
they're like hang on Matt weren't you
00:19:13
saying this maybe you're just saying
00:19:14
what you're being paid to say and I've
00:19:16
always prided myself on if if one of our
00:19:19
sponsors bring out a product that I
00:19:21
don't think's that good I'll try it I'll
00:19:22
just say look you're best not for me to
00:19:24
use this on the show because I I won't
00:19:26
plug it yeah if I don't think it's good
00:19:28
sometimes I'll even go back and and
00:19:30
tweak it with my recommendations which
00:19:32
is incredibly um flattering yeah so yeah
00:19:34
so um to anyone that's doing anything um
00:19:38
in any kind of business I would say if
00:19:39
you're in it really in it for the long
00:19:41
haul um be loyal um you know you might
00:19:44
think in the short term that Jesus isn't
00:19:46
going to pay off but but it
00:19:48
will okay so let's go back so there's um
00:19:52
the punch up with Uncle Ian and then
00:19:54
another Uncle offers you a job as a
00:19:55
roofer yeah so you become a roofer this
00:19:58
is is where where you have the um the
00:20:00
testicle injury yeah yeah the Epiphany
00:20:02
as I call so how long had you been
00:20:04
Roofing at this point um I've been
00:20:05
Roofing at that point so this would have
00:20:07
been I would have been roofing for
00:20:10
almost six years five or six years and
00:20:12
so this is your lot in life you think
00:20:14
this is well um or did you did you still
00:20:16
like have um were you missing the ocean
00:20:19
thean so I I'd become um more of a recre
00:20:24
recreation I mean I always
00:20:25
recreationally fish when I even when I
00:20:27
was doing my commercial fishing with
00:20:28
with the family but once the commercial
00:20:30
fishing door closed um it open up this
00:20:33
you know this thing called weekends um
00:20:36
whereas you know I could work all week
00:20:37
as a roofer and then on the weekend I'd
00:20:39
hook my boat on um and I would tow it
00:20:42
and I could go up to H um up north one
00:20:45
weekend to chase Maron I'd be down fakat
00:20:48
the next weekend chasing tuna be great I
00:20:50
just going on these weekend adventures
00:20:52
with my mates and I was just like man
00:20:54
this is awesome um but I and I knew was
00:20:58
going to get back to fishing I had to it
00:20:59
was in it was in me it was in my blood I
00:21:01
wanted to be a fisherman and my way of
00:21:03
being a fisherman again was I was going
00:21:05
to be the hardest roof TI Tyler ever I
00:21:07
was going to squirrel all my money away
00:21:09
and one day I was going to buy a big
00:21:11
game fishing boat I was going to move to
00:21:13
the Bay of islands I was going to take
00:21:14
people out on fishing charters and that
00:21:16
was my way of getting back to this
00:21:17
full-time dream of of being on the ocean
00:21:19
every day um and that was exactly what I
00:21:23
was doing and then the more successful
00:21:26
the roofing business got the less
00:21:27
fishing I was doing cuz I found myself
00:21:30
you know I got up to 11 staff at one
00:21:32
stage and I was working
00:21:35
weekends and I'd worked I know must have
00:21:38
been close to three months straight it
00:21:40
was in March anyway and it was a most
00:21:43
awesome day perfect it was a Sunday
00:21:45
perfect day for fishing and of course I
00:21:47
wanted to be out fishing but you know
00:21:49
fle flexure construction needed me to
00:21:51
put more roofs on so and I had the
00:21:53
contract so I was doing that and I was
00:21:56
just I was on the roof um only one of my
00:21:59
workers had turned up because it was a
00:22:00
Sunday young guys you know and um I was
00:22:03
thinking about what it would be like to
00:22:05
be out on the ocean and that's cuz my
00:22:07
mat had rang me just as a just before I
00:22:09
went up the ladder and said mate it is
00:22:11
the calest day we've ever seen across
00:22:12
the Monaco bar you could water skare
00:22:15
across here and there saying there's
00:22:16
guys on the radio hooking up on Marlon
00:22:18
and I was like man I wish I was out
00:22:20
there I was just looking around there
00:22:21
was not a breath of wind and I was
00:22:23
sitting the roof out and I was walking
00:22:24
backwards and I was thinking thinking
00:22:25
about being on the ocean and I should
00:22:28
have been thinking about where I was
00:22:29
stepping cuz stepped over the gutter one
00:22:32
leg either side of the gutter and it was
00:22:35
a um a sharp midle edge on the inside
00:22:38
and wearing the old rugby short shorts
00:22:40
don't afford much protection so my my
00:22:44
first thought actually when I hit was
00:22:45
[ __ ] I've just entered the gutter and
00:22:47
it's going to cost about 400 bucks to
00:22:48
replace it so I'm working today for free
00:22:51
so I was pissed off that I just damaged
00:22:53
the roof um and then my next thought was
00:22:56
oh [ __ ] where's all that blood coming
00:22:58
from I could see like blood trickling
00:23:00
down your leg oh no it was actually at
00:23:01
that stage it was dripping down onto the
00:23:03
roof trusses below me I thought [ __ ]
00:23:06
there's quite a lot of blood I'm like
00:23:07
where am I bleeding from so I stood you
00:23:08
weren't you weren't in pain or anything
00:23:10
you just a bewi no it was the old first
00:23:13
it was no it was the took the wind out
00:23:15
of me it was the old kicking the nuts
00:23:16
feeling so bit bit doubled over um and
00:23:19
then of course you get a bit of
00:23:20
adrenaline when you see some blood so I
00:23:22
thought [ __ ] that's not very good and I
00:23:24
just sort of no one wants to see blood
00:23:26
from that part of the body I know so I
00:23:27
slipped my hand on the side of my shorts
00:23:29
and I just came out covered in blood oh
00:23:31
and so so and on under the shorts though
00:23:33
yeah yeah yeah know you got a I'm I'm
00:23:36
from Rea but I got a C manager
00:23:39
car okay ouch what next okay so first
00:23:43
aid time um go to the Ute um put my feet
00:23:46
on the dash adjust the rearview mirror
00:23:48
to assess and so but of course before I
00:23:51
do this I've got to take my my shorts
00:23:53
right off and I it felt really weird
00:23:55
like being on a building site taking my
00:23:57
bloody my shorts mind's off but I I had
00:24:00
to to see what the damage was and all I
00:24:02
could think at the time was cuz I'm not
00:24:05
I'm I'm not that great with blood well
00:24:07
not that great with my own like anyone
00:24:09
else I I'm I'm good but I I think many
00:24:12
people many people are it's quite
00:24:14
alarming yeah and I didn't my actual
00:24:17
thought was is [ __ ] if I pass out here
00:24:20
the plumbers do on site in about half an
00:24:22
hour he's going to find me with no
00:24:23
pantsil [ __ ] pass out you he's going
00:24:25
to wonder what the [ __ ] going
00:24:26
on um so um so anyway i' like right man
00:24:31
up Matt you got to do this so I put my
00:24:32
feet on the dash adjust the rearview
00:24:34
mirror and then I saw what the wound
00:24:36
looked like and I was like oh [ __ ] it's
00:24:38
bad what was it was it on on the penis
00:24:40
or just the no no no no that between
00:24:42
between the ass and there's a name for
00:24:44
it oh the GU yeah the GU perum perenium
00:24:47
yeah I knew it was it I'd probably call
00:24:49
it a perennial or something but anyway
00:24:51
um yeah so so so the G was was was like
00:24:55
an x- wound right so um
00:24:58
I grab I grabbed my my my first aid kit
00:25:01
out and the first thing I saw was a roll
00:25:03
a rolled up bandage and it was just the
00:25:05
right size to jam in the hole so I
00:25:06
jammed that in the
00:25:08
hole medical ter yeah yeah jam it in the
00:25:11
hole to stop the blood coming out yeah
00:25:13
and um and then I was like I've got to
00:25:15
kind of keep it in there so I was um and
00:25:19
the bandage wouldn't stick in there
00:25:20
because of all the blood so I got a roll
00:25:22
of insulation tape and um I'm literally
00:25:25
in my you with insulation tape taping my
00:25:29
cumas back together and uh my the phone
00:25:32
rings and it's my mates again and I
00:25:34
could hear them just shouting like just
00:25:37
absolute ecstasy they were so excited
00:25:39
they're like we got a triple hook up of
00:25:41
tuner and I could hear one of them
00:25:42
thumping on the deck I could hear beer
00:25:44
bottles clinging together these guys
00:25:46
were beside they were so excited they
00:25:48
wanted to ring and tell me they've got
00:25:49
this massive Tuna on the boat and I'm
00:25:51
sitting there and I thought holy [ __ ]
00:25:54
you know like I would love to be out
00:25:56
there having a bear with these guys at
00:25:57
8:30 in the morning on a Sunday just
00:26:00
absolutely you know and but here I am
00:26:04
taping my balls back together at work
00:26:06
and I haven't had a day off for months
00:26:07
I'm like what the hell are you doing
00:26:09
Matt um you know yes you know I'm
00:26:13
working hard's good and I'll get there
00:26:14
one day but why don't I do it now so
00:26:17
like I literally drove to the medical
00:26:19
center got myself stitched up um and I
00:26:22
you know went back picked up Clint my
00:26:24
work gear dropped him off and all this
00:26:26
time driving I'm thinking about how I'm
00:26:28
going to change the course of my life
00:26:29
I'm not going to be the hardest working
00:26:31
roof toer anymore I'm going to get
00:26:32
fishing I'm going to get back on the
00:26:33
ocean as soon as I can and so I I walked
00:26:36
into um the place where I was living and
00:26:39
my girlfriend comes out she's like holy
00:26:41
[ __ ] look at that blood all over you
00:26:42
what happened I said don't worry about
00:26:43
that here's what's going to happen I'm
00:26:46
going to get my brother to run the
00:26:47
business while um I go and set my
00:26:50
Skippers exams and get my Skippers
00:26:51
ticket once I got my Skippers ticket
00:26:53
I'll be a to get a job working on a game
00:26:54
fishing boat so I won't have to buy one
00:26:56
you know it's not 10 years away and I
00:26:59
can work on someone else's boat we can
00:27:00
move to the Bay of islands but before I
00:27:02
move up there I about want to get my OE
00:27:05
out of my system so once I got my
00:27:06
Skippers ticket and a job I'm going to
00:27:08
take off overseas play rugby over there
00:27:10
for a bit travel around see Europe go to
00:27:12
the Beerfest get back for the next game
00:27:14
fishing season spend the rest of my life
00:27:16
in the Bay of Island she was like who
00:27:17
[ __ ] slow down she was like I don't even
00:27:19
know if I can get time off to go to
00:27:21
Europe I'm like it's all right you're
00:27:22
not
00:27:23
coming yeah I know so was that was that
00:27:26
Ken that's Ken who now your wife wife
00:27:29
wife of
00:27:30
21 GE I should know this all the time I
00:27:32
head 21 years so was that would you
00:27:34
describe that the like the roof thing
00:27:36
and is it like an epony yeah it was it
00:27:39
shocked me into it like I always knew I
00:27:42
was going to get there and be a
00:27:43
fisherman I always knew I was going to
00:27:45
um live in the Bay of islands after um I
00:27:47
went up there with my mates when I was
00:27:49
16 and we got there in the dark and I I
00:27:51
woke up and and the old lady back of the
00:27:54
van open the opened the door and it was
00:27:56
Daylight and we're just stopped next to
00:27:58
this beautiful Bay and I said to my
00:27:59
mates I'm gonna live here one day like
00:28:01
it was just and so I always knew I was
00:28:04
going to go there like I was going to
00:28:05
live in the Bay of islands but like I
00:28:07
said I just thought I'd have to work a
00:28:08
lot harder and a lot longer and then it
00:28:11
and then that that changed like just
00:28:14
honestly the thinking of my mates out
00:28:15
there having such a good time and what I
00:28:17
was missing out on I'm like why wait
00:28:19
till I'm you know my body's broken from
00:28:21
roofing for another 10 years and by that
00:28:24
stage I'll be mid to late 30s probably
00:28:27
you know I'm in my my mid 20s now like
00:28:30
I'm on the prime of my life let's get up
00:28:31
to the B of islands and yeah I I did
00:28:35
exactly that so did you do the OE yep I
00:28:37
did with Ken without Ken without Ken
00:28:40
yeah I know because that was well
00:28:43
because it was like that sounds terrible
00:28:45
in the light of the all it does you know
00:28:48
so um we were I think we were engaged
00:28:52
I'm not sure actually then we we're
00:28:54
engaged or at least we were we were well
00:28:56
and truly shacked up you know so um and
00:28:59
I'm I'm really grateful to Ken that she
00:29:01
was like okay well something you got to
00:29:03
do um a lot of my mates were over there
00:29:06
so I I went and did the OE and geez if
00:29:09
you don't mind another digression I I
00:29:11
actually um I did my ACL coming off of a
00:29:14
table at the bearfest um that year the
00:29:18
so it was 2000 and I think it was the
00:29:20
end in the Eagles had won the AFL the
00:29:23
Aussie rules thing and I didn't don't
00:29:24
follow Aussie rules so I don't know who
00:29:26
these guys are well they turned up at
00:29:28
hofra house at the befest all these big
00:29:30
strapping Aussie Lads just on the Lash
00:29:33
they were on a bender after they'd won
00:29:34
the won the AFL or a bunch of them were
00:29:37
and I ended up just sort of drinking
00:29:38
with them and then I somehow ended up in
00:29:41
a wrestling match on top of a table and
00:29:43
I I came off second best and kind of
00:29:45
came off the table and I knew I'd done
00:29:47
my knee when when I came off so um had
00:29:50
to go to um Hospital in Germany and I
00:29:52
had medical insurance so the the German
00:29:55
doctors wanted to do surgery because
00:29:56
they could just rack it up on insurance
00:29:59
the insurance company in New Zealand
00:30:00
wanted to fly me home for the surgery so
00:30:03
I said to the the doctor on the phone
00:30:05
back in New Zealand I like well how much
00:30:06
longer can I do on this trip before I
00:30:08
come home for surgery and he's like oh
00:30:10
look you want to be back within the next
00:30:11
three or four weeks so I literally did a
00:30:13
runner from the hospital on crutches uh
00:30:16
and the efficiency of the Germans as
00:30:18
recently as two years ago they've
00:30:20
tracked me down in Northland and they've
00:30:21
got the invoice for the crutches like
00:30:24
amazing get over it yeah so but anyway
00:30:27
ended up um backpacking around Europe on
00:30:30
crutches which led me to we ended up in
00:30:33
um the Vatican um you know it was
00:30:35
something and and I befriended this
00:30:36
Aussie um guy on a bus and we went to
00:30:40
see what this whole thing was about
00:30:42
because the pope was in town to do a
00:30:43
special service for his Jubilee year um
00:30:46
and we um there's all of these and it
00:30:49
was mostly priest and it turns out it
00:30:51
was invited you couldn't get into the
00:30:52
Vatican on this day because all the best
00:30:55
parishioners have been invited to this
00:30:56
service for this Jubilee year and they
00:30:58
had like that was like charie and the
00:31:00
Chocolate Factory the golden ticket to
00:31:02
get in through the gates of course we
00:31:04
didn't have one we had just couple of
00:31:05
you know kiwi and Aussie boat um and
00:31:08
we're like oh well we found out we
00:31:09
couldn't get in uh that day but it was
00:31:11
pretty cool to see all these excited um
00:31:13
Catholics I guess um and we were just
00:31:15
wondering wandering off and a priest
00:31:17
came and put his hand on my shoulder and
00:31:18
he said I you know bless you my son you
00:31:20
know you've come on a long pilgrimage
00:31:22
and I was like H yeah did you give the
00:31:25
crutches yeah so he thought was a
00:31:27
[ __ ] and
00:31:29
so so I was like here's an opportunity
00:31:32
right I can work this and I've got to be
00:31:33
it's a fine line you don't go lying to a
00:31:35
priest right he was an American um
00:31:37
priest and he was on his his full priest
00:31:39
gears so I said oh yes Father you know
00:31:42
I've come on a long pilgrimage and he
00:31:44
goes oh you here to see the father had a
00:31:46
name for the Pope the the something
00:31:49
Grand Puba whatever the name is they
00:31:52
call the pope and I'm like yeah I am but
00:31:54
unless um I don't he goes oh have you
00:31:56
got your pass and I said no noas I I
00:31:59
don't have one and he said oh look
00:32:01
brother so and so from Texas couldn't
00:32:03
make it um so I'll go and speak with you
00:32:06
know my and he'd gone to this little
00:32:07
huddle with his other priest and he came
00:32:09
out and he had a he had a pass for me he
00:32:10
says you know the Lord's blessed you
00:32:12
today and and you can come in um you
00:32:14
know to see to see the pope and I was
00:32:17
like oh thank you so much father um what
00:32:20
about my caregiver
00:32:24
which my Aussie mate and they got it
00:32:26
they got him in as well and so um yeah
00:32:30
all cuz I got boo SC yeah so I got I got
00:32:32
boozed and got wrestled an AFL guy blew
00:32:35
out my ACL and um yeah got to see the
00:32:37
pope because of it um but yeah I came
00:32:39
back to New Zealand um had the surgery
00:32:42
and um yeah moved to the Bay of islands
00:32:44
and started working on what I thought
00:32:46
was going to be my forever job I was
00:32:47
going to work on game fishing boats for
00:32:49
the rest of my life I loved it yeah that
00:32:51
was a hell I thought that was going to
00:32:53
take a different tangent where like the
00:32:54
pope like fixes your knee or something
00:32:57
oh yeah no no should no we were
00:33:00
um so okay so you came back in you're
00:33:03
fishing yeah um oh first of all so so
00:33:07
yourself and Ken what's the story there
00:33:09
how how did you guys meet how did you
00:33:10
guys get together so we both went to J
00:33:13
High School um we didn't really know
00:33:15
each other that well at school kind of
00:33:17
knew of each other we were um we were a
00:33:19
different year I was a year ahead of
00:33:20
Kalen um and then so when I moved out of
00:33:25
home SL kicked out of home um or was
00:33:28
there a story there
00:33:31
oh just no just I was an egg 18y old and
00:33:35
coming home at 3:00 in the morning
00:33:36
feeling like I could make all the noise
00:33:38
I wanted and my dad I just young and
00:33:40
