WEBVTT - S2 Episode 11: Ed Russell 0:00:02.940 --> 0:00:11.470 the mutton sandwich podcast. Welcome to the mutton sandwich podcast. 0:00:11.480 --> 0:00:13.650 This is the show that we 0:00:13.740 --> 0:00:16.759 Find an excuse Martin to catch up with our famous friends. 0:00:16.760 --> 0:00:19.509 That's right. Friends that, you know, work with us or 0:00:19.510 --> 0:00:23.729 we have worked with very special episode today because today 0:00:23.739 --> 0:00:28.150 we're speaking to the newest member of Team Class 95, 0:00:28.160 --> 0:00:31.080 newest member of the family. Today is a get to 0:00:31.080 --> 0:00:34.460 know him a little bit better. Edward Russell. 0:00:34.840 --> 0:00:35.320 Hello, 0:00:35.330 --> 0:00:36.849 what's up? Edward Russell, 0:00:36.860 --> 0:00:38.540 thanks having, you know, it's strange. I've been here for 0:00:38.540 --> 0:00:39.990 a few months already and this is probably going to 0:00:39.990 --> 0:00:41.700 be the longest we've ever spent together. 0:00:41.710 --> 0:00:44.540 Exactly. Well, that's the nature of radio, isn't it? You 0:00:44.540 --> 0:00:46.310 come in, you do your show and you don't really 0:00:46.310 --> 0:00:47.989 have time to sit down and teach at after that. 0:00:47.990 --> 0:00:50.640 And there were a few months where we were quote unquote, 0:00:50.650 --> 0:00:54.880 not allowed to meet each other because of team segregation, right? Blah, blah, blah. 0:00:54.890 --> 0:00:58.470 Let's hope all that is over. So finally, we're sitting 0:00:58.470 --> 0:01:01.570 down together and you know, even before you joined our 0:01:01.570 --> 0:01:03.550 class and my family, we we actually got to know 0:01:03.550 --> 0:01:06.740 you through mutual friends and so, you know, now that 0:01:06.740 --> 0:01:09.500 you finally made the switch to radio, how's it been 0:01:09.500 --> 0:01:10.560 so far? Do you regret it? 0:01:10.740 --> 0:01:16.110 I wasn't going to be asking that question, but yeah, sure. 0:01:16.120 --> 0:01:19.430 So far. So good. You know, it's been interesting like, 0:01:19.430 --> 0:01:21.870 as you know, I came from a tv background in 0:01:21.870 --> 0:01:26.140 the past seven years doing that and you think generally 0:01:26.140 --> 0:01:29.250 broadcasting is broadcasting, right? But it's a totally different thing. 0:01:29.340 --> 0:01:30.869 I think the first thing that I had to get 0:01:30.870 --> 0:01:32.770 used to on radio is just being alone? I mean 0:01:32.780 --> 0:01:35.560 you guys don't have that problem. But having been on 0:01:35.560 --> 0:01:37.569 tv and you look in front of you and you've 0:01:37.569 --> 0:01:39.660 got a whole crew and then you've got another crew 0:01:39.670 --> 0:01:42.180 in your ear, in another room here on radio and 0:01:42.180 --> 0:01:44.490 in this country, you just absolutely alone. And you just 0:01:44.490 --> 0:01:46.259 kind of sit there 0:01:46.740 --> 0:01:47.830 trying to keep yourself company for 0:01:48.570 --> 0:01:49.150 everybody 0:01:49.150 --> 0:01:50.080 on the radio as well. Of course 0:01:50.090 --> 0:01:53.710 you find that sometimes you think you are going crazy 0:01:53.720 --> 0:01:57.170 because you're talking to yourself yourself to make yourself laugh 0:01:57.180 --> 0:01:58.810 and then when you turn off the mic like did 0:01:58.810 --> 0:02:01.860 I just do that? You know it's that but that's 0:02:01.860 --> 0:02:05.160 that's our world. Right? So I mean we don't consider 0:02:05.160 --> 0:02:08.380 you a newbie because you've been doing entertainment for so 0:02:08.380 --> 0:02:11.060 long staying and stuff. But for for the new beast 0:02:11.060 --> 0:02:13.609 sometimes you tell them literally right, bring your favorite soft 0:02:13.610 --> 0:02:17.060 toy or a photograph. Yeah. Put it on the console. 