WEBVTT - 'FARMER DAVE' TALKS HIS BIG REASON TO RETURN TO 'REALITY TV!' 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:01.720 It's in the news today, but it was actually on 0:00:01.800 --> 0:00:03.600 TV Reload the podcast last week. 0:00:03.640 --> 0:00:07.040 They might welcome back to TV Reload. My name's Benjamin 0:00:07.080 --> 0:00:09.959 Norris and on this podcast I go behind the scenes 0:00:10.119 --> 0:00:13.840 with the biggest players in television. Each episode you will 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:18.920 get a front row seat with content makers like executive producers, writers, 0:00:19.120 --> 0:00:22.560 editors and casting agents, plus the talent that we see 0:00:22.600 --> 0:00:26.360 on our screens. TV Reload reloads the shows that you 0:00:26.440 --> 0:00:29.560 were currently watching and gives you a better insight at 0:00:29.560 --> 0:00:33.760 our television industry and streaming services today. On the podcast, 0:00:33.800 --> 0:00:36.839 I have the latest eliminated Big Brother OG and I 0:00:37.000 --> 0:00:39.479 have been simply dying to get him on the podcast 0:00:39.720 --> 0:00:43.080 ever since this latest series began. It is the one 0:00:43.120 --> 0:00:46.800 and only Farmer Dave. David Graham swore he would never 0:00:46.880 --> 0:00:49.280 re enter the Big Brother House, but as the show 0:00:49.320 --> 0:00:53.040 celebrates twenty one years on Australian screens here, he is 0:00:53.120 --> 0:00:55.720 back to play the mother of all reality shows in 0:00:55.800 --> 0:00:59.160 twenty twenty two. So why did David come back? Well, 0:00:59.400 --> 0:01:02.600 the mission was quite simple. He wanted to promote Rough Track, 0:01:02.920 --> 0:01:05.880 a program that David has been super passionate about and 0:01:06.000 --> 0:01:09.240 heavily involved with for a number of years. We will 0:01:09.280 --> 0:01:13.600 also talk LGBTI housemates, how different Big Brother is these days, 0:01:13.959 --> 0:01:17.360 why he nominated Trevor, and why he felt that it 0:01:17.400 --> 0:01:20.880 was time to go. However, let's get started with today's guest. 0:01:21.200 --> 0:01:24.360 I'd like to welcome farmer Dave to TV reload. 0:01:25.600 --> 0:01:28.560 Yeah, you need a break and why not do it 0:01:28.560 --> 0:01:32.520 in the Big Brother House this year? It's my twenty 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:36.360 first birthday. My sexuality was not even a thing this 0:01:36.520 --> 0:01:43.200 time around, and I've invited housemates both new and legendary, 0:01:43.840 --> 0:01:46.760 because I really, really, really genuinely thought that he was 0:01:47.200 --> 0:01:51.120 safe as houses will experience be enough to take on 0:01:51.920 --> 0:01:56.280 the next generation of housemates. Wow, Dave, this is a 0:01:56.480 --> 0:02:00.280 cutthroat dog eat dog game and the new contenders out 0:02:00.880 --> 0:02:05.040 a Big Brother royalty. Whatever you say, be prepared to 0:02:05.080 --> 0:02:08.079 do it yourself and go one better and actually do it. 0:02:08.240 --> 0:02:09.720 This is Big Brother. 0:02:10.240 --> 0:02:11.960 Hey Dave, how are you? 0:02:12.160 --> 0:02:15.280 God? I Ben I feel like I feel like you know, 0:02:15.320 --> 0:02:18.519 when you get water in your ear and you get 0:02:18.520 --> 0:02:21.600 it out and you've got all that relief and you 0:02:21.720 --> 0:02:24.760 just feel so much better, like better than before you 0:02:24.800 --> 0:02:27.280 had the water in there. That's how I feel like. 0:02:27.600 --> 0:02:30.440 I feel a lot of relief and I feel reliefedel like, 0:02:30.440 --> 0:02:31.840 I've just got out of North Korea. 0:02:31.960 --> 0:02:37.080 Kids, Great, we're already there. Okay, great. I have to say, 0:02:37.280 --> 0:02:39.840 you know, I'm shocked to my very foundation. Not to 0:02:39.919 --> 0:02:42.320 quote Kylie Minogue, but then you're out of the house. 