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okay Runners only with dime Harley
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business Runners only with dom Harvey
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and Susie Cato hello hello
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oh straight into it didn't even have to
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ask thank you so much for coming over
00:00:14
from to join me on my podcast hey thank
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you for the invitation
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um I really really appreciate it I'm
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sure you get inundated with requests
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like this and part of me one is if
00:00:21
you're just not not particularly good at
00:00:23
saying no oh no
00:00:24
you get given an opportunity you've got
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to make the most of it right so and I'm
00:00:28
I'm honored to be asked you've got a a
00:00:30
wonderful list of people there that
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you've interviewed over the last year
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yeah it's been it's actually been
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humbling like um you ask people to come
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on and um yeah the the response rate's
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been phenomenal actually it's been
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really really good so are they all
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Runners is it just me that's not a run
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no the running is what I well you are
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you are a runner
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my cameraman before you arrived I was
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like
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um Mitch James the singer we had him
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last week he was late but you expect
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that because he's a musician out of if
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you gave me a list of the 60 people I've
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had on the podcast so far and you said
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who is most likely to be dead on time I
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would have picked you Susie Kate
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normally I would have been but
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unfortunately things there were Beyond
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My Control yeah right and then did you
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send me a text message while you were on
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Route no no no it was before I hopped
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into the car okay right I am I on this
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podcast I don't I don't know I don't
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know if there is like a real a real
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Susie that we see you know like the
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Susie we sing on screen and the season
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we see off screen but if there is a real
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Susie that we've never been privito
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that's who I want to try and find today
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oh okay the Susie behind the baggy
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fluoro Cosmic sweatshirt
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fluoro switch it was in the 90s early
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2000s yeah
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no it's still the 90s yeah it would have
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been the 90s late 90s so I started in
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1993 on you and me prior to that it was
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the big earrings and you know or the big
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Power hairdos and the shoulder pads with
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um the early bird show with Russell
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rooster yo doodle doo dudes I vaguely
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remember that now that you mentioned
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like real in the real early days of TV3
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yes exactly I started in 1990 right and
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I would have been going for about 100 or
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so episodes and I started purely so that
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Russell rooster and Auntie Kitty the Kia
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and Dan Spike and Oz the quakups could
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go on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle
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tour so they went with the turtles
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through the sewers of the whole of New
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Zealand we're not quite but they did go
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on tour around New Zealand how do you
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even how do you you've done your body of
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work is so mess if you've done so many
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episodes I've been around so long yeah
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no that I'm I'm amazed that you remember
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these uh sort of details so
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um yeah there's a there's so much to
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discuss with you Suzuki first of all
00:02:51
your relationship is there any
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relationship with running
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running late
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fours with Dancing with the Stars and I
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actually had to start walking so that I
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could even audition to one audition but
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you know to to take my nephew for a spin
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around the Dance Floor he's a dance
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instructor himself but I actually
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started walking so I could even start
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dancing oh so you're not an exercise at
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all
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jump really
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how do you how do you stay in shape
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um have you just got a really good diet
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you watched what yeah but yeah I guess
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that and a bit of a nervous energy right
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and I guess when you've got kids even
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though mine are now 18 and 15. you do
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kind of end up running to do things and
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being a um a small company you do a lot
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of stuff yourself so you're working both
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ends of the the day and you're dashing
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to get things done so yeah I need to
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have a production company around me so
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do you you need yeah so you're not
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running as well I'll tell you what
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there's there's no better weight loss
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regime than the stress of not knowing
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where your next dollar is coming from
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exactly
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has played a big part of it for a lot of
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people hasn't it yeah it sure has so but
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you must have run in school like uh the
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Athletics day the or oh you're giving me
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a look like you got did you ever were
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you one of these kids that had a
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permanent note to get out of PA no but I
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wish I had look I grew up in in kaikoi
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up near the Bay of islands and Northern
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College
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Dom do I have to be honest and tell you
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that in my third form year it was the
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last year that the school managed to
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have a romper we had to wear rompers the
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boys were able to wear shorts what's a
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romper a romper is a all-in-one bib
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thing that came over we had little
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buttons that we would do it had like a a
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little singlet top but it was made out
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of like a drill cotton it was bright red
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and it had these pantaloons that kind of
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ballooned out on either side with
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elastics around the the bottom you could
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either drag them down to around your
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knees and make them long or you'd pull
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them up halfway up your thigh and they'd
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just go poof this big pot puff ball of
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fabric was it was at the school uniform
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no what was the that was the exercise
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game right yeah man like mandatory
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compulsory that's how old do you have a
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photo of it anywhere I can't I can't
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visualize what you're really good
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if we had actually we've probably got
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time for you to sketch it I don't know
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wow really it hit a multitude of sins
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so this was in the 1980s yeah when
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you're in high school yeah yeah yeah so
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that was my third form yeah so what
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that's what is that that's yeah no yeah
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I can't keep up with that yeah so um
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okay let's go right back to the
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beginning so Suzanne nor in Cato born in