0:02:17.060 --> 0:02:19.419 So you at least you're not alone. 0:02:19.550 --> 0:02:22.040 That's what those little figurines on the Yeah, 0:02:22.050 --> 0:02:25.280 exactly. People actually talk to those. Right? So 0:02:25.290 --> 0:02:26.220 I'm not going to ask you this, 0:02:26.580 --> 0:02:29.670 you better not because they're mostly just things like that. 0:02:29.790 --> 0:02:34.960 I can't be lonely. Um and let's get to know 0:02:34.960 --> 0:02:38.090 you a little bit better. That's what today's mutton sandwich 0:02:38.090 --> 0:02:41.360 podcast is is all about? So for people who don't know, 0:02:42.740 --> 0:02:43.360 what are you, 0:02:43.840 --> 0:02:46.990 what do you mean? What are you, what are you 0:02:47.000 --> 0:02:50.540 what what what what nationality are you what is Ed 0:02:50.540 --> 0:02:51.480 Russell comprised 0:02:51.480 --> 0:02:58.120 of? I feel this is a long story. Sure, exactly. 0:02:58.150 --> 0:03:00.880 Um No, so I was born and born in England 0:03:00.880 --> 0:03:06.060 to a british dad and a singaporean mom. So 0:03:06.340 --> 0:03:08.549 they met over here, my dad was working here, my 0:03:08.550 --> 0:03:11.049 mom was living here and the traditional 0:03:11.440 --> 0:03:12.649 East meets West love 0:03:12.650 --> 0:03:13.450 story. 0:03:14.250 --> 0:03:17.010 Then my mom moved over to the UK. You know, 0:03:17.010 --> 0:03:19.060 with my dad, I was born there. Um 0:03:19.540 --> 0:03:21.059 I stayed there until I was about 0:03:21.940 --> 0:03:25.590 14, 15 I guess. And a lot of people in 0:03:25.590 --> 0:03:28.359 the UK, they have this fixation with Australia 0:03:28.639 --> 0:03:30.190 because there are a lot of tv shows in the 0:03:30.190 --> 0:03:32.140 UK which is called like place in the sun or 0:03:32.139 --> 0:03:34.310 escape to the sunshine, that kind of thing. And it 0:03:34.310 --> 0:03:37.360 paints this picture of Australia as the U. K. But 0:03:37.360 --> 0:03:39.000 with better weather and nice people, 0:03:39.770 --> 0:03:40.120 Everybody 0:03:40.120 --> 0:03:42.930 gets sold on this lovely image of Australia, as did 0:03:42.930 --> 0:03:44.860 my parents and we all moved to Perth. 0:03:45.340 --> 0:03:48.960 Um and it didn't take them long to realize that okay, 0:03:48.960 --> 0:03:50.840 it wasn't particularly accurate what happened. 0:03:50.990 --> 0:03:53.830 So 0:03:53.840 --> 0:03:56.680 I mean we came from Central London and when we 0:03:56.680 --> 0:03:59.470 moved to Perth of all the kind of cities and 0:03:59.470 --> 0:04:02.240 states in Australia. It is and I don't want to 0:04:02.240 --> 0:04:04.540 be mean to the residents of Perth in case anyone's listening, 0:04:04.540 --> 0:04:05.210 but it's 0:04:05.640 --> 0:04:07.180 a little bit behind the rest of the country 0:04:07.930 --> 0:04:08.690 understandably. 0:04:08.700 --> 0:04:10.990 So when we first moved there, no shops were open 0:04:10.990 --> 0:04:13.900 on a sunday for example, there's one day where the 0:04:13.900 --> 0:04:16.140 shops are open past five o'clock and that's thursday which 0:04:16.140 --> 0:04:17.640 is late night shopping and that's only two like eight 0:04:17.640 --> 0:04:21.740 o'clock anyway so it took some getting used to, 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:25.050 I hacked it out longer than they did, so they 0:04:25.050 --> 0:04:26.510 ended up moving back but I was kind of at 0:04:26.510 --> 0:04:28.870 that stage where you know, you're just about to go 0:04:28.870 --> 0:04:30.990 into uni and it's way too hard to 0:04:31.460 --> 0:04:35.719 convert your grades to other systems and all that kind 0:04:35.720 --> 0:04:36.020 of thing. 