00:00:00
we got into that but of course Karen was
00:00:03
a graphic designer by trade and he was
00:00:05
working at a full-time job at Yellow
00:00:06
Pages so he could help me out when he
00:00:08
wasn't in his full-time job of course
00:00:11
and um and we got in some other help the
00:00:13
guy that had worked in television and
00:00:14
all that sort of stuff but he was
00:00:16
expensive to get him to come and help us
00:00:19
and everything I did that's not how you
00:00:21
present that's a bad idea you don't get
00:00:24
shots like that that won't work this is
00:00:26
and he just rubbished everything we did
00:00:28
um and I was like we're paying a whole
00:00:30
lot of money for you to tell us that
00:00:31
we're doing a [ __ ] job and we haven't
00:00:33
got that much more so you can [ __ ] off
00:00:36
um and and so I got that's when I got
00:00:38
the manual and I I read the manual and
00:00:40
learned how to use the camera myself and
00:00:41
I was like oh if we try this and you
00:00:43
know the old handicam the same one we
00:00:46
used on for Sports Cafe I got a bit of
00:00:48
drain pipe and I made an underwater
00:00:49
housing out of it and then I got a torch
00:00:53
and make and found a pencil camera a
00:00:55
security camera I could fit inside it
00:00:56
and I made that swim behind the boat so
00:00:59
I started coming out with these
00:01:00
innovative ways that literally cost
00:01:02
nothing um to get footage and we got all
00:01:05
this amazing footage like we filmed some
00:01:07
incredible stuff but then we got to put
00:01:09
it together um and that takes um skills
00:01:13
and money and we didn't have the editing
00:01:14
skills we have done it you it's worth
00:01:16
it's worth pointing out at this point so
00:01:17
this is 20 something years ago so it's
00:01:19
not not like there's an app for
00:01:20
everything there you can do what you
00:01:21
were doing then you can do anyone can do
00:01:24
on their phone you you couldn't google
00:01:26
it even like you can't just jump on
00:01:28
Google how do you edit a TV show or
00:01:30
anything like that it was um well
00:01:33
especially me I mean I didn't have a i'
00:01:35
only just got an email account you know
00:01:36
so like you know you go down to the
00:01:38
library and like get a book out it was I
00:01:42
didn't do that cuz I don't read either
00:01:43
but um so it was just about like I'm I'm
00:01:46
going to learn how to how to do this so
00:01:49
um and one of the the first things we
00:01:52
did and and because we had a lot of this
00:01:54
really good footage is we put together a
00:01:56
DVD but that wasn't like a TV audience
00:01:59
thing that was was just the cool fishing
00:02:02
stuff that I was doing mostly on the
00:02:03
boats that I was working on and we
00:02:04
released it and fishermen loved it like
00:02:06
DVDs were big at the time you know and
00:02:09
that gave us a little bit of income to
00:02:11
to make this TV pilot and one of those
00:02:14
DVDs got they went around the world got
00:02:17
into their hands of a producer at the
00:02:19
BBC and somehow he tracked me down and I
00:02:22
got a phone call at home um in the far
00:02:25
north and was a guy and I remember his
00:02:28
name was Rod Stewart which I thought was
00:02:30
and he was Scottish as well um wasn't
00:02:33
the Stewart he was a producer he
00:02:34
introduced himself as a producer for the
00:02:36
BBC and he wanted to know how we got
00:02:38
this incredible Maron footage he said
00:02:41
we've spent over half a million pounds
00:02:43
trying to film Maron up close he said
00:02:45
we've got some distant shots um he said
00:02:48
look if you could please tell me what
00:02:50
camera you were using what underwater
00:02:52
housing what lenses and what propulsion
00:02:54
unit you were using to get right up
00:02:56
close to these mland cuz we were really
00:02:58
struggling and I said oh man um the
00:03:01
camera is a Panasonic handicam I got for
00:03:03
a wedding present the housing is a bit
00:03:05
of drain pipe from under my house that
