Speaker 1: And obviously I know who Anthony is and everyone does
Speaker 1: when you see him. And I said, you know, if
Speaker 1: you need a training partner, I'm peteing, so let me
Speaker 1: know you're up the road. I know you love a
Speaker 1: bit of fitness, and that kind of opened up the
Speaker 1: conversation between us through social media, and yeah, one conversation
Speaker 1: led to an invitation to Wiggle's HQ to work on
Speaker 1: a project. I think everything happens for a reason. Then
Speaker 1: sometimes you find a roadblock in life. I think that's
Speaker 1: all supposed to happen, and you only kind of realize
Speaker 1: when you look back. That's why I did that, That's
Speaker 1: why that happened, and this is why this happened.
Speaker 2: These are the yays of our lives. Busy and happy
Speaker 2: are not the same thing. We too rarely question what
Speaker 2: makes the heart seeing. We work, then we rest, but
Speaker 2: rarely we play and often don't realize there's more than
Speaker 2: one way. So this is a platform to hear and
Speaker 2: explore the stories of those who found lives. They adore
Speaker 2: the good, bad and ugly. The best and worst day
Speaker 2: will bear all the facets of seizing your yay. I'm
Speaker 2: Sarah Davidson or a spoonful of Sarah, a lawyer turned
Speaker 2: entrepreneur who's wap the suit and heels to co found
Speaker 2: matcha Maiden and matcha Milk Bark CZA is a series
Speaker 2: of conversations on finding a life you love and exploring
Speaker 2: the self doubt, challenge, joy and fulfillment along the way.
Speaker 2: Whether you are a child, have a child, or have
Speaker 2: ever met a single child, you will undoubtedly know of
Speaker 2: the Wiggles, and not just at home here in Australia.
Speaker 2: They've also captured the hearts of families around the world
Speaker 2: since they're beginning back in nineteen ninety one. Speaking of
Speaker 2: capturing hearts, though in their latest evolution with eight wonderful members,
Speaker 2: one particular Wiggle has shot to global fame as the
Speaker 2: Sexy Wiggle or officially as Big Strong John, and we
Speaker 2: are so lucky to have him here with us today.
Speaker 2: Like many of our guests, you'll probably have seen John
Speaker 2: Pierce many times either with The Wiggles or on his
Speaker 2: own very busy socials before hearing him today without knowing
Speaker 2: much of what came before his chapter in the Purple Suit.
Speaker 2: My favorite part of this show is getting to know
Speaker 2: the person behind the scenes and you may not have
Speaker 2: known that John was a member of the Justice Crew beforehand,
Speaker 2: creating a very different kind of music to that which
Speaker 2: he creates today. That he was a member of said
Speaker 2: Justice Crew alongside his twin one of seven siblings, That
Speaker 2: his original career ambitions were in sport and nutrition, with
Speaker 2: a previous appearance on Australian Ninja Warrior and a career
Speaker 2: in personal training, or that at any moment now in fact,
Speaker 2: could be Right now as I record this, he is
Speaker 2: about to become a father for the first time with
Speaker 2: his beautiful wife Jesse expecting. I had read so much
Speaker 2: about John, but knew nothing about his upbringing either, and
Speaker 2: the amazing journey from commission Housing to global superstar while
Speaker 2: keeping such a level, humble head on his shoulders. I
Speaker 2: hope you guys enjoy finding a little bit more about
Speaker 2: the purple Wiggle as I did. John Pierce, Welcome to
Speaker 2: the show.
Speaker 1: Oh thanks for having me. This is great. I feel
Speaker 1: like we're color coordinating to the microphone jacket.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but big missed opportunity by us. For those listening,
Speaker 2: we are matching, but not in the color purple, Like,
Speaker 2: how did that happen?
Speaker 1: I know it's one of my favorite colors. Well, you know,
Speaker 1: it's a different day today. I've got to save that
Speaker 1: for tomorrow's show.
Speaker 2: Well, I was going to have I've got a little
Speaker 2: eight month old son and he was going to be
Speaker 2: waiting for you when he came on to record in
Speaker 2: this little MIDI purple wiggle outfit.
Speaker 1: That I wow, how cool.
Speaker 2: But he ended up having a nap and you'll soon
Speaker 2: learn becoming a dad in a couple of weeks how
Speaker 2: important nap times are. But maybe he can put it
Speaker 2: on at the end.
Speaker 1: Okay, what's his name?
Speaker 2: Teddy?
Speaker 1: Oh? Teddy? Oh, how cute? Awesome? Love the meeting one day.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he's such a little sweetheart. I'm sure in no
Speaker 2: time he will be absolutely obsessed with all things Wiggles.
Speaker 2: He hasn't quite discovered TV. He loves music. Still young, right,
Speaker 2: He's still a bit young. But I know the time
Speaker 2: will come where this will be in his eyes my
Speaker 2: biggest achievement ever, chatting to a real life wiggle.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's like my little niece before she turned one.
Speaker 1: I did the same thing. I was I was watching
Speaker 1: The Wiggles with it, and I was sitting with and I
Speaker 1: think I'm made a video online I was like, she
Speaker 1: has no idea that she's watching her uncle and I'm
Speaker 1: sitting with her. But you'll realize, and they used to come.
Speaker 1: She looks back if she really cares, but you know.
Speaker 2: Oh she will. I mean, you guys are celebrities. This
Speaker 2: is a serious celebrity we have on the show this week. Listeners.
Speaker 2: I'm so honored and I feel like this the Wiggles generally,
Speaker 2: I mean, for many reasons, and we'll get to this,
Speaker 2: but there's justice crew. First, there's you know, an ARIA
Speaker 2: nominated chart topping career before we even get to the
Speaker 2: Wiggles chapter. And then on top of that, you know,
Speaker 2: you're not just a Wiggle, You're the thirsty Wiggle, which
Speaker 2: just brings us this extra level of virality.
Speaker 1: It's unique, it's unique.
Speaker 2: It's definitely you've occupied a very unique section of the Internet,
Speaker 2: which we will get to because I'm sure. I mean,
Speaker 2: one of the things I love to talk about on
Speaker 2: this show is that the places that people end up
Speaker 2: or the places that people are introduce to you now
Speaker 2: will kind of get to know you as the Purple Wiggle.
Speaker 2: It's really easy to assume that you had a really
Speaker 2: smooth path there, that you always knew that you'd end
Speaker 2: up where you are, and I feel like so often
Speaker 2: when you go back to the very beginning, you started
Speaker 2: as a kid who had big dreams and often they
Speaker 2: aren't ever sort of what you thought that you'd end
Speaker 2: up in. So I like to start back in childhood.
Speaker 2: You know, I was reading that you were much more
Speaker 2: into athletics and one hundred meters before hip hop became
Speaker 2: a thing for you and six brothers one sister. You know,
Speaker 2: there's a lot of kids running around and lots of
Speaker 2: hopes and dreams, So figuring out sort of your path
Speaker 2: and as a twin as well, like, there's a lot there,
Speaker 2: So tell us about your childhood. Who you thought you'd
Speaker 2: be when you were little.
