Speaker 1: It's in the news today, but it was actually on
Speaker 1: TV Reload the podcast Past Deep the Mine and welcome
Speaker 1: back guys to TV Reload. As you may know, my
Speaker 1: name is Benjamin Norris and this is your podcast to
Speaker 1: get all the inside goss on the popular TV shows
Speaker 1: you may be watching from around the world. Undeniably, our
Speaker 1: TV sets are a major part of our home entertainment,
Speaker 1: and yet very little is known about how our favorite
Speaker 1: shows get made. So I've been finding guests that want
Speaker 1: to dive just that little bit deeper into the shows
Speaker 1: they're currently making so that you can hear all their
Speaker 1: exclusive stories and gain access to the biggest names in
Speaker 1: Australian television. I want to thank you for downloading all
Speaker 1: subscribing to this podcast however you've found me. I love
Speaker 1: hearing your feedback, so make sure you leave a review
Speaker 1: or a comment on your chosen podcast platform. On today's pot,
Speaker 1: I have Marty Fox, the new Judge of the Block
Speaker 1: twenty twenty three Australia will sadly see long standing judge
Speaker 1: Near leave this series this Sunday nine, and we will
Speaker 1: get introduced to White Fox, real estate agent and CEO
Speaker 1: of Marty Fox, who will join SHANEA. Blaze and Darren
Speaker 1: Palmer as they critique the scores of this year's houses.
Speaker 1: The Block is a huge show for Channel nine and
Speaker 1: this series is one of the best series in terms
Speaker 1: of contestants. So how will Marty Fox go and what
Speaker 1: sort of a judge will he be? Well, you guys
Speaker 1: are going to get an exclusive look at Marty Fox
Speaker 1: today and you'll get an idea as to how that's
Speaker 1: going to go down. This season of The Block is
Speaker 1: set in a family friendly Melbourne suburb of Hampton East.
Speaker 1: The new series features five houses designed and build in
Speaker 1: the nineteen fifties and located on the applely named Charming Street.
Speaker 1: I will talk to Marty about his addition to the
Speaker 1: show and what preparation he put into joining the series.
Speaker 1: We will find out what Scotti Cam said to Marty
Speaker 1: as he joined the show and how that affected his
Speaker 1: time on camera. Marty will share his thoughts on Shana
Speaker 1: Blaze and Darren Palmer as he sizes up his new
Speaker 1: work colleagues. Plus, we will get plenty of exclusives from
Speaker 1: behind the scenes of the Block, which will premiere this
Speaker 1: Sunday night, the sixth Jolyfe at seven thirty on Channel
Speaker 1: nine and you will be able to catch up on
Speaker 1: nine now if you fall a little bit behind. Anyway,
Speaker 1: Let's bring Marty into the PO podcast and guys, I
Speaker 1: really hope you enjoy this fascinating look at the new
Speaker 1: series of the Block twenty twenty three.
Speaker 2: Hey Ben, Hey buddy, how are you. I'm good as
Speaker 2: your morning been. Well.
Speaker 1: I'm excited to be talking to you because I do
Speaker 1: this thing. When I'm about to put someone on the podcast,
Speaker 1: I then do as much research as I can find
Speaker 1: about someone, and I become a little bit obsessed with them.
Speaker 1: So then by the time they get on the public
Speaker 1: by the time they're on the podcast, I feel a
Speaker 1: little strange.
Speaker 2: You know. I what have you been digging up? Mate? Everything?
Speaker 1: I'm only joking. I've just been watching a lot of
Speaker 1: a lot of your moments as well in the first
Speaker 1: few weeks, which Australian audiences are about to see. Are
Speaker 1: you excited to be on this show and to see
Speaker 1: how audiences are going to respond to you?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Well, I think you know, coming from running a
Speaker 2: business where you're in charge of obviously all your creative
Speaker 2: and editing and direction, it's a very different experience to
Speaker 2: just potentially do what you do or perform however you
Speaker 2: want to call it, and then just sort of sit
Speaker 2: back and have faith that what you've what you've been
Speaker 2: able to put out resonate. So it's a very different experience.
Speaker 2: You know, it's a mix of emotions. It's you know, excitement,
Speaker 2: anxiousness all sort of wrapped into one. It's pretty cool.
Speaker 1: Well, it's an exciting job to get. I mean, it
Speaker 1: would be quite a coveted role to try and pick
Speaker 1: up on a show like this. It's one of well
Speaker 1: it is Channel Line's biggest show of the year. You know,
Speaker 1: audience has met you. And I think it was Harry.