0:02:42.560 --> 0:02:45.040 How did you feel walking out of the Big Brother 0:02:45.120 --> 0:02:47.120 House this time around compared to last time? 0:02:47.880 --> 0:02:51.480 Last time around, the reality of it hit me, like 0:02:51.800 --> 0:02:54.519 thousands and thousands of people screaming my name, and the 0:02:54.960 --> 0:02:57.840 going down that game plank with people just going ballistic, 0:02:58.200 --> 0:03:02.200 and the amount of support, and it was just you 0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:05.079 were a rock star. And then it never really let 0:03:05.160 --> 0:03:08.520 up for years and years and years. But this time around, 0:03:09.520 --> 0:03:12.399 it was just, oh, thank god, I thank god. It's 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:16.720 like I kind of constantly likened this game to playing rugby, 0:03:17.120 --> 0:03:19.600 and at forty two years of age, you know, you 0:03:19.720 --> 0:03:21.720 just get off the field and you're like, oh, thank god, 0:03:21.760 --> 0:03:25.440 that's over. Like I need to get to the change 0:03:25.520 --> 0:03:29.959 rooms and wash this shit off me, the mud of 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:34.200 the blood, the sweat, the tears, because it was grueling. 0:03:34.280 --> 0:03:35.760 It was absolutely grueling. 0:03:36.080 --> 0:03:38.280 Well, I think it would be really impossible for me 0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:41.400 to not to start with this quote from three years 0:03:41.400 --> 0:03:44.520 back on your social media you said I'd rather swallow 0:03:44.640 --> 0:03:47.680 glass than go back into the Big brother House. And 0:03:47.720 --> 0:03:51.600 I have to ask you, do you remember writing that 0:03:51.720 --> 0:03:52.680 on social media? 0:03:52.760 --> 0:03:57.240 Well? Absolutely, because that's what I felt for fifteen years, 0:03:57.600 --> 0:03:59.800 was there was just no way. You know, I did 0:03:59.800 --> 0:04:03.640 a lot of TV work, and you know, I started 0:04:03.640 --> 0:04:06.560 in the you know, in the game of being in 0:04:06.560 --> 0:04:10.280 the spotlight very young. You know, I was modeling around 0:04:10.280 --> 0:04:12.520 the world when I was I was twenty, so you know, 0:04:12.880 --> 0:04:15.440 I ticked all of those those boxes, and I just 0:04:15.440 --> 0:04:18.000 thought I could never do that because you just can't 0:04:18.040 --> 0:04:20.640 be yourself out in public again, and it's really hard 0:04:20.640 --> 0:04:23.680 on your friends, you know what it's like. And I thought, 0:04:23.680 --> 0:04:26.000 I just, you know, I finally got my life back 0:04:26.040 --> 0:04:29.320 the last few years and doing doing a job that 0:04:29.440 --> 0:04:34.040 is just so real and so raw and so valuable 0:04:34.520 --> 0:04:37.480 that like, why why would I put myself in those circumstances. 0:04:37.520 --> 0:04:41.200 But then as the universe does, it all opened up 0:04:41.279 --> 0:04:44.279 and everything just seemed to point in this one direction, 0:04:44.440 --> 0:04:48.960 so that when I spoke to the EP, it just 0:04:49.040 --> 0:04:52.000 all said yes. And I spoke to my team at 0:04:52.120 --> 0:04:54.880 rough Track and They're all like, yeah, yeah, absolutely, you know, 0:04:55.160 --> 0:04:57.080 this is all in place, this is all in place, 0:04:57.279 --> 0:05:00.800 and you know, you've worked solid without many days off 0:05:00.839 --> 0:05:04.720 for two years through COVID keeping all the kids alive, 0:05:05.080 --> 0:05:08.560 So yeah, you need a break, and why not do 0:05:08.680 --> 0:05:13.080 it in the Big Brother house? So yeah, never say 0:05:13.200 --> 0:05:15.120 never been is really what I'm. 0:05:14.960 --> 0:05:17.440 Doing, because I'll have written it down and I'll bring 0:05:17.440 --> 0:05:21.240 it up and I'll make you rue the day, Especially 0:05:21.240 --> 0:05:22.960 when it has to do with each brother. I'm always 0:05:23.000 --> 0:05:25.880 reminding you of things that you've completely forgotten. You know, 0:05:25.880 --> 0:05:28.760 are there former are many former housemates out there that 0:05:29.240 --> 0:05:31.960 you think would say no? I mean I heard that 0:05:32.040 --> 0:05:34.039 there was a couple of people, you know, very high 0:05:34.080 --> 0:05:36.800 profile people that may have turned it down, but I 0:05:36.839 --> 0:05:39.279 heard there was an enormous amount of people that were 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:41.040 sad not to do it. Do you think that there 0:05:41.080 --> 0:05:43.400 are any former housemates out there that would turn this 0:05:43.480 --> 0:05:45.040 show down? Yeah? 0:05:45.160 --> 0:05:48.280 I think I think Chrissy and I think See, they've 0:05:48.320 --> 0:05:52.000 got their own lives, a very busy lives, very successful lives, 0:05:52.240 --> 0:05:54.279 and they're in the public eye, so they don't need 0:05:55.400 --> 0:05:58.400 they don't need that kick that you get from it. 0:05:59.440 --> 0:06:01.960 You know, as you know, I've done Big Brother for 0:06:02.160 --> 0:06:06.520 very different reasons to the normal validation and need to 0:06:06.520 --> 0:06:12.160 be seen stuff. But I think I think those guys, 0:06:12.279 --> 0:06:15.600 they're fairly sordid, but they would make for a great comeback. 0:06:15.800 --> 0:06:17.680 Chris, this one's looking great at the moment. I reckon 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:20.080 she could do some of those challenges, you know, I 0:06:20.080 --> 0:06:20.800 think she could nail. 0:06:20.839 --> 0:06:23.640 She totally do those. She is such a rock star. 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:26.640 I love her. I just love her as a person. 0:06:26.800 --> 0:06:29.840 And funny enough, I was just watching I think it 0:06:29.920 --> 0:06:34.000 was early this morning or late last night, a video when, 0:06:34.200 --> 0:06:36.440 of course, you know, the guys in the camera run 0:06:36.520 --> 0:06:39.920 during her season were talking about her in a really 0:06:40.279 --> 0:06:45.360 inappropriate way, and I just remember how she stood up 0:06:45.400 --> 0:06:47.360 to that and was like, no, this is this is 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:50.160 not okay, And so I don't think she'd want to 0:06:50.160 --> 0:06:55.400 get put back in that situation where you are judged 0:06:55.520 --> 0:06:58.479 so much, and even by people in the camera runs. 0:06:58.480 --> 0:07:00.560 I think that was pretty intense, but it really went 0:07:00.600 --> 0:07:02.200 to the heart of who she is as a person, 0:07:02.360 --> 0:07:04.159 which is very strong. 0:07:04.080 --> 0:07:06.720 And funnily enough, she's actually thinner now than those fat 0:07:06.760 --> 0:07:13.440 camera mens. So how the world can change, my friend? Yeah, yeah, 0:07:13.480 --> 0:07:15.880 you know rough track was the reason that you said yes, 0:07:16.320 --> 0:07:20.880 can you just tell me about how this organization came about? 0:07:20.960 --> 0:07:22.960 How did you get involved? I need to know more 0:07:23.000 --> 0:07:25.080 about rough Track. I think a lot of people want 0:07:25.120 --> 0:07:25.960 to know more about it. 0:07:26.120 --> 0:07:29.360 Yeah, So we work with kids twenty age of twelve 0:07:29.400 --> 0:07:32.760 and eighteen. Essentially, we've got three jobs. One is to 0:07:32.800 --> 0:07:35.280 keep them alive, two is to keep them out of prison, 0:07:35.720 --> 0:07:37.760 and three is to give them skills for a secure 0:07:37.800 --> 0:07:40.760 future and break those cycles that have put them in 0:07:40.800 --> 0:07:43.600 the situation that found themselves in, which is making a 0:07:43.640 --> 0:07:48.200 lot of poor choices. And unfortunately, in the incarceration mad 0:07:48.280 --> 0:07:51.200 Australia that we've had for two hundred and fifty years, 0:07:51.920 --> 0:07:54.120 the sad fact is that ninety seven percent of kids 0:07:54.320 --> 0:07:56.440 that are put in lock up will end up as 0:07:56.480 --> 0:08:01.120 adults in prison and that is horrendous statistic. So it's 0:08:01.160 --> 0:08:04.680 the old adage of all these kids falling