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thank you
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where's Noreen from is that a family
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name or it was my one of mother's names
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yeah and and you're born in um Brisbane
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yeah yes I was so um but kiwi parents or
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Australian yeah okay what were they
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doing in Brisbane
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um mum was working over there so she
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um she had me and brought me back to New
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Zealand and
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um I was adopted by my kiwi dad and
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we've lived I came back to New Zealand
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when I was only a month old so
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um I've got a kiwi passport and I do
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drive past when I'm over an Aussie now
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drive past the
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um what is that the Royal women's Royal
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Brisbane Women's Hospital where I was
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born right but yeah
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um I don't I have the affiliation with
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the fact that I was born in Australia
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yeah for sure for sure what do you mean
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you were adopted by your New Zealand dad
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so they got married and
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right yeah yeah so so he's not you
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you're dead biological dad right right
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you have anything to do with him no no
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no no
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does your mum have anything no no you're
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not curious at all
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[Music]
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here look um I did have a time when I
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was curious but um I have no idea who he
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is or where he is or why he is so it's
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about living in the now yeah something
00:07:04
that I've had to learn to do is to live
00:07:07
in the now and to to let go the past and
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move forward yeah that's cool I suppose
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I'm um yeah I'm extra curious about that
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stuff because um I I went through years
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and years of fertility treatment and
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like six rounds of IVF or something and
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uh ultimately it wasn't successful
00:07:24
um and then we looked at other things
00:07:27
like donor sperm and stuff and you have
00:07:28
to do some counseling um in order to do
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that and you get asked questions like
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you know how will you feel if the child
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comes to you and says you know you're
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not my real father and stuff like them
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so I think from um the perspective of um
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the person you call your dad
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non-biologically the fact that I don't
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know I'm sure he'd understate if you had
00:07:47
curiosity and wanted to find out but um
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it must be the most
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um satisfying thing to know as a man
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that there's not even that Curiosity
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there has been curiosity yeah we've had
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conversations about it
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and that's one of the most
00:08:03
in conversation and being open about it
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um and a number of my friends who have
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had to adopt children not had to but
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they have adopted children
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um they've often been open with them
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right from the get-go so they've had
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photographs if those photographs are
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available or they've talked about it as
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being I'm your mummy and I'm your daddy
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now but and and so when the child does
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has questions it's not old taboo I can't
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ask this it's actually part of everyday
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conversation it's quite normal yeah yeah
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yeah yeah I think most of adoptions are
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sort of done that way now aren't they
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they're open whereas um like back in the
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70s or 60s or whatever it was all very
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very closed
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now it wasn't one of those situations
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where Mum got sent away no it wasn't a
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bad situation
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it's like an abortion joke now a lot of
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a lot of people won't remember this but
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it was like um yeah I think it was still
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illegal in New Zealand and so you'd go
00:08:54
to Australia to
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but I had heard about and I've had
00:09:01
friends who whose family members were um
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like their their older siblings or or a
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lot of people are actually finding now
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that they've got other siblings because
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mum had fallen pregnant outside of
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wedlock and was sent to an auntie and
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that child kind of disappeared off to
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another family somewhere in the and the
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child came the daughter came back so
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yeah those were very different times
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yeah so so when you when your mum gave
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birth to you is that like this was in
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the late 1960s was this a scandal in
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your family like she was unmarried or
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yeah no it wasn't so much and it was my
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um grandmother that went across to
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Australia to to bring me and Mum back so
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Dom you've done your homework nobody in
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all my very odd years of being in
00:09:44
television it's ever asked that question
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and it's there right yeah so um well
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done 10 minutes in yes all right we got
00:09:52
what we need podcasts no we haven't even
00:09:55
got started so any water on this one
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it's all yeah Susie requested a hot
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water
00:10:00
um so um yeah so you grew up in kaikoi
00:10:03
um you also spent time in Hamilton and
00:10:04
Dunedin yeah well like my first five
00:10:06
years were in Hamilton right so we lived
00:10:07
in Hamilton very close to my
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grandparents and on both sides and then
00:10:12
Dad got an opportunity he was with the
00:10:14
pnt postal and Telegraph back then
00:10:17
um then it became Telecom
00:10:19
um so he was uh given the opportunity to
00:10:23
move have a transfer somewhere else in
00:10:25
New Zealand to work up the pay scale and
00:10:28
up the job opportunities and he applied
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for a number of places and got kaikoi
00:10:34
and we went there mum and dad went yay
00:10:36
where's guy going oh crikey so but food
00:10:39
than we expected
00:10:41
but um I had all my schooling pretty
00:10:43
much I was at kaikoi East primary school
00:10:46
I think for about six months and then we
00:10:48
moved up to kaikoi and no so Hamilton
00:10:52
East did I say kaiko West I was at
00:10:53
Hamilton East primary school for six
00:10:55
months then we moved up to kaikoi I
00:10:57
started at Hamilton
00:11:01
East primary school then I moved to
00:11:04
kaikoya West and then I ended up at
00:11:07
kaikoi intermediate and Northern college
00:11:09
so I did all my schooling and when I
00:11:11
talk about going to all the schools in
00:11:13
kaikoi without having been expelled that
00:11:15
I didn't have to move but we just moved
00:11:17
from one side of town to the other oh my
00:11:19
God you see cocoa is like it's some big
00:11:22
place what are we talking like 500
00:11:23
meters per month
00:11:26
but we were we didn't we didn't move so
00:11:29
it was much easier instead of having to
00:11:30
walk all the way yeah just to walk to
00:11:32
the other one what are your memories of
00:11:33
growing what was Cocoa like in the this
00:11:35
would have been the 1970s what was it
00:11:36
what are your memories of growing up in
00:11:38
clay cohe in there look it was a great
00:11:39
place to grow yeah you there were only
00:11:41
about 3 000 people
00:11:43
and you the families knew each other
00:11:47
um you tended to know all the all the
00:11:48
parents and you know all the teachers
00:11:50
families and all those sorts of things
00:11:52
um you could walk everywhere and it was
00:11:55
The Great Outdoors there were Farms
00:11:57
right on their doorsteps so you'd be out
00:11:59
milking cows or you'd be out
00:12:01
we asked me about running before and
00:12:03
mirompa
00:12:04
um how we did have to do the cross
00:12:06
country and Northern College was a great
00:12:09
agricultural Farm farming school so we
00:12:12
had borders and people coming all over
00:12:14
New Zealand to go to the school for
00:12:16
agriculture and our cross country was
00:12:19
across the country and I remember
00:12:22
shooting ahead of somebody who was quite
00:12:24
a distance in front of me barefoot in a
00:12:26
cow pet for one foot shot through ahead
00:12:29
of them they got a heck of a frighten so
00:12:31
did I managed to stay upright and had a
00:12:33
nice one nice warm foot but um yeah it
00:12:36
was it was a great school a great
00:12:37
environment and a lot of times spent
00:12:39
Outdoors so right behind
00:12:42
um well when I lived in first lived in
00:12:44
kaikoi we lived actually on a little
00:12:46
lifestyle block and then we moved across
00:12:48
town and up behind us was this big
00:12:50
Paddock area it was a ramshackle Farm
00:12:53
pretty run down lots of ghost bushes and
00:12:56
divots and things like that and you just
00:12:59