Speaker 1: You know, I thought I was going to be a
Speaker 1: parrange when I was little, me and my brother. Obviously,
Speaker 1: I'm an identical twin, and I had a great childhood
Speaker 1: when I look back, I always had a best friend
Speaker 1: that was always there. We weren't competitive, but we love to,
Speaker 1: you know, be sporty and run around. We used to
Speaker 1: go out on the street and race each other to
Speaker 1: you know, past the time, and that was that was
Speaker 1: what entertained us as as young as six, and you know,
Speaker 1: we wouldn't be on the street at that age, but
Speaker 1: you know, we'd be playing and compete, and that's when
Speaker 1: we kind of started our journey and athletics. But we
Speaker 1: grew up in our house. A small house is a
Speaker 1: two bedroom place. It's called housing commissioner government housing. So
Speaker 1: I actually grew up in a place like that where
Speaker 1: it was me, my brother, younger sister, my younger brother,
Speaker 1: and my older brother, which we grew up together. We
Speaker 1: shared a room, my parents obviously in the other room,
Speaker 1: so it's very small and we didn't have a lot,
Speaker 1: but we had to use our imagination to entertain ourselves.
Speaker 1: And we weren't very watuate in the sense of, you know,
Speaker 1: material things, but we were gifted in the art of
Speaker 1: sport and energy, so I guess we had to turn
Speaker 1: that into something. So sport was our outlet, and then
Speaker 1: it ended up becoming dance through the journey. So yeah,
Speaker 1: in a nutshell.
Speaker 2: Wow, I love starting back at this earlier part of
Speaker 2: people's lives because I think, you know, when you google
Speaker 2: you it's not this kind of stuff that comes up,
Speaker 2: but it's hearing about people's beginnings, which are often much
Speaker 2: more humble than you might expect when you look at
Speaker 2: the chapter there and now, which is often when we
Speaker 2: meet you, I bet you never expected that you'd end
Speaker 2: up being, you know, the global sensation that you've become.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I know, and I guess, you know, growing up
Speaker 1: in those circumstances, you only kind of get exposed to
Speaker 1: what you see on TV and being surrounded by kind
Speaker 1: of similar people, and you do get kind of put
Speaker 1: in in a bubble. They say, you know, you've got
Speaker 1: to kind of work, or you've got to study, and
Speaker 1: you've got to do all these things, which is kind
Speaker 1: of a general consensus where if you know, study get opportunities.
Speaker 1: But you know, I went to a public school. We
Speaker 1: didn't have those kind of opportunities. And also you know,
Speaker 1: the financial backing to kind of take risks and all
Speaker 1: that stuff. So I guess we had each other. But
Speaker 1: I'm very grateful for that now, and I kind of
Speaker 1: look back when I look at my childhood, it was great.
Speaker 1: I had a lot of fun, but you know the
Speaker 1: standard of what I thought was fun was was very low,
Speaker 1: so that anything that I'm doing now it's I'm succeeding,
Speaker 1: and I feel like I'm truly happy for what I
Speaker 1: do today, and I'm very grateful to be in the
Speaker 1: Wiggles and to be able to perform and do music.
Speaker 1: But I think I'm not saying that's the definition of
Speaker 1: true happiness. But you know, my blueprint of what a
Speaker 1: perfect life was was that, and I think there's nothing
Speaker 1: wrong with that. And it was a great at a
Speaker 1: great time. But you know, there's a lot more out there,
Speaker 1: and there's a lot of opportunities to be had, and
Speaker 1: I'm very grateful to be where I am today, and
Speaker 1: I'm for my childhood and the way I was raised.
Speaker 2: I think there's an art to parenting in a way
Speaker 2: that your children believe that what your means are able
Speaker 2: to create for them is the best. Like I love
Speaker 2: that you had no consciousness that it was more or
Speaker 2: less than anyone else. You just had a great time.
Speaker 2: And I think that's really special that you had a
Speaker 2: childhood like that.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, I hope everyone does have a good childhood,
Speaker 1: but everyone's story is unique and different, and I think
Speaker 1: that's part of my story. And I was never really
Speaker 1: I was kind of always embarrassed to talk about, you know,
Speaker 1: growing up in housing commission and not having much and
Speaker 1: getting my mom to write a letter to school to
Speaker 1: see if one of us can get exempt from school fees,
Speaker 1: which is only two hundred and fifty dollars or something
Speaker 1: whatever that was. But they were always supportive in that sense.
Speaker 1: But now that I look back and I feel like,
Speaker 1: you know, it's okay to talk about that, and it's
Speaker 1: you should be proud of your story no matter what
Speaker 1: it is.
Speaker 2: It's also amazing to talk about it because there would
Speaker 2: be other kids now who are listening and trying to
Speaker 2: form their pathway and what as you said, like pople
Speaker 2: can't believe they can do something unless they see it,
Speaker 2: unless it's visible, and so seeing you having made that
Speaker 2: leave in your career makes other kids believe that they
Speaker 2: could also kind of outgrow their circumstances.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and there's always hope and if you if you
Speaker 1: want something in your dream enough, you got a dream
Speaker 1: big and with justice screw we always stood for. That
Speaker 1: was our quote was to dream big and no matter
Speaker 1: what dream it is, it's if you believe it, you
Speaker 1: can achieve it. So you just got to work hard
Speaker 1: and get around the right people and just you know,
Speaker 1: have hope.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, Okay, So there was a whole career before
Speaker 2: the chapter that you're in right now, and then I
Speaker 2: was also reading you went down an academic pathway there
Speaker 2: for a while, doing a Bachelor of Science and a
Speaker 2: diploma in nutrition, and then that led you to working
Speaker 2: as a pt and there was a stint on Australia
Speaker 2: Need You Worry You? So? Where did that sit alongside
Speaker 2: Justice Crew? And how did I mean, how did you
Speaker 2: go from that back to music and entertainment? How did
Speaker 2: it all happen?
Speaker 1: Where did that fall into the story. Yes, so me
Speaker 1: and my brother. I always bring my brother because you know,
Speaker 1: we're twins and we did everything together. But if I
Speaker 1: just assumed that he's part of my story. We did sports.
Speaker 1: That was our way of kind of finding our place.
Speaker 1: We were fast runners. We felt like we were naturally quick,
Speaker 1: and you know, we played sports and I felt like, yeah,
Speaker 1: we're good at that, and that was kind of People
Speaker 1: would love to see us race each other and you know,
Speaker 1: win races, which was really cool. And you know, through
Speaker 1: school we did a bit of training. Outside of school.
Speaker 1: We were very successful in the athletics scene. I would say,
Speaker 1: you know, making a state at a national level through
Speaker 1: high school was an achievement for us and we weren't
Speaker 1: bringing no money, but we were bringing the gold medalsil metals
Speaker 1: that that was good enough. And you know, through training,
Speaker 1: when we used to train, we used to do you know,
Speaker 1: sports like long jarm, triple jump, high jump, and you
Speaker 1: know with high jump, there were these mats that you
Speaker 1: could learn to do backflips and front flips on too,
Speaker 1: So we used to do that at training, and we
Speaker 1: used to try to just flip our bodies around and
Speaker 1: that's something we did because we had a lot of energy,
Speaker 1: and that kind of opened us up to the idea
Speaker 1: of you know, breakdancing and dancing. And our older brother
Speaker 1: who is full Filipino by the way, it's on my
Speaker 1: mom's had a son before she had me and my brother,
Speaker 1: so we had an older brother that was full Filipino
Speaker 1: that was always dancing and would always pull us in
Speaker 1: the room and get us to learn these dance routines
Speaker 1: that we didn't really we weren't really interested in at
Speaker 1: the time. You know, this is early high school, and
Speaker 1: I think we didn't realize that that was kind of
Speaker 1: opening us up, like introducing us to the idea of
Speaker 1: dance and break dance and performance. So that was kind
Speaker 1: of the way we kind of got into Justice Crew.