into the 0:08:04.760 --> 0:08:09.680 river and drowning. Let's stop trying to save them from 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:13.200 the floods, go upstream and find out why they're falling 0:08:13.200 --> 0:08:14.960 in the first place. And that's what rough track does. 0:08:15.040 --> 0:08:17.680 It's a flexible safety net to bounce kids that have 0:08:17.680 --> 0:08:20.840 fallen through the cracks back up. It's about addressing the 0:08:20.840 --> 0:08:22.760 fact that you know, we've got kids in their teenage 0:08:22.800 --> 0:08:25.680 years that cannot read and write because they've just been 0:08:25.720 --> 0:08:27.240 put at the back of the class, or they're being 0:08:27.280 --> 0:08:29.760 told to go to the head master's office every single 0:08:29.840 --> 0:08:32.760 day and they've just missed the ability to do maths 0:08:32.800 --> 0:08:37.319 and basic English. They can't read a menu at McDonald's, 0:08:37.360 --> 0:08:40.719 they look at the pictures. You know, it's extraordinary that 0:08:40.760 --> 0:08:42.839 we can allow these kids fall through the cracks so 0:08:42.840 --> 0:08:46.200 so far. And one thing that we know is that 0:08:46.320 --> 0:08:50.520 hurt people hurt people, and so working with kids that 0:08:50.720 --> 0:08:55.120 may go on to commit horrendous crimes and have hundreds 0:08:55.120 --> 0:08:58.000 and hundreds of victims themselves, we can heal them and 0:08:58.800 --> 0:09:02.840 give them skills to hear themselves, empower themselves and not 0:09:03.240 --> 0:09:06.600 just not create victims, but not be a victim of 0:09:06.640 --> 0:09:10.280 their own circumstance themselves. So it's everything that you could 0:09:10.320 --> 0:09:13.720 possibly imagine that is required to get a young person 0:09:13.800 --> 0:09:18.240 that doesn't have that safety net that the average highly 0:09:18.280 --> 0:09:22.000 privileged and wealthy Australian has. It's to give them that 0:09:22.160 --> 0:09:25.199 so that they have got the strength and resilience they 0:09:25.280 --> 0:09:27.640 need to be able to exist in the modern world. 0:09:27.760 --> 0:09:30.000 You know what's interesting about you And I'm not sure 0:09:30.000 --> 0:09:32.240 if it's I mean, it has come across I think 0:09:32.280 --> 0:09:35.679 both times on Big Brother, but maybe if people don't know, 0:09:36.000 --> 0:09:38.199 maybe as well as Idea or some of your closer friends, 0:09:38.720 --> 0:09:41.440 you are an EmPATH. Like the way in which you 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:46.520 connect to people is your currency. And you're emotional, you 0:09:46.800 --> 0:09:50.839 are fragile, you know, you're all of these amazing things 0:09:50.920 --> 0:09:53.360 that makes up an EmPATH. I mean, it's sort of 0:09:53.440 --> 0:09:55.880 how you power yourself and as your friend, I sometimes 0:09:55.920 --> 0:09:59.000 worry about where you find the energy for something that 0:09:59.040 --> 0:10:04.160 would be so so increasingly and incredibly all consuming. And 0:10:04.240 --> 0:10:07.160 some days when I hear what you're doing, I want 0:10:07.160 --> 0:10:09.600 to scoop you up and you know, look after you. 0:10:09.640 --> 0:10:12.679 But then I remember how strong you are. But I 0:10:12.679 --> 0:10:15.480 guess the question in that is where do you find 0:10:16.320 --> 0:10:19.120 this ongoing energy to be able to put into these 0:10:19.200 --> 0:10:23.600 kids who absolutely need you every single moment of the day. 0:10:24.240 --> 0:10:27.480 I look at them, that's it. I look at them 0:10:27.720 --> 0:10:32.280 and I see the gold. You know, when when we're 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:34.760 mining gold, there was so much rubble, there was so 0:10:35.040 --> 0:10:37.680 much rubble. There's so much fool's gold, and there's just 0:10:37.760 --> 0:10:40.200 tiny specks of gold, and when you're panning for it 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:44.040 or digging for it, it's about focusing on the goals, 