selfish yeah you're just stupid just you
00:33:43
know and um and took exception to my dad
00:33:46
um calling me all their names under the
00:33:48
sun
00:33:49
and right I'm I'm off then you know you
00:33:52
know I had a I had a V8 Brock replica
00:33:55
you know cuz I couldn't afford the real
00:33:57
one you know um so I threw all the gear
00:33:59
in the back of my V8 and burned all out
00:34:01
off the driveway and went crashed on the
00:34:03
mat's place for a couple of weeks until
00:34:05
I found a flat and I landed on my feet
00:34:07
because I I got a flat in um in Monaco
00:34:10
which was Flash compared to Rea and and
00:34:13
I was flatting with four girls um which
00:34:15
was great you know like most guys go
00:34:17
flatting and it's pretty feral this
00:34:18
place was tidy yeah always tidy people
00:34:21
cleaning up after you yeah yeah exactly
00:34:23
and um and it was only two minutes Drive
00:34:26
um to the the the popular nightclub in
00:34:29
um manal which was uh Broncos at the
00:34:32
time was it was the wild west back in
00:34:34
those days um and one of um one of my
00:34:38
flat mates was good friends with Ken and
00:34:40
of course you know friends come over to
00:34:42
the flat and one thing happens you know
00:34:45
one thing leads to another and uh yeah
00:34:47
so that was when I was I think we got
00:34:50
together when uh I was 19 so that is
00:34:54
almost 30 yeah almost 30 years ago
00:34:57
incred it's incredibly but I think like
00:35:00
you were talking about before about the
00:35:01
um the Partnerships that you've had with
00:35:03
businesses it's like um just that sense
00:35:05
of loyalty that you have as a person
00:35:07
yeah oh Ken's incredibly incredibly
00:35:09
loyal too and obviously um you know when
00:35:12
I'm taking off to Europe and being a a
00:35:14
selfish young guy you know um I'm I'm
00:35:17
grateful for that as well you know and I
00:35:19
and I just think we make a really good
00:35:21
good team you know like um you know
00:35:23
we're we're really good mates as well
00:35:25
and um don't get me wrong it's like any
00:35:27
relationship there's there's tough
00:35:29
there's been tough bits you know there's
00:35:31
for sure yeah yeah there's been really
00:35:32
tough bits but that's a massive part of
00:35:35
you know of any sort of success is
00:35:38
stability you know like it's you hear
00:35:40
about it in a lot of cliche terms like
00:35:41
if you've got a really strong Foundation
00:35:43
you can do outrageous things and you can
00:35:45
try things because you know you can
00:35:46
always fall back and there's going to be
00:35:48
someone there so yeah yeah I love that
00:35:51
yeah are you it looks like your eyes are
00:35:53
watering up it's dust mate D you got got
00:35:56
to vacuum this room a bit better mate
00:35:58
are you yeah are you do you find you're
00:36:01
getting quite emotional as you get older
00:36:02
yeah yeah I'm exactly the same kids make
00:36:05
you like that and like um I find it um
00:36:09
you know I I can talk about you know
00:36:11
things I've done in Korea things as soon
00:36:13
as I start talking about people I care
00:36:14
about well you feel it yeah yeah I don't
00:36:17
know what it is a i and for me it was
00:36:18
probably mid- 40s when it when it
00:36:20
started and it's um oh I'm an easy cry
00:36:23
now but it's always tears of gratitude
00:36:25
like you know too that I'm happy
00:36:29
something that someone's done for me oh
00:36:31
it's bloody cool mate it's good to see
00:36:32
tears in your eyes yeah yeah thanks
00:36:34
remember it was a
00:36:35
dust no shame in there okay so we go
00:36:39
back again so you come back from Yi
00:36:41
you're doing some fishing and then the
00:36:43
the biggest TV show at the time is um
00:36:46
like the Sports Cafe oh yeah with so
00:36:48
Mark Alice um that guy leard Rex So Co
00:36:53
epic you never get away with it now it's
00:36:56
a moment in time that'll never be
00:36:57
repeated yeah so you you you're not as I
00:36:59
said you and I are about the same age me
00:37:01
and everyone in my friends group would
00:37:03
all sort of start to talk like Mark
00:37:05
Ellis and you did exactly the same I was
00:37:07
the same it was because he was he was
00:37:09
what you wanted to be he was you know he
00:37:11
was a lad icon um he was well he was an
00:37:13
all black you Warrior oh yeah and the
00:37:17
the woman loved him right obviously a
00:37:19
good-looking guy um so like just
00:37:22
charismatic charismatic funny razor
00:37:24
sharp what still is to this day
00:37:27
um so you know when I you know and and
00:37:32
when I first made the fishing video
00:37:34
entry for Sports Cafe when they
00:37:37
announced it was actually Mark that
00:37:38
announced that they were going to do a a
00:37:40
a fishing video competition and um as an
00:37:43
aside to that because I um I know Mark
00:37:45
quite well now with us both being
00:37:47
ambassadors for Toyota so um you know
00:37:50
I'm luy to spend a lot of time with my
00:37:52
you know Boyhood hero I guess um he said
00:37:56
that um um that was not a Sports Cafe
00:37:58
promotion he bumped into guys from staby
00:38:02
Craft and they said hey look um if we
00:38:04
can if we give you a boat we about to
00:38:06
get us some promotion so live on here
00:38:08
out of the blue he announces that
00:38:10
they're they're doing a fishing video
00:38:12
competition and the winners get to go to
00:38:14
the stabby crow fishing tournament and
00:38:16
Rick has since told me he was sitting
00:38:17
there going what the hell this isn't so
00:38:20
he's done his own side hustle to get
00:38:22
himself a free bat to run a fishing
00:38:24
video comp once he said it live on here
00:38:26
they can't dial it back and of course I
00:38:28
was in from SE and it just so happened
00:38:30
to be that I was home on a Wednesday
00:38:32
night when it was on I'm like I'm going
00:38:35
to enter this fishing video competition
00:38:37
and I'd never used a camera or or done
00:38:39
anything like that so I got some mates
00:38:41
up and and we made that video and but as
00:38:44
soon as the camera was turned on I found
00:38:47
myself not talking like me but trying to
00:38:50
talk like Mar Kellis because it's like
00:38:52
well I'm on I'm on TV now I guess even
00:38:54
though it was only a handicam I've got
00:38:56
to have a a larger than life personality
00:38:59
and that was who was the the role model
00:39:02
yeah cuz I've seen um some footage of
00:39:04
you when you were like 16 17 catching
00:39:06
big fish and um you were you're like and
00:39:09
I don't know maybe it's an age or a
00:39:10
stage that you're going through like the
00:39:11
later stages of puberty whatever but you
00:39:13
seem shy and awkward and there's not a
00:39:15
lot of um like camera Charisma going on
00:39:18
no so as um with that Sports Cafe
00:39:21
competition did that sort of like plant
00:39:23
sort of I don't know set the tone of who
00:39:24
you are today and who we see on TV yes
00:39:27
yeah it did I mean so when um I mean
00:39:29
when you see me today on TV and I get
00:39:31
excited I am excited okay some people
00:39:34
are even my mates have accused me of
00:39:35
Hamming it up um but I do and and the
00:39:39
way and if I could sort of wind that
00:39:41
back when my mates say to me oh look you
00:39:44
um you're Hamming it up there mate like
00:39:46
um you we were out in the boat with you
00:39:47
last week you called a 30 kilo Kingfish
00:39:50
and you said how about that one boys and
00:39:51
that was about it and let it go whereas
00:39:53
I saw you catch a 20 kilo one last week
00:39:56
on the the show and you just about did a
00:39:57
back flip you you know and I said well
00:39:59
the difference is and we were watching
00:40:00
an all black Scotland test at the time I
00:40:02
said if the All Blacks win it's good
00:40:04
right and they're like yep I'm like if
00:40:06
you had bet $20,000 on the old blacks to
00:40:08
win you'd be a whole lot happier and
00:40:10
they're like hell yes I'm like that's
00:40:12
why that Kingfish I was so excited I had
00:40:14
to fly our guests across from Aussie
00:40:17
we'd had bad weather we had one day to
00:40:19
catch a big Kingfish and we caught it so
00:40:21
that's the that's part of the excitement
00:40:24
as well people you know as it's not just
00:40:27
the actual catching of the fish it's
00:40:28
like yes I've made another episode you
00:40:31
know like
00:40:33
what G and I gambled on myself so yeah
00:40:36
so um it it's it didn't so much set a
00:40:41
persona but it gave me like a um a a
00:40:45
cloak I could put on I wasn't I wasn't
00:40:47
Matt the shy guy that just loved fishing
00:40:50
I was pretending to be someone on TV and
00:40:53
it was that same um pretending or or
00:40:57
cloak that allowed me to do stunt
00:40:59
fishing you know like allowed me to I
00:41:01
never once felt that I could get hurt if
00:41:04
I was leaping out of a helicopter or
00:41:06
jumping in with a shark because it was
00:41:08
all pretend like it felt like it wasn't
00:41:10
real um it was and dangerous I suppose
00:41:14
you get swept up in the moment of just
00:41:16
getting this content it's got to be now
00:41:17
and ever and you're so in the zone I
00:41:19
call it codc Carriage like I'd do I'd do
00:41:22
things in in front of a camera you know
00:41:24
with a camera on that I would you know
00:41:26
I wouldn't be out fishing with my mates
00:41:28
and so oh I'm just going to LEAP
00:41:30
overboard and grab that shark
00:41:32
now Point yeah exactly but but in that
00:41:35
particular era that was what was working
00:41:37
for getting us eyeballs and I was in the
00:41:39
business of getting people to watch yeah
00:41:41
so so you win the the Sky Sports CA the
00:41:43
Sports Cafe competition the fishing
00:41:45
video and then what that's not like a
00:41:47
big break did that just sort of plant
00:41:49
the seed that I could do this as a TV
00:41:51
show yeah so people um I just got
00:41:54
feedback from people oh that was really
00:41:55
cool that was really funny and all that
00:41:57
sort of thing and but it didn't lead to
00:41:58
anything no no it didn't no no no I mean
00:42:01
it's a popular folklore that um that was
00:42:03
my big break and you know TV network
00:42:06
started ringing me offering a whole lot
00:42:07
of money I mean that that didn't happen
00:42:09
that was just like a flash in the pan it
00:42:11
was great the best thing about it was I
00:42:13
got to meet Mark Alis and go and have a
00:42:14
a weekend in inago with Mark and Bluff
00:42:17
which was yeah we won't talk about that
00:42:20
um but um it it planted the seed as
00:42:23
that's a good way to tell a story you
00:42:25
know like we I had an idea and I said to
00:42:28
my mates well film this this and this
00:42:29
and we piece it together like that and
00:42:31
we edited it with two VHS players
00:42:33
literally we recorded onto one we' push
00:42:35
play and then we'd record on the other
00:42:37
one like literally the same way that you
00:42:39
would pirate uh you know because it was
00:42:41
only editing yeah old school ding yeah
00:42:44
well just you know ripping off
00:42:45
Terminator 2 from video easy basically
00:42:48
was was my editing skills um so um I i'
00:42:54
started um around that time writing a
00:42:56
couple of articles for New Zealand
00:42:58
fishing news and I had M to a fisherman
00:43:00
like man that was such a great read I
00:43:02
love that ra so I would um bring the
00:43:06
when the fishing news would come out
00:43:07
like yes I've got the cover story and so
00:43:09
you know I'd take the kids off and I'd
00:43:11
make my wife Ken a cup of tea and like
00:43:14
sit down look at you want to read this
00:43:15
article you know and I it's like this is
00:43:17
going to be allow her to read something
00:43:19
that I've produced and she'll go it'll
00:43:22
open her eyes to this incredible life
00:43:23
that I'm leaving when I'm when I'm not
00:43:25
home
00:43:26
I would poke around the corner and she's
00:43:28
already shoved it to the side she's got
00:43:29
new idea or she's she's she's reading
00:43:33
about what bloody Kate and bloody
00:43:35
William are up I don't know
00:43:37
but no zero [ __ ] given about zero [ __ ]
00:43:42
like um and I was like and so the the
00:43:45
actual moment when I thought hey maybe
00:43:47
TV could be something I could do was I
00:43:50
was shooting handic cam footage out on
00:43:52
the boats that I was working on and I
00:43:54
was literally playing back some for my
00:43:56
my own viewing pleasure I had the kids
00:43:57
with me that were little in the living
00:44:00
room and Ken walked into the living room
00:44:02
and she thought it was just me watching
00:44:03
TV and I didn't know she was standing
00:44:05
behind me and I just heard her say holy
00:44:08
[ __ ] look at that she's like look at
00:44:10
that guy grab a hold of that huge fish
00:44:12
like is that dangerous I'm like that's
00:44:15
me like she's like what do you mean you
00:44:17
had like a mask and a wet no no well
00:44:19
yeah that oh there was the particular
00:44:21
bet was like from the back you know and
00:44:24
um there was I was leader in what lering
00:44:26
a out and pulling it up alongside a boat
00:44:28
and then they can get quite wild so you
00:44:29
got to grab them by the bill and let let
00:44:31
the hook out and take the hook out and
00:44:32
all that sort of stuff and she was
00:44:34
watching that but and then because of
00:44:36
course she doesn't expect to see me on
00:44:37
on television well I wasn't I was was a
00:44:40
home home video playing playing through
00:44:42
the TV and when I said that's me she was
00:44:45
like that's incred and then she started
00:44:46
asking questions and that was the when I
00:44:49
realized it was the first time and she
00:44:52
we'd been together at that stage 15
00:44:54
years um um married for quite a few and
00:44:58
it was the first time she'd ever asked
00:44:59
me about the ocean like I could go
00:45:02
fishing and this is true like I've I
00:45:05
could go to Canada to catch giant blue
00:45:07
funa and I can be away for two weeks I
00:45:09
get back she doesn't ask me how the
00:45:11
fishing is she's like uh what movies did
00:45:13
you watch on the flight uh did you get
00:45:16
an upgrade what did you get me like zero
00:45:18
[ __ ] about fishing like like none
00:45:19
whatsoever and so for me this is like
00:45:22
wow this is the way I can talk to more
00:45:25
than just fishing Enthusiast you cut
00:45:27
through to a broader audience and I
00:45:28
thought you know and and I didn't rush
00:45:30
out and and make a a a TV show that next
00:45:33
day it wasn't like the big um Epiphany
00:45:36
moment like the ball gash um it was but
00:45:39
it made me think about it and it was
00:45:41
just when I was sitting on on deck on a
00:45:43
boat and I love working on those boats
00:45:45
don't give me a wrong I I loved it but
00:45:47
it took me away I I was missing 21st you
00:45:50
know my my sister only sister 21st I was
00:45:53
missing kids first steps birthdays
00:45:56
wedding anniversary all these sorts of
00:45:57
things that you know I wanted to be
00:45:59
around with my family for so I was
00:46:01
sitting on Deck it was just a rough day
00:46:03
it was a bit miserable and we had a big
00:46:05
tangle in the Ls I'm untangling this I'm
00:46:07
like man I need to get back I need a bit
00:46:09
of control over my life and have my own
00:46:11
business again like I did when I was
00:46:12
Roofing and but it has to be in fishing
00:46:15
I'm like can't go back to commercial
00:46:16
fishing because I'd kind of learned that
00:46:19
a lot of the practices even that I was
00:46:20
involved in um was not right you know we
00:46:23
were we were doing too much harm to the
00:46:25
environment
00:46:26
um there are some still don't I'm not
00:46:28
anti all commercial fishing there's
00:46:30
still some really good decent people out
00:46:32
there doing the right thing but a lot of
00:46:34
it was no good and it was too expensive
00:46:36
to get into the industry you know to buy
00:46:38
the quota even if you didn't want to
00:46:40
fish the right way so I can't do that um
00:46:43
I don't the the charter industry was was
00:46:47
a massive money loss like I watched my
00:46:50
boss had built this amazing boat he was
00:46:52
an EXC commmercial fisherman incredible
00:46:53
fisherman great great mentor I'd watched
00:46:56
them go gray with with wor losing that
00:46:59
much money owning a charter boat because
00:47:00
of all the compliance cost and so I
00:47:03
can't go into chter fishing I was like
00:47:05
and that's when I just thought oh I
00:47:07
could make a fishing show and it just
00:47:08
popped into my head and so I just came
00:47:11
back and quietly went about researching
00:47:14
and like this was my level of thinking
00:47:17
what do you need to make a fishing show
00:47:18
you need a camera so I looked up the
00:47:20
camera oh geez they're quite expensive
00:47:22
so I'm going to need some money go to
00:47:23
the banks see if I'm going to borrow
00:47:24
some money Bank says no we're not giving
00:47:27
you a business loan cuz that's a very
00:47:29
rightfully so yeah that's a very [ __ ]
00:47:30
business plan like you're a fisherman
00:47:32
roofer we we'll loan you money if that's
00:47:34
the business you want to do but not for
00:47:36
television and um but I had enough
00:47:38
equity in my house and I just went great
00:47:40
I'm going to borrow this money um yeah
00:47:43
80 80 grand he 80 grand yeah 80 grand so
00:47:46
okay so um so so Ken you she's your wife
00:47:49
at that stage yep okay so you're you're
00:47:51
a young married couple um one kid two
00:47:54
kids at that point we had one kid at
00:47:56
that point okay so you got a little bit
00:47:58
of equity in your house you're borrowing
00:48:00
you want to borrow money on the mortgage
00:48:01
for something that she doesn't give a
00:48:03
[ __ ] about yeah how do how do you get
00:48:05
that over the line how does she have the
00:48:06
faith or belief in you that this is the
00:48:07
right thing to do it was the old um do
00:48:10
it and ask for forgiveness um I had did
00:48:13
you not need Jewel signatures no no I
00:48:16
didn't I
00:48:18
think you were having this you you you
00:48:20
talked about it no this is the no I
00:48:22
didn't oh I mean um I did tell her I was
00:48:25
going to the bank to get a business loan
00:48:27
right um I I didn't mention that it was
00:48:30