spend hours there building how cuts and
00:13:02
climbing through things and catching
00:13:03
tadpoles and yeah it was it was a
00:13:06
wonderful wonderful life and what were
00:13:08
you like as a kid what was the
00:13:09
naughtiest thing you did oh were you
00:13:11
were you either bad no not fairly I was
00:13:13
I was a blouse Dom I was I was a big
00:13:16
sock I was a softy so um the the
00:13:19
naughtiest I'd ever done oh I do I did
00:13:23
have a sweet tooth and I remember going
00:13:25
out to Mum
00:13:27
I'd help myself to some icing sugar I
00:13:29
was like oh
00:13:30
what's icing sugar grabbed a teaspoon
00:13:32
tried oh that was a bit of all right and
00:13:35
then thought well I've done something I
00:13:37
shouldn't have look put the lid back on
00:13:39
shoved it in there and went out to mum
00:13:40
and said hi mum
00:13:42
um could I have a snack and she said I
00:13:43
think he might have had something
00:13:44
already and I said no she said what's
00:13:46
that around your mouth it was delay I
00:13:48
think oh yeah
00:13:51
oh my God that is the most Susie Cato's
00:13:53
three ever it really is it's naughtiest
00:13:54
is it
00:13:55
[Music]
00:13:56
good person yeah look and I used to feel
00:13:58
so so bad and so guilty and
00:14:02
everything that it wasn't worth it so
00:14:05
yeah and there was nothing really to be
00:14:06
bad about we had great parents we had
00:14:08
um yeah a free reign pretty much yeah we
00:14:11
knew our boundaries and and that sort of
00:14:14
thing
00:14:14
but that's there's nothing wrong with
00:14:16
knowing your boundaries that gives you
00:14:17
security and stability so that's the way
00:14:21
my kids have grown up too absolutely I I
00:14:23
feel like your parents would have been
00:14:24
able to make you cry just by telling you
00:14:26
they're disappointed in you my goodness
00:14:27
the raising of an eyebrow yeah
00:14:33
oh my God so um so how did how did you
00:14:36
you ended up in radio at um kwc FM which
00:14:39
is um it's now a more FM station Still
00:14:41
Still massive in whangarei um how did
00:14:44
you know that did you study do you do a
00:14:46
course well you just go straight into
00:14:47
radio and the final year of school I
00:14:49
didn't reach um seventh form I was in in
00:14:52
school C we did not school cue final
00:14:56
year of UE being accredited as well we
00:14:58
got given a chance to have a week of
00:15:00
work experience so I had girlfriends
00:15:02
that went hairdressing some went to the
00:15:03
bank some went to the supermarkets
00:15:06
um they just went wherever and I thought
00:15:09
what do I want to do
00:15:11
mum suggested that I try radio because
00:15:14
her sister had been in radio in Hamilton
00:15:16
many many years prior and I'd always
00:15:19
loved
00:15:20
public speaking and drama and all those
00:15:22
sorts of things she said go and try and
00:15:24
try your hand at radio so I asked and
00:15:26
got a week's work experience down there
00:15:28
and
00:15:30
um
00:15:31
applied for an internship in the final
00:15:34
intake of InTune so I got I actually got
00:15:36
flown down to Wellington and I think I
00:15:39
was interviewed by Sharon Crosby so so
00:15:41
this was for an internship for like
00:15:42
Radio New Zealand right right at the
00:15:44
same time I put my CV into kwcfm so I
00:15:49
did my week's work experience with the
00:15:51
radio news radio Northland station
00:15:54
um did a summer summer holiday out of
00:15:56
the Caravan stint with them as well
00:15:58
almost made it into an internship but
00:16:02
started this job in in radio with kwc FM
00:16:05
started in the copywriting department
00:16:07
writing ads and because it's a small
00:16:10
independent station it was like an
00:16:13
internship you got to do everything so I
00:16:15
started in um writing ads and then I did
00:16:17
some scheduling of ads I answered
00:16:19
telephones I empty Burns you know you
00:16:20
did everything everyone mix in and does
00:16:22
a bit of everything yeah and then I
00:16:23
started and they got me doing
00:16:25
um album reviews so I'd go and choose an
00:16:28
album do my research there was none of
00:16:30
them little way back then you basically
00:16:33
had to go and get books out of the
00:16:34
library
00:16:35
to older people to say oh who's this
00:16:37
band and whatever in the hindsight you
00:16:39
can even make things up couldn't yeah
00:16:44
I did my homework yeah yeah I ended up I
00:16:48
was one of the youngest female radio
00:16:49
announcers at the time I think it was
00:16:51
about 17 18. what year was this oh Don
00:16:54
man I'm a mess never being that great
00:16:55
late 80s yeah it would have been late
00:16:57
80s 80s 687 right who was the manager
00:17:00
was it Steve Rowe yes Steve I was here
00:17:03
yeah uh Paul Cole called was there
00:17:06
before Steve I think yeah yes yeah Steve
00:17:08
was one of my managers um and like a
00:17:10
real Mentor for my time in Palmerston
00:17:11
North as well great man great man very
00:17:13
great did he even yell at you uh no can
00:17:18
you imagine me meeting you I feel like
00:17:20
um like the way Steve managed me you
00:17:23
know you could take him to HR now but
00:17:25
this was the days before HR but I look
00:17:27
back now and he gave me a kick up the
00:17:29
ass but I needed to kick up the ass and
00:17:31
I've got a um a friend who was at the
00:17:33
station at the same time called Robert
00:17:34
Scott who works on the breeze now
00:17:35
Roberts Robert's like a male version of
00:17:37
you Susie Cato he's very sensitive and
00:17:39
Steve would never manage Robert the same
00:17:41
way he would manage me so yeah yeah so
00:17:45
the way Steve yelled at me I can't
00:17:46
imagine him yelling at Susie
00:17:51
did you get different definitely okay so
00:17:54
so you're on the you're on the air
00:17:55
you're doing some stuff at kwc um what
00:17:57
was you like on your style were you just
00:17:59
nice and friendly like pretty relaxed
00:18:01
yeah nice and friendly and the advice I
00:18:03
was given as I started as I started
00:18:04
radio was countdown from ten to one
00:18:06
because you go when you're all excited
00:18:09
to get all high and speaking like this
00:18:11
but by the time you're down to one
00:18:12
you've got a nice radio voice so you're
00:18:14
speaking like this you're nice and calm
00:18:16
and call yourself Susie not Sue because
00:18:20
everybody had started calling me Sue at
00:18:21
the radio station and Susie was a sexier
00:18:24
name and um this is the microphone
00:18:26
button here turn it on but not very
00:18:29
often and not for very long oh there you
00:18:31
go it's like crikey training you got
00:18:33
yeah pretty much yeah you're thrown in
00:18:35
the deep end and did you Did you sort of
00:18:36
um sexy it up like a sexy voice like hey
00:18:38
hey Kayla we'll see if him no no
00:18:41
but you couldn't help when it's a
00:18:43
slightly deeper voice so it became a
00:18:45
more mature voice so um I was taken for
00:18:49
being much older than what I was so
00:18:51
you'd Rock up to a promotion and people
00:18:54
would come looking for Susie Cato
00:18:55
expecting somebody quite sophisticated
00:18:57
and mature and there I was with me
00:18:59
spiked here I had uh I might have cut
00:19:02
off the rat's Tails by then but I had
00:19:03
rats Tails down the back and spiked here
00:19:05
and fisherman rib um Jersey in a little
00:19:08
mini skirt and they'd go oh um where's
00:19:10
Susie Cato and I go that's me
00:19:14
how long did you lastly Did you sort of
00:19:17
make the transition from that brief
00:19:19
radio career into kids TV yeah and a
00:19:22
roundabout way so I was seven till
00:19:24
midnight for over a year then got given
00:19:27
the opportunities to do a day shift from
00:19:29
tenant or two and I found that I
00:19:31
actually like sleeping at night and
00:19:32
being up during the day so um when it
00:19:36
was time to go back to my seven to
00:19:37
midnight shift I said oh look no no it's
00:19:39
time to move on found a job down here in
00:19:42
Auckland with muzza in the morning oh
00:19:45
amazing was that on 89 or 915 right yeah
00:19:48
so at the top marks were on 89 right and
00:19:51
we were on 91 and I was doing traffic
00:19:53
and and
00:19:54
um the weather and you know organizing
00:19:56
telephone calls for them and things like
00:19:58
that which was great yeah
00:20:00
um his real name is Murray Ingles he's
00:20:02
um dying of he's very old but he's dying
00:20:05
of cancer at the moment but he's yeah
00:20:07
wonderful man a wonderful broadcaster
00:20:09
but broadcasted from a time where
00:20:11
um the important thing was no not
00:20:13
necessarily what you said as much as how
00:20:14
you sounded and he had a great voice oh
00:20:16
did he ever that voice was incredible
00:20:19
yeah yeah how was how was he was he was
00:20:21
he right to work with oh yeah he's
00:20:23
wonderful
00:20:24
Kim Adamson and you know everybody was
00:20:27
fabulous
00:20:28
um after that's done I was in
00:20:29
photography I became a photographic
00:20:32
assistant for a few years and then that
00:20:36
was when the break came for television I
00:20:38
was at a party got talking to the
00:20:40
executive producer of who'd made
00:20:43
everything from
00:20:44
um
00:20:45
nice ones too and what was that was the
00:20:48
Sandra Shaw no This was um Rick Simpson
00:20:50
right who oh my goodness a creative who
00:20:53
had talent to burn and had made so many
00:20:57
amazing programs he started up
00:21:00
um the early bird show and around that
00:21:02
time there was the early bird show that
00:21:04
was in Focus there was Yahoo all these
00:21:07
fabulous programs and I got talking to
00:21:09
him about being in television and what I
00:21:11
liked in a children's television
00:21:12
presenter and we had a conversation that
00:21:15
was great and a year later I got a
00:21:17
telephone call saying have you ever
00:21:19
thought about being in television
00:21:21
striking I jumped at the chance
00:21:23
um but once a whole year after you met
00:21:25
yeah yeah it was about it yeah I ended
00:21:27
up at a party with some of his um his
00:21:29
work colleagues or people that he he
00:21:31
employed and we got on really really
00:21:33
well they were looking for somebody and
00:21:35
I got the telephone call saying hey have
00:21:37
you ever actually thought about being in
00:21:38
television so
00:21:40
in in the deep end sink or swim
00:21:43
um I had about or 10 to 15 minutes in
00:21:47
front of a camera before the news went
00:21:49
alive went live the night before I was
00:21:52
on live television so doing kid stuff
00:21:55
good stuff yeah see so you how old are
00:21:58
you at the like 20 at the time 21. yeah
00:22:00
see at that age being like a you know an
00:22:03
attractive 20 21 year old you'd think
00:22:06
the natural sort of job would be
00:22:08
I don't have something slightly like
00:22:10
like a what now or something like that I
00:22:12
feel like um you know kids presenting
00:22:14
it's a very particular set of skills and
00:22:17
it's very young to be doing it to
00:22:18
communicating with kids isn't it well
00:22:20
yes it is and it isn't but because
00:22:22
um it was on on a Saturday morning very
00:22:24
similar to what now in that it wasn't
00:22:26
preschool it was whoever's waking up
00:22:30
whether it's somebody with a hangover
00:22:31
from a big night the night before or
00:22:33
kids of all ages sitting there in their
00:22:36
pajamas with their piece of toast and so
00:22:37
on so some of the humors was quite not
00:22:40
so much risque but it was a layered yeah
00:22:43
layered definitely yeah right yeah and
00:22:46
and the cartoons we would we we
00:22:47
connected the cartoons together and we
00:22:49
had a lot of fun David Hartnell is a
00:22:51
regular guest with his
00:22:53
um has gossip from Hollywood and all
00:22:56
those sorts of things yeah that's right
00:22:58
David Harley did his like best and worst
00:23:00
wrestlers every year yeah yeah yeah yeah
00:23:01
yeah Jeremy Wells always top of his best
00:23:04
wrist I feel like he's got a crush there
00:23:06
so and is this about the same time you
00:23:08
met your your husband Steve he was in
00:23:11
radio as well wasn't he yeah I met him
00:23:12
in radio yeah right yeah tell us tell us
00:23:14
about that well I met him at um 91 FM
00:23:17
and
00:23:19
um by the way can I can I just say just
00:23:21
so so at this round about this time
00:23:22
because I'm just a couple of years
00:23:24
younger than you I was in radio on
00:23:25
Palmerston North and there were two yeah
00:23:28
there's radio stations everywhere over
00:23:29
the dial now but there were two big
00:23:30
stations in Auckland like 91 FM and 89
00:23:32
FM and they sort of went Head to Head
00:23:34
very very competitive market but
00:23:36
um and there was as you mentioned
00:23:38
earlier much earlier no internet or
00:23:40
anything no so I'd come up here in
00:23:41
school holidays and I'd sometimes bring
00:23:43