0:10:44.320 --> 0:10:48.800 focusing on the gold, and when you see it, sing, squeal, 0:10:49.080 --> 0:10:53.640 cry eureka, and build it bigger and create a wedge 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:57.280 and get rid of the bad behaviors and create good 0:10:57.320 --> 0:11:00.520 behaviors because because good habits are just as to break 0:11:00.520 --> 0:11:03.199 as bad ones. And that's what I'm doing every single 0:11:03.280 --> 0:11:07.520 day is my gold, looking for the gold and singing 0:11:07.559 --> 0:11:10.959 about it, and empowering the young person to mind their 0:11:11.000 --> 0:11:14.840 own gold and to find within themselves a reason to 0:11:14.920 --> 0:11:17.360 make a better choice and to be better than they 0:11:17.360 --> 0:11:20.720 wear yesterday, and to focus on the idea of having 0:11:20.720 --> 0:11:24.760 a future in setting goals themselves and empowering themselves so 0:11:24.800 --> 0:11:27.480 that they don't need me anymore. Like every kid that 0:11:27.679 --> 0:11:30.800 comes through rough Track, my job is to do myself 0:11:30.920 --> 0:11:33.600 out of their lives, to give them every skill that 0:11:33.640 --> 0:11:36.680 I possibly can so that they don't need me. And 0:11:36.920 --> 0:11:39.880 I'm not a crutch, I'm a flexible safety in it. 0:11:39.960 --> 0:11:42.720 I'm a trampoline. I'm about bouncing them up to where 0:11:42.720 --> 0:11:43.280 they want to go. 0:11:43.640 --> 0:11:46.120 Is there a bit of a coincidence that you kind 0:11:46.160 --> 0:11:48.640 of look like a god in your presence, Like you're 0:11:48.679 --> 0:11:51.040 a bit zeus, like you're a bit thor. Like people 0:11:51.080 --> 0:11:54.320 make those reference points and you know, there's a lot 0:11:54.360 --> 0:11:56.360 of people out there that say that they'll do something. 0:11:56.440 --> 0:11:57.880 You know, there's a lot of people out there that 0:11:58.080 --> 0:12:00.600 want to kick a tire. But you know you're actually 0:12:00.640 --> 0:12:03.839 doing that. And I mock you for your looks, as 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:08.160 in you looking like God, but you are very impressive 0:12:08.400 --> 0:12:09.480 in the work that you do. 0:12:10.000 --> 0:12:14.800 Yeah, it's about acknowledging the amazing words of Teddy Roosevelt, 0:12:15.000 --> 0:12:18.240 the man in the arena, And you've gotta always remember. 0:12:18.240 --> 0:12:20.160 And this is what I teach the kids every day. 0:12:20.400 --> 0:12:25.280 Get sweat, get blood, get hurt, but do like do 0:12:25.640 --> 0:12:30.240 something because anyone who's sitting in the stands, you're lapping them. 0:12:30.280 --> 0:12:32.960 No matter if you are going so slow that you 0:12:33.000 --> 0:12:35.200 can just get one foot in front of the other, 0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:38.240 you're already beating all the people that are sitting in 0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:41.839 the arena that are still asleep with their dreams. You're 0:12:41.960 --> 0:12:44.640 chasing your dreams and you're lapping them just by putting 0:12:44.640 --> 0:12:47.720 one step in front of the other, and by having 0:12:47.720 --> 0:12:50.439 sweat on your brow, by having blood on you, by 0:12:50.440 --> 0:12:53.080 having tears in your eyes. It means that you're doing something. 0:12:53.440 --> 0:12:55.920 And if it's a failure, well then it gives you 0:12:55.960 --> 0:12:58.280 an opportunity to bounce up and to get up and 0:12:58.320 --> 0:13:02.839 to step up and to have another go. And that's 0:13:03.480 --> 0:13:07.560 failure for me is the great driver. You know, a 0:13:07.600 --> 0:13:09.640 couple of weeks ago, I lost one of our kids 0:13:09.679 --> 0:13:12.480 and it was it was so hard, and you know, 0:13:12.520 --> 0:13:14.720 I leant on you a lot because you've been through 0:13:14.760 --> 0:13:18.720 this and you know what it's like to lose a 0:13:18.800 --> 0:13:22.280 human through their own hand. And you know, I got 0:13:22.320 --> 0:13:25.600 to thank you for that, Ben, like you did, you know, 0:13:25.679 --> 0:13:27.840 through me through all of COVID, when you know I 0:13:27.920 --> 0:13:30.599 had twenty kids relying on me every single day for 0:13:30.720 --> 0:13:33.840 the entire COVID period. You know, You've been an amazing mate. 0:13:34.040 --> 0:13:36.960 And and that's what we've got to be is we've 0:13:36.960 --> 0:13:40.400 got to be there, and when there is a failure, 0:13:40.720 --> 0:13:43.080 there's an opportunity to be able to do it again. 