Speaker 1: At high school, we formed a group we were called
Speaker 1: the Athletes.
Speaker 2: I was going to say the athletes.
Speaker 1: We all loved sports, but we were a group of
Speaker 1: friends and we all kind of did different sports like rugby, athletics, soccer,
Speaker 1: you know, and we also love dance. So we started
Speaker 1: learning dance through lunch breaks. We weren't out, you know,
Speaker 1: we're having lunch, but we went into the theaterret at
Speaker 1: school and we taught each other and we started putting
Speaker 1: together dance routines just for the fun of it, and
Speaker 1: we used to you know, film it and make the
Speaker 1: mixes ourselves. And we actually ended a competition outside of
Speaker 1: school that we were like, you know, I think we're
Speaker 1: good enough to go into a dance competition we called Groove,
Speaker 1: which is that Blacktown and you can kind of enter
Speaker 1: and put there's battlegrounds and things like that where you compete,
Speaker 1: and that was kind of the first introduction to dancing
Speaker 1: for us. And we did it for fun, for a
Speaker 1: bit of a laugh and yeah, so that was the
Speaker 1: first performance that we kind of did from school. So
Speaker 1: about year nine year tenant school.
Speaker 2: I had no idea that you guys just self taught
Speaker 2: in your lunch breaks and then went on to become.
Speaker 1: That's what we did. That's how it started. And I
Speaker 1: think from that because we didn't take we took it seriously,
Speaker 1: but not that serious that it was consuming our whole life.
Speaker 1: But we did it because we loved it. And we
Speaker 1: met another group at this competition. They were called Psalms
Speaker 1: and they were break dancers. So me and my brother
Speaker 1: and this group called Psalms we formed Justice Crew and
Speaker 1: that's where we kind of connected and we started a
Speaker 1: new group from that because we kind of you know,
Speaker 1: we built a relationship and friendship from this, and that's
Speaker 1: where Justice Screw was born.
Speaker 2: I mean, that's such an incredible story because I'm sure
Speaker 2: there are a lot of kids who kind of get
Speaker 2: together with their friends and like anyone who's creative, we all,
Speaker 2: you know, I was a dancer as well, and I've
Speaker 2: done but jillion concerts for half my neighborhood, and you know,
Speaker 2: that's part of it, is like teaching yourself routines and
Speaker 2: kind of performing. But not many people go on from
Speaker 2: that structure and just playing around and enjoying themselves to
Speaker 2: like aria chart topping songs, Top ten singles, ARIA Award nominations,
Speaker 2: and to like a full time career. So what do
Speaker 2: you think was the difference for you? And what happened
Speaker 2: to your nutrition Sports Science PT career alongside that?
Speaker 1: Like that came in a bit later.
Speaker 2: Okay, so another whole chapter's.
Speaker 1: Yea, So I'm trying to narrow it down. Like as
Speaker 1: much as I don't like to talk, I've always got
Speaker 1: a lot. There's a lot of story in there, but
Speaker 1: I kind of skip past and I kind of jump
Speaker 1: through just to kind of make it as relative as
Speaker 1: possibly you can kind of keep interested. But so basically
Speaker 1: after we formed Justice Group, this was kind of leading
Speaker 1: up to after school, so we formed this new group
Speaker 1: called Justice Crew, which we ended up going to Las
Speaker 1: Vegas to compete the World Hip Hop Chaps because we
Speaker 1: wanted to kind of you know, put ourselves on a
Speaker 1: big platform. So like being self taught and going into that,
Speaker 1: I think we didn't have that pressure to feel like
Speaker 1: we needed to do something because we kind of did
Speaker 1: it because we loved it, and there was no standard
Speaker 1: I think on our end to say, you know, we've
Speaker 1: got to complete the Olympics. So if we don't achieve this,
Speaker 1: our life's over. We just kind of enjoyed it. And
Speaker 1: I think our group of friends were like minded and
Speaker 1: we're all self taught, so I felt like there was
Speaker 1: no expectation on our side of things. But we were
Speaker 1: just opened to every opportunity that came our way, and
Speaker 1: we just kind of seized it and just went full
Speaker 1: blasts with it. And I think one story went to another.
Speaker 1: So we start off as a high school group, which
Speaker 1: formed into us a group outside of school, which we
Speaker 1: ended up going to Australia's Got Talent. Thank you to
Speaker 1: my mom because she saw an advertisement saying you can
Speaker 1: win two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and we were just,
Speaker 1: you know, busking at the time and she said, you
Speaker 1: guys should go on this TV show. You could win
Speaker 1: some money. You bring home, bring some money. So, you know,
Speaker 1: we did Australia's Got and.
Speaker 2: You Want It just quietly for everyone.
Speaker 1: We didn't think we were going to win it. We
Speaker 1: just wanted to go on TV and do something. But
Speaker 1: you know, I think the more we did the show,
Speaker 1: more we started to believe that we could be a
Speaker 1: contender to win, and which we did win, and then
Speaker 1: you know, from that Sony Music, you know, approached us
Speaker 1: and said, do you guys do music? And we said, no,
Speaker 1: we just dance or we busk. And then we kind
Speaker 1: of spoke to a few of the guys there and
Speaker 1: they said, what if you guys dance to your own
Speaker 1: music in your own music videos? How can will that be?
Speaker 1: And we said, you know, let's do it. You know,
Speaker 1: we didn't have the experience behind us. Well, we love
Speaker 1: to do things and take an opportunity. So we ended
Speaker 1: up getting signed to Sony Music to film a documentary
Speaker 1: to lead us to get into studio to work with
Speaker 1: the best writers and best songwriters and producers to start
Speaker 1: writing our own music, and we started making our own
Speaker 1: hit songs, and a few hit songs later, we've got
Speaker 1: nominations and you know, number one songs with Bum and
Speaker 1: case Rah and touring America with Pitbull and Kesher and
Speaker 1: Chris Brown and all these big artists.
Speaker 2: Wild journey, Yeah, I think it's.
Speaker 1: A long journey. But you know, I think that the
Speaker 1: moral of the story is, you know, the opportunities are,
Speaker 1: They're all around, and I think just being open minded
Speaker 1: and just seizing each moment and not thinking too much
Speaker 1: of it and just kind of taking it and just
Speaker 1: you know, as long as you enjoy it, there's always
Speaker 1: something that comes of it. And it's not really obvious sometimes,
Speaker 1: but what the end goal is.
Speaker 2: Oh absolutely, I love that so much because I think
Speaker 2: there's a lot of we just put so much pressure
Speaker 2: on ourselves to find our passion and be the best
Speaker 2: and attain success and fulfillment in life. And it's really interesting.
Speaker 2: You are probably one of the first people I've heard
Speaker 2: who's had the level of success that you have in
Speaker 2: such a competitive industry, Like, not many people actually can
Speaker 2: make careers of the arts, and a lot of people's
Speaker 2: families kind of dissuade them from doing music and dance
Speaker 2: because you can't make a career of it. It's too hard, And.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's very difficult.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's rare that someone does get to where you've
Speaker 2: gotten without waking up when they're five and going I
Speaker 2: want to be that person. I love that it was
Speaker 2: almost by accident, like you didn't put pressure on yourself.