going to end up going on the house cuz
00:48:31
the bank had no no faith in me um um but
00:48:36
kayen and she says it much more
00:48:38
eloquently than me when I've you know
00:48:40
know I've heard her telling other people
00:48:42
she just said I I knew I knew that he
00:48:45
was going to do it and she said you know
00:48:47
and I knew it seemed like an outrageous
00:48:49
idea but she just said I Met's always
00:48:52
done the things he says he's going to do
00:48:54
and um [ __ ] that
00:48:56
having someone believe in you that much
00:48:57
and just just know even if you um don't
00:49:00
have belief in yourself at certain
00:49:02
points of the way knowing that someone
00:49:03
else who knows you as well if not better
00:49:06
than what you do yourself knows that
00:49:07
you're going to make this decision then
00:49:09
figure out how to make it work that is
00:49:11
so cool and we did a lot of figuring out
00:49:13
man like a lot of figuring out like I am
00:49:16
so grateful for my naivity like if I had
00:49:20
any clue of like if I was able to jump
00:49:22
forward two years and see um how um many
00:49:27
roadblocks would be put in my way by um
00:49:30
advertising agencies because I wasn't
00:49:32
going through them to get sponsors how
00:49:34
many roadblocks would be put in the way
00:49:35
by the TV Executives and all that sort
00:49:36
of stuff I would have gone SH now maybe
00:49:38
this is not such a good idea maybe maybe
00:49:41
I'll just you know borrow the money and
00:49:42
buy some quter and go back to commercial
00:49:43
fishing it's probably what I would have
00:49:45
done but um thank goodness to my naivity
00:49:49
I just thought I'm going to be able to
00:49:51
do it I'm going to do it different than
00:49:52
everyone else I'm going to make it
00:49:53
better than everyone else and that will
00:49:55
somehow and I don't quite know how and
00:49:58
and I kind of thought it would be a
00:49:59
sponsorship model um it will result in
00:50:01
getting money because I mean look at it
00:50:04
was TV right back 20 years ago if you're
00:50:06
on TV you're cracking it you're cracking
00:50:09
it yeah that's amazing and you so you so
00:50:12
you make the TV series yep or you make
00:50:14
the pilot episode first yeah yeah we
00:50:16
made the pilot episode and that took
00:50:18
like 80 grand doesn't go very far right
00:50:21
um particularly like we employed a
00:50:23
little bit of help me and my mate Kiza
00:50:24
which I of course I need need to mention
00:50:26
he was kizel was involved largely
00:50:29
because he loved fishing as much as me
00:50:31
and he was the most te heavy guy that I
00:50:33
knew I Kieran set up my first email
00:50:36
account for me like I didn't have an
00:50:38
email account you know I'd never been to
00:50:40
a job interview in my life I just got
00:50:42
jobs through people I knew and or
00:50:46
starting my own business you know in the
00:50:47
case of my roofing business so this guy
00:50:50
knew had a computer and he knew had an
00:50:52
email so he'd be a great guider and he
00:50:53
loved fishing so he'd be a great guy to
00:50:56
you know come on this Venture with me so
00:50:59
we got into that but of course Karen was
00:51:01
a graphic designer by trade and he was
00:51:03
working at a full-time job at Yellow
00:51:05
Pages so he could help me out when he
00:51:07
wasn't in his full-time job of course
00:51:09
and um and we got in some other help the
00:51:12
guy that had worked in television and
00:51:13
all that sort of stuff but he was
00:51:15
expensive to get him to come and help us
00:51:18
and everything I did that's not how you
00:51:20
present that's a bad idea you don't get
00:51:22
shots like that that won't work this is
00:51:25
and he just rubbished everything we did
00:51:27
um and I was like we're paying you a
00:51:28
whole lot of money for you to tell us
00:51:30
that we're doing a [ __ ] job and we
00:51:32
haven't got that much more so you can
00:51:33
[ __ ] off um and and so I got that's when
00:51:37
I got the manual and I I read the manual
00:51:39
and learned how to use the camera myself
00:51:40
and I was like oh if we try this and you
00:51:42
know I the old handic cam the same one
00:51:44
we used on for Sports Cafe I got a bit
00:51:46
of drain pipe and I made an underwater
00:51:48
housing out of it and then I got a torch
00:51:51
and make and found a pencil camera a
00:51:53
security camera I could fit inside it
00:51:55
and I made that swim behind the boat so
00:51:57
I started coming up with these
00:51:58
innovative ways that literally cost
00:52:00
nothing um to get footage and we got all
00:52:03
this amazing footage like we filmed some
00:52:05
incredible stuff but then we got to put
00:52:07
it together um and that takes um skills
00:52:11
and money we didn't have the editing
00:52:13
skills we have done it yeah it's worth
00:52:15
it's worth pointing out at this point so
00:52:16
this is 20 something years ago so it's
00:52:17
not not like there's an app for
00:52:19
everything you can do what you were
00:52:20
doing then you can do anyone can do on
00:52:22
their
00:52:23
phone you could go
00:52:26
like you can't just jump on Google how
00:52:27
do you edit a TV show or anything like
00:52:29
that it was um well especially me I mean
00:52:32
I didn't ever i' only just got an email
00:52:34
account you know so like you know you go
00:52:36
down to the library and like get a book
00:52:38
out it was I didn't do that because I
00:52:41
don't read either but um so it was just
00:52:44
about like I'm I'm gonna learn how to
00:52:46
how to do this so um and one of the the
00:52:50
first things we did and and because we
00:52:52
had a lot of this really good footage is
00:52:53
we put together a DVD but that wasn't
00:52:56
like a TV audience thing that was just
00:52:59
the cool fishing stuff that I was doing
00:53:01
mostly on the boats that I was working
00:53:02
on and we released it and fishermen
00:53:04
loved it like DVDs were big at the time
00:53:06
you know and that gave us a little bit
00:53:08
of income to to make this TV pilot and
00:53:12
one of those DVDs got in they went
00:53:14
around the world got into the hands of a
00:53:16
producer at the BBC and somehow he
00:53:20
tracked me down and I got a phone call
00:53:22
at home um in the far north and was a
00:53:26
guy and I remember his name was Rod
00:53:27
Stewart which I thought was and he was
00:53:29
Scottish as well um wasn't the Rod
00:53:32
Stewart he was a producer he introduced
00:53:33
himself as a producer for the BBC and he
00:53:36
wanted to know how we got this
00:53:37
incredible M footage he said we've spent
00:53:40
over half a million pounds trying to
00:53:42
film Maron up close he said we've got
00:53:44
some distant shots um he said look if
00:53:47
you could please tell me what camera you
00:53:49
were using what underwater housing what
00:53:51
lenses and what propulsion unit you were
00:53:53
using to get right up close close to
00:53:55
this mland CU we were really struggling
00:53:57
and I said oh mate um the camera is a
00:54:00
Panasonic handicam I got for a wedding
00:54:02
present the housing is a bit of drain
00:54:04
pipe from under my house that um and I I
00:54:07
siliconed a bit of ppix on the front of
00:54:09
it I drilled a hole and got an eye
00:54:11
dropper and made that waterproof so I
00:54:13
could hit the on off button I had no way
00:54:15
of seeing what I'm filming um I got a
00:54:19
surfboard tie down and strapped a couple
00:54:21
of handle handles to it and and I didn't
00:54:24
need a prop unit to get close to the
00:54:26
Maron I just make the Maron come close
00:54:27
to me and I do that by toing lures
00:54:30
behind the boat when they come up I jump
00:54:32
into the water with live baits tied to
00:54:34
my arms and then the Marin are trying to
00:54:36
eat off of my arms and I've just got to
00:54:38
hold my [ __ ] together enough and not
00:54:40
drop my nuts with these Mar racing
00:54:42
around and he said mate if if you don't
00:54:45
want to tell me that's
00:54:47
fine and he honestly thought I was
00:54:49
taking the piss but that was the level
00:54:51
we were at it was like have an idea
00:54:53
figure out the way to do it
00:54:55
and we figured out a way oh it's it's
00:54:57
the epitome of that old um saying you
00:54:59
number eight wire mentality which is not
00:55:01
something you hear all that often these
00:55:02
days but it is just you figure out how
00:55:05
to make it work whatever it takes you
00:55:07
know um I think Google maybe and YouTube
00:55:09
instructional videos is maybe killed a
00:55:11
little bit of uh Ingenuity because
00:55:14
probably you can find an answer for
00:55:15
anything you want to do yeah you can and
00:55:17
sometimes in finding the answer you can
00:55:18
actually find a better answer than
00:55:20
what's conventional and you know and and
00:55:24
in the benefit of H that was a massive
00:55:26
asset for us because here was this thing
00:55:28
that made it to TV and it didn't look
00:55:31
like any other TV show cuz it was made
00:55:33
by guys that didn't know how to make a
00:55:35
TV show they were passionate about
00:55:37
fishing yeah so you had no preconceived
00:55:39
idea that's right so we could like you
00:55:42
know and people would always say to me
00:55:44
oh man it doesn't feel like I'm I'm
00:55:46
watching a TV presenter it feels like
00:55:48
you're talking to me and I was like well
00:55:50
I'm not a TV presenter I'm a fisherman
00:55:52
and I'm speaking how I would speak to my
00:55:55
mates um when I'm not pretending to be
00:55:57
Maris you know so um and it gave it a
00:56:03
new look and it wasn't intentional from
00:56:06
the time that we realized it was
00:56:08
intentional uh that it was popular we're
00:56:11
like yeah let's just stick with this
00:56:12
let's um you know I I did get better
00:56:15
just through doing it about how to do a
00:56:17
pie of camera or something like that um
00:56:19
but I found the most popular bits was
00:56:21
when I would just get caught up in the
00:56:23
moment and like holy [ __ ] we got to get
00:56:25
this fish and I didn't give a rat's ass
00:56:28
whether it got filmed or not I was just
00:56:29
so immersed and wanted you know to catch
00:56:32
the fish and they were the bits that
00:56:33
people people loved well passion is
00:56:35
really really infectious isn't it like
00:56:37
I've got I'm I'm like your wife i' I
00:56:39
give zero facts about fishing but you
00:56:41
watch someone that is just into it and
00:56:43
enthused and in the zone and you can't
00:56:44
help but be sweeped up yeah same as um I
00:56:47
suppose a parallel it's like Steve inen
00:56:49
just seeing his enthusiasm and
00:56:50
excitement about your know crocodiles or
00:56:52
snakes or stingrays or whatever you get
00:56:54
caught up yeah so so so how do you get
00:56:56
it on TV like you ship off VHS tapes to
00:56:59
TV and Z TV3 Sky SK TV the only options
00:57:03
yep they they were our only options so
00:57:05
we literally went and brought a three
00:57:07
pack of um video cassettes from Kmart we
00:57:10
were going to go to the warehouse but we
00:57:11
wanted to look professional and get the
00:57:12
expensive brand you know seriously that
00:57:15
was a business decision we like yeah
00:57:17
okay should we get the like the $18.99
00:57:20
ones instead of the 12.99 ones
00:57:22
definitely if we want to look
00:57:23
professional and we did have a cool logo
00:57:25
because Karen was a a talented graphic
00:57:28
designer um and we sent it off and I put
00:57:30
the proposal together saying we'll be to
00:57:33
fund this because fishing's this really
00:57:35
popular thing in New Zealand it's
00:57:37
underrepresented on television we'll be
00:57:38
to bring in sponsorship M and I honestly
00:57:41
thought like I thought our pilot show
00:57:43
was so good you know I really did but
00:57:46
all my feedback had come from other
00:57:47
mates that love fishing as well um and
00:57:50
that was um and I should say in doing
00:57:54
that like I'd show people the video but
00:57:55
I wouldn't tell them it was a pilot TV
00:57:57
show I told no one so when I was trying
00:58:00
to put the TV show together cany knew
00:58:02
about it Karen knew about it I knew
00:58:04
about it Karen's partner knew about it
00:58:07
um I didn't tell my mom my dad brothers
00:58:09
sisters none of my best mates I didn't
00:58:11
why not to Poppy like I didn't want I
00:58:13
didn't want to be that guy who said I'm
00:58:15
going to be on TV yeah like I mean
00:58:16
that's the that was the opposite of what
00:58:19
you know at that time you wanted to be
00:58:21
as a kiwi bloke someone who's going to
00:58:22
step their head up and go and I'd heard
00:58:24
it so much and to be honest like I guys
00:58:27
I'm gonna do I'm going to make a TV show
00:58:29
about this and i' I'd literally look at
00:58:31
those
00:58:32
guys wanker and I just didn't want to be
00:58:35
that wanker like um because there is I
00:58:38
mean there is a there's a certain amount
00:58:41
of um ego I guess you need to have to be
00:58:44
able to put yourself out there and you
00:58:46
know that was at the time that you know
00:58:48
the All Blacks would get criticized if
00:58:49
they celebrated too much that's right
00:58:51
that's probably about the time where
00:58:52
Jeff Jeff Wilson came along and had
00:58:54
scored fist pump and every a little bit
00:58:56
bit show boy I reckon mate it was it's
00:59:00
not like he was doing some assaults he
00:59:02
was like a fist pump exactly now these
00:59:04
guys do full theater performances you
00:59:06
know they get they get
00:59:08
choreographed all these choreograph
00:59:10
sequence yeah it's it's an interesting
00:59:11
time out yeah because you you you know
00:59:13
you and I were raised about the same
00:59:14
time and it's um like vulnerability is a
00:59:16
very big word now and it's like that
00:59:18
just wasn't the uh environment we were
00:59:20
raised in yeah Y and so part of um like
00:59:24
so when we actually you know did I'm
00:59:27
jumping forward of it managed to get it
00:59:28
on TV I didn't even tell my mates I just
00:59:30
invited them around for a barbecue and
00:59:32
flick the tally on and um t comes on
00:59:36
they're like oh are you on gone fishing
00:59:38
which is one of the shows like no no no
00:59:40
this is my show and they're like what do
00:59:41
you mean your show oh it's a show that
00:59:43
me and Kiza made and we put on telly and
00:59:45
um one of them first thing one of the
00:59:48
boys Tas said oh you think you're
00:59:49
[ __ ] Tom Cruz
00:59:51
now and I'm like that's why I didn't
00:59:54
hell
00:59:56
yeah just making sure you don't get too
00:59:58
H yourself exactly yeah that was 5
01:00:00
minutes into episode one series one you
01:00:03
know yeah so that was on so that was on
01:00:04
Sky how how come there was no money
01:00:06
exchanged like they they they I mean
01:00:08
they're they're thirsty for Content I
01:00:10
guess cuz they got so many channels
01:00:12
they'll play just about anything but why
01:00:14
why did they never offer you any money
01:00:15
um because it was kind of seen that like
01:00:18
you are lucky to be have this
01:00:20
opportunity to be on be on TV now you
01:00:23
need to go out because we've given you
01:00:25
this amazing opportunity to put your
01:00:27
show on you're now got a platform to go
01:00:30
and raise some some sponsorship so of
01:00:33
course you can't it's a tough ask when
01:00:35
you're a um you know a roof fisherman
01:00:39
you know sitting up a meeting and I
01:00:41
managed to get a few face to faces most
01:00:43
of them was email rejections and or over
01:00:46
the phone rejections but I I got to the
01:00:47
stage of getting a few face to faces and
01:00:49
I had some encouraging meetings for the
01:00:51
first series But
01:00:53
ultimately um you know we would show if
01:00:55
we found a marketing manager that had an
01:00:57
interest in fishing he could see the
01:00:59
potential of how good it was going to be
01:01:01
but it would usually get killed when it
01:01:02
got set off to their advertising agency
01:01:04
to be assessed they'd come back and go
01:01:06
no no one's interested in this it's not
01:01:08
going to work it's going to fail keep
01:01:09
keep your money and that's largely
01:01:11
because of how advertising agencies work
01:01:14
like they get a they clip the ticket on
01:01:16
what the company spends and if it was a
01:01:18
direct spin they're not making any money
01:01:20
so they're not going to want you know a
01:01:22
sponsorship unless it goes through them
01:01:24
um and I wasn't having any advertising
01:01:26
agencies ringing me up saying hey we
01:01:27
want to pitch you to you know a few
01:01:29
companies so I got nose knows from
01:01:33
everybody you know um so um I thought
01:01:37
well if we can get it on tally you know
01:01:40
yes it's going to be a cost and it's
01:01:41
going to be a stretch for us to be able
01:01:43
to do this um but once it gets
01:01:45
recognized I should be able to get
01:01:46
sponsorship a lot easier um it did help
01:01:50
obviously having something that would on
01:01:51
TV that had done well um but the TV um
01:01:56
networks and then when we next went to
01:01:57
TV and Zed they were the same they they
01:01:59
like hey we want this show um because we
01:02:02
want to compete with TV 3's fishing
01:02:04
shows um but we're not going to pay you
01:02:06
for it and so how how do they expect you
01:02:08
to get by um just they raising R they
01:02:11
don't they don't care they've given you
01:02:13
this I me you're you've you've really
01:02:16
got to go cap in hand because it's not
01:02:18
like I can go oh screw you guys I'm
01:02:21
throwing it on YouTube Back Then YouTube
01:02:23
was and its infancy and it was like I
01:02:26
think two minute videos long Max um
01:02:28
didn't really have the audience like if
01:02:30
you wanted to get something out uh in in
01:02:33
front of the eyeballs you needed them so
01:02:35
they dictated everything you know they
01:02:37
were like this is the time stop you're
01:02:39
going on and and we're not going to pay
01:02:42
you like unless you were like literally
01:02:44
in the click and to be in the click you
01:02:46
needed to be here here in Oakland I was
01:02:47
in a [ __ ] in in the far north I wasn't
01:02:50
having Budd um coffees um you know down
01:02:53
there with these guys is just shooting
01:02:55
around some cool ideas you know and
01:02:57
letting them come up with the concept um