like blank C60 or c90s and tape some of
00:23:45
the radio just to see how they were
00:23:47
doing it in Auckland that was a big
00:23:48
[ __ ] deal up here oh yeah yeah it was
00:23:52
they were real stars but they also had
00:23:54
the ability of the anonymity of only
00:23:57
being the voices not the faces now as
00:24:00
we're doing here with the the cameras
00:24:02
and all the rest of it there's so much
00:24:04
more yeah multimedia yeah yeah so yeah
00:24:07
so you were on air and radio and Steve
00:24:10
was on here in Radio 2 doing
00:24:14
we were doing promotions
00:24:17
good mates and
00:24:20
um
00:24:21
uh we were out in a John Cougar
00:24:25
Mellencamp Cherry Bomb
00:24:27
John Cougar Mellencamp was promoting his
00:24:29
album the cherry bomb album so we
00:24:31
somebody had hand painted this mini and
00:24:34
it was bright pink it was amazing and we
00:24:37
had so much fun we were honing around
00:24:39
beaches and shopping malls and all the
00:24:41
rest of it getting people to sign and um
00:24:44
the the car with a big marker and also
00:24:47
fill in a form to go into the drawer to
00:24:49
go over to Melbourne I think it was to
00:24:52
go and see John Cougar Mellencamp
00:24:53
perform and
00:24:55
um
00:24:56
you're wanting the story of win yeah
00:24:59
yeah yeah I mean well you're still
00:25:01
you're still married now you've got
00:25:02
adult kids you've been through so so
00:25:04
many of um your Life's good and bad
00:25:06
times together I'm Keen to know how it
00:25:08
all started all started right well
00:25:10
um I was sitting in the cam and we were
00:25:12
just great mates and he reached in to
00:25:15
grab some more forms and as he did his
00:25:18
arm brushed against my chest and an
00:25:22
electric shock went both through both of
00:25:23
us it was like crazy he's going my
00:25:26
mate's got boobs and I'm going crikey my
00:25:30
mate's a boy
00:25:31
and it was like wow we suddenly saw each
00:25:34
other as as members of the opposite sex
00:25:36
and it went from being a friendship to a
00:25:40
little bit more right you must have
00:25:41
discussed that um and many times over
00:25:43
over the years was it is a neck was it
00:25:46
an accidental brush
00:25:47
um yeah I think it was
00:25:52
oh that's amazing yeah so yeah and look
00:25:56
we had a wonderful year together we had
00:25:58
a year apart and then
00:26:00
we've been together ever since oh
00:26:02
actually what do you mean you had a year
00:26:04
apart yeah you broke up and we had a
00:26:05
year apart yeah and then we got back
00:26:07
together again actually it was Steve
00:26:08
that got the telephone call from Rex
00:26:10
because he was the connection the way I
00:26:12
got to to meet the executive producer
00:26:14
and um Rick said how do I get hold of
00:26:16
Susie and Steve gave me a call and said
00:26:19
can I give him your number and we got
00:26:21
talking we went and had a coffee
00:26:23
together and we we got talking we had
00:26:25
more in common
00:26:26
and we our powers were on a more similar
00:26:28
trajectory after a year apart than they
00:26:31
were when the first time we got together
00:26:32
so yeah yeah oh that's cool and then you
00:26:34
had um time apart again like you were
00:26:36
working in Dunedin like two weeks on two
00:26:38
weeks off and you did that for many
00:26:39
years yeah about five years right how
00:26:42
did the relationship survive there
00:26:43
really where did I end up with great
00:26:45
Communications
00:26:52
I don't keep that mug on that side of
00:26:54
the cabinet
00:26:58
would be really really cool sometimes
00:26:59
it's probably you're good for the
00:27:00
relationship with it two week break and
00:27:02
then you start to miss each other yeah
00:27:03
yeah yeah so we did that for five years
00:27:05
and we got married in one of my two
00:27:07
weeks home so
00:27:09
um we're yet to have a proper honeymoon
00:27:11
but that's okay we've got another how
00:27:13
many 30 or 40 odd years together so
00:27:15
that's good now what was the um proposal
00:27:16
do you remember that oh gosh it was
00:27:19
it was at the end of The devonport Wharf
00:27:23
looking over the city and just we'd had
00:27:27
a wonderful meal we drove to the end of
00:27:29
The Wharf we were looking at it was just
00:27:31
like this the Sea of Lights in front of
00:27:33
us and I had thought it was coming for a
00:27:36
little while and so it didn't come as
00:27:38
any great surprise and he hadn't bought
00:27:40
me a ring because we hadn't even had a
00:27:42
chance to go and have a look at it but
00:27:43
yeah it was it was still quite romantic
00:27:45
oh that's nice you get to that point in
00:27:48
a relationship hey where I suppose we
00:27:49
never have anything romantic happens you
00:27:51
got to a nice restaurant or you got a
00:27:53
wharf or something you're like oh is
00:27:54
this yeah
00:27:56
two weeks when he drops himself here put
00:27:58
us at the moment yeah no the only time
00:28:00
any excitement we've had with me being
00:28:02
dropped off at the airport was one
00:28:04
um Sunday when I was being dropped off
00:28:06
to fly down to Dunedin for two weeks and
00:28:09
I missed the plane
00:28:10
and I often almost missed the plane in
00:28:13
fact so I got so used to it here we go
00:28:15
well after after you being late for this
00:28:17
podcast today I believe this
00:28:19
is perfect there wasn't tunnel back
00:28:22
thing done so but also sometimes it was
00:28:25
a little bit harder because you know
00:28:28
um sometimes being away was harder than
00:28:30
than other times yeah and um
00:28:33
I missed the plane and ended up
00:28:37
squishing the whole way back to the
00:28:39
house
00:28:40
the time I got home I just went oh
00:28:45
so luckily I didn't give it to the whole
00:28:47
plane and to the crew down in Dunedin
00:28:49
and it just meant we had to record a
00:28:51
whole lot more programs when I finally
00:28:53
did get down there yeah but still I mean
00:28:55
if you're gonna get chicken pox from
00:28:56
anywhere say you got it from Susie Cato
00:29:00
I mean yeah I couldn't leave a nicer
00:29:03
person to get chicken pox well I think
00:29:05
there'd be I think it would much rather
00:29:06
not give people chickenpox I'd rather
00:29:08
give them a hug instead yeah that's true
00:29:10
that's true um how did the songs come
00:29:13
about was that um you know the your
00:29:15
songs which you're very very famous for
00:29:17
like did you write them
00:29:19
yeah the program had been going for
00:29:22
about 100 episodes before I got there
00:29:24
there was a presenter prior to me
00:29:27
Pauline Cooper had worked with Rex and
00:29:31
um they're the creators and she'd
00:29:33
originally come from play school and
00:29:35
they had created this program you and me
00:29:37
to bring a more of a bilingual
00:29:42
um uh aspect to it to more more New
00:29:44
Zealand culture instead of it being a
00:29:46
packaged version of play school that was
00:29:48
adapted for New Zealand they created
00:29:50
something that was specific New Zealand
00:29:52
and Pauline Cooper was there right from
00:29:54
the get-go but she had a a young family
00:29:58
she had grown children but you also had
00:30:00
a another child and she also needed a
00:30:02
change so she decided to to leave you
00:30:05
and me and I auditioned along with 70
00:30:09
other 70 or 80 others wow and had just
00:30:12
started taking singing lessons so I had
00:30:14
enough confidence to sing it's our time
00:30:17
in an audition and I can't remember what
00:30:20
the other song was but there were
00:30:21
generally about three songs there was
00:30:23
hello the Goodbye song and at least two
00:30:25
others within the show so I just started
00:30:28
taking singing lessons I love singing
00:30:30
anyway but to do that in front of a
00:30:33
camera in front of people you'd never
00:30:34
met before and I was only about
00:30:37
25 I would have been about 23 22 22 23
00:30:42
by then so I was still quite nervous but
00:30:45
um managed to get the job and was
00:30:47
offered the opportunity to move to
00:30:49
Dunedin thank you very much but um
00:30:54
fantastic Community down there I love it
00:30:57
but it's free isn't good oh yeah all my
00:30:59
family were up here my boyfriend this is
00:31:01
my now my husband was up here and if the
00:31:04
job hadn't worked out it was a year-long
00:31:06
contract it was a big haul to get
00:31:09
everything back again so I kept a foot
00:31:11
in either camp and I'd go down there for
00:31:14
two weeks and then come home for two
00:31:15
weeks come home to Auckland for two
00:31:16
weeks why was why why was everything in
00:31:19
Dunedin oh that's that just like a TV
00:31:21
Hub yeah a massive TV hub for years and
00:31:24
years and years for decades really a lot
00:31:26
of children's television was made out of
00:31:27
Dunedin but that's where Rex had decided
00:31:29
to set up he purchased the green Island
00:31:32
Civic picture theater gathered it put in
00:31:36
this amazing seat and all the offices
00:31:38
and things like that and that was the
00:31:40
perfect place for it wow amazing yeah
00:31:42
amazing that song um it's like followed
00:31:45
you around I guess for almost like half
00:31:47
your life but but in in the best
00:31:48
possible way oh exactly because
00:31:50
everybody remembers that the only thing
00:31:51
is they remember see you see you later
00:31:53
far more because
00:31:56
and so at The Silo park at the Teddy
00:32:00
Bears Picnic there were so many parents
00:32:02
that were joining in with me mind you
00:32:03
that's wherever I go there are parents
00:32:05
joining in with me and I'm being
00:32:07
introduced to a whole new generation of
00:32:08
kids now and it's such an honor to know
00:32:11
that those songs live on when you
00:32:13
couldn't escape from me I was on first
00:32:15
thing in the morning with you and me and
00:32:17
then in the afternoon and then we had
00:32:19
Susie's World which is on at 3 30 in the
00:32:22
afternoon for about 10 minutes with all
00:32:23
the science and then um I was also in a
00:32:26
program called family confidential which
00:32:29
started at about 7 7 30 and ran for one
00:32:33
season where we went into families
00:32:35
family homes it was a little bit like
00:32:37
the um the nanny right right but a
00:32:40
reality version of it yeah yeah no no no
00:32:42
not
00:32:54
[Music]
00:33:01
but we did actually take psychologists
00:33:04
and and work with families and look at
00:33:06
problem areas and things like that so
00:33:08
yeah that was an amazing series and I
00:33:10
would have loved for that to extend it I
00:33:12
would have been a far better parent
00:33:13
probably but yeah what would your um how
00:33:16
old are your kids you've got a daughter
00:33:18
and a son so they're 18 and 15. right
00:33:21
what would they say about you if they
00:33:22
were sitting here I love you
00:33:26
if they had to like pull apart
00:33:29
um you know because kids like kids know
00:33:31
you better than anyone else for sure
00:33:33
um what would they say like your worst
00:33:34
habits are or your worst right I don't
00:33:36
know you could probably ask my daughter
00:33:38
she wouldn't mind sharing it but I mean
00:33:39
one good thing is an example of the kind
00:33:42
of relationship that I had my kids is
00:33:44
that my daughter left New Zealand on her
00:33:47
OE at the beginning of February
00:33:50
she went to Cambodia for two weeks with
00:33:52
six friends and then I joined her in
00:33:55
Singapore and we had some nights in
00:33:57
Singapore some nights in Bali some
00:33:59
nights in Australia so it was a case of
00:34:02
hey mum do you want to come and join me
00:34:03
in Singapore yeah I'd love to
00:34:06
that's the kind of relationship that we
00:34:07
have so it's yeah yeah so that we're on
00:34:10
the phone constantly we're on Snapchat
00:34:12
together we do tick tocks together all
00:34:14
those sorts of things it's
00:34:16
look I am a parent I get grumpy I get
00:34:19
tired I know all the rest of it and I
00:34:21
have to ask for the bag to be put away
00:34:23
The Lunchbox items to be brought out you
00:34:25
know all those sorts of things and yes I
00:34:27
do get cross don't have you put your
00:34:29
lunchbox items out but
00:34:32
um it's about not you get cross but then
00:34:36
you actually let it go okay that's
00:34:38
happening in the moment you let it go
00:34:40
you move on and you you enjoy each
00:34:43
other's company so there are two human
00:34:46
beings your husband excluded that have
00:34:48
heard you raise your voice oh yes and
00:34:50
the neighborhood
00:34:53
now there's a recording that'd be worth
00:34:55
some money and and swearing if the
00:34:58
neighbors who are just wearing well yes
00:34:59
they have they yeah
00:35:01
under what circumstances
00:35:03
I don't think anybody else had but um
00:35:05
you talking about her gray areas podcast
00:35:07
fantastic podcast yes she's crushing it
00:35:10
yeah yeah so um uh
00:35:13
we talked about the going through pain