Speaker 1: It definitely was. Yeah, I think there's nothing wrong with
Speaker 1: dreaming big at a young age. I think I actually
Speaker 1: wanted to be a construction I've actually got an audio
Speaker 1: tape of me in kindergarten saying I want to build
Speaker 1: houses when I'm older, and that's totally the opposite of
Speaker 1: what I'm doing now. And if I think, if I
Speaker 1: could tell my younger self, you know, you're going to
Speaker 1: be in the Wiggles. You're watching the Wiggles now, you're
Speaker 1: going to be Yeah, but I think you're following your
Speaker 1: journey because as you grow and develop and you see things,
Speaker 1: you meet people, your idea of success changes, and what
Speaker 1: your goal was can also change and evolve. And you know,
Speaker 1: even through Justice Crew, I started getting into fitness and
Speaker 1: personal training and nutrition. I think being exposed to all
Speaker 1: that and meeting people and then social media and then
Speaker 1: all the rubbish that's out there, you kind of want
Speaker 1: to learn what's true and what's false. So I think
Speaker 1: that's where I started doing fitness and then learning nutrition
Speaker 1: and then learning from the experts, and then you know,
Speaker 1: studying clinical nutrition.
Speaker 2: Oh so that came totally after Justice Crew, like completely.
Speaker 1: After that was a little bit later. Yeah, So after
Speaker 1: performing and touring, it kind of like I wanted to
Speaker 1: have something that I can sort of control too that
Speaker 1: I love to do something for myself. Because we were performing,
Speaker 1: writing music with a group of guys. You know, everyone
Speaker 1: has their own little outlets after that to have their
Speaker 1: own things. So fitness was something that I was always
Speaker 1: passionate about and I want to kind of learn nutrition,
Speaker 1: and I started personal training on the side for a
Speaker 1: little bit to kind of take my mind off touring
Speaker 1: and music because I want to kind of do this
Speaker 1: for a little bit. And that was kind of cool
Speaker 1: to be able to find the time after touring started
Speaker 1: slow down a little bit towards you know, later twenty seventeen,
Speaker 1: twenty eighteen, twenty nineteen, and that that's where I started
Speaker 1: doing personal training and the nutrition coaching as well, before
Speaker 1: I met Anthony.
Speaker 2: Is that how that happened? Okay, oh my gosh. So again,
Speaker 2: obviously wasn't a lifelong dream to become a wiggle And
Speaker 2: then you've gone from a very sort of media, you know,
Speaker 2: entertainment industry, kind of away from that and then back
Speaker 2: into it. So how did that all happen?
Speaker 1: I think, like, I believe in the power of the universe,
Speaker 1: so I think the things are supposed to happen for you.
Speaker 1: It's supposed to be like that. So I kind of
Speaker 1: pulled back from the media and touring because we've been
Speaker 1: doing that since high school. It's all I've kind of known.
Speaker 1: I've never been in the workforce working nine to five
Speaker 1: and you know, just just working it and just getting
Speaker 1: a salary or whatever. I always wanted to do that
Speaker 1: because I didn't get to do that. So I think
Speaker 1: there was a part of me that wanted to just
Speaker 1: be regular. I just want to work and just.
Speaker 2: Just like wear a suit and just sit at.
Speaker 1: A dance exactly. So I thought, you know, peting and
Speaker 1: something that I could just kind of go, you know,
Speaker 1: just be a real person. And even like the way
Speaker 1: I got my clients and stuff like that, I didn't
Speaker 1: advertise from my social media platforms. It was kind of
Speaker 1: a bit anonymous, and no one really knew that I
Speaker 1: was in Justice Schreum until I started training with me
Speaker 1: and recognized me when they met me in person. So
Speaker 1: I think that was kind of an organic way to
Speaker 1: just work a bit. So I actually reached out to
Speaker 1: Anthony for the first time after I got married. We
Speaker 1: moved into Gladesville and Anthony lives down the road, which
Speaker 1: I didn't know until we bumped into him and we
Speaker 1: got to chatting. And obviously I know who Anthony is
Speaker 1: and everyone does when you see him. And you know,
Speaker 1: we got to chatting just before COVID. You know, I
Speaker 1: reached out and I said, you know, if you need
Speaker 1: a training partner, I'm peeting, so let me know you're
Speaker 1: up the road. I know you love a bit of fitness,
Speaker 1: and that kind of opened up the conversation between us
Speaker 1: through social media. And yeah, one conversation led to an
Speaker 1: invitation to wiggles HQ to work on a project.
Speaker 2: That is absolutely wild.
Speaker 1: It is wild and it is so cool. By the way,
Speaker 1: he's the coolest guy. You're mate, if you get the
Speaker 1: chab you met Anthony before?
Speaker 2: I haven't, No, I mean obviously have watched in my
Speaker 2: entire life, but I've never had the chance to meet him.
Speaker 2: But he seems like just an absolute legend.
Speaker 1: Is of course? Yeah, is there a legend? Is the course?
Speaker 1: Go You're meet and yeah, it gives everyone opportunities. I'm
Speaker 1: super grateful that is, you know, give me the chance
Speaker 1: to get back on stage and perform and travel and
Speaker 1: to the world and now make a lot of children happy. Yeah,
Speaker 1: my parents too.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, I just love that you mentioned that you
Speaker 2: trust the universe, because I think sometimes when people go
Speaker 2: through the chronological order of sort of their life. There's
Speaker 2: a lot of goal set for this, and then I
Speaker 2: worked really hard and then I positioned myself here and
Speaker 2: I studied for this, and then there's sort of conversations
Speaker 2: about luck and timing and stuff. But I just love
Speaker 2: that sometimes it is just about trusting that you'll move
Speaker 2: into the house that's three doors down from the person
Speaker 2: you needed to meet, Like you just know, you never
Speaker 2: know what's around the corner, and that's the beauty of it.
Speaker 2: Sometimes we overplan everything exactly.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think everything happens for a reason, and sometimes
Speaker 1: you find a roadblock in life, like if you tried
Speaker 1: to move somewhere, or you tried to get that job
Speaker 1: but you didn't and something failed. I think that's all
Speaker 1: supposed to happen, and you only kind of realize when
Speaker 1: you look back. You realize that's why I did that,
Speaker 1: That's why that happened, and this is why this happened,
Speaker 1: and that's why I'm here today. So I think everything
Speaker 1: is supposed to happen the way. So thank you universe
Speaker 1: looking out for me, my spiritual guide.
Speaker 2: So before we get into what life as a wiggle,
Speaker 2: you know, looks like and everyone watches you guys from
Speaker 2: like the finished product, but I'd love to hear a
Speaker 2: little bit more about what it looks like behind their scenes.