0:04:37.940 --> 0:04:39.659 Stop me if I'm going too long cause I'm still 0:04:39.690 --> 0:04:40.380 in my 0:04:40.380 --> 0:04:44.150 15 so far. So um yeah I ended up staying 0:04:44.150 --> 0:04:48.050 in Perth did uni um thankfully in Australia you can 0:04:48.050 --> 0:04:50.529 do a double degree pretty quickly in like 4.5 years, 0:04:50.540 --> 0:04:53.140 I had no idea what I wanted to do. So 0:04:53.140 --> 0:04:53.740 I did 0:04:54.140 --> 0:04:56.670 2° on totally opposite ends of the spectrum. One was 0:04:56.670 --> 0:05:00.800 kind of arts humanities and one was commerce, economics, marketing. 0:05:01.540 --> 0:05:01.800 Okay, 0:05:01.810 --> 0:05:04.850 hoping that at the end of this 4.5 years I'd 0:05:04.850 --> 0:05:06.620 have a greater idea of what I wanted to do 0:05:06.620 --> 0:05:07.680 and I didn't, 0:05:07.690 --> 0:05:09.140 so I 0:05:09.150 --> 0:05:10.750 stayed on and did a master's 0:05:11.310 --> 0:05:12.100 okay. 0:05:12.190 --> 0:05:13.150 Um 0:05:13.720 --> 0:05:19.450 did a master's in english and european studies and film history. 0:05:20.040 --> 0:05:20.550 Right 0:05:20.940 --> 0:05:23.250 and at the end of that I still have no 0:05:23.250 --> 0:05:24.460 idea what I wanted to do, but knew that I 0:05:24.460 --> 0:05:25.820 wanted to stop studying, so 0:05:25.830 --> 0:05:29.130 goodness how many years was that in total? Like at 0:05:29.130 --> 0:05:31.740 the end of that snow? It wasn't to be like 6, 0:05:31.740 --> 0:05:32.130 6.5 0:05:32.130 --> 0:05:33.380 Ok, ok, ok. 0:05:33.390 --> 0:05:34.560 Yeah, so 0:05:35.240 --> 0:05:37.550 anyway, fast forward to um 0:05:38.240 --> 0:05:40.980 how I got to Singapore, I when I was here 0:05:40.980 --> 0:05:42.730 for holiday because you know Singapore has always been a 0:05:42.730 --> 0:05:44.469 second home to me and I have family here, that 0:05:44.470 --> 0:05:47.610 kind of thing. Um and when I was very small 0:05:47.620 --> 0:05:50.110 um you know before I started school, we actually lived 0:05:50.110 --> 0:05:52.070 here for a little bit because I didn't have to 0:05:52.070 --> 0:05:54.460 be anywhere else. My dad was working here, so 0:05:55.339 --> 0:05:58.260 on one of my kind of most recent trips to Singapore, 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:00.599 you know, probably not so much now, but back in 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:02.750 the day there were those like model scouts like walking 0:06:02.750 --> 0:06:05.380 around orchard road with their business cards and everything like that, right? 0:06:05.390 --> 0:06:07.330 So I thought this is all fake, these guys are 0:06:07.330 --> 0:06:08.669 like a bit weird, right? I don't know where they're 0:06:08.670 --> 0:06:11.750 going to take you to do these photo shoots, but 0:06:11.750 --> 0:06:13.400 I just wanted to travel. So I got in contact 0:06:13.400 --> 0:06:15.279 with one of these guys that passed me his card 0:06:15.290 --> 0:06:18.789 and he was like yeah, you know come down Singapore 0:06:18.790 --> 0:06:20.950 do a three month kind of modeling stint and see 0:06:20.950 --> 0:06:21.760 how that goes. 0:06:22.140 --> 0:06:23.479 I did that and then 0:06:24.339 --> 0:06:26.820 kind of used modeling as a means of traveling around 0:06:26.820 --> 0:06:31.060 asia for a couple of years, it's one of those 0:06:31.060 --> 0:06:33.910 things where you know, you'll do some campaigns in Singapore 0:06:33.910 --> 0:06:35.679 then an agency in Thailand will see you and say, 0:06:35.680 --> 0:06:37.030 hey you wanna come to Bangkok for a few years. 