00:35:16
and grief and and anger and angst and
00:35:19
all those emotions when we're
00:35:22
disappointed and when we're hurt and of
00:35:24
course the big being Let Go by TV3 oh
00:35:27
yeah I want to get to that yeah it was
00:35:29
one of the biggest most impactful ones
00:35:33
for the whole neighborhood because
00:35:35
I was absolutely gobsmacked you know I
00:35:38
you know you're going to give you give
00:35:40
your all to things and I had so much
00:35:41
more to give and it wasn't needed
00:35:44
anymore and so I bald and I cried and I
00:35:48
and all the rest of it but another thing
00:35:50
that I find is really really good is to
00:35:52
let it out I don't tend to let it out by
00:35:54
an open window any longer oh so you sort
00:35:57
of do it in the car when you're on your
00:35:58
own yeah
00:36:01
to ball turn the music up scream out
00:36:04
your favorite hits
00:36:06
um what are we talking what are we
00:36:07
talking by the way since we're on there
00:36:08
well what hit okay so um songs that I
00:36:11
remember from my childhood that and
00:36:12
their big emotive ones and I can't think
00:36:15
it's not Thomas Donna Summers it's
00:36:17
somebody of the same ill don't assume I
00:36:19
Will Survive would be oh no that's not
00:36:20
Donna Summer
00:36:21
song you abandoned me
00:36:25
don't live here anymore
00:36:28
remember who sings that and it's not
00:36:30
about being abandoned but it's that just
00:36:33
that passion that you sing that song
00:36:35
with and you get the voice crack and
00:36:37
everything and the tears stream down and
00:36:40
yeah it's so good to do so I'm just
00:36:42
trying to trying to paint a mental
00:36:43
picture here so are you like like on the
00:36:46
shower the shower floor sitting there
00:36:48
crying so I think or you're standing up
00:36:50
singing and bellowing right that's an
00:36:52
angry cry but that's enough of the
00:36:53
visualizer
00:36:56
not a creepy way yeah so so that
00:36:59
um I suppose would you say this is The
00:37:01
Rock Bottom in your life this was in um
00:37:03
2002 when you got [ __ ] can basically
00:37:05
yeah well look yeah and look that was
00:37:07
that was a rock bottom time because it
00:37:09
was also at the time that I had had my
00:37:12
um my second miscarriage and it was one
00:37:15
that I had to go in for a DNC for and it
00:37:17
only it happened what's it sorry what's
00:37:18
a DNA DNC is where they they actually
00:37:20
have to clear the uterus so they
00:37:22
actually have to do a physical removal
00:37:24
of of the baby and and clean the womb
00:37:28
and things like that so
00:37:30
um previously my other miscarriages I
00:37:34
the baby had passed without any extra so
00:37:37
it's like early in the embryo stages
00:37:39
maybe yeah right right okay so the
00:37:42
what's that DMC DNC DNC now you to ask
00:37:46
me what that means no no no it doesn't
00:37:48
matter thanks thanks for sharing it so
00:37:49
so this is prior to you being a mum at
00:37:51
all yeah yeah before you okay yeah so oh
00:37:54
I'm sorry you went through that at what
00:37:55
stage of the um first trimester I think
00:37:58
it was only about um seven or eight
00:37:59
weeks yeah yeah but um Bailey even knew
00:38:02
I was pregnant for but to to realize
00:38:05
that I'd lost Bob and then lose the job
00:38:07
so it was it was the big cumulative yeah
00:38:11
it was really huge and um Steve was in
00:38:14
Australia at the time for this
00:38:15
particular one and so yeah it just was a
00:38:18
double whammy when you're not getting
00:38:19
out of bed anyway because you're just
00:38:22
being hit by a ton of bricks that you'd
00:38:25
lost another little being
00:38:28
um and then to lose the job as well but
00:38:30
they went to know that and and it's part
00:38:32
of the bigger picture and do you know
00:38:34
what as one door closes
00:38:37
whole lot of down the doors open and
00:38:39
it's so hard to see it at that time but
00:38:42
because I wasn't under the stress of
00:38:44
running a business running I was
00:38:47
executive producer pretty much with um
00:38:48
or associate producer at the time with
00:38:50
Susie's world and
00:38:53
um you know employing people and so on
00:38:55
and presenting and script editing and
00:38:57
you know doing all these things I
00:38:59
actually had my body in shape to to fall
00:39:03
pregnant again right so and that was uh
00:39:05
your daughter my daughter yeah and then
00:39:06
my son but also you know you take stock
00:39:10
at that time and you look at what you're
00:39:12
doing and why you're doing it and see
00:39:14
whether there is time for change so yeah
00:39:17
like reflection internal reflection yeah
00:39:19
yeah it's not geez there's so much to
00:39:21
unpack with um that that whole segment
00:39:23
that we've just discussed
00:39:25
um yeah I mean the the fertility thing
00:39:28
and uh you know those miscarriages it's
00:39:30
close to my heart because um yeah I went
00:39:32
through years and years of um fertility
00:39:34
treatment and there's a I don't know
00:39:35
there's a lot of guilt and shame with
00:39:37
that sort of stuff as well from from my
00:39:39
perspective because it was like a male
00:39:40
infertility problem and JJ had to do the
00:39:43
Lion's Share of the work when it came to
00:39:45
that stuff but you um
00:39:46
yeah one thing that I felt I found
00:39:49
strange and I still find strange I
00:39:50
understand the reason for it but you
00:39:52
know how when women get pregnant I don't
00:39:54
tell anyone during the danger zone the
00:39:56
first trimester or whatever and then and
00:39:58
this is the most common time to lose the
00:40:00
baby it happens during that time so
00:40:02
suddenly you're telling people you've
00:40:04
lost a baby but they're always they're
00:40:05
telling them that you got pregnant as
00:40:06
well yeah so it's um it's a lot eh yeah
00:40:09
yeah and I hadn't told anybody that I
00:40:10
was pregnant with any of them yeah
00:40:12
because you just don't no you don't and
00:40:14
um and then you don't tell and I was on
00:40:16
set
00:40:18
um I had to take a day off work to go
00:40:19
and have my DNC and then I'm on set the
00:40:22
next day
00:40:23
um and I hadn't told any of the staff
00:40:25
because we had a budget and we had a
00:40:28
timeline and we had people that we
00:40:29
needed to to process through we had
00:40:31
guests that we were we were working with
00:40:32
and so on so you just as you know as a
00:40:35
as a performer as a radio announcer and
00:40:37
a podcast host
00:40:39
you've got to find that little light
00:40:40
switch you got to flick it on and then
00:40:42
when you go home that's when you sink
00:40:44
into the bed and your cup what the
00:40:45
covers over your head and you your ball
00:40:47
into your pillow and things like that
00:40:49
yeah yeah because I suppose that was a
00:40:51
time where here we did the phrase
00:40:53
prioritizing one's mental health wasn't
00:40:55
even a saying no um did you look back
00:40:58
now and think I wish I took you know put
00:40:59
myself first and took time off work when
00:41:02
needed or no no were you were you quite
00:41:04
happy that quite proud of yourself in
00:41:05
your strength and resilience and your
00:41:06
powers I don't know if it was so much
00:41:08
proud I think it was the fact that as an
00:41:10
executive producer you knew that you
00:41:12
only had this much amount of budget left
00:41:14
you had this much amount of time left
00:41:15
you had and it really helped me in many
00:41:19
ways to bury it and to move on but it
00:41:22
then meant that I had to work through it
00:41:24
later so
00:41:26
um because it's so important that you do
00:41:28
yeah and it's about having those
00:41:30
conversations and talking to other
00:41:31
people but I wasn't even telling anybody
00:41:33
that I was trying to have a child and it
00:41:37
wasn't because I I I had got to the
00:41:40
stage where if I'd had another
00:41:41
miscarriage I could have gone to the
00:41:42
fertility
00:41:44
um right yeah so we hadn't quite got to
00:41:46
that stage but
00:41:49
and then then the glue stuck and and we
00:41:51
were able to I think it was the amount
00:41:52
of stress that my whole body was under
00:41:54
and we do put a lot of stress and once
00:41:56
you stop thinking about it and take that
00:41:58
pressure off you can actually sometimes
00:42:00
fall pregnant more easily yeah yeah
00:42:02
that's true so
00:42:04
um what do you remember about that
00:42:06
meeting at TV3 you had no idea it was
00:42:08
coming there was no service no no
00:42:11
I'd proposal in to say hey this is what
00:42:13
we've got planned for next year this is
00:42:14
what we'd like to do these are the
00:42:15
questions we want to ask and the places
00:42:17
we'd like to film and things like that
00:42:18
and they said oh yeah look about that
00:42:23
yeah there's been some changes and we
00:42:26
don't actually see a place for you and
00:42:29
the program anymore and to begin with we
00:42:31
don't see a place for the program
00:42:32
anymore and then it was we don't see a
00:42:34
place for you anymore and and you go oh
00:42:38
hang on
00:42:40
um it was a heck of a shock it really
00:42:42
was what do you like at that point do
00:42:44
you sort of get um defined and feisty or
00:42:47
do you just sort of like crumble and you
00:42:48
just um in that moment there was a lot
00:42:50
of blinking
00:42:52
there were tears I look there were tears
00:42:54
definitely yeah and there was a big hug
00:42:56
and all the rest of it and I just went
00:42:58
home and and
00:42:59
um and you allow the emotions to wash
00:43:02
over you and it came as such a big
00:43:04
surprise but um look it's it's really
00:43:07
interesting now because time is the
00:43:09
great healer and I just shared a post
00:43:11
just recently the other day about
00:43:13
um how our grief never gets any smaller
00:43:17
we just grow around our grief I saw that
00:43:21
on your Instagram and um it's like a
00:43:22
ball in a jar and the ball doesn't get
00:43:25
smaller the judge around it just gets
00:43:27
bigger bigger exactly because we might
00:43:29
have that one piece of grief but we then
00:43:32
grow around it to be able to cope
00:43:34
and we are going to have other instances
00:43:36
of grief that will either be the same
00:43:38
size smaller because it's a more distant
00:43:42
loss or as not as great a loss but then
00:43:45
again we'll have greater losses and it's
00:43:48
not that we are immune to it it's just
00:43:52
that we're learning how to cope with
00:43:54
that grief and deal with our emotions
00:43:56
and it's not about being stronger or
00:43:58
anything like that but it's just how we
00:44:01
allow that grief to sit within us
00:44:04
so you think you learned a lot about
00:44:05
yourself in that time yes but you learn
00:44:07
about yourself with everything you do
00:44:09
with being a parent with being somebody
00:44:12
that loses a child or or can't have a
00:44:14
child you had your pup Kanye on your
00:44:17
knee before yeah I don't know where he's
00:44:18
going he's around somewhere
00:44:23
they become some such a part of your
00:44:26
family that even when they're unwell you
00:44:28
know you ache the way you would if it
00:44:31
was a life partner
00:44:34
so you mentioned before that um yeah one
00:44:36
door closes and another one always opens
00:44:38
but the um I suppose the
00:44:40
anxiety-inducing thing about that is the
00:44:42
daughter the new door doesn't always
00:44:43
open immediately
00:44:45
it's a scary thing it's not like you
00:44:47
walk out of TV three and then there's a
00:44:48
bunch of doors and you're like which one
00:44:49
am I gonna walk through so what happens
00:44:52
to your leave TV3 and then
00:44:54
you I'm guessing you phoned Steve
00:44:55
straight away and yep yep and it's
00:44:57
headed straight home to him and
00:45:00
I've sat with it for about a week and
00:45:03
then I rang my old photography boss and
00:45:05
said hey do you have a assistant that
00:45:09
have an assistant at the moment do you
00:45:10
need one and he said well actually I've
00:45:12
got a couple of big projects coming up
00:45:14
yeah so I went to work for him so um
00:45:17
that was wonderful
00:45:18
um just stepped back into that role yeah
00:45:20
and
00:45:21
um
00:45:22
just wrote it out for a little while and
00:45:24
I think yeah as I say I started to climb
00:45:27
back into a place where I could be
00:45:30
creative and be productive and I'd
00:45:31
started taking singing lessons not
00:45:33
because I had an interview or audition
00:45:35
for you and me coming out but because
00:45:37
it's something that I'd always wanted to
00:45:39
do and I've always loved music and
00:45:41
always loved singing and although I
00:45:43
wasn't looking at a career in television
00:45:46
anymore
00:45:48
that opportunity came up oh did you
00:45:50
think at that point that that was you
00:45:52
done with TV oh you never know I've
00:45:55
never had an agent right so I've never