Speaker 1: Was it Harry and Tash's Brighton Property?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that was maybe twenty twenty or twenty
Speaker 2: twenty one around then now twenty twenty, I think Harry
Speaker 2: in Tash or twenty one. Can't remember that. It was
Speaker 2: the Brighton one. And it was a very funny time
Speaker 2: in real estate. It was an essential service. You weren't
Speaker 2: allowed to open for inspections. You had social distancing and
Speaker 2: it was a very very hard time to actually engage
Speaker 2: and connect with buyers and vendors and auction property. So
Speaker 2: it was it was quite surreal, but it was an
Speaker 2: amazing experience at third hand, get behind the scenes and
Speaker 2: see how the block really worked.
Speaker 1: Well, yeah, so you'd been on the show before, so
Speaker 1: you kind of had some idea of, you know, how
Speaker 1: it was all going to go what it was going
Speaker 1: to look like. But did you think back then that
Speaker 1: you would get tapped on the shoulder and be asked
Speaker 1: to come back as a judge and to be in
Speaker 1: this kind of role.
Speaker 2: Now, Look, I don't think it was something that I
Speaker 2: thought would happen, But I think with anything, particularly with
Speaker 2: how my life has panned out and how I hope
Speaker 2: it will continue to any opportunity that I get, I'd
Speaker 2: just give it one hundred percent, and I care, and
Speaker 2: I work hard, and I make sure I understand the
Speaker 2: subject matter. And when you are an expert in a field,
Speaker 2: things come your way. And it was probably just quite
Speaker 2: natural how it all panned out, being tapped on the
Speaker 2: shoulder and being asked to partake in a show that
Speaker 2: a show that I've watched so many years, that the
Speaker 2: judges have been doing it for so long. It's an
Speaker 2: honest to actually be tapped on the shoulder and be
Speaker 2: part of it. It's a really cool experience.
Speaker 1: I kind of feel like when I was watching your
Speaker 1: introduction with Scotty Cam introducing you and we get this
Speaker 1: little clip of you, I was like, you kind of
Speaker 1: are what I think what a lot of Australian men
Speaker 1: would like to be. You've got the nice car, you're
Speaker 1: a handsome man, you're well spoken, you're very intelligent, You're
Speaker 1: all of these things. Has that been sensationalized in a
Speaker 1: way for television or is this just really who you are?
Speaker 2: Well? I mean I don't really try and be anything.
Speaker 2: I was raised by pretty young parents that were you know,
Speaker 2: didn't come from much or I always had a lot
Speaker 2: of love. I've always been much been the same ever
Speaker 2: since I being a young kid, always worked hard, always tried.
Speaker 2: But you know, with those things that you mentioned, also
Speaker 2: comes eyeballs and bullying and things that you know, just
Speaker 2: most kids shouldn't have to go through it. So I
Speaker 2: had a pretty simultuous upbringing as a kid and seven
Speaker 2: different schools, multiple countries, you know it. It wasn't the
Speaker 2: normal type of upbringing, lived in so many different homes,
Speaker 2: so it was just one of those things. I've just
Speaker 2: always been true to myself and always been a very
Speaker 2: very family orientated person, which is probably why I've got
Speaker 2: three kids now at thirty six. But I really don't change,
Speaker 2: and coming on to the show, I knew that it's
Speaker 2: something that's out of my control. But what I can
Speaker 2: control is my opinion and how I present and how
Speaker 2: I can help these contestants feel better homes, and ultimately
Speaker 2: I just stay true for that, which was just being me.
Speaker 1: It's so interesting, isn't it When you think about growing
Speaker 1: up and those really hard times in your life and
Speaker 1: you think, God, you know, this is awful. However, when
Speaker 1: you get to where you are now and I feel
Speaker 1: like this is as well as an adult, I look
Speaker 1: back and I think, had I not have had those experiences,
Speaker 1: I wouldn't have worked out that coping mechanism and a
Speaker 1: lot of that allows you to have empathy for other
Speaker 1: people and have understanding. You know, you look back and
Speaker 1: you think, well, I guess it's kind of a part
Speaker 1: of my journey and I'm proud of it.
Speaker 2: And also builds and you've said that so well, but
Speaker 2: it gives you dry. It gives you that purpose to portion,
Speaker 2: to challenge yourself and to really understand that at the
Speaker 2: end of the day, if it's meant to be, it's
Speaker 2: up to me, and it's up to you as the
Speaker 2: individual to control your own mind and to push forward
Speaker 2: and to really just be true to yourself. And I
Speaker 2: just think that if you do that, everything else will
Speaker 2: sort of stuff out.
Speaker 1: I also really love Neil and I think the judges
Speaker 1: have been great on the show. But you know, there
Speaker 1: had been fans looking for a different perspective, and I
Speaker 1: think you will definitely bring a unique perspective to this
Speaker 1: series being a real estate agent. I think the show
Speaker 1: started originally with one judge being a real estate agent.