01:03:00
that I could go and with a fist full of
01:03:01
money go away and do no so we were we
01:03:04
were self-funded so um we needed a
01:03:08
sponsor to be able to pay us to keep
01:03:11
going um and I always felt like we were
01:03:14
going to get there but it just
01:03:16
came it came really real close like so
01:03:19
were you were you grinding hard like
01:03:21
sending off like proposals all over the
01:03:23
place over like
01:03:24
and everyone had said no and and my I
01:03:27
I'd already had a rejection from itm um
01:03:29
but of course it never made it it got
01:03:31
only got to my proposal only got to like
01:03:33
a junior marketing person um um a guy
01:03:37
called Barnaby funnny enough I just
01:03:39
remember the name because only usual if
01:03:40
you're out there Barnaby hey shame on
01:03:42
you that was no I shouldn't say that
01:03:46
but pride in the story I gu I turned him
01:03:49
down the worst decision I ever made yeah
01:03:51
yeah I rejected that show yeah and um
01:03:54
know a similar one too when when going
01:03:57
back a little bit before that when we
01:03:59
sent off our pilot show the first bit of
01:04:01
feedback that I got was I mean our pilot
01:04:05
had been sent off like 12 weeks earlier
01:04:08
and we hadn't heard back boo and I was
01:04:09
sending emails I was ringing like
01:04:11
literally reception oh can you book me
01:04:13
through to someone at oh so who are you
01:04:15
I'm Matt um I sent in a VHS tape um
01:04:19
three months ago here's the TR you know
01:04:21
um it was on NZ cers you know like
01:04:24
that's
01:04:24
I didn't get the tracking number yeah
01:04:27
can you can you get someone to call me
01:04:28
back no one called back eventually I got
01:04:31
in touch with a programmer at tvnz and I
01:04:33
said look she goes oh yeah it's it's
01:04:35
here it's sitting on someone's Des I
01:04:36
said can look can you please watch it um
01:04:39
you know and just I I think you really
01:04:42
like it and then I can come and and we
01:04:44
can meet and we can take it from there
01:04:46
and L and behold she Rings Rings back
01:04:48
the next day and um she said look we've
01:04:51
watched the we've watched the first half
01:04:53
of it um um and we've all had a good
01:04:56
laugh and I was like oh awesome because
01:04:58
like we did try and mix it up and that
01:04:59
had a bit of humor and that she goes no
01:05:00
no we were laughing at it she said we
01:05:02
weren't she said this is so ridiculous
01:05:04
to think she said fishing doesn't belong
01:05:06
on television and if it did it wouldn't
01:05:08
be this rubbish and that's what she
01:05:10
there were who are you now you're adding
01:05:12
GC to the story I'm not she said it was
01:05:15
just it was a [ __ ] mean thing to say
01:05:18
it was and she said look she goes um and
01:05:22
she did say herself look it might sound
01:05:23
mean but I don't want to I don't want to
01:05:25
give you any false hope if you've got
01:05:27
another career option you should take it
01:05:29
because this isn't going to go this
01:05:31
isn't going to watching on television um
01:05:34
I remember her name and she's still
01:05:36
floating I would love to bump into her
01:05:37
because she was just [ __ ] rude like I
01:05:39
mean that's no no no that's that is
01:05:42
unnecessary that is so un I've only
01:05:44
watched half of it and we're all having
01:05:45
a good laugh at you um but so I was like
01:05:47
oh that's one down it wasn't the end of
01:05:49
the road never ever heard back from TV3
01:05:52
at all couldn't and um oh man that's
01:05:54
heart that's heartbreaking like how many
01:05:57
people you're you're as we' said you're
01:05:58
a you're a you're a [ __ ] batler but
01:06:00
how many how many people would have that
01:06:02
sort of um that sort of brutalness of
01:06:04
that rejection and then just go okay
01:06:06
well I got to stop now I got I got to go
01:06:09
back home to my wife with my tail
01:06:10
between my legs and get back on the roof
01:06:12
yeah but the fact that you kept going I
01:06:14
mean it's inspirational bro oh thanks
01:06:16
but um yeah than it's a it's a it's a
01:06:19
kind um no I think again never been on a
01:06:22
boat in my life I'm the same as your
01:06:24
wife but I think there's lessons in your
01:06:25
story that a lot of us can take about
01:06:27
like perseverance and keep pushing and
01:06:29
keep grinding lots of great kiwis out
01:06:31
there that are that battle and whether
01:06:34
they're setting up a plumbing business
01:06:35
or doing whatever they do that get
01:06:37
knocked back and they they keep keep
01:06:39
getting up and going and um I what I had
01:06:43
in my favor is I always felt that it was
01:06:45
going to be a success like I I could see
01:06:47
it like I was like this is It's the rest
01:06:51
of the world that wrong or it's the rest
01:06:52
of of the media world that are wrong I'm
01:06:55
right fishing is the most awesome
01:06:57
incredible thing in the world like I
01:06:59
mean it's the most real reality TV um
01:07:02
you know reality TV is probably one of
01:07:04
the most scripted things ever when I go
01:07:06
out on the water I go out with a plan
01:07:07
and we write out a shot list this is
01:07:09
what we want to film we no one on that
01:07:11
boat including me knows what's going to
01:07:13
happen that day and just the most crazy
01:07:16
things can happen and you get real drama
01:07:18
you get real danger and I was like can't
01:07:20
people see this it's made for television
01:07:22
it's so interesting and there's a whole
01:07:25
um ecological Dynamic with all of these
01:07:27
incredible creatures and all of this
01:07:29
stuff going on and I just wanted to tell
01:07:30
every and and you know for a TV ex to
01:07:33
turn around and say this doesn't belong
01:07:34
on television and it's rubbish I'm like
01:07:36
I just thought she was wrong you know I
01:07:39
mean I knew it was going to be harder if
01:07:41
that's the perception and and that was a
01:07:43
barrier I was going to have to break
01:07:44
down but I was like I've got to get
01:07:46
better at finding a way to convince
01:07:48
these people that it is good and that
01:07:50
people will watch it just give me the
01:07:52
chance oh man [ __ ] you I mean your kids
01:07:56
are very lucky you're a good role model
01:07:58
there's I mean there's a lot in this and
01:08:01
a lot of it might be stupidity like yeah
01:08:04
it just just blind dumbness yeah that is
01:08:08
another that is naivity
01:08:11
I I was I'm so grateful for my naivity
01:08:15
and just my blind faith that if I do
01:08:17
something good I'll be rewarded and I
01:08:19
was it just took a bit longer than I
01:08:21
thought so so the itm deal when did that
01:08:23
happen season
01:08:24
Season Two Season Two so you got them on
01:08:26
board so they they they had like they
01:08:28
got to see season one to see what it was
01:08:29
all about so season one well they hadn't
01:08:31
actually seen it so like because it was
01:08:33
on Sky it wasn't and they didn't put it
01:08:35
on a great slot it was literally I was
01:08:38
um at the boat show with ker and we were
01:08:41
in the run up to our second season it
01:08:43
was going on
01:08:44
tvnz I was funding it again because we
01:08:47
picked up a couple of fishing industry
01:08:49
sponsors so Shimano and hunting and
01:08:51
fishing had come on um and which was
01:08:53
good so we had some income and well it
01:08:56
was mostly gear you know so I was like
01:08:57
yeah I don't have to pay for my H yeah I
01:08:59
was like yeah I got a couple of free
01:09:01
fishing rods and I got myself a you know
01:09:03
hunting and fishing fleece pack and I
01:09:05
hadn't had to pay for it so I thought
01:09:06
that was great but we needed that like a
01:09:09
naming right sponsor to fund it it was
01:09:11
just not a sustainable model to keep
01:09:13
going back to the bank um and we were at
01:09:16
the Boer we didn't have enough money for
01:09:18
a stand at the boat show but we had um
01:09:20
New Zealand fishing news who I was
01:09:21
writing for they had a stand and I said
01:09:23
can we put a TV screen on the end of
01:09:24
your stand and play some of our footage
01:09:26
just to kind of promote the fact that
01:09:28
we're making another TV series because
01:09:30
remember TV and yet aren't promoting us
01:09:33
they're not um giving cutting promos
01:09:35
they're not giving us a they're just
01:09:37
like we're going to put you on be
01:09:39
grateful now go out and make sure people
01:09:40
watch it because if it doesn't rate
01:09:41
we're going to kick you off um so we're
01:09:44
in the runup to our first season on on
01:09:47
tvnz and we're just trying to hustle
01:09:49
interest and and stuff in the show and a
01:09:51
guy just kept coming back I watched them
01:09:53
walked past a few times and I was busy
01:09:55
talking to other people and he said that
01:09:57
footage of you guys got up there is
01:09:58
incredible I've never seen anything like
01:10:00
it he said you have a sponsor I said no
01:10:02
we don't mate and he said have you
01:10:04
spoken to itm I said yeah and he said um
01:10:07
and what did they say I said no they
01:10:08
said no thanks and he goes well you
01:10:10
spoken to the wrong [ __ ] person and
01:10:12
he yeah so he gets on the phone and um
01:10:17
he said he said look can you get over to
01:10:19
itm head office tomorrow for a meeting
01:10:21
I'm like yeah I can and yeah um who was
01:10:24
he was he the CEO no he owned three
01:10:27
stores so so the itmo co Cooperative so
01:10:30
the all the stores are individually
01:10:31
owned by you know kiwi local people in
01:10:35
in the community It's actually an
01:10:36
incredible um business model because
01:10:38
it's people at Grassroots you know um
01:10:42
and he obviously knew that the executive
01:10:44
that run the head office and he just
01:10:46
said look you need to talk to this guy
01:10:48
and and he sent them a um a link to the
01:10:52
footage and they watched it so I W
01:10:53
walked in there and they'd seen it and
01:10:54
they just said we've actually just done
01:10:56
a survey and um fishing is the number
01:11:00
one interest thing above rugby above
01:11:02
anything for Tradesmen and I was like
01:11:05
I'd just done that same research I paid
01:11:07
out of my own pocket for This aclon
01:11:09
research which I sent to your guy
01:11:10
Barnaby and he told me that Builders
01:11:12
weren't interested barab under the bus
01:11:15
yeah I know [ __ ] barnab you know you got
01:11:18
him like a
01:11:19
mar um well so how much was the I don't
01:11:23
know if you wanted about commercial
01:11:24
stuff but since it's 20 years old how
01:11:25
much was the the first fee was under
01:11:28
100K I think it was like 90k so um to
01:11:32
give you an idea like some funded shows
01:11:35
at the time we're getting 100K an epis
01:11:37
yeah yeah um so we had it's such a
01:11:40
wasteful industry I know TV is an
01:11:42
expensive Beast to make but it's so
01:11:43
wasteful some of to this guy like like
01:11:45
to I when I watch the credit roles of
01:11:48
shows and and I've been in 20 years and
01:11:51
I wouldn't call myself a television
01:11:53
expert bu I mean and I'll see like a
01:11:56
local production or an international
01:11:57
production and there's 50 people in the
01:11:59
credit role I'm like what the [ __ ] were
01:12:00
those people all doing other than
01:12:02
getting paid you know every one of those
01:12:05
names in there's getting paid and I mean
01:12:07
that's a lot of money to put that put
01:12:09
that um show together so yeah yes there
01:12:12
is a lot of ways and I'm not um and
01:12:15
television industry is facing a lot of
01:12:18
um challenges at the moment with
01:12:19
viewership going going to digital um and
01:12:23
for the people that work in the industry
01:12:25
like the camer Ops and don't the
01:12:27
individuals that I've met along the way
01:12:28
have all been incredibly professional
01:12:30
you know whether they're the person if
01:12:32
I've been in an ed shoot and they're the
01:12:34
person that they was calling up the C
01:12:36
everyone's awesome right but the
01:12:38
industry as a whole I I don't feel bad
01:12:41
for them because it's been too blo for
01:12:43
too long too bloated yeah too much fat
01:12:47
and you know I found that you know
01:12:48
whenever I went into the tvnz building
01:12:50
you know after the show had been on for
01:12:51
a few years guys would be like hey M
01:12:54
love the show bro love the show um
01:12:57
here's my card you if you want to go
01:12:58
take if you need a guest to come on the
01:13:00
show and I was getting dished out all
01:13:02
these business cards and then one day
01:13:04
when I was actually throwing all the
01:13:05
business cards out I I looked through
01:13:06
all these everyone was a manager yeah
01:13:09
everyone was a manager manager of
01:13:11
community consultation processes manager
01:13:13
of this manager of that and the only
01:13:15
person I ever saw busy in that building
01:13:17
was the Barista like they
01:13:19
were they were [ __ ] flat out you know
01:13:22
they're all down on the four just like
01:13:24
you know in the skinny jeans and chck
01:13:25
Taylor you know and here I am like up
01:13:28
north grafting away thinking [ __ ] where
01:13:30
am I going to scrape up the money to
01:13:32
make another series an knowing that
01:13:34
there's so much money in the business
01:13:35
yeah yeah it was yeah it must have been
01:13:37
frustrating because the the must have
01:13:39
felt like for you that money that is in
01:13:40
that was in the business is
01:13:41
tantalizingly close except you can't get
01:13:43
anywhere [ __ ] near it exactly you're
01:13:45
you're working your ass off and but um
01:13:47
so R team came on board yeah 80 80k or
01:13:50
whatever and I'm guessing that
01:13:51
progressively got better and B it did
01:13:53
yeah it did yep it did and just again
01:13:57
you I talk about having a strong
01:13:59
Foundation when they for the first
01:14:01
couple of years understand contracts
01:14:04
were year on year like we'll give you
01:14:05
one year and we'll see how it goes and
01:14:07
then after one year it was successful
01:14:09
and lots of Builders watched it and
01:14:10
there was their name and blazing you
01:14:12
know in our logo um yeah this is good
01:14:15
we'll give you one more year that was
01:14:16
another big thing like and that must
01:14:17
have been a huge call on your part like
01:14:19
to call it the itm fishing show not the
01:14:22
fishing show you know powered by itm
01:14:25
what exactly and that's been that's been
01:14:27
a a real uh big thing for them at the
01:14:30
time they they didn't have full brand
01:14:33
awareness like a lot of people didn't
01:14:35
know what itm was 20 years ago um so um
01:14:39
a part of their thing was like let's get
01:14:41
everyone to know know what we are and I
01:14:42
said well I'll I'll put you in the logo
01:14:44
and part of that was because I knew that
01:14:46
I could give excellent value to Shimano
01:14:49
because I'm going to be using the rods
01:14:50
and reels I knew fish whatever I was
01:14:52
going to do if I did it and well they're
01:14:54
going to go and buy their gear same with
01:14:56
the boats and all that sort of stuff
01:14:57
like I'm not going to be cutting around
01:14:59
4B twos on the boat talking about you
01:15:01
know um how good the itms um nail and
01:15:05
Trust plant is and you know how they
01:15:07
always deliver on I'm not going to do
01:15:08
that in a fishing show it's all about
01:15:10
representing their brand in a in a
01:15:11
positive light so I I put it in the name
01:15:14
and it worked and then fast forward
01:15:17
quite a few years and you'll notice that
01:15:19
there's a a subtle difference um it was
01:15:22
the itm fishing show to start it's for
01:15:24
the last few years it's been itm fishing
01:15:26
and that's when the TV networks started
01:15:28
making noises like oh now itm going have
01:15:30
to pay us if they weren't naming rights
01:15:32
I'm like what do you mean you guys
01:15:33
haven't paid for the show you're getting
01:15:35
it for free they said oh we've just got
01:15:37
this blanket rule no no sponsors names
01:15:39
they can be a broadcast sponsor and
01:15:41
it'll be the fishing show brought to you
01:15:44
by so I changed the name across our
01:15:46
social to itm fishing I'm like take the
01:15:48
itm out of it now are you going to call
01:15:49
a show
01:15:51
fishing and and there was so much you're
01:15:54
of the ass yeah are you going to go
01:15:56
fishing bought to you by and and so I
01:15:59
changed all of our branding and then I
01:16:01
actually we did our own research and I
01:16:04
found out that when the people weren't
01:16:06
calling the it and fishing show the IT
01:16:08
and fishing show they'd call it itm
01:16:10
fishing or they'd call it the itm show
01:16:13
and that's when I real realized how
01:16:14
powerful that was and I how the
01:16:16
association people see me to this day
01:16:19
and if they can't think of my name
01:16:20
they'll go oh itm guy you're the itm guy
01:16:23
so it had kind of worked and I wasn't
01:16:25
going to let the the TV network take
01:16:27
that away through a rule change um
01:16:30
because you know I I needed to look
01:16:32
after it because they looked after me I
01:16:34
respect that were they were they GED
01:16:36
when you told them you were pulling the
01:16:38
pen um well we're going through that
01:16:40
process at the moment so I look I going
01:16:43
through the stages of grief no it's not
01:16:45
it's not grief it really isn't cuz it
01:16:47
cuz so um itm were one of the sponsors a
01:16:51
few years back that were like look you
01:16:53
got to hang in there in TV that's where
01:16:55
we and because it had been successful
01:16:56
for them and it had worked for them um
01:16:59
they've got a really new um Forward
01:17:01
Thinking Dynamic executive now and
01:17:04
they've seen what our digital audience
01:17:05
is and they know that Builders are on
01:17:08
their phones they're online they're on
01:17:10
YouTube that's where they're going to
01:17:11
get the content so you know you might
01:17:13
not um you know the after the series
01:17:17
you're not going to be tuning in on a
01:17:18
Saturday or a Sunday to watch the itm um
01:17:20
fishing show on TV but you're going to
01:17:22
be getting it um on our ultimate fishing
01:17:25
platform you're going to be getting it