00:03:07
um and I I siliconed a bit of ppix on
00:03:10
the front of it I drilled a hole and got
00:03:12
an eye dropper and made that waterproof
00:03:14
so I could hit the on off button I had
00:03:16
no way of seeing what I'm filming um I
00:03:19
got a surfboard tie down and strapped a
00:03:22
couple of handle handles to it and and I
00:03:25
didn't need a propulsion unit to get
00:03:27
close to the Maron I just made the Marin
00:03:28
come close to me and I do that by toing
00:03:32
lures behind the boat when they come up
00:03:33
I jump into the water with live baits
00:03:35
tied to my arms and then the Maron are
00:03:37
trying to eat off of my arms and I've
00:03:39
just got to hold my [ __ ] together enough
00:03:41
and not drop my nuts with these Maron
00:03:43
racing around and he said mate if if you
00:03:47
don't want to tell me that's
00:03:48
fine and he honestly thought I was
00:03:51
taking the piss but that was the level
00:03:52
we were at it was like have an idea
00:03:55
figure out the way to do it and we
00:03:57
figured out a way oh it's it's the
00:03:59
epitom that old um saying you number
00:04:01
eight wire mentality which is not
00:04:03
something you hear all that often these
00:04:04
days but it is just you figure out how
00:04:06
to make it work whatever it takes you
00:04:08
know um I think Google maybe and YouTube
00:04:11
instructional videos has maybe killed a
00:04:13
little bit of uh Ingenuity because
00:04:15
probably you can find an answer for
00:04:16
anything you want to do yeah you can and
00:04:18
sometimes in finding the answer you can
00:04:20
actually find a better answer than
00:04:22
what's conventional and you know and and
00:04:25
in the benefit of hindsight that was a
00:04:27
massive asset for us because here was
00:04:29
this thing that made it to TV and it
00:04:31
didn't look like any other TV show cuz
00:04:34
it was made by guys that didn't know how
00:04:36
to make a TV show they were passionate
00:04:38
about fishing yeah so you had no
00:04:39
preconceived idea that's right so we
00:04:42
could like you know and people would
00:04:45
always say to me oh man it doesn't feel
00:04:46
like I'm I'm watching a TV presenter it
00:04:49
feels like you're talking to me and I
00:04:50
was like well I'm not a TV presenter I'm
00:04:52
a fisherman and I'm speaking how I would
00:04:56
speak to my mates um when I'm not
00:04:58
pretending to be my
00:05:00
you know so um and it gave it a new look
00:05:05
and it wasn't intentional from the time
00:05:08
that we realized it was intentional uh
00:05:11
that it was popular we're like yeah
00:05:12
let's just stick with this let's um you
00:05:14
know I I did get better just through
00:05:16
doing it about how to do a pie of camera
00:05:19
or something like that um but I found
00:05:21
the most popular bits was when I would
00:05:23
just get caught up in the moment I like
00:05:25
holy [ __ ] we got to get this fish and I
00:05:28
didn't give a rat's ass whether it got
00:05:30
filmed or not I was just so immersed and
00:05:32
wanted you know to catch the fish and
00:05:34
they were the bits that people people
00:05:36
loved or passion is really really
00:05:37
infectious isn't it like I've got I'm
00:05:39
I'm like your wife I give zero [ __ ]
00:05:41
about fishing but you watch someone that
00:05:43
is just into it and enthused and in the
00:05:45
zone and you can't help with be sweeped
00:05:47
up yeah same as um I suppose a parallel
00:05:49
is like Steve uen just seeing his
00:05:51
enthusiasm and excitement about your
00:05:53
crocodiles or snakes or stingr or
00:05:55
whatever you get caught up yeah so so so
00:05:57
how do you get it on TV like you ship
00:05:59
off VHS tapes to TV andz TV3 sky sky TV
00:06:03
y they're the only options yep they they
00:06:05
were our only options so we literally
00:06:07
went and brought a three pack of um
00:06:09
video cassettes from Kmart we were going
00:06:11
to go to the warehouse but we wanted to
00:06:13
look professional and get the expensive