Speaker 1: What do you think that you will add to that dynamic?
Speaker 1: Considering that Neil steped out to this season and you've
Speaker 1: come in, I.
Speaker 2: Just think it's more along the lines of you know,
Speaker 2: for fifteen years, every single day it was meeting by
Speaker 2: speaking to sellers, getting homes prepared to sell that will
Speaker 2: have the biggest appeal in the marketplace, to drive the
Speaker 2: highest sale rust, to bring the competition, all of those things,
Speaker 2: and then outside of work, it was all the renovating
Speaker 2: and slipping that Charlton and myself had done over the years,
Speaker 2: which you know, in ten years to near fifteen renovations
Speaker 2: is just absurd and their real life situations. When you
Speaker 2: buy and sell property in a city like Melbourne, the
Speaker 2: losses or the games can really make or break you.
Speaker 2: And when you stream so many together that have been successful,
Speaker 2: you build credibility and then the customers come to you
Speaker 2: and it's those sorts of experiences that build that knowledge
Speaker 2: of what a buyer really wants. And I think bringing
Speaker 2: that perspective and also bringing my fair but firm personality
Speaker 2: to the table is something that I think hopefully the
Speaker 2: contestants took something away from and it's helped them along
Speaker 2: that journey. As a judge meant to judge, you're meant
Speaker 2: to give your opinion, whether that be good or bad,
Speaker 2: to hopefully help those people on their journey. So for me,
Speaker 2: nothing personal, all about value and if they get value
Speaker 2: amazing If they take it personally, I'm sure by the
Speaker 2: end of it, so they'll see that the messaging was
Speaker 2: pretty clear and pretty honest.
Speaker 1: I want to ask you a little bit about some
Speaker 1: of that in a second, But I also was curious
Speaker 1: to know when you get a phone call like this
Speaker 1: asking to be on a reality TV show like this,
Speaker 1: and you would have some serious conversations with producers. What
Speaker 1: sort of questions did you have, Like, did you have
Speaker 1: questions that you wanted to bring to the table about
Speaker 1: how it was all going to work? Or you know,
Speaker 1: I would love to have been a fly on the
Speaker 1: wall for that conversation.
Speaker 2: Honestly, there's one conversation that sort of really there's actually
Speaker 2: two conversations that have burned in my memory bank, and
Speaker 2: one of them was at the very start, I was
Speaker 2: able to see Scotty, who I've watched for so many years,
Speaker 2: and looked up to him and I just said, Scotty,
Speaker 2: can you give me some advice? And he just told
Speaker 2: me a sign and he said, Marty, how old are you?
Speaker 2: And when we started filming, I was thirty five And
Speaker 2: I said, mat, I'm thirty five. Why And he said, well,
Speaker 2: you've been practicing this for thirty five years. I said
Speaker 2: what do you mean by that? He said, just be
Speaker 2: Marty Fox and then he walked off and it made
Speaker 2: me feel really comfortable, and I thought that was just
Speaker 2: some awesome advice, just the words of wisdom from slotting.
Speaker 2: And then the next one was just how authentic, sort
Speaker 2: of unproduced the judging is in terms of when I
Speaker 2: went to that first room and I walked over with
Speaker 2: Darren and Shana, and you know, we were just sort
Speaker 2: of getting to know each other. This is literally in
Speaker 2: the first half an hour of being on set. And
Speaker 2: I looked at Sarreen, I looked at you and said, hey,
Speaker 2: so who's going to go first? And they both just
Speaker 2: shrugged their shoulders and it was just like, holy shit,
Speaker 2: this is really organic. It's off cut. It's totally off cuff,
Speaker 2: and that is what I've loved about it. The trust
Speaker 2: that the executive producers put into the crew and the
Speaker 2: judges and the hosts and everyone. It's quite unique. It
Speaker 2: really is reality.
Speaker 1: It's interesting. You know, I do a lot of this.
Speaker 1: I talk about a lot of TV shows, a lot
Speaker 1: of reality, and I get to meet a lot of
Speaker 1: the producers. And when you go on a set tool
Speaker 1: like I did when I met you just the other week,
Speaker 1: you get a really good glimpse as to how the
Speaker 1: dynamic is working. And that happens across a lot of
Speaker 1: these shows that I've worked on and covered. And the
Speaker 1: block is at the top of the list, well around
Speaker 1: the top of the list. Just in case any of
Speaker 1: these other producers are listening. But it's definitely around the
Speaker 1: top of the list of shows that has a really
Speaker 1: good vibe during the filming. It's the producers are all
Speaker 1: quite succinct. I don't know, did you feel quite comfortable
Speaker 1: just fitting yourself into that environment when you got there.