Speaker 2: And as you're preparing to become a parent, it's such
Speaker 2: an exciting time in your life. But just going back
Speaker 2: to the idea that you know, now it's a lot better,
Speaker 2: and I'm sure the landscape has improved a lot, but
Speaker 2: sort of you Justice Krue was on Australia It's Got
Speaker 2: Talent around twenty ten and that was a very different
Speaker 2: time in the landscape. There were you know, not as
Speaker 2: many diverse faces on our TVs competing in competitions, not
Speaker 2: just reality TV but all media. I feel like representation
Speaker 2: for not just Asian Australians, but all cultures was a
Speaker 2: lot less of a priority in the media. What has
Speaker 2: your experience been from that perspective as an Asian Australian
Speaker 2: in the media and in this industry, and you know
Speaker 2: that spanned decades as well, You've kind of been there
Speaker 2: over a time where it's changed. But even back in childhood,
Speaker 2: have you ever experienced any racism? Were you ever bullied
Speaker 2: in that sense? Because I think it's just as important
Speaker 2: to talk about the barriers and the challenges we face
Speaker 2: on our journeys as it is the good times when
Speaker 2: things go well.
Speaker 1: I think going back to, you know, my childhood, having
Speaker 1: those real low expectations and kind of growing up with
Speaker 1: brothers and sisters, and I had a twin brother there
Speaker 1: all the time, so I always had someone that looked
Speaker 1: like me. Yeah, almost too much like me. But you know,
Speaker 1: you're going through school, like I think, because twins were,
Speaker 1: I felt like they weren't as common or especially where
Speaker 1: I grew up, so going to school, even in KINDI one,
Speaker 1: you two, we were like everyone wants to play with
Speaker 1: the twins.
Speaker 2: And we were kind of like you're a novelty.
Speaker 1: We were a bit like a novelty. So I felt
Speaker 1: like we were almost different in a sense because we
Speaker 1: were twins already that we almost were that novelty. But
Speaker 1: as I said, like I had a great time growing up,
Speaker 1: Like I didn't get experience bullying. I don't really look
Speaker 1: like a typical, you know, like a minority in any sense,
Speaker 1: because like people will look at me today and think,
Speaker 1: I don't know where you're from, or they didn't realize
Speaker 1: that I'm Filipino. Me and my brother were so proud
Speaker 1: to be Filipino. Like growing up, we had such a
Speaker 1: good relationship with our aunties and our family, and we
Speaker 1: just we wanted to almost be more of the minority
Speaker 1: side of it because it just felt like it was
Speaker 1: a bit different. Like it was like my first tatoe
Speaker 1: was like the Filipino son. So I drew that myself
Speaker 1: and I got that tattooed on there. Oh you know,
Speaker 1: a tatto on my chest that says money while I
Speaker 1: which means believe. And I think this. I don't know
Speaker 1: if it's something maybe my mom did or my older
Speaker 1: brother who was out something was like our idol growing up,
Speaker 1: and to see him, he's pretty dark, so he's he'd
Speaker 1: be considered a black Philippine. He caught himself Blazian. I
Speaker 1: don't know if that's a real turn, but he's, you know,
Speaker 1: growing up like and that was our idol, and I
Speaker 1: felt like someone like that was, you know, I would say,
Speaker 1: he's kind of a dark Asian with someone that we
Speaker 1: want to be. And I think for me and my brother,
Speaker 1: we always we want to dance like him, we wanted
Speaker 1: to rap like him, we want to go to the gym.
Speaker 1: It'd be big like him and his friends that that
Speaker 1: was something that we looked up to, and I feel
Speaker 1: like we felt a sense of belonging in that and
Speaker 1: because we had sports, I think sports really also helped
Speaker 1: us fit in in a way that kind of made us,
Speaker 1: you know, not like we're good at sports, so you
Speaker 1: can't bully us. So I don't know, it just felt
Speaker 1: like we had that, you know, I don't know, Yeah.
Speaker 2: I think, you know, sport is such a great leveler
Speaker 2: and can transcend other differences that might otherwise kind of
Speaker 2: act as more of a division between people. It's such
Speaker 2: a uniting thing.
Speaker 1: Just want to look back at it. I think, you know,
Speaker 1: I think it was probably more of the sense of
Speaker 1: like how circumstance was, you know, because we were considered poor.
Speaker 1: I think that was probably more of the part that
Speaker 1: we kind of hit from a lot of people that
Speaker 1: we didn't really kind of advertise that, you know, we
Speaker 1: had to eat you know, meat pires that were like
Speaker 1: you buy a pack for two dollars, then we just
Speaker 1: had to heat that up and we just brought that
Speaker 1: for lunch. And I think like that was kind of
Speaker 1: something that we weren't too proud of. But now that
Speaker 1: I'll look back, you know, be proud of it. Little Johnny. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's just who cares like, you know, but it's just
Speaker 1: at that time you think of it, you didn't bring
Speaker 1: people over to your house or you know, stuff like that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's so interesting and I'm so it's so great
Speaker 2: to hear that you didn't experience any racism in your
Speaker 2: school years or or sort of along the way. Would
Speaker 2: you say, has your cultural heritage ever been an obstacle
Speaker 2: in terms of your career? Has it ever been something
Speaker 2: that stopped you getting an opportunity?
Speaker 1: Do you think if I was to just be honest,
Speaker 1: I think because we didn't look like typical like you know,
Speaker 1: people didn't know where we were from that would just
Speaker 1: see us, you know, like me and my brother, like
Speaker 1: even Laven today, I don't really get that people would
Speaker 1: say you're Filipino.
Speaker 2: Yeah already I would.
Speaker 1: Have to say it, like because you know, like sharing
Speaker 1: my mom through my social platforms kind of allowed I
Speaker 1: didn't want to say everyone, look I'm yeah. I thought
Speaker 1: like if you just say, if you saw my mom
Speaker 1: and how we grew up and this was what was
Speaker 1: looking after us and raising us, like we grew up
Speaker 1: like you know, in the Filippino household, which is how there,
Speaker 1: So I think having that, yeah, that was our experience.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's really interesting. My husband is half Singaporean and
Speaker 2: he's very similar to you. He looks sort off, you
Speaker 2: can't tell in Italy, he looks Italian in like the
Speaker 2: Middle East, he looks Middle Eastern like, he's quiet. It's
Speaker 2: only like Singaporean women who go, I know you're half Singaporean,
Speaker 2: but most people can't tell. And so yeah, he's found
Speaker 2: that he hasn't experienced any sort of racial discrimination in
Speaker 2: his older age, but when he was younger, he looked
Speaker 2: a lot more Asian and he grew up in country Tazzy,
Speaker 2: so's a lot less multicultural back then. So he found
Speaker 2: more in childhood, but now not so much, which is yeah,
Speaker 2: which is fascinating. So the Wiggles chapter, So since twenty
Speaker 2: twenty one, you have been a purple Wiggle. What is
Speaker 2: it like? What is it like knowing that you were
Speaker 2: gracing the households of an entire nation and overseas and
Speaker 2: bringing joy to like a younger generation.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a really cool job. Like I'm actually like
Speaker 1: so proud and so privileged and grateful, to be able
Speaker 1: to call myself a Wiggle And I think growing up
Speaker 1: with the Wiggles, you just you see them as you know,
Speaker 1: they're international stars. This is this is like the Beatles
Speaker 1: for children or you know, this is like everybody knows
Speaker 1: the Wiggles.
Speaker 2: You are literally the Beatles for children. That is literally
Speaker 2: what you are.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's still bizarre to me, but it feels
Speaker 1: like the coolest job in the world. And you know,
Speaker 1: I would walk around and almost feel like Clark Kent,
Speaker 1: like when you see little kids and stuff walking with
Speaker 1: their parents you think like, oh, I have no idea
Speaker 1: like that. I'm like, I'm like Superman like undercover, like
Speaker 1: because I'm kind of in disguise when I'm not wearing
Speaker 1: like purple outfits. But it's the coolest job in the world.