01:17:26
direct to social media and it could be
01:17:29
something that's 12 minutes long it
01:17:30
could be 50 minutes long it's whatever I
01:17:32
think is excellent and so long as itm
01:17:34
want to stay Associated um and I
01:17:37
honestly hope they do um their name's
01:17:39
going to be their name's going to be
01:17:41
over it and they'll be they'll be
01:17:42
getting the credit for it because how
01:17:44
could I not you know like the actual
01:17:46
truth is the show wouldn't exist without
01:17:50
them yeah that's true and and that is
01:17:52
dead right I I think I read somewhere
01:17:54
like some sort of survey that uh
01:17:55
YouTube's the fastest growing like
01:17:57
digital platform or TV platform whatever
01:17:59
you want to call it in the world like
01:18:00
it's just it's the biggest in New
01:18:01
Zealand so so it gets more eyes it gets
01:18:04
more eyes in New Zealand than than any
01:18:06
of the terrestrial or um streaming
01:18:09
platforms yeah gez we we've been going
01:18:11
for an hour 20 we haven't even got onto
01:18:13
the L and stuff yet far out yeah sorry
01:18:15
no no no no it's great mate it's um yeah
01:18:18
yeah [ __ ] you you've been through a lot
01:18:21
like just the the dog in determin it's
01:18:23
next level it's bloody inspirational so
01:18:25
the L thing how does that happen so this
01:18:27
is in the early days of YouTube I guess
01:18:29
yeah so by the way that clip the clip
01:18:32
that caught liman's attention that's you
01:18:34
jumping out of a helicopter yeah well
01:18:36
that was the that was like the straw
01:18:38
that broke the Cam's back it I'd already
01:18:40
caught the attention like so I'd hand
01:18:42
lined a great white shark um for a shark
01:18:45
tagging Pro and and that was out of
01:18:47
necessity too because we didn't have any
01:18:49
tackle big enough we figured out to pull
01:18:51
these great white shacks and to get a
01:18:53
DNA sample so we were fishing from a
01:18:55
cray booat and I I tied together some
01:18:57
cray poot lines and made a handline and
01:18:59
pulled on this great white shark and and
01:19:02
U you know that would the bit of that
01:19:04
went online and then I did a um I caught
01:19:06
a mar on an electric fence reel you know
01:19:08
bit of gain bit of literally straight
01:19:10
off the farm Ingenuity and so they were
01:19:13
the first few clips that went online and
01:19:15
and got some veril and but it was like
01:19:19
after the um ganet man stunt jumping out
01:19:21
of the helicopter just went B crazy
01:19:25
viral like literally the biggest video
01:19:27
in the world all the news agencies all
01:19:30
around the world had taking it um yeah I
01:19:32
just got a phone call again in my in my
01:19:35
shed we had um one employee at that
01:19:37
stage Kate and we had the old school you
01:19:40
know voice recorder you know if you got
01:19:43
a call overnight leave a voicemail so
01:19:45
she she checked the voicemail and she
01:19:47
came in and I walked over you know I I
01:19:50
had some pig dogs I'd go piging straight
01:19:52
off the back of where our office was and
01:19:55
I remember I fed the dogs that morning
01:19:56
and walked in the office and Kate says
01:19:59
oh there's a voicemail here from the
01:20:00
booking agent at David lman and he wants
01:20:03
to get you over to New York as soon as
01:20:05
possible and I'm like [ __ ] off and I had
01:20:08
some mates that were I had some mates
01:20:10
that were Roofing in in the states yeah
01:20:12
and I'd hardly If Ever I heard from them
01:20:14
they'd call at like 4 in the morning or
01:20:16
something and they'd be boozed or
01:20:17
something and they'd be like how are you
01:20:19
Tom Cruz you
01:20:21
know like giving me [ __ ] yeah so what
01:20:24
what I and and because I was getting I
01:20:26
was started getting some press you know
01:20:28
over and people were seeing this some of
01:20:29
my fishing stunts like on news outlets
01:20:31
and
01:20:32
that I'd figured that they'd seen it and
01:20:35
they were ringing or they'd put someone
01:20:36
with American accent up to make this
01:20:38
call and pretend and there was a number
01:20:40
left to said could you call back and I
01:20:42
didn't want to call the number back
01:20:43
because my I was expecting one of my
01:20:45
mates to be on the other end going hey
01:20:46
you [ __ ] you're not going on let him
01:20:48
in um but Kate rang back and she's
01:20:51
nodding to me like this this is legit
01:20:54
and um one of the things she said was
01:20:56
she put her hand over the phone she said
01:20:57
they want to know what your fee is and
01:21:00
so this is 2009 show started in 2006 I
01:21:03
haven't been paid to be on TV yet I
01:21:05
haven't been paid by a TV network so
01:21:06
you're just barely scraping by making
01:21:08
the TV show with the itm cash yeah yeah
01:21:10
itm cash some of our other sponsors cash
01:21:13
and I've got a I've got a production
01:21:15
company in New York wanting to know what
01:21:17
my fee is well I don't know what what
01:21:19
fee you charge but I didn't want to go
01:21:20
on too high because I don't want them to
01:21:22
say oh [ __ ] n sorry n that's too much we
01:21:25
we can't have you on cuz I'm like I'm
01:21:26
being invited um to go and then Kate
01:21:29
wrote on the pad in front of about
01:21:31
business class tickets and she
01:21:33
underlined it I'm like holy [ __ ] they
01:21:34
offering me business class tickets I've
01:21:36
never set up in front of the plane
01:21:37
before so I definitely would didn't want
01:21:40
to go on ti so I said tell them five Hy
01:21:43
five oh my god seriously I like tell
01:21:47
them five Hy so she said um and I'm
01:21:50
standing right next to her
01:21:53
and she goes
01:21:54
uh she goes oh you have 500 and then she
01:21:57
puts her hand over the py she goes they
01:21:59
want to know if that's per hour and if
01:22:02
you when do you start charging is it
01:22:04
from when you leave and and I was just
01:22:06
like holy [ __ ] they've got they actually
01:22:08
want to pay me some decent money and get
01:22:09
me to New York and so um we we settled
01:22:14
on a fee I got my paid for the first
01:22:16
time um what was awesome it was the
01:22:18
first ever trip Ken and I had done away
01:22:20
cuz she doesn't want to come on any of
01:22:22
these fishing
01:22:23
business class flights for two for two
01:22:24
yeah wow yeah so holy hi that's amazing
01:22:28
yeah and that was because I gave them an
01:22:30
exclusive because this by the end of
01:22:33
that day the Jay Leno show Jimmy Kimmel
01:22:36
show they'd all been and they just said
01:22:38
look they said look all the other shows
01:22:40
are going to be in touch with you but if
01:22:42
you can give us like a one month where
01:22:44
you don't go on I no it wasn't even that
01:22:46
two weeks I think um because I ended up
01:22:48
doing the today I I did some other CBS
01:22:50
shows and then I did like Today Show and
01:22:53
a few others shortly after so I
01:22:55
literally went from being making a show
01:22:58
in a shed that I built myself like as
01:23:00
and dug the footings by hand mixed the
01:23:02
concrete and a cete mixer built the
01:23:04
little shed put a computer in it and
01:23:06
caught it and uh tight lines media tight
01:23:08
L television at the time went from there
01:23:11
to um sitting at the front of a plane
01:23:14
with Ken flying to New York on Broadway
01:23:17
in New York and if anyone seen the
01:23:19
pictures of like yeah the S theater it's
01:23:21
iconic it is so they put us up in a
01:23:23
suite straight across the road from the
01:23:25
Ed celan theater beautiful um suite and
01:23:29
every time I looked out the window I
01:23:30
could see the Salan that I'm like f
01:23:32
tomorrow I'm on there you know and it
01:23:33
made me so nervous Goosebumps and I'm
01:23:36
like and and I guess it was a mistake um
01:23:40
but I watched the an episode of the late
01:23:43
shows I I've got a you know I'd not done
01:23:45
a TV interview on my life I'd not I'd
01:23:48
not done TalkBack radio I'd not done any
01:23:51
media I'd just be been out with my mates
01:23:53
doing this outrageous stuff and always
01:23:55
was always about scrambling to do stuff
01:23:57
but it was with guys that I knew I'd
01:23:59
done nothing live so um I get over there
01:24:03
I'm like any mistake I made there's no
01:24:06
there's no stepping it back or anything
01:24:07
so I was incredibly nervous about that I
01:24:09
watched the show and the guests were
01:24:11
Robert dairo and alpacino who were in a
01:24:14
movie together they did the top 10 and
01:24:17
um Will Smith and I'm watching these
01:24:19
guys going back and forth with David and
01:24:22
like like guys at the top of theame like
01:24:25
massive celebrities but just how sharp
01:24:27
their wits were cracking jokes back and
01:24:29
forth back and and I'm just like but I
01:24:31
can't do that I'm going to walk out on
01:24:32
that stage and I'm just going to clam up
01:24:35
and I just like it it made me so nervous
01:24:37
and Ken did an amazing job of boosting
01:24:41
up my confidence she was like you know
01:24:43
what
01:24:46
um
01:24:51
[ __ ]
01:24:53
she said you know what um being yourself
01:24:56
got you
01:24:57
here Fu she's a good one H yeah I got
01:25:01
some T Tes under here if
01:25:03
you I told you I can't talk about people
01:25:06
yeah I two on it's um um mate it's it's
01:25:09
a it's a wonderful relationship you guys
01:25:11
have got and it's good that you um yeah
01:25:13
you can appreciate everything she does
01:25:14
like oh thanks for the tissues
01:25:17
mate does someone tip you off I usually
01:25:20
have them up here it can get quite emot
01:25:22
but I was I had them under the table CU
01:25:25
I thought we won need boy you be all
01:25:28
right no that's cool but I mean it's
01:25:31
it's obvious the fact that she let you
01:25:32
get a mortgage out on the house for this
01:25:34
for this wild dream and that's where and
01:25:37
that's where it literally landed both of
01:25:39
us we were in on Broadway New in New
01:25:41
York like at the the epicenter of media
01:25:45
around the world you know and um and she
01:25:48
said look um I know what will make you
01:25:51
feel more confident let's she goes it
01:25:53
always works let's go shopping and buy
01:25:55
you some new clothes and I was like [ __ ]
01:25:57
all nice try see I'm I give about as
01:26:01
much care about shopping as what Canon
01:26:03
gives about fishing and I and I that was
01:26:05
the last thing I was going to do I was
01:26:06
like no no I said thanks for the advice
01:26:09
it's great I am going to be myself
01:26:10
someone just going to wear shorts and
01:26:12
you we yeah like a half a t-shirt and
01:26:14
like three4 34 caros or because they
01:26:16
were my best pants but I think that's
01:26:19
that's that suited that suited you
01:26:20
you're you know you you can't something
01:26:22
you're not that's right it would it
01:26:24
wouldn't have looked right if you if you
01:26:25
went out there in a black suit dressed
01:26:26
like [ __ ] Will Smith yeah yeah
01:26:28
exactly so I we went across there and it
01:26:30
was it was white Tangy day which was my
01:26:32
son's um fourth birthday so four years
01:26:35
to the day earlier I delivered my son on
01:26:37
the front seat of a truck and I that's
01:26:39
another story I won't go down that it
01:26:42
was ruthless um but um walked across the
01:26:46
road it was minus 6 degrees it was snow
01:26:48
everywhere and all the New York locals
01:26:49
were all rugged up going about their
01:26:51
daily business and looking at me like
01:26:53
who the [ __ ] this guy skting I was
01:26:55
skting on the black I and my jandal and
01:26:57
the jandal yeah yeah um toes are
01:27:00
freezing we walked through the backstage
01:27:02
door just like we were told to right on
01:27:03
time and um a young woman by the name of
01:27:06
Anita said look I'm your assistant while
01:27:08
you're here I'll get you anything you
01:27:09
need and you know welcome to the show
01:27:11
and she said David's really looking
01:27:13
forward to meeting you and the booking
01:27:15
people Everyone I'd spoken to had said
01:27:17
the same thing and I'm like that's so
01:27:19
kind they know I'm a rookie they
01:27:22
boosting my ego by by saying that and I
01:27:24
was like cool so do I get to go see him
01:27:26
now and we'll talk about what what we're
01:27:27
going to talk about for the interview oh
01:27:29
no no no you'll see David when you go
01:27:31
out on stage you'll be fine I'm thinking
01:27:33
[ __ ] they they've got no idea that I've
01:27:34
not done anything like this before but
01:27:37
anyway ky's still done a really good job
01:27:39
of building my confidence so we jump in
01:27:40
the lift go up the lift door is open and
01:27:43
I see my name written on the door with a
01:27:45
star above it and my vision honestly
01:27:47
went blurry I thought [ __ ] I'm going to
01:27:49
P like they think I'm a celebrity like
01:27:52
Will Smith or like and I've just been
01:27:55
you know I still felt I was bluffing my
01:27:57
way onto t i was a I was an imposter on
01:28:00
TV in New Zealand and here I was at the
01:28:02
lman show and I'm going to get found out
01:28:04
like big time when I walk out on that
01:28:06
stage it's like they're saying a fish
01:28:07
out of water now you know what it's like
01:28:09
for a m on the Dick of your
01:28:11
boat yeah not many of them end up on the
01:28:13
deck of the boat but um yeah but yeah so
01:28:16
like I did um I just felt incredibly
01:28:18
nervous and and not too much I'm I'm
01:28:21
pretty unflappable you know um with the
01:28:23
exception of talking about people I care
01:28:24
about um um so I opened the door to the
01:28:28
changing room and the first thing I
01:28:30
noticed was the mirror with all the
01:28:31
lights around it and I said to Ken [ __ ]
01:28:34
it's just like the
01:28:36
Muppets cuz I know a lot of people won't
01:28:39
understand that but from our vintage you
01:28:40
watch The Muppet Show Miss Piggy used to
01:28:42
sit in front of the mirror with all the
01:28:44
lights around it and it was exactly the
01:28:45
same I was like holy [ __ ] and then Anita
01:28:47
started cracking up I had a laugh and
01:28:49
that lightened things and then the next
01:28:51
thing I see was all the food that they
01:28:52
had in the in the dressing room and they
01:28:54
had like um they had some champagne on
01:28:56
ice and they had all these amazing
01:28:58
canopies and I thought oh sweet so this
01:29:01
must be where the feed happens like
01:29:03
because the other guests were little
01:29:05
Wayne the rapper and um Isa Fisher the
01:29:08
actress oh yeah yeah yeah it was going
01:29:10
to be Scarlet Johansson which I was
01:29:11
excited about but they switched out late
01:29:14
in the piece but fish is amazing married
01:29:16
to S yeah exactly so but anyway so all
01:29:19
like a bilig legs B than wherever I was
01:29:23
or ever have been so I'm just kind of
01:29:25
like holy [ __ ] I'm going to get to meet
01:29:26
these guys this where the feed happens
01:29:28
and I said oh so when do we have the
01:29:30
feed like afterwards you know I'm kind
01:29:32
of expecting it's like after a rugby
01:29:34
game someone's going to come in and do a
01:29:35
big big spread of the table and do a
01:29:37
catak here and and then you you know the
01:29:40
visiting side goes first you have a feed
01:29:41
and have a catch up and then everyone
01:29:43
goes home she goes oh no no they've all
01:29:44
got this in their dressing rooms too and
01:29:47
I'm like there's a lot of food and she
01:29:49
said oh it's I said who's it all for
01:29:51
then and she said oh it's for you and
01:29:52
your entourage I SW it's just me and the
01:29:56
misses and so anyway I was way too
01:30:01
nervous to eat I hadn't eaten on the
01:30:02
plane on the way over I'd had half a
01:30:04
slice of pizza and I felt like being
01:30:05
sick that day cuz I was so nervous about
01:30:08
what I was about to do so any I go
01:30:10
downstairs go into the green room and
01:30:13
they then they walk me to the wings of
01:30:14
the stage and they said when you hear
01:30:16
your name being said by David walk out
01:30:18
there shake hands with them and get into
01:30:19
it and that's what I did and went like a
01:30:22
blur it felt good he was he I think he
01:30:25
made things very easy for me um I
01:30:28
cracked a bit of a joke or and I thought
01:30:30
it would fall flat it didn't and what
01:30:32
was it what was the joke remember well
01:30:34
he was I I told him about getting my
01:30:36
ball slashed open and um and I'm like
01:30:39
that's pretty out there for us TV very
01:30:41
conservative it was they are very
01:30:43
conservative TV so they actually beeped
01:30:45
like the the bit where I said you know
01:30:47
it's important um to have balls doing
01:30:50
with the [ __ ] that I do uh so they beat
01:30:52
that but the the crowd laughed and that
01:30:56
was a bit offputting too because I'd
01:30:58
never been on any sort of stage before
01:31:00
you know I think School production maybe
01:31:02
um but the lights are so bright you
01:31:04
can't see the crowd and it was very cold
01:31:06
it was something struck me it was cold
01:31:07
inside the theater the lights were
01:31:09
really bright and it was just like black
01:31:11
and then as soon as people laughed I
01:31:12
realized how many people were there and
01:31:14
that they were close but I couldn't see
01:31:15
them and it was a bit off offputting um
01:31:18
but David just he was really good we had
01:31:21
a good chat
01:31:22
and quite a way into it probably a
01:31:23
little bit like this I'm yarning away
01:31:25
and there's guys you know off stage out
01:31:27
of shot giving it this one R it up cut
01:31:30
it cut it and but David kept asking
01:31:32
questions and it ended up going well
01:31:34
over like two and a half minutes over
01:31:36
the which for us like for the ratings
01:31:39
they get that's costing them a lot of
01:31:40
money because it's eating into the
01:31:41
commercial time and um as soon as they
01:31:44
cut for commercial break the first thing
01:31:46
he said to me is I've really been
01:31:47
looking forward to meeting you like like
01:31:49
everyone had said I said Honestly though
01:31:51
and he's like I said I saw you on here
01:31:53
with alcino I know don't they were all
01:31:55
really good guys but he said they're
01:31:57
doing that they're on here to do their