Speaker 2: Absolutely. I think it's because of how long the team
Speaker 2: has been together. You know, you've got body in shower
Speaker 2: that have got an amazing synergy, You've got the judges
Speaker 2: that have worked together for so long. The uniqueness in
Speaker 2: the fact that it's a reality TV show that doesn't
Speaker 2: just have one winner. So like if you think of
Speaker 2: a dating show or a competitional art survivor or any
Speaker 2: of these other types of shows, there's one winner. Now,
Speaker 2: what this show gives you is this show gives you
Speaker 2: the opportunity. Nothing is granted, nothing's given on a platter,
Speaker 2: but you were given this opportunity to have ten winners.
Speaker 2: You've got everyone on set filming week in, week out,
Speaker 2: day by day that has the opportunity to be a winner.
Speaker 2: And I think that's what draws this energy. That's what
Speaker 2: draws that amazing energy. It's the time that people have
Speaker 2: spent with each other on set over the season and
Speaker 2: then for each season, the fact that you can actually
Speaker 2: have ten people walk away as winners. I don't think
Speaker 2: there's another reality show that has that level of contribution
Speaker 2: to people's lives.
Speaker 1: It is interesting because you think about how successful this
Speaker 1: show is and how we've had this on our screens
Speaker 1: now for twenty years. There isn't a format that's like this, which,
Speaker 1: as you're saying, you know, there are things that are
Speaker 1: making an appointment television. Yes, we have the fact that
Speaker 1: not everyone, you know, everyone does have the chance to win,
Speaker 1: but also no one knows how this show is going
Speaker 1: to end. All of this leading up to the auction,
Speaker 1: even the people working on this show have no idea
Speaker 1: how this is going to go, and that's making this
Speaker 1: show so vibrant still twenty years. You'd be surprised why
Speaker 1: other shows haven't tried to follow a very similar kind
Speaker 1: of idea.
Speaker 2: Ran Yeah, well, I think it's because the actual subject
Speaker 2: matter is so intriguing, you know. So it's like sports,
Speaker 2: it's competitive, it's team orientated, it can fluctuate week by week.
Speaker 2: You can't just have a clear front runner because it
Speaker 2: just doesn't just doesn't pan out that way. There's too
Speaker 2: many variables and so many decisions that need to be
Speaker 2: made in such a short amount of time under the
Speaker 2: directive lack of sleep, and there's just so many things happening.
Speaker 2: It almost can't be replicated. And it's probably why the
Speaker 2: ingredients of this show have been able to circulate around
Speaker 2: the world to other countries because it is so hard
Speaker 2: to replicate. And it's probably why I'd say it has
Speaker 2: to be up there with one of the most successful
Speaker 2: TV shows in Australian TV history.
Speaker 1: It is because and you know, I think it comes
Speaker 1: down to, you know, the producers aren't really aren't really
Speaker 1: trying to influence or sensationalize anything. You know, it is
Speaker 1: just what it is. What you're watching on screen is
Speaker 1: how it goes. And I think that's really fastfully.
Speaker 2: You bang on it. But this just the position of
Speaker 2: an incredibly well preched do editing teams and then a
Speaker 2: bunch of situations that are incredibly unproduced and that's the magic.
Speaker 2: It's the combination of two that creates this incredible energy.
Speaker 2: That's what it is. If you're giving people the chance
Speaker 2: to be themselves and then you're pasting correctly. Your team's
Speaker 2: been doing it long enough where they understand what they're doing.
Speaker 2: It's magical' that's why you can put it down.
Speaker 1: To We did discuss this a little bit before, but
Speaker 1: I just was wanting to know when you get there
Speaker 1: and you're thinking about what sort of a judge you
Speaker 1: really want to be, did you try and think about
Speaker 1: that or did you just think, Okay, Scott has told
Speaker 1: me to turn up and just be myself. I just
Speaker 1: have to be myself or did you have any other
Speaker 1: influences as Oh, I'm going to be the not to
Speaker 1: use Australian idol, which is different to this show. But
Speaker 1: I'm going to be the nasty judge or I'm going
Speaker 1: to be the fair judge. I'm with the conversations within
Speaker 1: yourself about how that was going to work.
Speaker 2: Nah. I would start the day I'd break you with
Speaker 2: the kids I'd normally do it's in session. I'd drive
Speaker 2: over to my mum's house and lives around the corner.