Speaker 1: And to be able to bring joy to families and
Speaker 1: write music and be able to perform and you know,
Speaker 1: it's bizarre and totally grateful for it. Love it. It's indescribable.
Speaker 2: It's really cool that you mentioned you wanted to be
Speaker 2: a power Ranger when you were younger, which was like
Speaker 2: a superhero based on a color, which is kind of
Speaker 2: what the Wiggles are. You're a superhero based on a color.
Speaker 2: I know you kind of did end up getting there,
Speaker 2: and I think that's what goes through my head.
Speaker 1: You know, we get to play ourselves as the Wiggles
Speaker 1: and that's the cool part about you know, like Anthony
Speaker 1: and the guys there, and they kind of bring out
Speaker 1: your personality through your character and I'm not playing like
Speaker 1: big strong John. It's like, I love my fitness, I
Speaker 1: love nutrition, I love to be athletic. So that's my
Speaker 1: personality showing through my character. And I think it's almost
Speaker 1: an essense of a power ranger or a superhero, and
Speaker 1: I think that's what I'm kind of trying to portray
Speaker 1: through a Wiggles character. Even though the Wiggles were the
Speaker 1: you know, Greg Murray, Jeff Anthony, directly, Donalds or that's
Speaker 1: what I grew up with, it's a different area and
Speaker 1: now as a diverse wigl so it's a bit different.
Speaker 1: The next generation are growing up watching the current Wiggles
Speaker 1: as their original Wigel. So if you look at it
Speaker 1: like that doesn't feel as imposter syndrome as what I felt.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so what would your day look like? Like? Do
Speaker 2: you guys, how much do you rehearse together. How much
Speaker 2: you do you Yeah, you mentioned you're writing music when
Speaker 2: you're writing songs together? And is always all of the
Speaker 2: Wiggles together or do you go off and do some
Speaker 2: solo things like I often see you with Sahai and
Speaker 2: like you're doing things kind of in groups. How does
Speaker 2: it all work? And do you ever get days off?
Speaker 1: Yeah, we definitely get days off. I think that's important
Speaker 1: in any role. But you know, this job, you'd call
Speaker 1: it a job, you call it a do you just
Speaker 1: become a wiggless But you know, a day in the life,
Speaker 1: it's always different. There's no two days the same. If
Speaker 1: we're not touring and traveling, we're in the studio and
Speaker 1: we're writing music, we're recording music, or we're filming TV series,
Speaker 1: or we're filming social media TikTok or Instagram videos. But
Speaker 1: there's always something going on. And for example, today I'm
Speaker 1: not in Wiggle down today, I'm heading off to Canberra
Speaker 1: for some shows tomorrow, risking there. Hopefully my wife doesn't
Speaker 1: for you know, give it doesn't break over a night.
Speaker 1: But you know, like in no two days are the same.
Speaker 1: So if we're not traveling, we're in the studio or
Speaker 1: you know, we're doing different projects. We're always working on
Speaker 1: a different project every day. Yeah, So before I joined
Speaker 1: the Whigs in I'd always wonder what they'd be doing
Speaker 1: on a daily basis, Like you'd watch them on YouTube
Speaker 1: on ABC and you'd see the shows and you'd see
Speaker 1: them touring, but you wonder what the day in the
Speaker 1: life of was like. And now I kind of get
Speaker 1: to see firsthand what goes on. And there's always something
Speaker 1: happening and it's it was like chaos, but it's like
Speaker 1: a controlled chaos, and there's always something. There's like someone
Speaker 1: coming in asking for this, and someone can you come
Speaker 1: and do this quickly? And then we've got to quickly
Speaker 1: write this. And now we've got a new album that's
Speaker 1: seen this, and now we've got to get this done.
Speaker 1: But we'll stop that, but we'll go into the studio
Speaker 1: and we'll film this on green screen and we've got
Speaker 1: to put you know, film this TV show. And now
Speaker 1: we've got this guest coming in and we're going to
Speaker 1: film with this person. Now we're off to Melbourne tomorrow
Speaker 1: to do you know, it's just always something like that
Speaker 1: and it's not crazy, but it's crazy good love. Yeah.
Speaker 2: I mean that's was kind of why it was such
Speaker 2: a big question for me, because I think there are
Speaker 2: so many people listening who feel like they know you,
Speaker 2: Like you're in our houses and we spend so much
Speaker 2: time watching you perform. We know your body language and
Speaker 2: we know like, yeah, parts of your persona. But it
Speaker 2: is kind of like, well, what are you guys doing
Speaker 2: in between? Yeah, you're rocking around in your purple outfit,
Speaker 2: Like do you have other clothes?
Speaker 1: You know, I know, there's a lot going on, and
Speaker 1: it takes a while, you know, to put all these
Speaker 1: things together. And this year we put I think we
Speaker 1: had nearly forty hours of content. We had to write, record,
Speaker 1: and film them all, and that's like a lot of planning.
Speaker 1: In some days we'd get through, Like when I was
Speaker 1: in Just Screw, we'd take a day or two to
Speaker 1: film a video clip for a song. We're at the Wiggles,
Speaker 1: who might film eight video clips recorded and filmed, and
Speaker 1: we'd choreograph on the spot. So when the cameras all
Speaker 1: set up, we're in the where we're going to film it,
Speaker 1: and we're going, this is what we're going to do,
Speaker 1: and we'll do this. It's almost like filming a TikTok.
Speaker 1: You're kind of work it out there in that ten
Speaker 1: minutes you've got and then okay, we'll go and then
Speaker 1: we'll go for a take, and then we're going for
Speaker 1: a close up and that song's done, and like half
Speaker 1: an hour, oh, prefare the next one, and just we
Speaker 1: just keep going through songs like that just so quick
Speaker 1: you learn to learn something and forget it and just
Speaker 1: keep going.
Speaker 2: It's amazing.
Speaker 1: You wouldn't kind of sit on it for oh my gosh,
Speaker 1: everything you watch on TV, it's like done there and
Speaker 1: then then planned on the day, So whatever you're thinking
Speaker 1: on the day, it's very freshly creative.
Speaker 2: Oh wow, I didn't know that you guys like choreograph
Speaker 2: on the spot and that it wasn't all completely planned
Speaker 2: out for you already.
Speaker 1: Like there is a bit of planning and you know
Speaker 1: the shots are got to do and how going to
Speaker 1: do it. But they're definitely the dancing and the in
Speaker 1: the structure and everything that you see, even what we're
Speaker 1: wearing is kind of on the floor.
Speaker 2: What's amazing. Oh wow, I love that. I love that
Speaker 2: you get so much like creativity in the role.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's definitely because creativity. It can be creative, but
Speaker 1: a lot of creativity just comes to you. When it
Speaker 1: comes to you. Ideas just appear. You can't overthink something
Speaker 1: too much. I think it's just has to be a natural,
Speaker 1: especially with creativity.
Speaker 2: I don't know what do you make of I think
Speaker 2: it was like around twenty twenty three, what are you
Speaker 2: and Jesse, your beautiful wife and soon to be baby mama?
Speaker 2: What do you guys make of you becoming the sexy
Speaker 2: wiggle that now? Like I was watching an American TikTok
Speaker 2: the other day, just out of the blue, like didn't
Speaker 2: even hadn't googled or anything, and it was this whole
Speaker 2: bit about how this guy comes downstairs and the Wiggles
Speaker 2: are on and he's like, yeah, it's on like seven
Speaker 2: different platforms, and I was like, oh my god, that's John.