01:31:59
jobs and promote their movies he said
01:32:01
it's just neat talking to someone that's
01:32:02
passionate about something I was like
01:32:04
well you know you can just be yourself
01:32:06
and you can get this far by not not
01:32:09
pretending to be anything other than
01:32:12
than yourself and it it sort of and up
01:32:15
to that point I had had no time to
01:32:17
reflect about where I was going or or
01:32:19
the enormity of of what was happening
01:32:21
and I remember going back to the um
01:32:24
dressing room Ken was crying trembling
01:32:27
was she just with pride or yeah yeah
01:32:30
[ __ ] fu yeah mate that's awesome man
01:32:34
I've got goosebumps hearing this because
01:32:35
I I suppose for I mean you seem like a
01:32:37
guy that's always just got your got your
01:32:38
head down grinding forward and I suppose
01:32:41
this is like a like a tangible moment
01:32:42
where you can you know rather than keep
01:32:44
reaching for the next branch on the tree
01:32:46
you can pause and look at the view that
01:32:48
you've created yeah yeah and i' I've not
01:32:50
done it cuz partly because it's been so
01:32:52
busy you know it's always been the next
01:32:53
thing got to do the next thing um you
01:32:56
make commitments to people to sponsor so
01:32:58
you're always busy trying not to let
01:32:59
people down so you don't you don't have
01:33:01
time to look back and say geez I did
01:33:03
good you know but
01:33:05
um yeah yeah you did do good yeah it was
01:33:08
great and then and then and then you did
01:33:09
lines of coke with little Wayne yeah no
01:33:12
no I I
01:33:13
didn't I didn't did you meet little way
01:33:16
oh yeah he was waiting for me um when
01:33:18
when we got up the list at least I mean
01:33:21
I'd heard his music and I'd seen rap
01:33:22
videos and you don't start being a
01:33:25
little Wayne guy no no no but I mean um
01:33:27
but I came out the list and there's all
01:33:29
of these black guys and one was
01:33:31
particularly little and must he was and
01:33:35
I think my ears were still ringing from
01:33:37
the nerves and the adrenaline of being
01:33:39
on stage and he dapped me up sort of
01:33:41
broch shake me gave me a hug and I think
01:33:43
he said that was cool man like that was
01:33:46
cool man I think that's what he said but
01:33:47
it was my ears were ringing and then he
01:33:49
jumped in the lift and went down as I
01:33:51
came out and then that's when I went
01:33:52
into the dressing room Ken was trembling
01:33:54
and oh it was just like this this moment
01:33:57
and then the very next moment I'm like
01:33:59
[ __ ] I'm hungry I haven't eaten anything
01:34:02
other than half a slice of pizza for the
01:34:03
last 40 hours and I saw all this food
01:34:06
trouble was I had to go on a meeting
01:34:09
with the big boss at Discovery Channel
01:34:11
like they were wanting to get my
01:34:12
signature to do a deal you know
01:34:15
International broadcast deal and um so I
01:34:19
couldn't stay and eat the food and and
01:34:21
hang out to meet the other guests even
01:34:23
though um little way and Isa had already
01:34:26
actually
01:34:27
gone you know there was no after party
01:34:29
you know wasn't like the postmatch of
01:34:31
the rugby game um so I just said to
01:34:35
Anita look oh you guys have the food and
01:34:37
she said no we're not allowed it like
01:34:39
what do you mean it's like and there was
01:34:42
there was Salon salmon canop these
01:34:44
amazing pastries it was just all this
01:34:46
beautiful food you know fresh fruit and
01:34:48
I said well what happens to it because
01:34:50
it all gets thrown out cuz when we not
01:34:51
allowed it um because we had a diva she
01:34:53
didn't name names she said we had a diva
01:34:55
guest on a while back and she accused
01:34:57
the staff of stealing the strawberries U
01:34:59
well she was on stage so we've got this
01:35:01
policy no one's allowed to touch the
01:35:02
food um because it caused a thing that's
01:35:05
weird so I said oh um can I have a doggy
01:35:08
bag oh God you didn't oh my God you I
01:35:11
well me it's a waste you know you know
01:35:13
like it wouldn't have been good it would
01:35:14
have been the that gray Atlantic salmon
01:35:16
wouldn't been the good I don't know I
01:35:18
mean I'm actually I did so she went
01:35:21
around she got the catering containers
01:35:22
that was all brought in and she said no
01:35:24
one's actually ever asked before but
01:35:25
yeah sure so I loaded them up I loaded
01:35:29
them up and I I got heaps of the
01:35:31
chocolate pastries because I thought I
01:35:33
was going to go out and teer new after
01:35:35
this meeting Kenny and I were going to
01:35:36
go and teer New York a new one I had
01:35:37
this weight of my shoulders and I
01:35:39
thought when I get back booze these
01:35:40
chocolate canipes are going to Chocolate
01:35:42
pastries are going to going to go down
01:35:43
and treat especially and then she saw me
01:35:46
looking at the champagne and she goes do
01:35:48
you want that as well I'm
01:35:50
like and I was like and she goes yeah
01:35:53
grab it you know she was like grab it so
01:35:55
I tucked that under the wing cuz KY and
01:35:57
I had never had I think we'd had on a on
01:35:59
a one special occasion we had had a
01:36:01
glass of Moet um once and it was about
01:36:05
like so I'm just like yeah this is ball
01:36:07
I've got champagne got all this amazing
01:36:09
like wedding
01:36:10
food wedding food it was you know you
01:36:14
get the lot of the fancy little nibbles
01:36:16
at weddings you know like this is well
01:36:18
you know the we wedding reception at the
01:36:19
Waymouth KY Club um
01:36:21
El was more s RS but um so we um we go
01:36:26
down on the leftt and I'm just like
01:36:27
feeling so happy that I didn't not that
01:36:30
I'd smash this interview or anything you
01:36:33
didn't look like a dick I didn't look
01:36:34
like a dick and I was honestly worried
01:36:36
about letting New Zealand down that was
01:36:38
my thing I was like not many kiwis have
01:36:40
ever been on the show um let alone being
01:36:42
like a main guest and um I wanted people
01:36:47
to go away going oh kiwis are lot cool
01:36:49
people um that's what I wanted so and
01:36:51
you know I've always been real real
01:36:53
Proud kiwi so like that was like a real
01:36:54
big thing for me I was like I felt like
01:36:56
I went away I said really good things
01:36:58
about New Zealand I made sure I got
01:36:59
there and and said it's such a great
01:37:00
place and I'm like yes I didn't screw it
01:37:03
up and my mates aren't going to be able
01:37:05
to give me [ __ ] about it like um so I
01:37:08
was just feeling really good we get down
01:37:10
to the bottom and we're about to go out
01:37:12
the doors I'm like we just going to dump
01:37:14
all this food um over at our suite and
01:37:16
then we've got to get to this meeting
01:37:18
and Anita said oh you're going to need
01:37:20
these guys to help you get across the
01:37:21
road got two big security guys I'm like
01:37:24
no we're sweet boys we know where we're
01:37:25
going we're straight across the road she
01:37:27
said no you're going to need them
01:37:29
there's people waiting for you out there
01:37:30
like so I immediately thought oh the
01:37:32
guys that I'm going with meeting with
01:37:34
they're waiting for me we'll go straight
01:37:35
to the meeting she because I know the
01:37:37
paperazzi here I said oh who is it a guy
01:37:39
called Michael she said no no who's
01:37:41
Michael yeah oh Michael was the guy from
01:37:42
Discovery all right I said and I said I
01:37:45
she goes no no no she said she looked at
01:37:47
me like I was an idiot she was like she
01:37:48
looked at me like gave me that look she
01:37:50
was like who's Michael she was like no
01:37:51
the paparazzi and and fans are out there
01:37:54
and I opened the door and they had like
01:37:56
some autograph HS and they kind of had
01:37:58
them in a pen like pinned up and then
01:38:01
the guys with the cameras yeah Paparazzi
01:38:03
I guess all shouting out my name and
01:38:05
getting me to look their way and flashes
01:38:07
were going off and I so I went outside
01:38:09
and I hit the cold and I almost
01:38:12
scattered over when I hit the ice um
01:38:14
because you know I didn't have
01:38:15
appropriate foot wear on and I just cuz
01:38:18
I slipped I sort of sucked in this big
01:38:19
breath of a and it was freezing cold and
01:38:22
my ears were ringing and the flashes
01:38:24
were going off and it was incredibly
01:38:25
disorientating and that's when I thought
01:38:28
holy [ __ ] like it was a surreal outof
01:38:31
Body Experience I'm in the middle of New
01:38:33
York you know three days ago I was in
01:38:35
Taco Bay cobbling together a TV show and
01:38:38
a shed and people are shouting my name
01:38:40
and and then the next thing you know Ken
01:38:42
freaked out and ran and I'd given her
01:38:45
the pastries um cuz I I didn't want to
01:38:47
be photographed stealing David litman's
01:38:49
piss and his food you know like so like
01:38:51
when I knew there was Pepsi I gave it
01:38:52
all to K I'm like [ __ ] like these guys
01:38:54
want take my photo I can't be like seen
01:38:56
stealing puss so Ken started running and
01:39:00
I would say two-thirds of the the
01:39:02
photographers and this autograph Hunters
01:39:04
just chased Ken out of instinct because
01:39:05
she was running I guess what that's what
01:39:07
they used to they weren't used to me
01:39:09
going oh this is cool yeah yeah which is
01:39:11
my good side you know like you guys want
01:39:14
to have my photo this is cool and um so
01:39:17
there's just this crazy moment and I'm
01:39:18
out there and the flashes are going off
01:39:20
and I'm watching two Security Guys
01:39:22
shielding my wife as she's running
01:39:24
through the snow with people with
01:39:26
cameras taking photos of her and then
01:39:28
the next my next thought was [ __ ] she's
01:39:30
dropping the pastries and she was there
01:39:32
was a trail of chocolate pastries and so
01:39:34
the photo that that was taken of me that
01:39:36
went in the paper I'm kind of like oh no
01:39:39
like cuz the F because of the pastry it
01:39:41
was just it was this it was like an out
01:39:44
of body experience it wasn't and to this
01:39:46
day it it doesn't feel like it happened
01:39:49
it's so far removed from
01:39:51
what I do now and and going out fishing
01:39:56
on a boat and getting some footage what
01:39:58
a cool experience it was ex lman um lman
01:40:02
was a massive deal at the time and I was
01:40:04
a big fan of him but [ __ ] he he could be
01:40:06
an absolute [ __ ] if he had a
01:40:08
celebrity on like a like a Paris Hilton
01:40:10
or Lindsay La that he wasn't into he
01:40:12
would just he could be ruthless he could
01:40:14
be ruthless and that's what I and that
01:40:16
was was what I was um nervous about but
01:40:19
he was you know shortly after um you
01:40:21
know I I questioned him about saying no
01:40:23
seriously you and he goes yeah man I've
01:40:25
been he said I was the one that wanted
01:40:27
to get you on First and he goes
01:40:29
obviously have other producers and and I
01:40:32
I believe he owns the company worldwide
01:40:33
pants the production company but there's
01:40:35
obviously other writers that have a
01:40:37
saying he goes I wanted to get you on
01:40:38
ages ago when you caught that I think he
01:40:40
said it was the big shark or something
01:40:41
he said but once you did this helicopter
01:40:43
thing he said we needed to get you
01:40:44
because we knew everyone else was going
01:40:46
to be after you I was like Wow and he
01:40:49
said you know I'd like to come to New
01:40:50
Zealand at some stage he said I don't do
01:40:51
a lot of fishing but I like fly fishing
01:40:53
and I hear it's good there I was like oh
01:40:55
mate if you come down you can crash on
01:40:56
my couch and um but he and he said to me
01:40:59
I might take you up on that tongue and
01:41:00
cheek of course he he he hasn't found I
01:41:03
haven't heard from him I I don't think
01:41:05
he likes traveling very much no no I
01:41:08
don't know but I don't know I mean it
01:41:09
was it was 10 and a 10 and a half
01:41:11
minutes of my life it wasn't like we've
01:41:13
got a bond yeah no no but did you notice
01:41:16
um like from your career perspective and
01:41:18
what you do there was like um like
01:41:20
exponential grow after that yeah well
01:41:22
overseas yeah um I got back to like so
01:41:25
um I had a lot of attention while I was
01:41:27
in New York and I mean we the network
01:41:30
were um you know they were driving K and
01:41:33
around in a limo and when I was going to
01:41:36
meet the you know meeting meetings and
01:41:39
stuff they would have like a personal
01:41:41
shopper organized for Ken to show around
01:41:43
like it was like holy [ __ ] this is like
01:41:46
the other side of TV you know like um so
01:41:50
and and you couldn't help I mean I
01:41:54
definitely wasn't rolling around like
01:41:55
check me out like I'm I'm a I'm a big
01:41:57
deal but people were recognizing me
01:42:00
media were interested and there was like
01:42:04
um the the people at Discovery were
01:42:06
saying oh look you know so and so wants
01:42:07
to speak to you we don't want to let you
01:42:08
go on that show because of this reason
01:42:10
and all that sort of stuff and um but I
01:42:12
got back to New Zealand there's it was
01:42:14
just the people saying oh hey mdy how's
01:42:17
the fishing most like it didn't make the
01:42:19
news here that um it was until sometime
01:42:21
later um I um that um that I'd even been
01:42:26
on the show and um I
01:42:29
was I can't I I felt a bit oh man like I
01:42:34
feel like I've done a good job for the
01:42:35
country and I felt like um like the the
01:42:40
media in New Zealand should have gone
01:42:41
hey mate that's one of our own and he
01:42:43
he's done a good job but that that
01:42:45
didn't really happen um didn't it why a
01:42:48
later it was it was sometime later later
01:42:51
it was when um the after I done the
01:42:55
discovery deal and they made it one of
01:42:58
um we did a show called Man versus fish
01:43:00
with Matt Watson for Discovery Channel
01:43:02
um and it was basically all born out of
01:43:05
the attention I was getting for doing
01:43:07
dangerous things and for how passionate
01:43:09
I was about the creatures in there and
01:43:11
about about the ocean as a whole um but
01:43:13
in in true American fashion they wanted
01:43:16
to change it and make it more dramatic
01:43:18
than it was and they had and again all
01:43:22
of the people you know so I went from me
01:43:24
Kate and kza I and Dav started with us
01:43:27
by that stage um you know thinking it'll
01:43:31
be cool to go and catch this fish in
01:43:32
this place and show people how cool it
01:43:34
is to like a massive production team
01:43:37
like hundreds of people um you know
01:43:41
being assigned a talent Le aison person
01:43:43
and all of this sort of stuff um so you
01:43:47
know that was a big change but I didn't
01:43:49
want the way that we went out and got
01:43:51
stuff to change cuz I knew that that's
01:43:53
what had got me got me the success The
01:43:56
Producers thought different they're like
01:43:58
we've got to bring in these other
01:43:59
stories and it needs to involve
01:44:01
Americans and we need to talk about
01:44:03
things in American terms and all that
01:44:05
sort of stuff um and when I and and we
01:44:08
don't get me wrong we I worked so
01:44:10
incredibly hard on that show I kept itam
01:44:14
fishing going during the same time so
01:44:16
here I was I was the the first person
01:44:18
the discovery International to sign sign
01:44:20
a contract with have concurrent shows on
01:44:23
Animal Planet which was where Steve was
01:44:26
and on Discovery Channel which was where
01:44:29
bear girls was so so and um Steve had
01:44:33
you know sadly come AC passed away and
01:44:36
and you know in in that terrible
01:44:38
accident um so they were kind of looking
01:44:41
for hey this Larger than Life character
01:44:45
um that was seemingly Fearless but
01:44:47
passionate and knew a lot about his his
01:44:50
subject and and so they kind of pinned
01:44:53
it pinned that on me which was great um
01:44:56
I was paid extremely well like um
01:44:58
compared to like what I was cobbling
01:45:00
together in New Zealand and and they
01:45:02
made it Discovery got to got to dictate
01:45:05
to all the other sub Discovery
01:45:07
Affiliates certain shows that they have
01:45:09
to take and man versus fish was one of
01:45:11
them it's what they call like the
01:45:12
headline shows like man versus world and
01:45:13
all that sort of stuff and Discovery do
01:45:15
this big promo every year where they get
01:45:17
their talent together and you got to
01:45:19
sing along of it line of a song boom de
01:45:22
The Whole World's wonderful or something
01:45:23
and you know and like there just like
01:45:26
totally out of like foreign to me myth
01:45:28
guys were there but anyway they cut be
01:45:31
grills out of it to put me in it like
01:45:32
they'd already done it but after they
01:45:34
signed me and that and some someone in
01:45:37
the media over there picked up on it and
01:45:39
we were actually filming in the states
01:45:41
we're filming in Oklahoma and that was
01:45:43
wild like man those redneck boys are
01:45:46
just there you know you I thought
01:45:48
there's some hard boys out north man
01:45:49
some of those redneck boys was level
01:45:52
they were Next Level so anyway we're
01:45:53
filming there and there's these um like
01:45:56
the the um affiliate CBS and I think the
01:45:59
Today Show like broadcast fans follow at
01:46:02
the boat ramp wanting to interview me
01:46:04
and the questions were like who would
01:46:05
win on a fight out of you and beer GRS
01:46:07
and I'm like I don't know and I and I
01:46:09
think I said me you know you got to back
01:46:12
yourself you me I what a stupid question
01:46:14
but what had happened is there had been
01:46:16
some sort of a thing come out that um
01:46:19
be's agent was pissed off that was um
01:46:22
you know they were in negotiations with
01:46:24
Discovery and he would I think they were
01:46:26
both playing hard ball and I think it
01:46:27
was maybe a move by Discovery to cut him
01:46:29
out of the promo and put me in it and
01:46:31
say if you don't tow the line we've got
01:46:33