Speaker 2: We'd have a cup of sea and with after about
Speaker 2: how the really was that I'll be heading down to
Speaker 2: Charming Streak to be a duds on the block. I
Speaker 2: was in autopilot. I didn't want outside noise and I
Speaker 2: figured if I tried to do something that was not
Speaker 2: Marty Fox, then I would come on stuck. And I
Speaker 2: believe that the Australian public is smart enough to know
Speaker 2: when someone's being someone that they're not. It was just
Speaker 2: run the gortlet of saying it as it is and
Speaker 2: just being me, and it's either celebrated or it's not,
Speaker 2: and whichever way it goes, I'm content with because I
Speaker 2: was just being true.
Speaker 1: I was really pleasantly surprised. I'm about two weeks into
Speaker 1: watching the show, so for Australian audiences listening to the
Speaker 1: podcast now, I am a little bit ahead and I
Speaker 1: can give people the confidence with you that I believe
Speaker 1: they will be pleasantly surprised because you do come in hard,
Speaker 1: but in a good way, very very likable. In watching
Speaker 1: this show, I don't know how that lands with you.
Speaker 1: Maybe it's a strange, strange thing for someone to be
Speaker 1: giving that information back, but yeah, I was really impressed
Speaker 1: with how hard you were, but also how that seemed
Speaker 1: to work for you.
Speaker 2: I've confused people pretty much my whole life. From a distance,
Speaker 2: they may have an opinion. They may see the cars
Speaker 2: or the houses, or the success or whatever it might
Speaker 2: be that throws their nose how to join it for
Speaker 2: whichever reason. I don't know why. It must be their
Speaker 2: own insecurity, But at the end of the day, I
Speaker 2: just I'm consistent. I like to have fun. I've got
Speaker 2: a lot of interests outside of real estate, outside of property,
Speaker 2: outside of business. I really love people. You know, you
Speaker 2: don't get into property. You don't get into property because
Speaker 2: you love property. You get into property, particularly real estate,
Speaker 2: because you love people. So I get energy from meeting
Speaker 2: new people, understanding what people's lives are, where they want
Speaker 2: to go, what they want to do. And that's also
Speaker 2: why I love building a business. I like helping people
Speaker 2: get better at their profession, which in turn gives them,
Speaker 2: I believe, a better life and hopefully financial freedom by
Speaker 2: the end of it. So you know, for me, it's
Speaker 2: quite nice to hear that you know, you've heard some
Speaker 2: harshness or directness, but at the same time, you don't
Speaker 2: mind having a chat with me, and you probably want
Speaker 2: to go get a copy. At some point, I was
Speaker 2: really truous so fun.
Speaker 1: I knew you were going to be the other day
Speaker 1: that I turned up and I was excited to see
Speaker 1: you and I and I had this moment I don't
Speaker 1: know if you remember talking to me, but all of
Speaker 1: a sudden, I just got overwhelmed by the whole experience.
Speaker 1: I was just like, this guy is just like he
Speaker 1: is on television. It's kind of a little bit hard
Speaker 1: to believe in some way, and I just all of
Speaker 1: a sudden felt overwhelmed and just walked away from you.
Speaker 1: I think I was in mid sentence. I don't know
Speaker 1: what happened. I had a brain Moun's function. It's you know,
Speaker 1: sometimes you watch people on television news.
Speaker 2: Surely to Charlotte when I met her, and she really
Speaker 2: didn't like then. It took it took two or three days.
Speaker 2: But we're ben gether eighteen years now, so it's worked
Speaker 2: with her. But it's funny even if I think of
Speaker 2: some of my best mates, but there was always like,
Speaker 2: you know, a couple of weeks where they were unsure
Speaker 2: and then bangs where we're on. So yeah, sometimes I
Speaker 2: sometimes I can get read the wrong way. But by
Speaker 2: the end of it, people come around, which is great.
Speaker 1: Who's been your influences though? That's what I was thinking, Like,
Speaker 1: I was watching a bit of it, and I was thinking,
Speaker 1: you know, this could a little bit of lux listening
Speaker 1: with you know, Gavin or I don't know that there's
Speaker 1: just so many I was thinking, is it your parents?
Speaker 1: I don't know. I'd just love to know what your
Speaker 1: influences are in terms of style and how you want
Speaker 1: to be.
Speaker 2: Honestly, my influence really is, you know, the and this
Speaker 2: is what a lot of people say, the five people
Speaker 2: that you spend the most time, which really do influence
Speaker 2: who you've become. And you know, I spend a lot
Speaker 2: of time with my mum, with my dad, with my grandparents,
Speaker 2: with my wife, with my kids, with my team, So
Speaker 2: you know, a lot of it is based on the
Speaker 2: people that you train yourself with. But I am very individual,
Speaker 2: you know, in terms of I haven't thought I have
Speaker 2: an opinion. I stand by that. I don't bend easily.