00:45:57
been on anybody's books to say oh look
00:45:59
go audition for this go and go and try
00:46:00
for this TV ad go and try for this it's
00:46:03
always been
00:46:04
a matter of being in the right place at
00:46:06
the right time or or something like that
00:46:08
or forming my own production company as
00:46:11
I did once you and me finished and
00:46:15
um and and going what kind of TV
00:46:17
programs do I want to make an
00:46:18
educational one because I learned the
00:46:20
value of educational television with
00:46:21
being a part of you and me and it's um
00:46:25
Susie's world became more of a veggie
00:46:26
burger whereas you and me was always
00:46:28
about education it was always one two
00:46:31
three ABC you know
00:46:33
um and all the colors and things like
00:46:35
that and using Terror to a certain
00:46:39
extent with greetings and and pointing
00:46:42
out things and parts of the body and and
00:46:44
naming the you know items of furniture
00:46:46
and things around the house that kids
00:46:48
could easily identify it was always
00:46:50
based on education but for preschoolers
00:46:52
Susie's world was based on the school
00:46:55
science curriculum and providing it in a
00:46:58
fun way so that kids didn't even realize
00:47:00
they were learning they were watching
00:47:01
Susie Fruit Loop trying to find the
00:47:03
answers
00:47:04
along the way it's a learning by stealth
00:47:07
yeah in a way yeah so um you mentioned
00:47:09
before setting up your own production
00:47:10
company so a lot of people that are
00:47:12
watching this or listening to this
00:47:13
podcast won't know what that means so
00:47:15
how can you break that down and like
00:47:18
simple terms okay so when you have a
00:47:20
production company you put a proposal
00:47:22
together
00:47:23
and say this is the kind of program that
00:47:25
I want to make you go and knock on the
00:47:26
broadcaster's door and you say hey would
00:47:28
you like me to make this program for you
00:47:30
and they might say yes or they might go
00:47:32
nah or they might go yes but I want you
00:47:34
to do it this way or it needs to have
00:47:36
this or it needs to have you know um
00:47:38
whatever and back then it seemed to be
00:47:40
so much easier the broadcaster said yes
00:47:42
and um you took the proposal to New
00:47:45
Zealand on here and they said yes and
00:47:47
you've got a certain amount of funding
00:47:49
and the production company would then
00:47:51
employ The Producers the directors the
00:47:55
camera operators and soundies and the
00:47:58
crew that you needed so I would have a
00:48:01
team of there'd be about six people
00:48:04
every day and we'd make two programs in
00:48:06
a day we might film one on on
00:48:09
um Victoria Mount Victoria and devonport
00:48:11
and then go to takapuna beach or we
00:48:14
might be on One Tree Hill and then down
00:48:16
in onehunga doing something or either
00:48:19
end of the country filming
00:48:21
and would take a team with us and then
00:48:23
there'd be a team back at the office
00:48:25
sorting sorting up the schedules and
00:48:27
doing the editing and you know all those
00:48:28
sorts of things so a production company
00:48:30
is a team of people making television or
00:48:33
radio or or podcasts
00:48:36
in this day and age that production
00:48:38
company for a lot of us dominates you
00:48:41
and
00:48:43
um
00:48:44
yeah at this stage yeah yeah it started
00:48:49
with just me and then um Dougie came
00:48:51
along last year and he was like hey man
00:48:52
I really like what you're doing with the
00:48:53
podcast so he came along as a volunteer
00:48:55
and uh thankfully we've got some money
00:48:57
coming in now so he's earning a little
00:48:59
bit
00:49:00
um but yeah I'm hoping to like grow a
00:49:01
team here wonderful because when you
00:49:03
have a team around you can do so much
00:49:04
more yeah you've obviously done some
00:49:06
really good research anyway but um when
00:49:08
you've got a team that can be uh pulling
00:49:11
that information in and all that footage
00:49:13
and you know all those sorts of things
00:49:14
it does make it easier and for promotion
00:49:16
and those sorts of things yeah so now
00:49:19
um I've got a small team for my radio
00:49:20
show which is on 28 radio stations
00:49:22
around the country and we're in our 16th
00:49:25
Series so we've been on for nearly 16
00:49:27
years and we're one of the best kept
00:49:29
secrets because we're not on any of the
00:49:31
big stations we're on the little rural
00:49:33
stations and the access stations and
00:49:35
things like that but those are the ones
00:49:36
that are most family focused and it's
00:49:38
all about you know the the old classic
00:49:40
songs and stories and we've got about 80
00:49:43
percent New Zealand content so lots of
00:49:45
cath bees and wonky donkey mans and the
00:49:47
nicomores you know all those amazing
00:49:50
amazing where is it where can people
00:49:51
listen or is it available as a podcast
00:49:53
as well or it is about to be we're just
00:49:55
we're just trying to get some funding
00:49:57
for that actually but
00:49:59
um the uh if you go to susie.co.nz
00:50:03
you'll find my YouTube channel you'll
00:50:05
find my radio show you'll find my
00:50:07
coloring pages I've just added um Cato's
00:50:10
kitchen which is something that I've
00:50:12
always wanted to do is have my own
00:50:13
little cooking show so I'm doing that
00:50:15
now via my Tick Tock platform crikey all
00:50:19
these things that weren't even invented
00:50:21
when I first started mind-boggling so do
00:50:23
you do you are you um well versed on
00:50:25
Tech talk like do you know how or is
00:50:27
there someone that does them for you
00:50:28
like um no I'm I'm doing them myself
00:50:30
though there's a lot you can spend a lot
00:50:32
of time making a tick tock yeah yeah
00:50:34
yeah or if you watch mine a little very
00:50:36
little time because the dance routines I
00:50:38
get my unfortunately my daughters now
00:50:40
overseas otherwise I I need to find
00:50:42
somebody new to teach me the dance so I
00:50:44
can do them but um now my husband is
00:50:47
actually in my production team who he
00:50:49
started in radio now he's self-taught
00:50:51
how to use the cameras and all the
00:50:52
editing equipment to actually put these
00:50:54
little things together for me so
00:50:56
yeah it's tight but it's great and we're
00:50:59
having fun yeah amazing geez we've been
00:51:01
going 50 minutes we haven't even got to
00:51:03
the got to the the meat yet of Dancing
00:51:05
With the Stars
00:51:07
so dance with us 2018 when were you on
00:51:09
was it 2018 2018 2018 and yeah you had
00:51:12
met us your dance partner you you didn't
00:51:14
do very well right you got voted off
00:51:15
quite early no I did okay
00:51:18
I know I'm sorry I can't remember so you
00:51:22
got to about week eight so I did oh
00:51:24
okay you did very well then somebody who
00:51:26
doesn't dance and somebody who didn't
00:51:28
take any extra dance lessons before she
00:51:30
started I'm like
00:51:32
um I um what was that was that Susie
00:51:35
being sassy sassy Susie yeah yeah so who
00:51:38
who was on your season who can you
00:51:40
remember some of the other people it was
00:51:41
David Seymour on that one yes David
00:51:43
Seymour I love David we had so much fun
00:51:45
together and he coped so well with all
00:51:47
the flick that he got thrown yeah so did
00:51:49
he did he beat you he was he dead right
00:51:51
right but that was kind of like a comedy
00:51:54
like it was like a vote for the worst
00:51:55
sort of thing like no one no one thought
00:51:57
David could dance as well as what you
00:51:58
could oh well thank you very
00:52:02
he talked about his memories of Dancing
00:52:04
With the Stars as well yeah and look it
00:52:06
was a challenge for us all you know some
00:52:07
of us more than others because I was I
00:52:09
was a decade or two older than than
00:52:11
young Jess Jess Quinn
00:52:13
um oh she won that year right no no it
00:52:15
was
00:52:16
um Samantha Hayes that won that year
00:52:17
right but it was her and Jess I can't
00:52:19
believe you were just complimenting me
00:52:20
on my research and now I'm like [ __ ]
00:52:22
everything I've been Dancing with the
00:52:23
Stars yeah but no
00:52:26
um it was so much fun it was a huge
00:52:28
challenge because as I say I started to
00:52:29
walk before I could even start to dance
00:52:31
and some of these people were our
00:52:33
Runners they're fit heirs and dancers so
00:52:36
um my dance partner Matt was very very
00:52:38
patient and very very kind and very very
00:52:40
good at saying lift no other left
00:52:44
without moving his lap so oh not while
00:52:46
you were doing the actual dance yeah
00:52:49
yeah
00:52:49
very good the pressure on his hands I
00:52:52
knew where we were going to
00:52:54
involved in it absolutely not I no I I
00:52:59
am
00:53:00
I I whenever it's on TV I love it as a
00:53:04
show I get clearly watching it like the
00:53:05
thought of learning like 90 seconds
00:53:07
worth of dance moves I don't know how
00:53:09
anyone does it that's a lot to remember
00:53:10
yeah JoJo did a great job when she was
00:53:13
on
00:53:14
um yeah oh good for you how did you find
00:53:17
um
00:53:18
so you've been with your husband for
00:53:20
like quarter of a century or whatever it
00:53:21
happens to be like your lifelong partner
00:53:23
how did it feel to suddenly be like um
00:53:26
have that level of intimacy with a new
00:53:28
person you know you like you're dancing
00:53:30
with someone for eight hours a day
00:53:31
you're right up in each other's faces
00:53:33
even if this even if there's nothing
00:53:36
um you know sexual chemistry wise there
00:53:38
it is still like very very intimate and
00:53:40
in your face did that feel weird um it
00:53:42
certainly did yeah certainly did in fact
00:53:44
we were into about the third or fourth
00:53:46
um day of dancing together and um Matt
00:53:49
said Susie you're doing so well you know
00:53:52
you're doing great he said however you
00:53:54
know this part of your body and he
00:53:55
pointed to around my chest area down to
00:53:57
about mid thigh he said that part of
00:53:59
your body needs to be pressed up against
00:54:02
my body from here to there and he put
00:54:05
out his thigh and he said hop on
00:54:10
and so because of the dancers that we're
00:54:12
doing you had to put your legs in
00:54:14
between each others and things right
00:54:16
sort of intertwined yeah oh correctly
00:54:19
I'd never been in anybody's arms other
00:54:20
than my husband's but you know for years
00:54:22
it was like
00:54:25
panic attack and
00:54:27
um but you we got closer and closer we
00:54:29
got used to it which was great and then
00:54:31
the weekend the the day before we were
00:54:35
going to be on um television but the
00:54:37
live show I invited his wife and my
00:54:41
husband and my kids to see how mummy was
00:54:44
going to be dancing with Matt because I
00:54:47
just needed them to all know
00:54:50
than anything else did you feel like an
00:54:53
element of like guilt in a way like you
00:54:54
were you were doing something naughty
00:54:56
like oh it just felt just it just about
00:54:58
I just needed them to be aware that
00:54:59
everything was above board everything
00:55:01
was okay and yes I was dancing very
00:55:03
close to Matt but Matt was young enough
00:55:04
to be my son and oh God I love him he's
00:55:07
such a neat guy and we had so many
00:55:09
laughs and he was so very patient and
00:55:12
I'm just gutted that um I finally got
00:55:16
brave enough to be airborne
00:55:18
the weekend that
00:55:20
um we did our final dance and I was all
00:55:23
set to was like oh next time he might
00:55:25
actually lift me I'd been so conscious
00:55:28
of my my of myself
00:55:31
what do you mean oh
00:55:33
um
00:55:34
I'm quite short but I'm quite solid and
00:55:38
I just didn't want to break his back or
00:55:40
anything oh come on
00:55:42
it's awesome 50k 55 kilos I know I know
00:55:46
but crikey um I can be a dead weight
00:55:48
anyway
00:55:49
um but it was also that whole thing of
00:55:52
of I'm not great with Heights and I'm
00:55:55
not great with not a lot of clothing on
00:55:58
you know all those things yeah okay a
00:56:00
generational thing but it's also a part
00:56:01
of of me I mean you look at anything
00:56:03
that I've worn on television it's
00:56:05
normally up to Monique and down to my
00:56:06
toes don't think yeah yeah I did wonder
00:56:09
about that because if I felt um
00:56:11
I mean it's ballroom dancing I was about
00:56:13
to say it sort of felt like off-brand
00:56:15
the brand that we know is Susie Cato
00:56:16
that but it's not really it's ballroom
00:56:18
dancing but as soon as that the promo
00:56:20
video came out it's like oh [ __ ] yeah
00:56:22
what have they done with Susie exactly
00:56:24
and as somebody said childhood broken
00:56:36
um smashing like so many so many
00:56:38