0:06:37.740 --> 0:06:40.760 Um So it's a great way to travel around. Um 0:06:41.140 --> 0:06:44.510 and then like everything after a couple of years I 0:06:44.510 --> 0:06:47.550 got kind of tired of that um and wanted to 0:06:47.560 --> 0:06:50.960 station myself in one place and and Singapore kind of 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:53.000 seemed like the obvious choice to do 0:06:53.000 --> 0:06:57.550 that. Nice. And then you got into hosting a tv. 0:06:57.940 --> 0:06:59.900 Yeah, so I mean, I guess the good thing about 0:06:59.900 --> 0:07:02.349 modeling is you're in front of a camera, then you 0:07:02.350 --> 0:07:05.860 transitioned from um not speaking in front of a camera, 0:07:05.860 --> 0:07:08.750 not moving then kind of moving in commercial, you know, 0:07:08.760 --> 0:07:10.440 acting but not really speaking. 0:07:10.450 --> 0:07:12.260 Yeah, then 0:07:12.260 --> 0:07:13.670 you're kind of getting these skills as you go along, 0:07:13.670 --> 0:07:16.230 so then you're speaking in front of camera, I did 0:07:16.230 --> 0:07:20.840 some acting for Mediacorp actually back in the day, so 0:07:20.840 --> 0:07:25.720 Channel five spouse for house. I'm sure you won't remember 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:27.400 my part because it was so kind of like, 0:07:28.720 --> 0:07:30.180 okay, 0:07:30.190 --> 0:07:32.510 and then I was on Syria as well, 0:07:32.520 --> 0:07:33.310 you're kidding? 0:07:33.320 --> 0:07:34.190 Yeah. 0:07:34.270 --> 0:07:35.010 You 0:07:35.680 --> 0:07:38.290 know, so it's a it was a show called cosmopolitan, 0:07:38.640 --> 0:07:39.460 which 0:07:39.840 --> 0:07:41.340 I assume means cosmopolitans. 0:07:42.530 --> 0:07:42.700 Think 0:07:43.720 --> 0:07:47.460 it's one of those like families from different backgrounds, all 0:07:47.460 --> 0:07:50.880 the characters, different languages, all that kind of thing. Um 0:07:50.890 --> 0:07:54.540 So my memory of doing that show actually was was 0:07:54.540 --> 0:07:57.260 not good and that's all thanks to bobby Tonelli who 0:07:57.270 --> 0:07:58.760 is a 0:07:58.770 --> 0:08:01.140 former colleague of ours, so 0:08:01.140 --> 0:08:02.760 my role in that was 0:08:02.940 --> 0:08:05.120 okay, so my role in all these kind of mediacorp 0:08:05.120 --> 0:08:07.350 shows that I did was um 0:08:08.040 --> 0:08:13.890 the young love interest guy. Okay, okay, okay, okay, but cosmopolitan, 0:08:13.890 --> 0:08:18.200 I was the bad love interest guy, so it was 0:08:18.210 --> 0:08:22.440 bobby married to this lady, I can't remember who, and 0:08:22.440 --> 0:08:24.030 I was the guy who was trying to break them 0:08:24.030 --> 0:08:24.980 up and steal her for 0:08:24.980 --> 0:08:26.550 myself 0:08:27.240 --> 0:08:28.860 and until bobby found out 0:08:29.580 --> 0:08:32.220 at which point this was caldecott car park, we filmed it, 0:08:32.230 --> 0:08:35.110 I was getting into my car, he literally pulls me 0:08:35.110 --> 0:08:37.150 out of the car and throws me against a pillar 0:08:38.170 --> 0:08:39.640 and the directors like bobby, you don't have to go 0:08:39.640 --> 0:08:43.070 too hard on this, this first time I met bobby 0:08:43.190 --> 