Speaker 2: It was like totally unrelated to anything Australian, and it
Speaker 2: just it was like, yeah, he comes downstairs and his
Speaker 2: wife is suddenly watching the Wiggles a lot. Does it
Speaker 2: blow your mind? How do you guys feel about it? It
Speaker 2: must be such a weird feeling.
Speaker 1: It's definitely wild. Like I don't know how to feel
Speaker 1: about it. I guess the Internet can turn anything into
Speaker 1: something totally and you just got to kind of embrace it.
Speaker 1: And it is kind of cool. And I think these people,
Speaker 1: a lot of the Americans, especially those videos that come
Speaker 1: out of America, they grew up watching The Wiggles, and
Speaker 1: they know the Wiggles as the original guys right back
Speaker 1: in the nineties early two thousand and then when they
Speaker 1: see and think Wiggle and they see my face and
Speaker 1: they see my tattoos out and they're thinking, well, what's
Speaker 1: going on here? And I think it's intriguing for a
Speaker 1: lot of people. And that's kind of what I make
Speaker 1: of it. It's definitely very interesting, and I guess it
Speaker 1: just reminds everybody and the Wiggles are still here.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we're evolving, We're modern.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we're evolving, you exactly. And I think it's kind
Speaker 1: of cool. And it's reaching a different demographic a lot
Speaker 1: of them that definitely they've got families and kids of
Speaker 1: their own, or most of them do, or they will want.
Speaker 1: So I think it's a positive thing and it's going
Speaker 1: to spread more good quality entertainment and education out there because,
Speaker 1: you know, the Wiggles, that's what we love. The Wiggles
Speaker 1: for been around for thirty two years, providing good quality entertainment,
Speaker 1: and I think that's what we love. And I'm going
Speaker 1: to be, you know, putting my child in front of
Speaker 1: the Whigls.
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, I know, I can't even imagine what
Speaker 2: it must feel like having grown up with the Wiggles.
Speaker 2: Knowing that you're going to have a child who will
Speaker 2: grow up with watching you as a wiggle That's so cool.
Speaker 2: But that kind of makes me think of Obviously, I
Speaker 2: think we in the old school days, we think of
Speaker 2: the Wiggles as just like you know, hot potato like
Speaker 2: songs for children to keep them entertained. But I think
Speaker 2: social media has allowed you all to become characters that
Speaker 2: lend your voices to lots of different things that you
Speaker 2: want to teach the leaders of tomorrow, Like you can
Speaker 2: all be passionate about things other than just music and
Speaker 2: song and dance. And yeah, I think it's beautiful that
Speaker 2: social media allows you to have your personas outside of
Speaker 2: just the Wiggles content. And one of the things that
Speaker 2: I've been reading about is that you've got an amazing
Speaker 2: partnership with Hello Fresh. So Nick and I've been Hello
Speaker 2: Fresh customers for many years. It's not only been really convenient,
Speaker 2: very time saving, particularly since having a child, like it's
Speaker 2: you'll appreciate it a million times more. But one of
Speaker 2: the things you've been working on is this crazy problem
Speaker 2: that we have in Australia with waste that we've been producing.
Speaker 2: I think it's like seven point six million tons of
Speaker 2: food waste. You know, that's just one of the messages
Speaker 2: that you've been lending your voice to teaching kids earlier
Speaker 2: about better waste habits. So can you tell us a
Speaker 2: bit about the partnership that you have and all the
Speaker 2: you know, the online resources that you've been making aren't
Speaker 2: just Wiggles but also climate.
Speaker 1: Superstars, still helping children. But you know, like me and
Speaker 1: Jess have been using heather Fresh for a while and
Speaker 1: it's like it's something. When we got married, we moved
Speaker 1: in and like most young people go, you know, we
Speaker 1: were going to cook every single night, and we're gonna
Speaker 1: we're going to host dinner parties and do everything. And
Speaker 1: we soon, like not that long after that, we realized
Speaker 1: we started cooking the same things, and we started getting lazy,
Speaker 1: and we started buying lots of ingredients and doing all
Speaker 1: this stuff and stocking our pantry and a lot of
Speaker 1: it did go to waste. And you know, we did
Speaker 1: find HelloFresh not that long after that, and we thought,
Speaker 1: you know, this is exactly what we wanted. We wanted
Speaker 1: something that was easy to follow, It was healthy, We
Speaker 1: felt like we were cooking it, we were also learning,
Speaker 1: and everything was like pre portion. Everything we opened up
Speaker 1: was just like you just use that whole thing. You
Speaker 1: put that whole thing, and you just cut that whole
Speaker 1: banana up, or you cut that whole sweet potato. And
Speaker 1: we thought there was like you know, managing all the
Speaker 1: waste and we weren't throwing away a lot and it
Speaker 1: was just everything went out one bag and we threw
Speaker 1: it out and it was easy and it felt like
Speaker 1: We love HelloFresh And I think as soon as Hellafresh
Speaker 1: reached out recently and said, you know, we're going to
Speaker 1: put together this Climate Superstars camp with Cool Bean's Academy
Speaker 1: and we want to help you know ed you gate
Speaker 1: parents and children about you know, food sustainability, like would
Speaker 1: you be on board? And I was just like, of course,
Speaker 1: I'm working with children, you know, I love Hello Fresh?
Speaker 1: Why not? So it just felt natural. It was a fun, little,
Speaker 1: fun little day of filming creating you know, resources that
Speaker 1: parents can use that teach you about how you can
Speaker 1: use leftovers and make art out of different you can
Speaker 1: use tumeric to paint pictures and things like that, and
Speaker 1: freezing your food. So there was a fun day and
Speaker 1: you know, there's a whole bunch of resource booklet that
Speaker 1: you can download on on the hell of Fresh website.
Speaker 1: So it was something fun to do and something that
Speaker 1: I felt, you know, why waste food? My mum's from
Speaker 1: the Philippines when we went over there, and if they
Speaker 1: found out that nearly every Australian was throwing away five
Speaker 1: hundred dollars worth of food every year just because it
Speaker 1: was the leftover or it was just overused, oh my gosh,
Speaker 1: like you wouldn't understand. We went over there and we
Speaker 1: shared like biscuits and stuff and then save like at
Speaker 1: one point two five litter coke for special guests and
Speaker 1: we're just you know, pouring it on the floor, just
Speaker 1: no electricity, just sharing that. So I think when you
Speaker 1: put into context in that sense, it's so important in
Speaker 1: a country like Australia, especially where we're we've got abundance
Speaker 1: of food and options and things like that. You just
Speaker 1: it's good to think twice and educate the next generation too, hopefully,
Speaker 1: you know, don't waste food. It's people really value it
Speaker 1: in some countries.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's crazy that that's statistic about the five hundred dollars.
Speaker 2: I was quite surprised, and it's amazing to see that
Speaker 2: you've been able to use your platform for the messages
Speaker 2: that now you know will also be for the future
Speaker 2: of your little one. How are you feeling about being
Speaker 2: a dad? Do you have everything set up?