personal comfort zone things in that
00:56:40
whole sort of Dancing With the Stars era
00:56:42
yeah so it pushed a whole lot of
00:56:43
boundaries and learned a lot about
00:56:45
myself and and once I decided once I
00:56:47
signed the contract it was like right
00:56:49
we're gonna do this so stepping out in
00:56:51
the leather pants was just the beginning
00:56:52
and then as you you might have noticed
00:56:54
we might not have but um the the frocks
00:56:58
got shorter and shorter each time until
00:56:59
I the my final dance was in the peritogs
00:57:02
with the whole lot of feathers hanging
00:57:03
out the back oh the Tweety Bird costume
00:57:05
the yellow one yeah yeah so the next
00:57:09
outfit was going to be an absolute
00:57:10
stunner it was more floor length but it
00:57:12
was going to be an absolute stunner it
00:57:13
was going to be the Viennese Waltz and
00:57:15
it was going to be absolutely beautiful
00:57:17
and it was a Mets favorite dance so I
00:57:20
was gutted that we didn't do his
00:57:22
favorite dance and the outfit that he
00:57:24
had designed was just going to be
00:57:26
perfect but um
00:57:29
I keep thinking one day they'll do a
00:57:31
celebrity call back and I'll get called
00:57:33
back but I better do it quick because
00:57:35
I'm not
00:57:38
I'm not you know you can do it now
00:57:39
um and you can't so you can teach an old
00:57:42
dog new trick so you can you can if it's
00:57:44
just that the old dog needs to want to
00:57:45
be able to do the new tricks I guess
00:57:48
um he has a physicality because we were
00:57:50
all strapped up yeah we were ribs and
00:57:52
and ankles and all the rest of it yeah
00:57:54
did you end up with um like a post
00:57:57
Dancing with the Stars like come down or
00:57:59
depression like yeah isn't well not I
00:58:01
didn't I didn't have it the same way
00:58:02
that a lot of others yeah because
00:58:05
turned 50 d a week after I got voted off
00:58:10
the island basically and then two days
00:58:13
after Dancing with the Stars and I kept
00:58:14
saying with the contract as I'm signing
00:58:16
it it will finish on this date won't it
00:58:18
will finish on this date because
00:58:21
um we boarded a plane to go on a cruise
00:58:23
around the Mediterranean so you can't
00:58:26
turn 50 and have had a better year I
00:58:28
don't think I did Dancing with the Stars
00:58:30
frocked up tanned up you know glitched
00:58:33
up to the nine it was a dream come true
00:58:35
for me and then two board a plane to go
00:58:38
on a cruise around the Mediterranean was
00:58:41
just amazing we just had I had the best
00:58:44
year and I did so little work that I'm
00:58:46
still so far behind on catching up with
00:58:48
everything that I should have done back
00:58:49
in 2018 but it was just the best it was
00:58:53
just amazing everyone on the cruise just
00:58:55
you and Steve no it was the whole family
00:58:56
oh the kids as well so we got taken over
00:58:59
by my father-in-law and my sister-in-law
00:59:02
was there as well and we went on a
00:59:04
massive family cruise together it was a
00:59:06
kind of everybody's 50th combined and a
00:59:10
chance for the kids to to experience
00:59:11
something absolutely amazing amazing
00:59:13
yeah how do you feel about aging you
00:59:15
quite you quite you seem quite
00:59:17
comfortable in your own skin yeah yeah
00:59:19
more comfortable now my own skin than
00:59:21
I've ever was right and you think you
00:59:24
just slowly gets better well maybe that
00:59:26
I'm actually maturing that's the
00:59:28
oh the
00:59:29
Beijing it's harder to get up off the
00:59:31
floor and here I am sitting across
00:59:33
legged on the chair because it's a bit
00:59:34
more comfortable
00:59:36
um otherwise my feet swing off but
00:59:39
um you know I'll probably pay for it
00:59:41
with my knees tomorrow type thing but um
00:59:44
I don't feel too much older than I was
00:59:48
when I was first making Telly so yeah
00:59:51
it's funny that I I said to someone the
00:59:53
other day it was like um you feel
00:59:54
exactly the same and then you get a
00:59:56
glimpse of yourself in the mirror and
00:59:57
you're like oh [ __ ] yes oh that is that
00:59:59
is me that is that is what we're
01:00:00
currently dealing with yeah
01:00:05
when I have my glasses on I go oh
01:00:07
correct yeah I heard a story about Axel
01:00:09
writes from Guns and Roses apparently
01:00:11
whenever he tours uh he gets all the
01:00:14
mirrors taken out of his hotel room
01:00:15
because seriously yeah which um made me
01:00:18
feel a bit I don't know if it's true or
01:00:19
rumor but it made me feel a bit sad yeah
01:00:21
definitely to have that sort of
01:00:22
relationship with yourself yeah yeah we
01:00:25
need to be able to love ourselves for
01:00:26
Who We Are whatever state we're in and
01:00:29
we are going to be in all kinds of
01:00:31
States as we as we grow older yeah but
01:00:33
it's a it's a privilege isn't it to be
01:00:35
older yes yes
01:00:37
yeah absolutely oh and um another
01:00:40
reality show I have to dance with the
01:00:41
stars you went on The Masked Singer yes
01:00:43
that's the that's that's the one where
01:00:45
you did atrociously right you were yes I
01:00:48
don't like to think of it as being doing
01:00:50
atrocious you're the first person kicked
01:00:52
off the island I made history I was the
01:00:55
first unmasked mask singer ever in New
01:00:58
Zealand and what do you mean unmasked my
01:01:00
singer oh I was the first one to take my
01:01:02
mask oh so this was season one season
01:01:04
one yeah so and everybody there has to
01:01:07
be the first person and my voice was so
01:01:09
recognizable
01:01:11
and potentially so bad that um
01:01:16
they just couldn't wait to sing so
01:01:18
you'll see you later so I had I what did
01:01:21
I sing
01:01:22
um woke up late by um oh Drex projects
01:01:24
yeah
01:01:26
um and I thought I'd chosen a song that
01:01:28
had disguised my voice enough but
01:01:30
obviously not
01:01:31
wow amazing no regrets no
01:01:35
yes no regrets even
01:01:43
in the in the muffins
01:01:47
was so kind when he said now tell me
01:01:51
about these muffins there's a cushiness
01:01:53
to the sweetness and that's because he's
01:01:55
saying that I was
01:01:57
chugger into the muffin because I forgot
01:01:59
to put it in the actual mix before they
01:02:01
went in the oven yeah if you had asked
01:02:03
to go on uh like another season of
01:02:05
celebrity Treasure Island or something
01:02:06
what would you say would you say used to
01:02:08
that I have been asked and I have
01:02:10
declined in the past really why
01:02:13
um I hear that's a different kind of
01:02:14
physicality and I hear it's also a
01:02:19
different kind of person that they're
01:02:20
looking for to share on that program and
01:02:23
I'm quite happy being Susie yeah I mean
01:02:26
you're very you're very authentic though
01:02:27
so I I feel like with you one thing I've
01:02:30
learned um today which I'm probably not
01:02:31
surprised about like what you see is
01:02:33
what you get yeah you know there's I'm
01:02:35
you know at this point like maybe five
01:02:37
ten percent that no one else gets to see
01:02:38
apart from Steve but generally like you
01:02:41
know this is you yeah yeah it is me it
01:02:44
is me so I don't think I don't think
01:02:45
you'd go on a show like that and be
01:02:47
people are oh god oh Susie yeah see what
01:02:50
she's really like when she hasn't slept
01:02:51
for three days well maybe I haven't seen
01:02:54
that either
01:02:55
yeah I watched the last season with Dame
01:02:57
Susan devoyan she's she like she's she I
01:03:00
think she's in her late 50s or even
01:03:01
early 60s and um yeah like yeah it gets
01:03:04
quite ratty at times this is Dame Susan
01:03:06
devoy and she's throwing like a tantrum
01:03:09
in the sand like she said on the sand
01:03:10
with her legs crossed like QR now right
01:03:12
okay I missed that episode it has been
01:03:15
been raining and she just had enough and
01:03:16
she said I'm not having it anymore
01:03:18
that could very well be me I've not been
01:03:21
put in that situation and I don't think
01:03:23
I bought them yeah no no no no you had a
01:03:25
good time during covert you were like
01:03:27
the great savior uh yeah so this just
01:03:29
came to mind now you the New Zealand
01:03:31
government called upon you like Susie
01:03:33
saves the day oh well I don't know about
01:03:34
that but what I what I did was I picked
01:03:36
up the phone and said hey
01:03:38
um are you doing anything for the
01:03:40
minister with the Ministry of Education
01:03:41
are you going to put any content on
01:03:44
because if you do I've got um all these
01:03:47
episodes of Susie's world you're more
01:03:48
than welcome to use them they said great
01:03:50
thank you would you like to make some
01:03:52
more I said yes I'd love to and then
01:03:55
went oh hell how do I do this normally I
01:03:59
call in a camera operator and all the
01:04:00
rest of it but we can't do that so
01:04:02
that's when I had to ask my husband you
01:04:04
know those cameras that we've just
01:04:05
bought that aren't even out of the box
01:04:07
yet and we bought them because I was
01:04:09
going to start touring and we were
01:04:10
hopefully going to record some of um
01:04:13
crafts and things like that with kids
01:04:14
around the country
01:04:16
um can we open those boxes and find out
01:04:17
how to use them because I've just said
01:04:19
Yes to the Dress and we're going to be
01:04:20
making some um programs and he would oh
01:04:24
okay Eddie had to learn how to use them
01:04:26
but yeah it was a wonderful opportunity
01:04:28
because I got to reconnect with a whole
01:04:30
lot of adults and connect with a whole
01:04:33
lot of kiwis little a new generation
01:04:34
that I'd not met before who hadn't met
01:04:36
this crazy lady that likes to sing and
01:04:39
make Play-Doh and
01:04:41
and be silly yeah I feel like at that
01:04:43
time you're probably a savior for a lot
01:04:44
of parents with um I mean it was a it
01:04:46
was a crazy time wasn't it it was a
01:04:48
crazy time no one knew what was going on
01:04:49
no no none of us did but it was a sanity
01:04:52
block and and I guess I can't just say
01:04:53
it was I was the only savior it was that
01:04:56
whole team that put all that content
01:04:58
together and it was just so lucky that I
01:05:00
had so much already in the can that I
01:05:03
could provide them that um and as chair
01:05:06
of the Kiwi kids music group I was able
01:05:10
to call on all of them for their music
01:05:12
videos and things like that so he ended
01:05:14
up with a whole lot of content that tvnz
01:05:16
hadn't already had that the kids were
01:05:18
now aware of all these singers and
01:05:20
songwriters who had music videos that
01:05:22
were sounded appear appear on Home
01:05:25
Learning TV but also on TV too as well
01:05:27
so yeah it was great it was the perfect
01:05:30
timing it was able we were able to make
01:05:32
a whole lot of content and get it out
01:05:34
there with captive eyeballs
01:05:36
that's awesome that's awesome it's funny
01:05:40
so you've got this new generation of um
01:05:42
kiwi kids coming through who know who
01:05:43
Susie Cato is and then
01:05:45
um last time I saw you was probably when
01:05:47
you came into the like The Edge radio
01:05:49
station when I was there and uh they
01:05:50
were you know um young women there and
01:05:52
they're like early to mid 20s or
01:05:54
whatever who also had that same sort of
01:05:56
connection with you from their childhood
01:05:58
like what's the sort of like demographic
01:06:01
or fan base that gets the most excited
01:06:03
when they see you probably more the
01:06:06
young adults who watched me when they
01:06:07
were little yeah because I can transport
01:06:10
them back to a time where it was
01:06:13
carefree and easy and happy and all I
01:06:16
said was hello my friend how are you
01:06:19
today are you having a good day and we
01:06:21
would sit on the couch and we'd tell
01:06:23
stories and all those sorts of things so
01:06:25
the kids that are coming through now
01:06:27
they don't have the same volume of me
01:06:29
unless mum and dad have found my YouTube
01:06:31
channel and then you know they've got
01:06:32
access to me and and I'm reading stories
01:06:35
on a Wednesday night and a Thursday
01:06:37
night and a lot of them are having me as
01:06:39
a bedtime story which is absolutely
01:06:40
lovely and I'll read the bedtime story
01:06:42
but um so it's that older age group who
01:06:45
really appreciate it and my voice will
01:06:48
take them back to a nice relaxing calm
01:06:52
time where we just sat and we talked and
01:06:54
we sang and we had fun
01:06:56
it's such a powerful thing isn't it such
01:06:58
a cool connection to have and one thing
01:07:00
I'd like to ask all my guests is um
01:07:02
about their mental health how's yours is
01:07:04
it mostly good we touched upon before
01:07:05
the TV3 um incident in 2002.