this new guy this kiwi guy that's gonna
01:46:35
and and we're going to elevate him and I
01:46:37
think because the show was called Man
01:46:38
versus fish has was Man versus wild
01:46:40
there was some sort of discrepancy about
01:46:42
the ownership of the name and nothing to
01:46:44
do with me right yeah and so Med you're
01:46:46
asking me questions like who would wi
01:46:47
and I've not met this guy I don't know I
01:46:49
me and just in my typical dry sense of
01:46:52
humor where said oh you know I'd win you
01:46:54
know like just whatever you know next
01:46:56
question it's a hypothetical yeah and
01:46:59
and that became a bit of a thing and
01:47:01
yeah and so everywhere we went there was
01:47:02
media in the states when I was there um
01:47:05
asking me about this this um you know
01:47:08
rivalry beef with big grills and it
01:47:11
didn't exist like it didn't exist I
01:47:12
don't know the guy um and so but yeah
01:47:16
then I'd get back to New Zealand and
01:47:17
there was really kind of nothing and it
01:47:19
wasn't until
01:47:21
it it was released internationally and
01:47:23
then it was released in Discovery Asia
01:47:25
Pacific so it was going to be on TV and
01:47:27
New Zealand and I wasn't proud of the
01:47:29
show like I mean it was the to me it was
01:47:32
the the opposite of itm fishing show
01:47:35
every single episode of the itm fishing
01:47:36
show we ever made over 400 now it was
01:47:39
the best we could do with the resources
01:47:41
we had and I felt we were telling new
01:47:42
zealanders something about largely about
01:47:45
New Zealand but at least something about
01:47:47
the ocean even if we were overseas it's
01:47:49
amazing like all the setbacks you've had
01:47:51
and we've talked about some of them and
01:47:52
all the rejections and everything else
01:47:54
and things like this it's amazing you
01:47:56
don't have you're not you're not more
01:47:57
bitter or have more of a chip on your
01:47:59
shoulder do you know what I mean like
01:48:00
you're such a happy positive guy I I am
01:48:03
I mean don't get me wrong I have I I've
01:48:06
had this thing in my life where I would
01:48:07
stew on things and that was one of them
01:48:09
yeah that that stewed on me you know
01:48:11
like um um and and how I've um allowed
01:48:15
myself to let go of that sort of stuff
01:48:18
when I felt like I've been wrong ripped
01:48:20
off or something I'll um I'll have the
01:48:23
emails that that prove it or the some or
01:48:27
I'll even write on a bit of paper and
01:48:28
I've got a box and I put it in that box
01:48:31
and I'll go one day I'll write a book
01:48:32
about it and and and and I I can maybe
01:48:36
vent then I probably won't mention a lot
01:48:38
of the the wrongs I I feel like when
01:48:40
when that time comes to open up the
01:48:42
bitterness box it's just not in your
01:48:45
nature I don't no it's not it's not but
01:48:47
it allows me to let it go and the moment
01:48:49
I close that that and I put it in the
01:48:50
back of the Wardrobe and go well one day
01:48:52
I can I can vent and tell everyone what
01:48:54
really happened um that allows me to and
01:48:57
it's almost instant it's like that's
01:48:59
behind me I'll deal with that another
01:49:01
day and um yeah and it's like the
01:49:03
literal physical putting something into
01:49:05
a box putting the lid on it and pushing
01:49:07
it to the back of the Wardrobe um allows
01:49:09
me to move on and then I'm like right
01:49:11
there's some big fish out there to catch
01:49:13
let's
01:49:14
go go and I've got this idea of how I'm
01:49:16
going to film it better than ever before
01:49:18
and just get on with it you know yeah
01:49:20
it's an incredible Drive okay so
01:49:22
something that you mentioned um maybe
01:49:24
about 10 or 15 minutes ago that I want
01:49:25
to go back to I don't know if you want
01:49:26
to go back to it um but the delivery of
01:49:28
your son Shaw oh yeah so you so you were
01:49:31
on the way to hospital and so the waters
01:49:33
broke yeah yeah so um so
01:49:36
yeah terrifying yeah so I I was I was i'
01:49:40
started the show um but it wasn't pay it
01:49:43
was in the period where it wasn't really
01:49:44
paying so I was still doing crewing work
01:49:46
working on a boat boat called the
01:49:48
ultimate lady because we you know
01:49:50
we had an even bigger mortgage to pay
01:49:52
for now and another kid on the way so I
01:49:54
was doing fencing work Farm fencing work
01:49:56
and I was doing crewing work when I
01:49:58
wasn't um you know put trying to put
01:50:01
together a TV show and um we'd already
01:50:04
had Hannah and it was I'd got him from
01:50:07
sea I think that day and I was exhausted
01:50:10
because we do big hours out on the boats
01:50:12
and Kanan jumps out of bed about
01:50:14
midnight and starts pacing and I said
01:50:16
are we on you know you want me to start
01:50:18
the track up and she said no no no no
01:50:20
it's not it's not labor she said it just
01:50:22
feels like bad period pain and I said
01:50:24
get in the truck because that's the
01:50:26
exact words she said 45 minutes before K
01:50:29
before Hannah was born 45 minutes before
01:50:31
Hannah was born she was walking around
01:50:33
the room saying it's not labor it's just
01:50:35
bad period man and I just remember those
01:50:37
words I like get in the truck she goes
01:50:39
no like stupid it's bloody 1:30 in the
01:50:42
morning and it was a storm like a proper
01:50:44
thunder lightning pissing with rain wild
01:50:47
Northland storm and I said I don't care
01:50:50
getting in the truck and she said don't
01:50:52
ring the bed wife don't waake Karen up
01:50:53
in the middle of the night for nothing
01:50:56
because we're just going to go to the
01:50:57
hospital we'll sit there and we'll
01:50:58
probably be we'll be back by so anyway I
01:51:01
said I don't care jump in the truck we
01:51:03
just about get out of the drive we don't
01:51:04
even get out of the driveway Ken says
01:51:06
[ __ ] drive faster this baby's coming
01:51:08
and I went to give her the told you so
01:51:11
and I went I I made IE contact and it
01:51:15
was not the time to say I was right um
01:51:19
and like we live down like a real long
01:51:20
gravel road so it's not not safe to
01:51:22
drive fast D and I was driving as fast
01:51:24
as I was comfortable driving and Kelly's
01:51:26
going can you drive faster and like I
01:51:29
thought to ease the tension I'll Chuck
01:51:31
some music on so um I flicked the flick
01:51:34
the radio on it was probably you were
01:51:35
probably DJing then might been not at
01:51:37
that hour in the morning but it was
01:51:39
probably the edge because um the song
01:51:41
was salt and pepper push it and this is
01:51:44
true this is the true story so and so I
01:51:47
crack up laughing I look at Ken she's
01:51:49
not laughing right so she goes change
01:51:52
that [ __ ] song so I you know it was
01:51:54
still the old cassette pushing the
01:51:56
cassette and Unown to me where's your
01:51:58
head at and I was like get honestly
01:52:02
honest to God they were the two songs
01:52:04
and then I and then still did KY still
01:52:07
didn't think it was funny so I was like
01:52:08
okay no music just drive as fast as you
01:52:10
can and we're about uh you know um or in
01:52:14
good driving conditions probably 30
01:52:16
minute drive um to the nearest hospital
01:52:18
at cow car and and um we get about
01:52:21
halfway there we get to pakaka at the
01:52:23
intersection and Kan says I think we're
01:52:24
going to make it I'm like thank goodness
01:52:27
um and
01:52:29
um bear in mind so I've not even been to
01:52:31
an anti natal class because I've been
01:52:33
away at se um and you know not for our
01:52:35
first not for our second so I don't know
01:52:37
anything about you know the pushing and
01:52:39
the contractions and all that sort of
01:52:40
stuff and um I don't know if that could
01:52:42
prepare you to n no no and and I was
01:52:45
kind of one of those guys like geez
01:52:47
woman used to have babies in caves what
01:52:48
do you need to go to a class to learn Le
01:52:49
how to have a baby for you know like I
01:52:51
was that guy so we're we're going down
01:52:54
the road and she said like literally 10
01:52:58
seconds after she said I think we got to
01:52:59
make she go not pullover it's coming
01:53:01
right now and um I said hold on a sec
01:53:04
because I could see there there's
01:53:06
literally one street light or two street
01:53:08
lights together at the pakaka way Bridge
01:53:11
which is the only bit of light between
01:53:13
us and the hospital in the far north and
01:53:16
so I thought if I pull up under the ey
01:53:18
least I better to get some light to see
01:53:19
how to to do this baby thing so when she
01:53:21
said it's coming I rang the Midwife and
01:53:23
she was like oh you know how are things
01:53:24
going I'm like we having the [ __ ]
01:53:26
baby at the pakaka waybridge can you get
01:53:29
here as quick as you can she said yeah
01:53:31
I'm on my way so um I pull over there
01:53:34
and then I think oh geez I'm in luck
01:53:36
there was a guy already pulled over that
01:53:38
was he was wearing his yellow rain coat
01:53:39
he had he was in a white Hond the Bonnet
01:53:42
was up he' broken down and he thought
01:53:44
I'd pulling over to help him and so he
01:53:47
um we pull over and I'm still on the
01:53:49
phone to the the Midwife and I said look
01:53:51
started run and said look you might have
01:53:52
to talk me through what I got to do here
01:53:55
and I said hang on look there's a guy
01:53:56
here I'll pass the phone over so this
01:53:58
guy's walking up to my window thinking
01:54:00
I'm I've come to help him and I open the
01:54:03
door to give him the phone and he turns
01:54:05
around and just runs like Sprints back
01:54:07
to his car Dives in the passenger side
01:54:11
and I watched him going around locking
01:54:12
all his doors and he laid on the floor
01:54:13
of his car and I was thinking to myself
01:54:16
and I said to the Midwife sorry that
01:54:17
guy's gone because there was obviously a
01:54:20
lot of Ken's in labor so there's a lot
01:54:22
of noise and stuff I think he thought I
01:54:25
was giving Ken a hiding oh right and he
01:54:27
freaked out he oh there's this big
01:54:29
violent situation going on he ran and
01:54:31
hid in his car so I said to the Midwife
01:54:33
look I I can't do this and talk to you
01:54:36
just get her as quick as you can and I I
01:54:38
hung up knowing that she was on her way
01:54:41
and went around to the passenger side of
01:54:43
the car I I'm soaked by the stages
01:54:46
pissing with rain opened the door and I
01:54:48
said to Ken I think you g take your
01:54:50
pants off to which she said yeah no
01:54:56
[ __ ] okay yeah yeah so yeah yeah yeah um
01:55:01
so
01:55:02
um and and and um so so so passeng to
01:55:05
say reclin back as far as go just say
01:55:09
recl back as far as I can go so are you
01:55:11
sort of standing on the roadside or you
01:55:12
managed to sort of squat on the I always
01:55:14
had one knee in the well one leg outside
01:55:16
the door because I was sort of there and
01:55:19
um I had a headlamp in the um that's
01:55:22
lucky yeah yeah yeah I'm a you know
01:55:24
always prepared guy I actually had half
01:55:25
a dozen towels in the back seat for this
01:55:27
very eventuality knowing that that
01:55:29
Hannah came quickly I actually had some
01:55:30
towels really oh actually I actually no
01:55:32
I I had six towels folded up in the back
01:55:35
um behind the seats ready in case so I'm
01:55:38
organizing the tows and you know protect
01:55:40
the
01:55:42
upholstery you got to think about the
01:55:44
resale I know yeah exactly man um and
01:55:47
you know it was hard to see what was
01:55:49
going on there that was a pretty tense
01:55:50
situation not ideal um you know she's
01:55:52
she's pretty garly down there at the
01:55:54
best of times but there's a lot going on
01:55:55
you know um a lot of fluid and stuff um
01:56:00
and but what I could see was and we
01:56:02
didn't know whether having a boy or girl
01:56:03
we didn't find out for either and was
01:56:06
just very very purple like a lot more
01:56:09
Bluey purple than what Hannah was and I
01:56:11
thought this doesn't look right and um
01:56:14
the cord was around his neck and it was
01:56:16
kind of like um so I ring the Midwife
01:56:19
and said she's driving I could hear her
01:56:22
driving I said look the cords around his
01:56:24
neck
01:56:26
um I I I should cut it I've got a I've
01:56:29
got some scissors here I'll cut it and
01:56:30
she said do not cut anything don't cut
01:56:33
anything just wait for me and because
01:56:35
she's thinking here's some guy freaking
01:56:38
out and you know he's grabbing out some
01:56:41
bloody you know some fishing pliers or
01:56:43
something and he's going to cut an arm
01:56:45
off you know and so she said don't cut
01:56:47
anything so I all I was trying to do was
01:56:49
get get my fingers in between the neck
01:56:51
and the you know and it's all mid
01:56:54
happening and thinking [ __ ] this is not
01:56:56
good and so she pulls up in a screaming
01:56:58
hul right right next to us and her
01:57:00
little bloody hatchback how much time
01:57:03
had passed what do you reckon oh not
01:57:04
long minute minute minute two minutes um
01:57:08
and she did her parting shots were
01:57:10
advice was don't cut anything and tell
01:57:12
can to stop pushing and I'm saying K
01:57:15
don't push she goes no things half out
01:57:17
right so um
01:57:20
and my instinct was I still felt like I
01:57:23
wanted to cut it like it was it was so
01:57:26
like really tight and um Karen come the
01:57:29
Midwife comes running over and she said
01:57:31
the cords are around his neck we need to
01:57:33
cut it and I wanted to give her the
01:57:34
[ __ ] told you so as well I could have
01:57:36
done this I could have done this two
01:57:37
minutes ago you told me not to yeah and
01:57:39
so she said go to the back of my
01:57:41
hatchback um there's a medical a green
01:57:43
bag and there's a medical kit in there
01:57:45
so I go to the back of a catch bag
01:57:47
that's the day I found out not only is
01:57:48
she a midwife she was also the manager
01:57:50
for Kiri Kiri Under 11's rugby team and
01:57:52
all of their jerseys are in there the
01:57:54
cones are in there there's rugby balls
01:57:57
there's and I'm just ripping [ __ ] out of
01:57:59
the way to try and find this green bag
01:58:02
and I find this green bag I come back
01:58:03
and she said what took you so long I was
01:58:05
like I could have cut this two minutes
01:58:07
Al ago and all she did was like
01:58:10
literally slid the scissors right in
01:58:12
where I kind of had already thought I
01:58:14
would and she'd cut it and then I said
01:58:16
what now and she said just drive I said
01:58:18
your car's and it's raining she said I
01:58:20
don't care just drive and she was
01:58:22
kneeling in the The Well of the car in
01:58:24
front of Ken Ken was laid back shw was
01:58:27
out this is where I realized um um we
01:58:30
had a boy but he wasn't moving he was
01:58:32
purple like he was like breathing or
01:58:34
crying no nothing no nothing so it was
01:58:37
in it was it was pretty full on I didn't
01:58:40
feel like I was like she turned the
01:58:43
heater up she said turn the heater onto
01:58:45
full and drive so I turned the heater on
01:58:46
to full I was driving and this driving
01:58:49
having rain she said get to the hospital
01:58:51
as fast as you can and she picked up the
01:58:53
phone and she rang her head to the
01:58:54
hospital and I was watching her hand
01:58:56
trembling and she was like we've got a
01:58:59
baby not breathing and I was like and I
01:59:02
could see she was panicked like she was
01:59:04
the and and this is a midwife you know
01:59:06
the most together awesome people that do
01:59:09
this awesome job and I could see her
01:59:11
panicking I was like [ __ ] he's dead no
01:59:14
he's dead then we get to the corner and
01:59:16
I'm going way too fast to the corner cuz
01:59:18
I'm looking at him going [ __ ] dead baby
01:59:21
car crosses
01:59:22
up um and she kind of loses grip of him
01:59:25
she she was whacking him like she was
01:59:27
slapping him on the back like hard to
01:59:29
try and get him to breathe he kind of
01:59:31
squs out and H his head on the roof and
01:59:32
starts
01:59:33
crying he's alive yeah and every time I
01:59:36
drive that streets of road it's like a
01:59:38
kilometer and for that whole kilometer
01:59:40
there was no noise no movement nothing
01:59:42
not until we got to the corner and I
01:59:43
ended up on the wrong side of the road
01:59:45
and the Midwife kind of lost grip while
01:59:47
she was trying to whack him and he
01:59:48
bounced his head off the RO roof and
01:59:50
started screaming and um yeah he carried
01:59:52
on cry crying for the next four years oh
01:59:54
just like his dad
01:59:57
yeah um [ __ ] that's terrifying yeah yeah
02:00:02
yeah jeez yeah yeah my and again mostly
02:00:05
when I talk about these moments it's
02:00:07
like in a comedic because it is crazy
02:00:09
like and when everything works out good
02:00:11
you can joke about that sort of [ __ ] but
02:00:13
I suppose it's the nature of a platform
02:00:15
like podcast where you get to go back
02:00:16
and reflect and go back in a detail it's
02:00:19
a lot man it's a lot to do well it's
02:00:20
it's not I mean I've told that story
02:00:22
that many times to a um you know whether
02:00:25
it's a public speak speaking gig or um
02:00:28
in an interview but it's a sound bite
02:00:30
you know it's a sound bite you're not
02:00:32
you're not actually taking yourself back
02:00:33
there yeah or if it's on like if if
02:00:35
you're on say the rock or something or
02:00:37
on um you're on the am show this morning
02:00:39
on TV they want a 20 second answer yeah
02:00:42
yeah exactly I'm not very good at those
02:00:45
sorry so no no no I appreciate you
02:00:47
appreciate it [ __ ] this is um officially
02:00:49
the longest podcast we've ever done it's
02:00:51
207 there's still so much more to talk
02:00:53
about we might have to do a part to
02:00:54
another time but one thing IID like to
02:00:56
speak with all my guest is about like
02:00:58
mental health how's your mental health
02:00:59
been over the years um been mostly good
02:01:01
yeah mostly good yeah mostly up and down
02:01:03
I think being busy has helped yeah yeah
02:01:06
so there there is that whole thing when