Speaker 2: I listen, but I do question a lot. As I said,
Speaker 2: I always asked why why is this being done? Why
Speaker 2: is that being done? It's probably the core reason as
Speaker 2: to why White Foxes is such a success because I
Speaker 2: questioned why, why, why? And I've just had this incredible
Speaker 2: self belief. I've always had my back up against the
Speaker 2: wall of the kid in terms of what could be
Speaker 2: achieved and what people thought I was capable of achieving
Speaker 2: and being the underdog, and being the underdog builds this
Speaker 2: resilience in this strive and this energy to want to
Speaker 2: work hard and to stay true. So look, it's a
Speaker 2: really hard question. It's probably a question that's easier answered
Speaker 2: when I am an old guy that's nearing death and
Speaker 2: you look back on it all and really summarize it.
Speaker 2: But you know, for me, I feel like I've really
Speaker 2: just just warming up and getting started, and I really
Speaker 2: look forward to what can be achieved over the next ten, fifteen,
Speaker 2: twenty odd years. And it's yeah, it's quite fun.
Speaker 1: I don't know why. Why is it really drawn to
Speaker 1: the underdog? And as soon as you said that, I'm like,
Speaker 1: that's what it is.
Speaker 2: Well, I think people are drawn to it because they
Speaker 2: tap into the underdog within themselves and their own insecurities.
Speaker 2: And you know, whether you like it or not, every
Speaker 2: single person has them. It's just how you handle them
Speaker 2: and how you turn those into motivations and to your
Speaker 2: own superpowers, and it's you know, it's a whole different
Speaker 2: conversation as to how you combat that and how you
Speaker 2: tackle it and how you do it consistently day in
Speaker 2: day out But throughout that journey, you've always have people
Speaker 2: that try and rattle it or bring it down or
Speaker 2: question it. And at those moments when you know that
Speaker 2: you're on the right path, because people don't question or
Speaker 2: try to engage in negative commentary unless you actually are
Speaker 2: doing the right thing. So you've just got to stay
Speaker 2: through and keep going and pushing. And I think that's
Speaker 2: what intrigues people, and it's probably why I've been able
Speaker 2: to build a great team around me, because I try
Speaker 2: and protect those people that you know are being belied
Speaker 2: or are being questioned because I've been there, I've done that,
Speaker 2: and I know how to I know how to get
Speaker 2: around it.
Speaker 1: You know, the judges comments and scores should really lead
Speaker 1: us as viewers to knowing whose house is going to
Speaker 1: sell best. And I feel like there's a lot of
Speaker 1: pressure that exists in that space because we watched the series.
Speaker 1: You know, it's nineteen series now, you know sometimes the judges'
Speaker 1: comments and you know, the houses that are gaining the
Speaker 1: points don't end up being the house that's as well
Speaker 1: as the audiences think. Is that a lot of pressure
Speaker 1: and is that something that you are wanting to focus
Speaker 1: in on and is it in your mind. Are you
Speaker 1: thinking I want to make sure that I score the
Speaker 1: house the best that ends up selling the best to
Speaker 1: prove who you are and what you bring to the show.
Speaker 2: Absolutely not. I think when I walk into a room,
Speaker 2: I'm looking at that room and I'm looking at how
Speaker 2: they're evolving as renovators. Because you always make mistakes, whether
Speaker 2: that being planning or material selection or the craftsmanship, and
Speaker 2: it's the same mistakes are happening week on weeks. Then
Speaker 2: you need to be able to call that out. And
Speaker 2: if they're not listening to that feedback from the judges,
Speaker 2: they are doing themselves quite a disservice. And that's not
Speaker 2: to say that the judges are always correct, because we're not,
Speaker 2: but the probability is that the majority of the time
Speaker 2: we are. And that's something that is I believe really
Speaker 2: important for them to realize that, you know, we're not
Speaker 2: just throwing opinion. Well, I'm certainly not just throwing opinions
Speaker 2: around because you know, there's a favorite house, or there's
Speaker 2: a favorite room, or a favorite a couple. I hadn't
Speaker 2: had a chance to meet these guys till, you know,
Speaker 2: pretty deep into the series. So it's one of those
Speaker 2: things where you are judging, and particularly to me, I'm
Speaker 2: looking at what is the marketability and saleability? How will
Speaker 2: this shoot, how will this present on the market against
Speaker 2: other homes, and how will the agent be able to
Speaker 2: interpret what they've done to then convey this message to
Speaker 2: the buyer gets them emotionally connected, So whether they're an
Speaker 2: investor or whether they're living in these houses at some
Speaker 2: point in time, if you can hit that emotional cord,
Speaker 2: that's when you get the highest amount of money.