0:08:44.860 was like man, we got to sell it to the people, 0:08:44.860 --> 0:08:49.050 you know, we've got to make it really before 0:08:49.050 --> 0:08:49.829 we know he's literally 0:08:49.830 --> 0:08:51.550 grabbing me and throwing me against his pillow and not 0:08:51.550 --> 0:08:53.080 one of those fake matrix pillars, like a 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:54.070 proper pillar pillar, 0:08:55.600 --> 0:08:57.200 Man, it's safe to say like after that we didn't 0:08:57.200 --> 0:08:57.900 speak for about five 0:08:57.900 --> 0:08:58.390 years? 0:09:00.140 --> 0:09:04.350 Oh that's so that's so good. Um but how did 0:09:04.350 --> 0:09:08.890 the hosting come around, because that was your longest stint? Right, 0:09:08.890 --> 0:09:11.490 you on the cable sports channels? 0:09:11.500 --> 0:09:14.040 Yeah, yeah, so that was honestly everything in my life 0:09:14.040 --> 0:09:15.650 has just kind of been um 0:09:15.940 --> 0:09:17.560 not pre planned, I don't want to say it fell 0:09:17.559 --> 0:09:19.199 into it, but things are just kind of, you know, 0:09:19.210 --> 0:09:21.250 gain momentum and snowballed, right? So, 0:09:21.640 --> 0:09:24.689 um, I did some hosting like a couple of travel 0:09:24.690 --> 0:09:29.370 shows and I did this show for an online channel 0:09:29.370 --> 0:09:35.100 that we went around different companies officers like Spotify, yahoo, 0:09:35.100 --> 0:09:37.720 all that kind of stuff. And basically somebody at Fox 0:09:37.720 --> 0:09:38.950 Sports just saw me 0:09:39.340 --> 0:09:41.180 and called me up and was like, hey, we're looking 0:09:41.179 --> 0:09:42.370 for people who want to come and do a screen 0:09:42.370 --> 0:09:44.990 test and, and that was that. And then I was 0:09:44.990 --> 0:09:45.660 there for 0:09:46.040 --> 0:09:46.940 seven years or so. 0:09:47.150 --> 0:09:51.360 Nice. So how did the, how the masters degree and 0:09:51.360 --> 0:09:54.679 all that? Good question. Okay, 0:09:54.679 --> 0:09:57.370 so my thesis topic, by the way on that was 0:09:57.370 --> 0:10:00.260 the representation of thatcherism 0:10:00.740 --> 0:10:04.590 and the inability of class ascension as represented in the 0:10:04.590 --> 0:10:05.820 films of ken loach 0:10:06.320 --> 0:10:10.000 and that's, that's the education you used to commentate on 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:13.059 matches like little boy. Exactly, precisely. 0:10:13.340 --> 0:10:15.620 You're breaking down films, you're breaking down matches, it's all 0:10:15.620 --> 0:10:16.380 the same kind of thing. 0:10:16.410 --> 0:10:20.890 Exactly. But I mean I'd like to ask this to 0:10:20.890 --> 0:10:23.560 people because I've never even been to university, but 0:10:23.640 --> 0:10:26.180 do you regret spending so much time studying? 0:10:28.040 --> 0:10:30.319 I 0:10:30.330 --> 0:10:32.030 don't want to say this in case kids are listening 0:10:32.030 --> 0:10:33.360 and then they tell their parents seem um, I don't 0:10:33.360 --> 0:10:33.540 need to 0:10:33.540 --> 0:10:37.650 go to, you don't worry steve jobs, settle that. 0:10:37.660 --> 0:10:41.559 No. Look, I will say that. I don't honestly remember 0:10:41.940 --> 0:10:44.670 any of the content I learned and there was a 0:10:44.670 --> 0:10:48.940 lot of content. Um, but I think it definitely the 0:10:48.940 --> 0:10:51.750 co curricular stuff really helped me. So I was 0:10:52.740 --> 0:10:55.130 vice president of, I don't know how it is in Singapore. 