00:06:14
brand you know seriously that was a
00:06:17
business decision we like yeah okay
00:06:20
should we get the like the $118.99 ones
00:06:22
instead of the 12299 months definitely
00:06:24
if we want to look professional and we
00:06:26
did have a cool logo cuz Karen was a a
00:06:29
Tal graphic designer um and we sent it
00:06:31
off and I put the proposal together
00:06:33
saying we're all about to fund this
00:06:35
because fishing's this really popular
00:06:37
thing in New Zealand it's
00:06:38
underrepresented on television we'll be
00:06:39
able to bring in sponsorship M and I
00:06:42
honestly thought like I thought our
00:06:44
pilot show was so good you know I really
00:06:46
did and but all my feedback had come
00:06:48
from other mates that loved fishing as
00:06:50
well um and that was um and I should say
00:06:55
in doing that like I'd show people the
00:06:56
video but I wouldn't tell them it was a
00:06:57
pilot TV show I told told no one so when
00:07:00
I was trying to put the TV show together
00:07:03
KY knew about it Karen knew about it I
00:07:05
knew about it Karen's partner knew about
00:07:07
it um I didn't tell my mom my dad
00:07:10
brothers sisters none of my best mates I
00:07:12
didn't why not to poy like I didn't want
00:07:15
I didn't want to be that guy who said
00:07:16
I'm going to be on TV yeah like I mean
00:07:18
that's the that was the opposite of what
00:07:21
you know at that time you wanted to be
00:07:22
as a kiwi bloke someone who's going to
00:07:24
step their head up and go and I'd heard
00:07:25
it so much and to be honest like i'
00:07:27
heard guys go I'm going to do going to
00:07:29
make a TV show about this and I'd I'd
00:07:32
literally look at those
00:07:33
guys you're wanker and I just didn't
00:07:36
want to be that wanker like um because
00:07:39
there is I mean there is a there's a
00:07:41
certain amount of um ego I guess you
00:07:44
need to have to be a to put yourself out
00:07:47
there and you know that was at the time
00:07:49
that the you know the old blacks would
00:07:50
get criticized if they celebrated too
00:07:51
much that's right that's probably about
00:07:53
the time we Jeff Jeff Wilson came along
00:07:55
and had score a TR fist pump and every
00:07:57
was a little bit bit show boy I reckon
00:07:59
mate jeez it was it's not like he was
00:08:02
doing some assaults he was like a fist
00:08:04
pump exactly M now these guys do full
00:08:06
theater
00:08:07
performances they get they get
00:08:09
choreographed all these choreograph
00:08:11
sequences it's it's an interesting time
00:08:13
out year because you you you know you
00:08:15
and know we raised about the same time
00:08:16
and it's um like vulnerability is a very
00:08:18
big word now and it's like that just
00:08:19
wasn't the uh environment we were raised
00:08:22
in y yep and so part of um like so so
00:08:26
when we actually you know did I'm
00:08:28
jumping forward of it manag to get it on
00:08:29
TV I didn't even tell my mates I just
00:08:32
invited them around for a barbecue and
00:08:34
flick the Telly on and um Telly comes on
00:08:37
they're like oh are you on gone fishing
00:08:39
which is one of the shows like no no no
00:08:41
this is my show they're like what do you
00:08:42
mean your show oh it's a show that me
00:08:44
and ker made and we put on telly and um
00:08:47
one of them first thing one of the boys
00:08:50
T said oh you think you're [ __ ] Tom
00:08:51
Cruz
00:08:53
now and I'm like that's why I didn't
00:08:55
tell
00:08:57
you just making sure you don't get to
00:09:00
exactly yeah that was 5 minutes into
00:09:02
episode one series 1 you know yeah so
00:09:05
that was on so that was on Sky how how
00:09:07
come there was no money exchanged like
00:09:08
they they they I mean they they're
00:09:10
thirsty for Content I guess CU they got
00:09:12
so many channels they'll play just about
00:09:14
anything but why why did they never
00:09:16
offer you any money um because it was
00:09:18
kind of seen that like you are lucky to
00:09:21