Speaker 1: I can't wait. We've got the nursery set up. Even
Speaker 1: though we're not using the nursery for you'd probably know,
Speaker 1: like you don't use that much a year, it'd be sleeping,
Speaker 1: very sleeping. But you know, we're excited. We're so pumped
Speaker 1: and just as healthy. That's the main thing. And you know,
Speaker 1: it's looking to be a big baby.
Speaker 2: Out of that.
Speaker 1: The measurements are getting the seventy percent of you know,
Speaker 1: it's and just as like since she's quite little, but
Speaker 1: you know, she's confident. She can't wait, she almost she
Speaker 1: tells me she can't wait to feel labor. She just
Speaker 1: like wants to just feel it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Wow, what a weapon.
Speaker 1: No, she says that now she's a strong girl, and
Speaker 1: I think she'll probably manage it. She's got a good
Speaker 1: pain threshold. But you know, you'd probably know. I don't
Speaker 1: know if you did, what your process was and how
Speaker 1: you manage it all. But everybody says it's a day
Speaker 1: to remember, and you know, we're definitely excited and grateful
Speaker 1: to be here and expecting our first little boy.
Speaker 2: Oh it's a little boy.
Speaker 1: Oh congratcha, Yeah, we can't wait.
Speaker 2: Oh, little boys are the best. They're just it will
Speaker 2: absolutely rock your world in the best way possible. It's
Speaker 2: like the hardest and best thing you'll ever do. And
Speaker 2: it's funny. I think you will go back and listen
Speaker 2: to conversations. You'll listen and watch TV and watch snippets
Speaker 2: of you and the person you are before your child,
Speaker 2: and you won't recognize that person once he arrives. It's
Speaker 2: just like you can't imagine a world without them. It's
Speaker 2: so interesting. I can't wait. I'm so excited for you.
Speaker 2: It's really special time.
Speaker 1: I'm so excited. Yeah. I was saying to Jess this morning,
Speaker 1: we're walking and I was saying, you know, like inn
Speaker 1: lesson to weeks, like we're going to have another person here.
Speaker 1: We've been thinking about it for a long time, you know,
Speaker 1: going to the old pregnancy. We feel like it's in
Speaker 1: the future, but it's actually so close that our life
Speaker 1: is about to change for the better. And just yeah,
Speaker 1: we're so ready. We couldn't be more pumped. But you know,
Speaker 1: I'm ready for the sleepless nights and the dad bring
Speaker 1: it on.
Speaker 2: Yeah, oh my god, you can't get it. You're the
Speaker 2: thirsty wiggle like you can't get a dad bond mate.
Speaker 2: That's not good for your image.
Speaker 1: I think I think the big Strong John title is
Speaker 1: a blessing in disguise. I'm meant to stick to, you know,
Speaker 1: keeps you accountable. Yeah exactly.
Speaker 2: Are you taking any time off? Are you taking any leave?
Speaker 1: Yeah, like all the necessary time required, and that it's
Speaker 1: such a good team at the Whigs. They're just you know,
Speaker 1: they're super supportive. And whatever time I need to take,
Speaker 1: it's it's quiet a time this time of the year.
Speaker 1: You know, we've got a few shows the Cows and
Speaker 1: Domain and there's I think our last show is just
Speaker 1: before Christmas time. So whatever time I need to take,
Speaker 1: I wanted to take it like at least two weeks
Speaker 1: off minimum to be there for just and you know,
Speaker 1: support and be a dad and just be there in
Speaker 1: the first few moments. So I'll definitely take that time
Speaker 1: to you know, really embrace fatherhood parenthood.
Speaker 2: Oh well, congratulations. I'm so excited. I was about to say,
Speaker 2: what's next for you, but I mean, obviously parenthood is
Speaker 2: the next chapter and that kind of takes up a
Speaker 2: lot of a lot of energy, mental energy, physical energy.
Speaker 2: And how exciting to have a little one for Christmas.
Speaker 1: I know, we can't wait. We've got little stockings already
Speaker 1: with his name embroidered on there, which we won't announce yet,
Speaker 1: but we've ordered them.
Speaker 2: You've chosen. Oh my gosh, ah, that's so special. Well,
Speaker 2: it'll be a magical time ahead for you guys, and
Speaker 2: my love to Jesse as well. And thank you so
Speaker 2: much for the chat and for the joy that I
Speaker 2: know you will bring. I mean, Teddy, as I said,
Speaker 2: isn't quite wiggles obsessed just yet. But the minute it happens,
Speaker 2: I'm going to text you and just be like any
Speaker 2: thank you for the public service that you guys do
Speaker 2: for parents and families everywhere.
Speaker 1: Sarah when Teddy's old enough, you know it can be
Speaker 1: having played theres with our little son together.
Speaker 2: Oh, I mean, obviously he can get lots of use
Speaker 2: out of this purple jumper.
Speaker 1: Yeah, got a good year and a half left to
Speaker 1: grow into that for growth out of it stretch.
Speaker 2: Oh, John, thank you so much, and I'm congratulations.
Speaker 1: No worries, Thank you, Thanks for having me. This is fun.
Speaker 2: Well, Teddy hasn't quite entered his Wiggles era just yet,
Speaker 2: but I'm sure there will be so much Wiggles action
Speaker 2: going on in our household before we even know it.
Speaker 2: He looked so cute in his little purple suit. I
Speaker 2: don't know if you guys saw it on Socials, but
Speaker 2: we sent John a little photo and oh my goodness,
Speaker 2: it was so cute. It's been such a wild but
Speaker 2: wonderful year, and John has so much to look forward
Speaker 2: to when he becomes a parent imminently at any moment. Now,
Speaker 2: what an amazing way to finish off a fabulous year.
Speaker 2: It's been such a rollercoaster. We slowed down when Teddie
Speaker 2: was born. We've now built up to some wonderful momentum.
Speaker 2: It's so nice to be back, and I hope you
Speaker 2: guys have enjoyed some of the fabulous guests we've had
Speaker 2: over the past couple of weeks. If you do want
Speaker 2: to follow along more of what John's doing, if you
Speaker 2: don't already, I'm sure many of you already do. His
Speaker 2: Wiggles page is at John Underscore Wiggle. His personal page
Speaker 2: is at John Pierce, or of course you can follow
Speaker 2: the Wiggles. There's also the Wiggle Talk podcast. And we
Speaker 2: did also cover the incredible service that is HelloFresh that
Speaker 2: is just so game changing when you're time for and
Speaker 2: tired but still want to eat really well and you know,
Speaker 2: really reduce your wastage when you're preparing food at home.
Speaker 2: So I'll include the link to that as well in
Speaker 2: the show notes. In the meantime, Oh my gosh, I
Speaker 2: can't believe the next time that we're back it will
Speaker 2: be twenty twenty five. That sounds so crazy and foreign
Speaker 2: and exciting and amazing. At some point we will do
Speaker 2: a year rap or a news Resolutions episode with the
Speaker 2: big news that came from and I'm not sure when
Speaker 2: that will be, but we will get it in your
Speaker 2: ears eventually. We're taking a two week break just to
Speaker 2: give your ears a little rest and recoup, spend some
Speaker 2: time with the family, enjoy the festive season. I hope
Speaker 2: you guys have a wonderful festive season and New Year,
Speaker 2: no matter how you choose to spend it or what
Speaker 2: you choose to celebrate. And I hope that over the
Speaker 2: next couple of weeks you are seizing your yay we
Speaker 2: will be back next year.
Speaker 1: St.