0:10:55.130 --> 0:10:58.160 It's like the arts unions, student union for the Arts 0:10:58.160 --> 0:10:59.460 faculty and I think we had like 0:11:00.040 --> 0:11:03.339 A lot of like 10,000 members or something like that, 0:11:03.350 --> 0:11:07.240 but that taught me to kind of public speak, um um, 0:11:07.250 --> 0:11:09.570 speak to people, get up, get up on stage and 0:11:09.570 --> 0:11:11.460 do all that kind of thing. So that helped me 0:11:11.460 --> 0:11:13.150 because I was really kind of 0:11:14.140 --> 0:11:15.840 I was really shy at school and I didn't know 0:11:15.840 --> 0:11:18.459 my place and I think that really helped 0:11:18.840 --> 0:11:20.990 bring me out of my shell and I think especially 0:11:21.000 --> 0:11:22.080 if you've been at school and 0:11:22.640 --> 0:11:27.260 you've kind of developed this persona as, you know, a 0:11:27.270 --> 0:11:28.500 bit of a show. I don't know where you fit in, 0:11:28.500 --> 0:11:30.849 that kind of thing. You need is a great fresh start, right? 0:11:31.130 --> 0:11:34.040 So you can really kind of rediscover who you are 0:11:34.050 --> 0:11:35.940 and just become a whole new person. I don't say 0:11:35.940 --> 0:11:37.780 it became a whole new person, but it definitely gave 0:11:37.780 --> 0:11:39.510 me skills that otherwise I wouldn't, 0:11:39.520 --> 0:11:41.959 it's not all about the academia, it's about the community 0:11:41.960 --> 0:11:44.090 as well and stuff like that. So what was wonderful. 0:11:44.100 --> 0:11:47.819 What a, what a background man, what a, what a journey. 0:11:47.820 --> 0:11:49.600 Which finally landed you here 0:11:49.600 --> 0:11:50.380 at the end of the podcast. 0:11:50.390 --> 0:11:56.660 It's landed you here now back. Okay, let's let's go, 0:11:56.740 --> 0:11:58.689 let's take it from the modeling 0:11:58.690 --> 0:11:59.350 days 0:11:59.740 --> 0:12:02.700 back then. Did you think radio would ever be a 0:12:02.700 --> 0:12:03.319 landing point 0:12:03.320 --> 0:12:08.090 one day? No, I did. To be honest, I did 0:12:08.100 --> 0:12:10.699 realize quite early on in my modeling career. This wasn't 0:12:10.700 --> 0:12:12.459 for me. Um 0:12:12.840 --> 0:12:14.679 for a number reasons. First of all, it's nowhere near 0:12:14.679 --> 0:12:16.710 as glamorous as you think it is because you only 0:12:16.710 --> 0:12:19.120 see the end product and you see these wonderful clothes 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:20.579 and these nice locations you shoot in. 0:12:21.140 --> 0:12:26.160 That's why I don't do it. But because it's not glamorous, right? 0:12:27.420 --> 0:12:28.740 I'm 0:12:28.740 --> 0:12:30.260 sure people keep calling you right. 0:12:33.170 --> 0:12:39.210 He has in his car is ridiculous. Plastic surgeons, but 0:12:39.250 --> 0:12:41.179 it's so weird because you do these shoots in these 0:12:41.179 --> 0:12:43.570 lovely hotels and whatever it is. And then you go 0:12:43.570 --> 0:12:48.120 back to your tiny little model apartment that they've rented 0:12:48.120 --> 0:12:51.250 for you in the past year or whatever it is 0:12:51.470 --> 0:12:54.579 and like, I don't even know if this is legal, 0:12:54.580 --> 0:12:56.510 actually the amount of people they crammed into 0:12:56.750 --> 0:12:56.809 the 0:12:58.640 --> 0:13:01.300 bunk beds every room. It's 0:13:02.340 --> 0:13:05.060 yeah, no, where near as glamorous as you think it is. 0:13:06.240 --> 0:13:08.750 You gotta you gotta be prepared for a lot of rejection, 0:13:08.750 --> 0:13:11.220 which I guess is actually good training for this industry. 