01:07:10
um yeah it's your mental health mostly
01:07:12
good are you quite quite kind to
01:07:14
yourself yeah
01:07:17
does that come with aging or yep comes
01:07:19
with aging it comes with a lot of self
01:07:21
work I haven't been to to councilors
01:07:24
myself but I have read so many books and
01:07:27
it's always been about
01:07:29
helping others just as much as it is
01:07:31
about helping myself because when
01:07:33
TV3 kind of came to an end with Susie's
01:07:36
world and so on and before I fell
01:07:37
pregnant I went okay what am I going to
01:07:39
do and actually every now and then when
01:07:42
you put a proposal in for funding and
01:07:43
you go if I don't get funding this year
01:07:46
what am I going to do I look at I'd love
01:07:50
to do my counseling papers so that I can
01:07:52
actually put the years of experience and
01:07:55
and the years of reading and and and
01:07:57
working with families and and learning
01:08:00
from others if I could actually put that
01:08:01
to good use and still have an access to
01:08:04
people because of my name if I can
01:08:07
create some resources that would be
01:08:10
useful that but there's so many good
01:08:11
resources out there now yeah and so
01:08:13
that's one thing I'm able to do is
01:08:16
um I'll
01:08:17
um I'll read or do a book review on
01:08:19
useful books so these are self-help
01:08:22
books for kids that kids read a story
01:08:24
and they don't even realize that they're
01:08:25
picking up a strategy or or something
01:08:27
like that or the people that have
01:08:29
written them and created them have
01:08:31
resources in the back of the book or a
01:08:33
website that parents can go to to find
01:08:35
that kind of information that's great
01:08:37
for the kids
01:08:38
and they're actually utilizing it
01:08:39
themselves in the process so you know
01:08:42
it's it's I'm already doing that kind of
01:08:44
thing already and at the moment the
01:08:46
funding keeps coming in so I keep
01:08:48
getting to do what I do and I love what
01:08:50
I do so yeah yeah oh it's a privilege
01:08:53
isn't it oh yeah yeah and what you're
01:08:55
doing and talking about people's
01:08:57
um well-being and and how they're
01:08:58
helping themselves is going to help
01:09:00
other people
01:09:01
yeah well it's you know but when people
01:09:04
used to talk about as they used to I'm
01:09:06
talking about like three four years ago
01:09:08
when people talked about mental health
01:09:09
you just assumed up with something bad
01:09:10
but we all have mental health just like
01:09:12
we all have physical health and uh so if
01:09:14
I speak to someone that's um yeah in a
01:09:17
good place with their mental health it's
01:09:19
like it's nice to learn what tips and
01:09:20
tricks they do yeah um it seems like
01:09:22
you've got yeah like you like to sing in
01:09:24
the shower yeah sing or scream and
01:09:26
screaming scream or whatever yeah yeah
01:09:28
yeah and I'm always belting at a big
01:09:30
song and sometimes it's for very
01:09:32
different reasons it depends if it's a
01:09:33
rap song it might have a few words in it
01:09:34
but do you listen to some hip hop do you
01:09:37
oh yeah well with a 15 year old
01:09:39
definitely but
01:09:40
um my son is really big on the on the
01:09:42
hip-hop and in fact he says mum you're
01:09:43
gonna have to wind the windows up on
01:09:45
this one
01:09:46
this is an inside car only one and Mum
01:09:50
we're not allowed to sing along to these
01:09:51
words
01:09:52
what's next for Susie Cato oh I don't
01:09:55
know if I told you I'd have to kill you
01:09:57
I imagine imagine you becoming a
01:10:00
murderer that would be amazing wow
01:10:03
I've got so much coming up I've got some
01:10:06
songs coming out I've got a book coming
01:10:07
out
01:10:09
um I'm actually in my first movie so I
01:10:12
only play a bit part but I'm in the
01:10:14
movie Red White and brass and it's about
01:10:17
the Tongan brass band that forms to be
01:10:20
able to go to the Rugby World Cup
01:10:22
Tonga vs France from 2011 and so it's
01:10:26
based on a true story and I play Liz I'm
01:10:29
the music teacher of a brass band can I
01:10:33
play music no I can barely play the
01:10:34
ukulele so to be able to be a well these
01:10:38
are saying if you can't do it teach
01:10:40
how many how many music teachers have
01:10:42
failed musicians probably quite a few
01:10:44
well so did you
01:10:46
um audition for this is that thing
01:10:48
something you wanted to do or look at
01:10:50
something that I've always wanted to do
01:10:51
and look I've had the chance to act many
01:10:52
times on you and me I was Mrs wobble and
01:10:55
all kinds of things yeah I've always
01:10:57
expected to be on shortland street but
01:10:59
maybe as a Jane Doe with a you know have
01:11:01
tag
01:11:08
all right
01:11:10
well true and I'd have to probably pay
01:11:12
Susie Cato and I play a role that's very
01:11:15
much like Susie Cato in this movie so
01:11:17
I'm Liz the music teacher and I'm in for
01:11:20
the the shortest amount of time but I
01:11:23
just had the best time on set they just
01:11:25
had so much fun and the talent of this
01:11:28
crew is amazing JP who's the lead in it
01:11:32
he just knocked my socks off and it's
01:11:34
his first time he's ever been in a
01:11:35
feature movie and in fact a lot of them
01:11:37
it's their first feature movie you've
01:11:39
got to go and see it it starts on the
01:11:41
23rd of March and it's going to be in
01:11:43
cinemas right throughout the country and
01:11:45
it's one of those real feel good not
01:11:48
quite sing-along but it's a feel-good
01:11:50
um picker upper it's just wonderful
01:11:52
amazing I'm not even familiar with this
01:11:54
the story oh okay really yeah I remember
01:11:57
the um yeah the 2011 Rugby World Cup
01:11:58
very well and there was another movie
01:12:00
made called the kick about Stephen
01:12:01
Donald
01:12:02
you know scoring the winning the winning
01:12:04
goal so what's the story about Tongan
01:12:07
Brass Band yeah it's a it's a Tongan a
01:12:09
group of Tongan folk and I should
01:12:11
actually be pronouncing it properly
01:12:12
dongan Tongan folk that um want to go to
01:12:15
the Rugby World Cup and the way they
01:12:17
decide to do it is to form a brass band
01:12:20
so that they can perform and get tickets
01:12:23
and it's not just tickets for themselves
01:12:24
it's the time the tickets for their
01:12:26
whole Community right so within a
01:12:28
stretch of about four to six weeks they
01:12:30
have to learn a piece on brass
01:12:33
instruments to be able to play is this a
01:12:36
true story yeah well it's based on true
01:12:38
story yeah yeah yeah there's a there's a
01:12:40
little bit of creative license for sure
01:12:42
yeah um I think I do remember uh from
01:12:45
2011 when the Rugby World Cup was held
01:12:47
in New Zealand just the um the Tongan
01:12:49
pandemonium and uh just the fans get
01:12:52
into it so much and the red and white
01:12:53
flags everywhere so uh well what a
01:12:56
fabulous story what a great thing to be
01:12:57
a part of oh yeah definitely and
01:12:58
hopefully it's the beginning of so many
01:13:00
more things for all of us involved in
01:13:02
the movie yeah actually I was gonna ask
01:13:03
you if you've got like a taste of it now
01:13:05
you're Keen to explore more acting
01:13:07
opportunities oh I'd love to I'd love to
01:13:08
got I've got my EP that I need to get
01:13:10
out there's so many things so yeah
01:13:13
um I don't think of it in terms of a
01:13:14
bucket list it's a barrel list and I've
01:13:17
only just scratched the surface so I'm
01:13:19
going to be around for a long time I'm
01:13:20
so so pleased to hear you say that I've
01:13:22
got some friends who are in the uh their
01:13:23
50s and I sort of like winding down the
01:13:25
clock and I'm like no there are still so
01:13:28
many excellent years left so don't put
01:13:31
limits on yourself apart from celebrity
01:13:33
Treasure Island
01:13:34
I guess never say never either today you
01:13:38
never know oh that's cool Susie thank
01:13:41
you so much for coming over today it's
01:13:42
been it's been wonderful it's been a
01:13:44
wonderful chat well thank you thank you
01:13:45
for brushing on some things that
01:13:47
nobody's brushed on before because
01:13:49
uh having an opportunity to talk about
01:13:51
it actually I don't know it gets gives
01:13:54
me another chance to process it as well
01:13:56
yeah and also I feel like um one thing
01:14:00
I've learned with doing this podcast the
01:14:01
past year everyone is carrying around
01:14:03
like a bag of [ __ ] to a degree it's just
01:14:04
how much [ __ ] they're carry around
01:14:06
um you've had times when your own mental
01:14:09
health hasn't been as good yeah yeah and
01:14:11
it's hard to actually talk about it at
01:14:13
the time and once you're out the other
01:14:15
side and the further you leave it behind
01:14:18
the harder it is to actually connect
01:14:19
with those
01:14:21
feelings the intensity of those feelings
01:14:23
because
01:14:24
you've built you've grown around that
01:14:27
ball if you've moved on you will say
01:14:30
you're something that you um said before
01:14:31
that I um sort of picked up on it uh I
01:14:34
think you've been good at this and I've
01:14:35
just learned
01:14:36
through my own trial linear that I have
01:14:38
to be good at it
01:14:39
um when when [ __ ] goes bad in your life
01:14:41
you have to have to deal with it and
01:14:42
process it then and there I was just
01:14:44
very very good at
01:14:46
um you know
01:14:47
just hiding it in the closet and moving
01:14:49
forward each round of like IVF that we
01:14:52
had or each sort of you know upheaval in
01:14:55
life just like put it behind me and move
01:14:56
on um I don't know why I think that's
01:14:58
just how I was raised but it's like it's
01:15:00
like getting dirty gym clothes and
01:15:02
putting it in a bag eventually like
01:15:04
you're gonna have to wash it exactly
01:15:06
because you think you're leaving it in
01:15:07
that closet but you move house and it
01:15:10
comes
01:15:11
unfortunately all right if only there
01:15:14
was a song that we could end with oh I
01:15:16
wonder
01:15:16
[Laughter]
01:15:19
I can do a rap song
01:15:21
[Music]
01:15:23
It's Time to Say Goodbye see you see you
01:15:27
later we've really got to fly see you
01:15:30
see you later it's time for this to end
01:15:33
see you see you later come and join Dom
01:15:36
again okay
01:15:38
it is disgraceful that you were the
01:15:40
first person kicked off The Mask singer
01:15:42
Susie Katie thank you so much thank you
01:15:45
it was an absolute pleasure
01:15:48
[Music]