0:13:43.440 --> 0:13:46.880 And that's that's what excites me. You know, probably my 0:13:46.920 --> 0:13:49.560 biggest fear is the idea of winning, because then it's like, 0:13:49.920 --> 0:13:53.080 oh shit, then I've won. Now I don't get to 0:13:53.120 --> 0:13:55.480 do it again. I don't get to you know, I 0:13:55.480 --> 0:13:57.800 don't get to have a goal because I've reached that goal. 0:13:57.880 --> 0:14:00.480 You know, maybe that's my own personal proble, which is 0:14:00.480 --> 0:14:03.800 why I'm so good at my Bob, because failure is 0:14:03.840 --> 0:14:06.640 my driver, it's my fuel, it's my right. We can 0:14:06.679 --> 0:14:09.080 do this again. Come on, we've got this well. 0:14:09.120 --> 0:14:11.880 I just like the fact that you know stone is 0:14:11.960 --> 0:14:14.200 unturned with you, like I love the way that you 0:14:14.240 --> 0:14:16.559 get your hands dirty, and I think it's just impressive. 0:14:16.679 --> 0:14:19.880 And I guess that's the fiber of our friendship, is 0:14:19.960 --> 0:14:21.760 just being able to have you in my life for 0:14:21.760 --> 0:14:23.400 that as well. It's very strange, you know that we 0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:25.480 get to talk like this because in real life, you know, 0:14:25.520 --> 0:14:27.720 with your friends, your friends do things and you don't 0:14:27.760 --> 0:14:29.800 get to sit down and have a moment where you 0:14:29.840 --> 0:14:32.080 can say thanks for this. But this is really quite 0:14:32.360 --> 0:14:35.320 quite something, you know. In something you said before, it 0:14:35.320 --> 0:14:38.000 made me think about how going back to Big Brother 0:14:38.120 --> 0:14:41.360 is also a part of your DNA, Like it's in 0:14:41.640 --> 0:14:45.360 you challenging yourself with something that is I mean, you're 0:14:45.400 --> 0:14:47.840 not that vain. I know this sounds really crazy. You're 0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:49.920 a beautiful man, but you're not the sort of person 0:14:49.920 --> 0:14:52.240 who probably goes into a show like Big Brother for 0:14:52.280 --> 0:14:55.040 the vanity of it, you know. And the reason did 0:14:55.040 --> 0:14:56.040 you see me, Ben? 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:57.880 Did you see what I wore in Sta? Did you 0:14:58.000 --> 0:15:00.840 see that I yeah, I don't look, you know what 0:15:00.920 --> 0:15:01.240 I'm saying. 0:15:01.520 --> 0:15:03.640 The vanity of it, though, there's people that go on 0:15:03.720 --> 0:15:06.120 reality shows as a bit of a look at me. 0:15:06.200 --> 0:15:10.080 Where for you, I felt like you did it because yeah, 0:15:10.120 --> 0:15:12.640 you're challenging yourself and the boys could go, oh, look 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:15.280 this is what he's doing himself, like he's putting himself 0:15:15.320 --> 0:15:17.800 out there. Are the boys that's the best question to ask. 0:15:17.840 --> 0:15:19.640 Are they watching the show and what do they think 0:15:19.680 --> 0:15:20.680 about you being. 