Speaker 1: The judges do get a lot of criticism, though, I mean,
Speaker 1: I don't know if you look at that or have
Speaker 1: looked at that over the years. You know, people will
Speaker 1: say things on social media. Does that worry you about
Speaker 1: how people will take you and what they're going to say?
Speaker 1: Aline does that affect the way in which it.
Speaker 2: Be very it'll be very hard to get harsher criticism.
Speaker 2: And again, like I said, what I've had throughout my
Speaker 2: career or throughout my schooling life. So for me, it's
Speaker 2: something that is understood. You are a judge. You're putting
Speaker 2: yourself out there and you'll have people that agree, you'll
Speaker 2: have people that disagree as long as they as long
Speaker 2: as everyone understands at the core of it, nothing is
Speaker 2: personal and it's all about the property. And I've always
Speaker 2: found property to be similar to people. There's no such
Speaker 2: thing as the perfect person. There's no such thing as
Speaker 2: the perfect property. Even at fifty sixty seventy eighty million dollars.
Speaker 2: The house is never perfect. There is always a compromise
Speaker 2: like this people, no one is perfect. There is always
Speaker 2: a compromise because there's so many moving parts to a person.
Speaker 2: There's so many moving parts to a property, and beauty
Speaker 2: is in either beholder. That's how it works. You may
Speaker 2: as well give your opinion, and you may as well
Speaker 2: judge based on how you feel about it, because ultimately
Speaker 2: you can never get one hundred percent acceptance.
Speaker 1: Ever, what's the life relationship like with Shana and Darren?
Speaker 1: Because we love these people on the show, and I
Speaker 1: was curious to know, how are you getting along with them?
Speaker 1: And you know, how do their styles different differ to you?
Speaker 2: I just love them from the first day walking and
Speaker 2: seeing you know, Shane is sitting there getting her makeup
Speaker 2: done and giving her a kiss and a cuddle and
Speaker 2: saying it's so nice to meet with you, and talking
Speaker 2: about her grandkids and my kids, and it was just
Speaker 2: like a mother hen on set and with Jazz. You know,
Speaker 2: he's just such a funny guys at the best sense
Speaker 2: of humor. They're just really great people and they're at
Speaker 2: the top of their game. They're really smart, they're knowledgeable,
Speaker 2: they're friendly, and they to put me under their wing.
Speaker 2: I can't I can't say anything other than they made
Speaker 2: it so easy for me to just flip in. And
Speaker 2: that's the same with Neil, you know, meeting Neil, going
Speaker 2: out for dinner, interacting with him, it's just, you know,
Speaker 2: these guys are just full of wisdom and you know
Speaker 2: they've done something for longer than you know what I
Speaker 2: have being on the block, so you know, to ask
Speaker 2: these guys to help and to get some advice from
Speaker 2: them has just been amazing. And just to become their
Speaker 2: friends has been awesome.
Speaker 1: What sort of advice did Neil give you? Did you
Speaker 1: go out for dinner and did he give you advice
Speaker 1: on what you should do or do you just want
Speaker 1: to make sure that everything But I.
Speaker 2: Had a few doings. I can remember that it was
Speaker 2: pretty good.
Speaker 1: That sounds to me like a dream.
Speaker 2: Just a real cool cat is me the smooth smooth man.
Speaker 1: I remember one year I interviewed them all at the Logis.
Speaker 1: They were walking along the red carpet and I just
Speaker 1: after speaking to all of them, I was like, these people,
Speaker 1: you just want to go and have an expensive meal
Speaker 1: at a nice restaurant with some good wine with these people.
Speaker 1: You know, the show's success revolves a lot around the
Speaker 1: drama and the you know, the housing porn of the show.
Speaker 1: Do you the show gets that balance right?
Speaker 2: Well, it all comes down to the contestants. And I
Speaker 2: think what's really really excited is if you think about
Speaker 2: last season how far away everyone was from one another, Like,
Speaker 2: you know, you had to walk sort of two or
Speaker 2: three hundred meters just to bump into someone. So when
Speaker 2: you slip that on its head and you go back
Speaker 2: to a traditional type block and you've got five pousses
Speaker 2: within one hundred meters of each other and some that
Speaker 2: are literally a meter of us, then you have naturally
Speaker 2: far more engagement and entertainment because of how much the
Speaker 2: contacts they have. Now, when you've got contact and you've
Speaker 2: got a competition, you've got rooms, you've got trades, and
Speaker 2: you've got rain, you've got wind, you've got Melbourne you've
Speaker 2: got this, You've got that, you just get you just
Speaker 2: get absolutely humbled with content. And these guys seriously like
Speaker 2: this series, from what I've heard, is just going to
Speaker 2: go off.