02:01:09
you're when you're so busy and it's not
02:01:12
and don't get me wrong this is not
02:01:13
necessarily a good thing because
02:01:14
burnouts a real thing and I've had it
02:01:15
you know I've I've had it bad um you're
02:01:20
you're too busy doing the next thing to
02:01:21
actually go hey hang on um is everything
02:01:24
okay you know
02:01:26
um but yes I so so some
02:01:30
lows um but um what I figured out is it
02:01:34
doesn't take much to fillm my cup like
02:01:37
taking half a day to go free
02:01:39
diving just um being immersed in the
02:01:42
ocean I can't talk to anyone like
02:01:43
there's no noise just me ocean um I
02:01:46
don't have to get a fish um I usually I
02:01:49
you know I I like to make people happy
02:01:51
so I'll usually um grab a couple of Cays
02:01:53
for some of the the local comato or some
02:01:56
of the old people that I know um because
02:01:58
that gives me a kick and I I'll just go
02:02:00
about that process I'm just swim in the
02:02:02
ocean and I can lose three or four hours
02:02:04
I'm good for like literally having a
02:02:06
full schedule going hard out for weeks
02:02:10
um but if I if I if I put that on the
02:02:14
back burner and I I'm guilty of doing it
02:02:16
I'm probably guilty of doing it at the
02:02:17
moment I get tired I get more emotional
02:02:19
when I'm tired good and bad emotions as
02:02:21
well um when I'm tired um but if I make
02:02:25
that point um of going right today I'm
02:02:29
not going to do something to make anyone
02:02:30
else happy I'm gonna go for a DI look
02:02:33
after yourself yeah yeah boom Cup's
02:02:35
filled like um and and but that's just
02:02:38
what works for me you know I know a lot
02:02:39
of um people find help talking to other
02:02:42
people and all that sort of stuff it's
02:02:43
great I I don't really I not that I
02:02:46
don't find um at useful talking to
02:02:49
people it is it really is I just kind of
02:02:52
choose I don't and I I can't put a
02:02:55
finger on why I don't do that
02:02:58
um I think how we were how how we were
02:03:01
raised in that generation it is harder
02:03:02
harder to talk you don't have you don't
02:03:05
have any real good mates that you can go
02:03:06
out on the boat with and have some real
02:03:07
talk with I've got really good mates and
02:03:10
and I know that um push gumer shove like
02:03:13
those those guys got got my back but I
02:03:17
still you know
02:03:19
and it sounds stupid and like they'll
02:03:22
kick my ass for saying this but you
02:03:23
don't want to burden people or anything
02:03:25
you know like um you want to be that guy
02:03:28
that uplifts everyone else not yeah yeah
02:03:31
yeah CU I'm sort of I'm in two minds
02:03:32
about that cuz I know it's good to you
02:03:34
talk to your friends about this sort of
02:03:35
stuff but then they're not [ __ ]
02:03:38
trained like like if I was heavily
02:03:40
pregnant you know would I go to you or
02:03:41
would I go exactly and and so like I
02:03:44
have spoken to um professional people
02:03:46
and not like psychiatrists but I've been
02:03:49
to the GP I'm like look I'm stressed out
02:03:52
I've got all of this on you know I get I
02:03:55
when I when I get really tired like I
02:03:56
kind of in at the moment like I get
02:04:00
emotional I've got these mood swings and
02:04:01
then like oh you know I'm like what's
02:04:03
wrong with me you just need to go and
02:04:04
talk to someone so they they just send
02:04:05
me off to like literally like a local
02:04:08
nurse that's been trained the basics in
02:04:10
it and having a stranger you know way
02:04:14
easier you know like like way easier to
02:04:16
talk to a stranger than than one of my
02:04:18
mates yeah also that they're trained so
02:04:20
they can give you like a different angle
02:04:21
or a different perspective or different
02:04:23
way of looking at it and yeah and you
02:04:24
don't get like it's not like you I well
02:04:27
for me you come out with these like
02:04:30
lifechanging this is going to reset my
02:04:32
mind you've just let it go you've you've
02:04:34
spoken about it yeah that's cool thanks
02:04:36
for sharing that because the the the mdy
02:04:39
Watson that everyone in New Zealand
02:04:40
knows like he's a guy where it seems
02:04:42
like everything's water off a duck's
02:04:43
back you know oh I hit my scotum and
02:04:47
then I delivered my baby and
02:04:50
and in and in retrospect those things
02:04:51
are all like I say cool comedic things
02:04:55
that in a very kiwi way are uniquely
02:04:57
kiwi and um and they're great to talk
02:05:00
about and and I feel proud that you know
02:05:03
that adversity and the way that it's
02:05:05
kind of comes off as order off a duck's
02:05:07
back has been the way it's been
02:05:09
portrayed that's been that's been cool
02:05:11
um but you know if I allow myself to go
02:05:14
back to those moments [ __ ] that would
02:05:16
bad you know bad and stressful yeah
02:05:19
yeah you yeah you talked about the low
02:05:21
patches before um are they mainly
02:05:24
professionally like all the setbacks
02:05:25
that you had or um you know personal
02:05:27
relationships well you see when things
02:05:29
are going bad and you're in a bad frame
02:05:31
in mind everything goes you know
02:05:33
professionally well um if your your your
02:05:37
important relationships aren't good
02:05:39
everything else seems to be bad you know
02:05:41
I was talking about that strong
02:05:42
Foundation if that's not strong
02:05:45
everything else suffers so um you know
02:05:48
it takes me to get to just what 48 now
02:05:52
um to understand that or maybe I
02:05:54
probably probably about 45 I started
02:05:56
really understanding the the full value
02:05:58
of that because when you're when you're
02:06:01
in it and you're just being busy all the
02:06:03
time it's getting that next thing done
02:06:05
becomes the most important thing in your
02:06:06
life because I need to clear that off my
02:06:08
schedule I need to get that done I need
02:06:10
to get get to that goal and what I think
02:06:14
um that I've lost sight of and I think a
02:06:16
lot of people do that have got goals and
02:06:18
driven away do things is when you get
02:06:20
there there's no band playing the the
02:06:21
fireworks aren't going off saying you
02:06:23
made it and now everything's going to be
02:06:25
easy and all of that hard work and
02:06:26
sacrifice it's payback so I've learned
02:06:28
to to enjoy um things along the way and
02:06:33
that was happening naturally in the
02:06:35
early years of making IG fishing because
02:06:38
I was allowing myself just to be in the
02:06:40
moment there was no expectation really
02:06:43
other than look I wanted to make a good
02:06:45
TV show um and then as you you know as
02:06:49
things got further on and funnily enough
02:06:52
the more successful the show became and
02:06:54
the more people were interested in me
02:06:55
the less I got to go fishing which was
02:06:57
was that I I could be working and having
02:06:59
that outlet at the same time yeah so now
02:07:03
I've kind of learned okay look you need
02:07:06
to make make that time I haven't been
02:07:07
lately I I admit it I've I've been and
02:07:10
that's through we've got staff shortages
02:07:12
at the moment and I've literally had to
02:07:15
be hands really really handson on my
02:07:17
business to make sure that series goes
02:07:19
out there because I want it to be the
02:07:21
best series I've ever made like every
02:07:22
series I do um and being driven is is U
02:07:27
um is part of what my wife knows this
02:07:31
better than I do as part of what's
02:07:33
allowed me to do the things that I've
02:07:34
done but it's also a big burden you know
02:07:37
like it's a I was going to say it's a
02:07:38
blessing and a curse it is a blessing
02:07:39
and a cur exhausting because like you
02:07:42
know I even told myself you know what
02:07:44
this is going to be the last series it
02:07:46
doesn't matter if it doesn't great or
02:07:49
it's not that good you know I'm still
02:07:51
going to get the the same amount of
02:07:52
money from my sponsors I'm still and I'm
02:07:54
just I can just and but my I my DNA
02:07:59
won't allow me to do that it has to be
02:08:02
the very best that I can do and the time
02:08:04
I've got and with the money that I've
02:08:05
got it has to it has to be the best I
02:08:07
can do and then I can go to sleep at
02:08:10
night yeah but it's um yeah I I can see
02:08:14
some parallels with you and me it's
02:08:15
exhausting but I feel like it's going to
02:08:16
follow you around it's like yeah yeah
02:08:18
you're not going to kick back and think
02:08:19
about that home bre thing next there's
02:08:20
going to be there's going to be
02:08:21
something else in the story no there's
02:08:24
going to be a few things I'm just going
02:08:25
to learn how to do it more on on my
02:08:28
terms and like I say just the not having
02:08:30
a television deadline will be one thing
02:08:32
and I think um they'll allow me to be
02:08:35
more more creative but more real get
02:08:38
back to the you know the you know
02:08:40
through the process of of making this
02:08:42
this documentary which is like a real
02:08:44
weird thing not many people have 20 of
02:08:48
years of their life filmed let alone
02:08:50
some of the greatest things they've ever
02:08:52
done or things they thought they could
02:08:53
never do actually be filmed and and so
02:08:55
that's their kind of forever and I've
02:08:57
never been one to sort of look back and
02:08:59
go but knowing this is my last series
02:09:01
making the into deep documentary um you
02:09:04
start pulling out tapes stuff I'd never
02:09:06
done and I found myself just rooting for
02:09:08
this young guy you know it was like
02:09:10
another person like who was this kid
02:09:12
that thinks he can and like um yeah so
02:09:15
that's that's been a real I and and
02:09:18
learning stuff about your yourself it's
02:09:21
you know if if not for looking at
02:09:23
footage I would have sat here and told
02:09:25
you no I haven't changed you know I'm
02:09:27
still the same I'm still the same guy
02:09:29
that um came up with an idea a 20-some
02:09:32
year old that had this outrageous idea
02:09:34
and I'm still exactly the same when I
02:09:36
look at the footage and I you know no
02:09:39
I've changed them changed hips well yeah
02:09:41
of course and when you've got a growth
02:09:42
mindset like you do like you're you're
02:09:44
always changing and you always change um
02:09:46
probably for the better more often than
02:09:48
not oh yeah yeah I think so I mean you
02:09:50
get you get older and wiser you do like
02:09:52
it's um Y what what would you what would
02:09:55
you say to that young fell like I mean
02:09:57
it's a bit of an eerie FY question but
02:09:58
no I um I would um I'm proud of him yeah
02:10:02
um keep going son you're on the right
02:10:04
track it's going to be fine um yeah
02:10:06
actually change nothing because yeah
02:10:08
it's it's giv me the life I've got right
02:10:10
now thanks mate yep by and buy the cheap
02:10:12
VH tap yeah yeah yeah because because
02:10:17
because some rud yeah cuz some rude
02:10:19
[ __ ] is going to tell you that it's F
02:10:21
that it doesn't belong on television
02:10:22
yeah how old um how old are the kids now
02:10:24
um daughter's 21 and son is 18 sh so the
02:10:27
next step for you is going to be
02:10:28
Granddad yeah you're going to be an
02:10:31
emotional Granddad aren't you you're
02:10:32
going to be good at that yeah yeah it's
02:10:35
funny because you go you have these kids
02:10:37
and then like they grow up and you're
02:10:40
like gez don't have kids you know like I
02:10:42
don't want to be a Granddad and I you
02:10:44
know and now I mean yeah I mean I I
02:10:47
still think both too young to have kids
02:10:49
just they are yeah they are but I'm
02:10:52
thinking like the next decade I know I
02:10:53
know KY and I have already had that chat
02:10:55
we like oh jeez gr would be pretty good
02:10:57
yeah yeah so um no pressure H and Shaw
02:11:00
but get breeding
02:11:02
at oh how good what a life it's been
02:11:05
yeah yeah yeah so so you're ending the
02:11:07
TV side of thing you're putting a Line
02:11:09
in the Sand there financially you've
02:11:10
done okay out of it yeah yep yeah I mean
02:11:12
you got a beautiful house what was it
02:11:14
building a k build a k dream yeah yeah
02:11:16
it's like a a grand design w the
02:11:18
property it is yeah and it's got a lot
02:11:21
of just special things that have that
02:11:23
have gone into it through both from can
02:11:25
and myself but but the location is
02:11:27
special the land like we like just it
02:11:30
does feel Cosmic that we've ended up um
02:11:34
there you know K some convincing she's
02:11:36
not not an ocean person but but we both
02:11:38
love it yeah yeah oh that's really cool
02:11:41
and moving forward how do you make money
02:11:43
fishing Chatters public speaking um no
02:11:45
um not not fishing Chatters I I still
02:11:47
take people fishing but I do it for
02:11:49
charity so I I get auctioned off um and
02:11:51
people pay crazy money and um I think
02:11:55
the part of that crazy money is because
02:11:56
it's for a good cause um usually not not
02:11:59
just to come out and have a lion red and
02:12:00
catch a fish with me um don't be uh yeah
02:12:04
too self deprecating on that one because
02:12:06
um I mean yeah yeah you're you're the
02:12:08
like you're the name that everyone
02:12:10
thinks of when it comes to like fishing
02:12:11
in New Zealand yeah um yes so I'm I'm G
02:12:15
to be doing um making making media and
02:12:20
you know when you've got when you're
02:12:22
getting 4 million video views a month
02:12:24
you can make money from that and in the
02:12:26
same so really it's no different than um
02:12:29
my sponsors um who um I'll start I'm G
02:12:33
I'll St LA to them so long as you know
02:12:36
they'd have to split up with me put it
02:12:37
that way you know and so hopefully they
02:12:39
don't want to break up with me and and
02:12:41
so long as as as they there um in for
02:12:45
the um Long Haul I'm going to keep doing
02:12:49
that sort of content a little bit more
02:12:51
Freer it'll be it'll be getting from the
02:12:54
moment that we capture the footage to
02:12:56
being seen a lot quicker and we'll we'll
02:12:58
basically just be cutting out the the TV
02:13:01
and and conforming to the TV side of it
02:13:03
so I see that continuing um I'm gonna um
02:13:08
and and and these are decisions that are
02:13:10
not fully made because like I'm I'm all
02:13:13
in on making the series current series
02:13:14
that I'm cutting at the moment so and I
02:13:16
don't want to allow myself to think too
02:13:18
much about beyond that I still want to
02:13:19
make this the best TV series and do my
02:13:21
job but I I I might just um dial back on
02:13:26
the volume and the number of things and
02:13:28
have more time to say yes to family yes
02:13:31
to my mates um do some of the things
02:13:35
that I've missed like I'm so opportunity
02:13:38
Rich from like not just cool things that
02:13:41
my mates want to do oh let's go the rug
02:13:42
or C let's do this or that I mean the
02:13:46
the people around the world offer want
02:13:48
to offer me free trips to come out on
02:13:50
this super yach and we'll fly you here
02:13:51
and like because you know this because
02:13:54
when people are into fishing they really
02:13:55
love it and so it's not just um you know
02:13:59
people down the kid down the road that
02:14:01
the likes catching fish which is amazing
02:14:03
in itself but people overseas are
02:14:05
getting in touch with me and saying oh
02:14:07
look we want to fly you to Panama to
02:14:09
fish on this super yacht and we'll have
02:14:11
the jet pick you up from Florida and can
02:14:14
you make it in a couple of weeks and I'm
02:14:16
like actually I've got to go and do a
02:14:17
hunting fishing store opening in gban
02:14:20
so why did I agree to that no but I mean
02:14:24
that's um yeah but soon I'm I'm just
02:14:27
gonna try and open things up so I can
02:14:29
say Yes um to more of those things you
02:14:32
know um I feel like I've done the work
02:14:34
and uh and I can get some some more of
02:14:36
the treats yeah you've done all the all
02:14:38
the Mah and um hey thanks for coming on
02:14:41
today and thanks for being so generous
02:14:42
with your time longest longest podcast
02:14:44
I've ever done by a long way I'm bad for
02:14:46
that no [ __ ] mate we I I could have kept
02:14:48
on going but I know you got a [ __ ]
02:14:49
trailer to pack up yeah that's right new
02:14:51
boat coming um but thanks for thanks for
02:14:53
sharing your stories you're a great
02:14:54
Storyteller thanks for um showing so
02:14:56
much vulnerability as well yeah thanks
02:14:58
to the tissues um no it's it's like it's
02:15:00
really special like the way you've um
02:15:02
spoken about Ken um yeah by the way my
02:15:04
video guy for those bits who'll zoom in
02:15:05
on your I know yeah I know but um I you
02:15:09
know maybe one day when you're a really
02:15:12
old man like Hannah and Shaw or their
02:15:14
grand their kids your grandkids will
02:15:17
will watch this and it's um I think uh
02:15:20
like putting myself in the position of
02:15:21
your kids like to see your dad talk
02:15:24
about you your mom that way I think it's
02:15:27
really [ __ ] special special and
02:15:29
you're so lucky to have someone um like
02:15:31
her in your corner and vice versa yep
02:15:33
absolutely and I'm not going to talk
02:15:34
about it again
02:15:36
CU cuz my tissue is done
02:15:39
mate all right mat Watson you're a great
02:15:41
New Zealander thank you for everything
02:15:42
you've done over the last couple of
02:15:43
decades and best of luck um can't wait
02:15:45
to follow you oh what's the digital
02:15:47
platform ultimate fishing. TV and um
02:15:50
yeah if you could um follow my socials
02:15:52
as well because that's all part of this
02:15:54
being able to say to my sponsors look
02:15:56
there's this many people and they're
02:15:57
actually watching my stuff and that
02:15:59
means I get to keep going so please do
02:16:01
yeah ultimate fishing TV and uh we have
02:16:03
a link to all all the socials and the
02:16:06
and the bio thing um but yeah hey good
02:16:08
luck for whatever's next mate I'm sure
02:16:09
you're going to be brilliant at
02:16:10
[Music]
02:16:16
ITW
02:16:18
[Music]
02:16:21
he