0:15:20.640 --> 0:15:23.680 Yeah, yeah, look some of the kids are not watching, 0:15:24.000 --> 0:15:27.920 but they know what's going on. But look, we do 0:15:28.000 --> 0:15:30.400 talk about it each day in circle work where we 0:15:30.480 --> 0:15:32.560 have a check in in the morning and the afternoon 0:15:32.720 --> 0:15:37.720 or you know, it's a good conversational for me to 0:15:37.800 --> 0:15:41.200 bridge with the kids. And yeah, we can talk about 0:15:41.240 --> 0:15:44.320 relationships because there's so many relationships that I have in 0:15:44.400 --> 0:15:49.280 the house, good ones, poor ones, difficult ones, amazing ones, 0:15:50.160 --> 0:15:53.560 and they're conversational starters. And that's all we need, really 0:15:53.680 --> 0:15:56.760 is to be able to start a conversation with a 0:15:56.800 --> 0:16:00.560 young person and to hear them. But yeah, my journey 0:16:00.560 --> 0:16:03.440 on there has been great conversational stats. But it also 0:16:03.800 --> 0:16:07.440 it's me walking the talk like I talk it every 0:16:07.480 --> 0:16:10.040 single day. With them, but I'm actually showing them. Hey, 0:16:10.080 --> 0:16:12.600 I'm jumping out into the arena kids, Like here's the 0:16:12.600 --> 0:16:15.720 fish bowl and I'm in it, and you know, it 0:16:15.880 --> 0:16:19.960 really crosses that bridge whereby I'm not just this you know, 0:16:20.280 --> 0:16:22.040 big man on the farm with all the knowledge and 0:16:22.080 --> 0:16:24.240 everything like that, Like I'm the small fish that's jumped 0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:28.240 into the North Korea of Big Brother House and put 0:16:28.240 --> 0:16:31.440 myself up for all the judgment, but all the challenges 0:16:31.840 --> 0:16:36.160 and the nakedness that is being in that house. 0:16:36.320 --> 0:16:38.520 Well we've seen some nakedness as well, which you know 0:16:39.000 --> 0:16:41.760 has excited the Big Brother fandom. But I want to 0:16:41.800 --> 0:16:43.880 know what did the producers say to you to pitch 0:16:44.080 --> 0:16:46.200 for you to come back to the show. Did they 0:16:46.240 --> 0:16:48.160 need to pitch or was it as simple as can 0:16:48.200 --> 0:16:49.920 you do it? And it's a yes. I feel like 0:16:50.000 --> 0:16:50.760 it's a pitch for you. 0:16:52.400 --> 0:16:55.600 Look, it was a while back, and I was listening 0:16:56.520 --> 0:16:59.520 because I had I had two eyes on the kids 0:16:59.600 --> 0:17:02.000 because you know, I was managing kids. I think it 0:17:02.040 --> 0:17:04.320 was during during lunch break, and that's when I've got 0:17:04.320 --> 0:17:06.640 to watch the kids the most, because you know, they're 0:17:06.680 --> 0:17:10.720 all together, they're around sharp objects and hot things and 0:17:10.760 --> 0:17:14.320 things that can explode. So I was in and out 0:17:14.320 --> 0:17:20.639 of the conversation listening and yeah, just looking around at 0:17:20.640 --> 0:17:23.520 the young people. It was very much so way. I've 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:26.560 got to walk the walk. I've got to I've got 0:17:26.600 --> 0:17:28.560 to show them that I can step in the arena too, 0:17:28.640 --> 0:17:32.240 that it's it's I've got to be vulnerable as well. 0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:34.920 I think that's one of the great powers that we 0:17:35.119 --> 0:17:39.119 as as elders, for our young people to accept us 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:42.000 as guides and to trust us and and to allow 0:17:42.080 --> 0:17:45.160 us to be responsible for them at their most vulnerable. 0:17:45.320 --> 0:17:47.560 We've also got to show that you can do that. 0:17:47.840 --> 0:17:53.199 And and it's it's really important. I think that you, 0:17:54.240 --> 0:17:56.919 whatever you say someone else should do, be prepared to 0:17:56.920 --> 0:17:59.959 do it yourself and go one better and actually do it, 0:18:00.440 --> 0:18:05.240 do it yourself, and so that you gained that respect 0:18:05.280 --> 0:18:05.720 through action. 0:18:06.359 --> 0:18:10.000 You had one of the most important moments in Australian 0:18:10.000 --> 0:18:13.200 television history, you know, when you came out in two 0:18:13.240 --> 0:18:16.480 thousand and six on the series How did that come about? 