be have this opportunity to be on be on
00:09:23
TV now you need to go out because we've
00:09:26
given you this amazing opportunity to
00:09:28
put your show on you're now got a
00:09:31
platform to go and raise some some
00:09:33
sponsorship so of course you can't it's
00:09:35
a tough ask when you're a um you know a
00:09:38
roof fisherman you know setting up a
00:09:42
meeting and I managed to get a few face
00:09:44
taces most of them that was email
00:09:46
rejections and or over the phone
00:09:47
rejections but I I got to the stage of
00:09:49
getting a few face to faces and I had
00:09:51
some encouraging meetings for the first
00:09:53
series But
00:09:54
ultimately um you know we would show if
00:09:57
we found a marketing manager the head
00:09:58
and interest in fishing he could see the
00:10:00
potential of how good it was going to be
00:10:02
but it would usually get killed when it
00:10:04
got set off to their advertising agency
00:10:06
to be assessed they'd come back and go
00:10:08
no no one's interested in this it's not
00:10:09
going to work it's going to fail keep
00:10:11
keep your money and that's largely
00:10:12
because of how advertising agencies work
00:10:15
like they get a they clip the ticket on
00:10:17
what the company spends and if it was a
00:10:19
direct spend they're not making any
00:10:21
money so they're not going to want you
00:10:23
know a sponsorship unless it goes
00:10:24
through them um and I wasn't having any
00:10:27
advertising agencies ringing me up
00:10:28
saying hey we want to pitch you to you
00:10:30
know a few companies so I got nose nose
00:10:34
from everybody you know um so um I
00:10:38
thought well if we can get it on tally
00:10:40
you know yes it's going to be a cost and
00:10:42
it's going to be a stretch for us to be
00:10:44
able to do this um but once it gets
00:10:46
recognized I should be able to get
00:10:48
sponsorship a lot easier um it did help
00:10:51
obviously having something that would on
00:10:53
TV that had done well um but the TV um
00:10:57
networks and then when we next went to
00:10:59
to TV and Z they were the same they they
00:11:01
like hey we want this show um because we
00:11:04
want to compete with TV 3's fishing
00:11:06
shows um but we're not going to pay you
00:11:08
for it and how how do they expect you to
00:11:10
get by um just raising rate they don't
00:11:13
they don't care they've given you this I
00:11:15
me you're you've you've really got to go
00:11:18
ke in hand because it's not like I can
00:11:20
go screw you guys I'm throwing it on
00:11:23
YouTube Back Then YouTube was in its
00:11:26
infancy and it was like I think 2 minute
00:11:28
videos long
00:11:30
um didn't really have the audience if
00:11:32
you wanted to get something out u in in
00:11:35
front of the eyeballs you needed them so
00:11:37
they dictated everything you know they
00:11:39
were like this is the time St you're
00:11:41
going on in and we're not going to pay
00:11:43
you unless you were like literally in
00:11:46
the click and to be in the click you
00:11:47
needed to be here here in Oakland I was
00:11:49
in a shed in in the far north I wasn't
00:11:51
having Bud um coffees um you know down
00:11:55
there with these guys just shooting
00:11:56
around some cool ideas you know and
00:11:59
letting them come up with the concept um
00:12:01
that I could go and with a fist full of
00:12:03
money go away and do no so we were we
00:12:06
were self-funded so um we needed a
00:12:09
sponsor to be able to pay us to keep
00:12:12
going um and I always felt like we were
00:12:15
going to get there but it just
00:12:17
came it came really real close like so
00:12:20
were you were you grinding hard like
00:12:22
sending off like proposals all over the
00:12:24
place all over like and everyone had
00:12:27
said no and and my I I'd already had a
00:12:29
rejection from itm um but of course it
00:12:31
never made it it got only got to my
00:12:34
proposal only got to like a junior
00:12:35
marketing person um um a guy called
00:12:40
[Music]
00:12:48
Barnaby