0:13:14.840 --> 0:13:16.760 Singapore wasn't too bad. So okay, so 0:13:17.340 --> 0:13:19.640 I'll tell you what the kind of the last straw 0:13:19.640 --> 0:13:23.170 was from the modeling. So Singapore. You'll get your castings, 0:13:23.170 --> 0:13:25.640 your agency will send you the details and it's up 0:13:25.640 --> 0:13:27.849 to you to go to that place and best kind 0:13:27.850 --> 0:13:29.060 of represent yourself? 0:13:29.740 --> 0:13:33.850 Um Thailand they'll send you the castings and 0:13:34.340 --> 0:13:38.440 you have to somehow struggle with ty cabdrivers going to 0:13:38.440 --> 0:13:40.220 like town in town, which is like, you know an 0:13:40.220 --> 0:13:42.400 hour and a half outside of Bangkok and you get 0:13:42.400 --> 0:13:45.050 there and okay, you can't really kind of smooth talk 0:13:45.050 --> 0:13:46.910 the client so I couldn't because obviously I can't speak 0:13:46.910 --> 0:13:51.220 thai but you still have that ability to present yourself 0:13:51.220 --> 0:13:52.460 in the best possible way 0:13:52.940 --> 0:13:54.460 Taiwan was my very last trip. 0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:55.350 Oh 0:13:55.740 --> 0:13:56.660 and 0:13:57.240 --> 0:13:59.610 that one, they don't even bother telling you the details 0:13:59.610 --> 0:14:02.010 at six a.m. They turn out put your apartment, everyone 0:14:02.010 --> 0:14:05.079 crams into this van and they just drive you around 0:14:05.090 --> 0:14:08.110 the country for the whole day, you get out of 0:14:08.110 --> 0:14:10.160 the different clients place and they line you up 0:14:11.340 --> 0:14:16.060 and the your agent or your, your booker will speak 0:14:16.059 --> 0:14:19.590 to the client privately in mandarin, I'm standing there, I've 0:14:19.590 --> 0:14:21.380 never seen no idea what's going on. And they just 0:14:21.380 --> 0:14:23.470 point at you and they point I want this one, 0:14:23.470 --> 0:14:24.860 this one this one, the rest 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:26.860 you can go away and you go back to the 0:14:26.860 --> 0:14:27.910 van and you just sit there 0:14:29.820 --> 0:14:30.490 and 0:14:31.260 --> 0:14:32.820 you know they were, I think one of the jobs 0:14:32.820 --> 0:14:35.050 I booked because I have no idea how they, 0:14:35.440 --> 0:14:37.640 how they sell me right because I don't understand. So 0:14:37.640 --> 0:14:38.930 one of the jobs I booked, I was on there 0:14:38.930 --> 0:14:40.770 and that just happened to be an english speaking clients 0:14:41.100 --> 0:14:42.850 and they're like, what part of Japan are you from? 0:14:43.130 --> 0:14:44.860 I was like, I'm sorry, what? 0:14:45.240 --> 0:14:48.070 Oh, your agent said you're you're from Japan, you're half 0:14:48.070 --> 0:14:51.690 japanese because that sells really well in Taiwan, right? And 0:14:51.690 --> 0:14:53.440 I was like, I can't do this anymore, I can't 0:14:53.440 --> 0:14:55.300 like have people talk about me and present me in 0:14:55.300 --> 0:14:57.150 different ways and treated like 0:14:57.940 --> 0:14:59.100 like cattle basically. 