0:18:16.560 --> 0:18:19.480 Can we go behind the scenes of that moment, because 0:18:20.200 --> 0:18:23.040 did the producers pitch that concept to you? Did they 0:18:23.080 --> 0:18:25.840 ask you to pretend to be straight? Did you suggest 0:18:25.880 --> 0:18:26.280 to do that? 0:18:26.640 --> 0:18:30.080 Yeah? Absolutely, Australia was a different country back then. Ben, 0:18:30.160 --> 0:18:33.760 You remember, you know, in our lifetimes, I mean you 0:18:33.800 --> 0:18:37.160 would be putting jail for being gay. I'm a Queenslandic, 0:18:37.320 --> 0:18:40.600 you know you could easily be sacked for being gay. 0:18:40.800 --> 0:18:44.399 Legally we were, you know, there's hundreds of laws that 0:18:44.480 --> 0:18:47.680 kept us as second class citizens. And you know I 0:18:48.920 --> 0:18:54.760 experienced the extreme abuse as being a you know, non acknowledged, 0:18:54.800 --> 0:18:57.560 didn't realize it myself, gay person, going through or boys 0:18:57.760 --> 0:19:03.440 boarding school and of course working on stations, the constant abuse. 0:19:03.960 --> 0:19:06.480 You know, that is the extreme homo fabia of the 0:19:06.480 --> 0:19:09.480 bush of the old Australia. And it was an Australia 0:19:09.520 --> 0:19:12.000 that I wanted to change, and it was an Australia 0:19:12.040 --> 0:19:16.640 that I felt needed to change. And the only way 0:19:16.680 --> 0:19:18.439 to do it was to have an honest conversation. And 0:19:18.480 --> 0:19:20.720 the best way to have a conversation with the Australian 0:19:20.720 --> 0:19:23.960 people is in their laund rooms when they themselves are 0:19:24.000 --> 0:19:27.399 vulnerable and open to something and big Brother, you know, 0:19:27.600 --> 0:19:30.520 millions of people would tune in and would watch with 0:19:30.600 --> 0:19:33.240 their families and it would be water cooler, it would 0:19:33.280 --> 0:19:36.679 be a conversation point. They could digest it in a 0:19:36.720 --> 0:19:40.040 way that made sense that you didn't have the ego 0:19:40.160 --> 0:19:43.920 in the bravado of community expectations. It was in their home, 0:19:43.960 --> 0:19:46.480 and I mean back then, it was live on their phones, 0:19:47.240 --> 0:19:49.919 it was live on the computer screens. You could have 0:19:49.960 --> 0:19:54.160 a conversation one on one with every individual that turned 0:19:54.240 --> 0:19:57.560 in and tuned in. And that's what I wanted. That's 0:19:57.680 --> 0:20:01.480 I wanted. I wanted to have a conversation because maybe 0:20:01.920 --> 0:20:04.880 I hadn't had those conversations with the people in my life. 0:20:05.480 --> 0:20:08.560 I didn't have it with you know, my ten siblings, 0:20:08.760 --> 0:20:13.760 my dad, my neighbors, my mates, and maybe I just 0:20:13.760 --> 0:20:15.919 had all this conversation that was pent up inside me 0:20:15.960 --> 0:20:19.199 that needed needed to be heard back then. And so 0:20:19.280 --> 0:20:21.159 it wasn't the producers at all. It was definitely me. 0:20:22.200 --> 0:20:24.639 I think, you know, through the process most of it, 0:20:24.640 --> 0:20:27.280 they didn't know I was gay until I got gay bashed, actually, 0:20:27.560 --> 0:20:30.840 and my eyes were all completely manged up. And I 0:20:30.920 --> 0:20:34.680 went in to one of the auditions right through the process, 0:20:34.960 --> 0:20:38.160 and everyone thought that I was like some hardcore meat head. 0:20:38.480 --> 0:20:40.920 And then I kissed a guy in one of the processes, 0:20:40.960 --> 0:20:42.520 because you know, they're like, oh, you have to kiss someone, 0:20:42.520 --> 0:20:43.960 and I just grabbed the guy next to me and 0:20:44.040 --> 0:20:46.240 gave him a massive pash who ended up of course 0:20:46.280 --> 0:20:47.480 Ben from Brisbane. 0:20:47.600 --> 0:20:50.280 But I heard this, sorry, Ben's a bell as in 0:20:50.359 --> 0:20:53.640 Bed from Brisbane. You pashed. Now you breathe the life 0:20:53.680 --> 0:20:56.199 of big Brother in twim and it never left. 0:20:56.600 --> 0:20:59.320 Yeah. Yeah, so they just thought that I was just 0:20:59.440 --> 0:21:02.000 really comfort when my skin I suppose. But then yeah, 0:21:02.119 --> 0:21:03.480