0:14:59.110 --> 0:15:01.280 Yeah, it really cheapens the trade, doesn't it? 0:15:01.290 --> 0:15:02.960 Like I have a voice and personality, I want to 0:15:02.960 --> 0:15:05.100 show that. So that, that was my final straw and 0:15:05.110 --> 0:15:09.480 wow, amazing, wow, okay, well you know, now that you're 0:15:09.480 --> 0:15:11.790 here in radio and you know along the journey, you've, 0:15:11.790 --> 0:15:14.570 you've tried different things modeling, uh you know, being in 0:15:14.570 --> 0:15:17.950 front of the camera acting, you're hosting on tv as well, 0:15:19.140 --> 0:15:20.520 I hate to put you on the spot, which, which 0:15:20.520 --> 0:15:24.380 is your favorite? Well, okay, you don't have to give 0:15:24.380 --> 0:15:27.650 me a favorite favorite, but you know, which parts of 0:15:27.660 --> 0:15:30.060 the industry do do you really enjoy doing, 0:15:31.940 --> 0:15:34.620 Look, I'm a massive sports guy and the seven years 0:15:34.620 --> 0:15:36.390 of Fox was, was a dream for me, I'm not 0:15:36.390 --> 0:15:38.360 gonna lie. Um 0:15:38.740 --> 0:15:41.810 you know, traveling to all the grand slams all the races, 0:15:41.810 --> 0:15:44.560 speaking to like my massive idols, right? 0:15:44.940 --> 0:15:47.770 You know, um to the point where it almost just 0:15:47.770 --> 0:15:50.330 became a formality like, oh hey roger Federer, Yeah, it's 0:15:50.330 --> 0:15:56.510 me again. Um so that was an absolute dream and 0:15:56.520 --> 0:15:57.150 you know, my, 0:15:57.740 --> 0:16:00.700 as friends will tell you outside of all this work 0:16:00.700 --> 0:16:02.930 and all my jobs, I just talk about sport to them. 0:16:02.940 --> 0:16:04.540 So it was just the same thing that I would 0:16:04.540 --> 0:16:06.140 do normally in my everyday life, in front of a 0:16:06.140 --> 0:16:08.660 camera that was perfect and 0:16:09.940 --> 0:16:11.460 you know, that all came to an end when force 0:16:11.460 --> 0:16:14.920 closed and if it hadn't closed, I don't know if 0:16:14.970 --> 0:16:16.700 I would have left by choice, you know, I would 0:16:16.700 --> 0:16:17.860 still be in there. But 0:16:18.640 --> 0:16:22.430 what I do love about this opportunity here at class 0:16:22.440 --> 0:16:23.050 is that 0:16:23.540 --> 0:16:25.250 it's given me an opportunity to kind of 0:16:26.440 --> 0:16:30.970 expand my repertoire and talk about different interests because seven 0:16:30.970 --> 0:16:31.750 years of Fox 0:16:32.140 --> 0:16:35.370 already, people are like, oh you're the sports guy, it's 0:16:35.370 --> 0:16:38.450 like I love sports, but I also love entertainment and fashion, 0:16:38.450 --> 0:16:39.910 all this kind of stuff, right? And I didn't have 0:16:39.910 --> 0:16:41.560 an opportunity to kind of show that so 0:16:42.240 --> 0:16:44.570 the great thing about radio, as you know is 0:16:44.940 --> 0:16:46.160 it's all up to you, whatever you want to talk 0:16:46.160 --> 0:16:47.600 about what you want to discuss, who you want to 0:16:47.600 --> 0:16:50.820 talk to as well and to have the opportunity is fantastic. 0:16:50.830 --> 0:16:53.560 And a chance, I don't know why you're celebrating to you, 0:16:53.560 --> 0:16:56.500 but a chance for people to say it back to 0:16:56.500 --> 0:16:59.290 you like, oh my God, I love that too, you know, 0:16:59.300 --> 0:17:01.450 to relate to people that's something tv can never give 0:17:01.450 --> 0:17:01.760 you 0:17:01.770 --> 0:17:03.270 and you're right, actually the engagement 0:17:03.340 --> 0:17:05.380 when I because you know, when you're on tv, you 0:17:05.380 --> 0:17:07.360 go to a large, I mean we were ASia wide, right? 0:17:07.369 --> 0:17:08.880 So we go to a larger audience and you think 0:17:08.880 --> 0:17:10.689 you're going to more people, you're connecting with more people, 0:17:10.700 --> 0:17:13.360 but we get very little feedback back 0:17:13.540 --> 0:17:15.179 here on radio just the first day, you know, you 0:17:15.180 --> 0:17:17.650 have the WhatsApp, all the messages coming through, like I've 0:17:17.650 --> 0:17:18.919