Speaker 1: It's I'm just I just love the drama. I don't know,
Speaker 1: but know that this commental line of people like, no,
Speaker 1: it should be about the houses, and I'm like, no,
Speaker 1: I feel like the balance needs to be equal, and
Speaker 1: I feel like this series, the drama is real because
Speaker 1: you know what's interesting about the drama that happens this
Speaker 1: year is nothing's being manufactured. These people are just behaving
Speaker 1: as humans do. So it's extraordinarily relatable.
Speaker 2: And I think what the public needs to understand is
Speaker 2: that these contestants sometimes also believe it or not, They
Speaker 2: get that they're micd up. That's the truth. Because you
Speaker 2: get into such a zone, you say things, you do
Speaker 2: things that maybe you know, your guard gets dropped and
Speaker 2: that realness comes out and reality has the word real
Speaker 2: in it for a reason. We want to see the
Speaker 2: realness and that's what they get. That's where that's where
Speaker 2: it's so different from anything else.
Speaker 1: But is this drama this year something that you were expecting?
Speaker 1: I mean, how did it affect your time. Being that
Speaker 1: this is your first season as a judge on this show.
Speaker 2: You're sort of removed a bit because you know, you're
Speaker 2: never unset. At the same time, you don't interact, But
Speaker 2: what you do here is the whispers, and you know
Speaker 2: what people are doing and saying and feeling more so,
Speaker 2: have feeling about you're judging. So what is hard is
Speaker 2: to not go in there and let their emotional rollercoaster
Speaker 2: affect what you say, because then if you do allow that,
Speaker 2: then you're not judging fairly. You have to judge a
Speaker 2: week on week with with a clean slate. So I
Speaker 2: think if if there was more of a relationship with
Speaker 2: the contestants to build over the series and with the judges,
Speaker 2: I think that would that could have the possibility of
Speaker 2: changing the style of judging. But I believe the way
Speaker 2: that it's done, the way that it's kept separate, means
Speaker 2: that the viewers really get to see proper judging and
Speaker 2: the contestants get to feel through feelings based on what
Speaker 2: the judges are seeing. So I think the way that
Speaker 2: they've combined the drama and the technical side is really good.
Speaker 1: I really appreciate you saying that it would influence because
Speaker 1: it would influence me. You know, if I was to
Speaker 1: being a judge, if I was to meet all of
Speaker 1: these people first, before I met any of their stylings
Speaker 1: or the decisions, you know, before I'd be judging any
Speaker 1: of that. If I like someone, I think I would
Speaker 1: be influenced by who they are, you know, And.
Speaker 2: To say that you wouldn't be would be an absolute
Speaker 2: life because it's human nature to have feelings for people
Speaker 2: that you happen to like. You just can't deny that.
Speaker 2: So how they've done it like they really they really
Speaker 2: have nailed.
Speaker 1: It, But you would now now that they've finished the show,
Speaker 1: Australia is just about to start seeing it. So not
Speaker 1: giving anything away about the show, but from your dynamic
Speaker 1: with them, has that relationship gone? Have you become more
Speaker 1: connected to one house over another?
Speaker 2: Look, I think being able to walk through finish homes
Speaker 2: and look at them, you know, are there houses that
Speaker 2: I think are better houses than the others? Absolutely? One
Speaker 2: hundred percent. If you said, Marty, I'll give you one today,
Speaker 2: which one where you take? I know exactly which one
Speaker 2: I'd take. If I was a contestant and you said,
Speaker 2: which house would you like to start on. I know
Speaker 2: exactly which house I'd like to start on because of
Speaker 2: some core fundamentals that I try and stick to when
Speaker 2: I do my own property development. So you know, I
Speaker 2: have those opinions, but they're probably opinions that i'd be
Speaker 2: more than happy to share with You've been at the
Speaker 2: end of the series, just not now.
Speaker 1: I don't want to know that though. I just want
Speaker 1: to ask you this. The house that you choose to
Speaker 1: would choose to live in, is that different to the
Speaker 1: house that you think you could make the most money
Speaker 1: out of.
Speaker 2: No, I think those two things are quite aligned. I
Speaker 2: think whenever I do a development and renovated propertly with Charlotte,
Speaker 2: you have to love it and you have to try
Speaker 2: and make great money from it.
Speaker 1: I just had the practice because I've seen them, and
Speaker 1: I just felt for me that there was a house
Speaker 1: that I chose that I would want to live in,
Speaker 1: and then there was a house that I knew would
Speaker 1: make more money. And when I say I knew, I
Speaker 1: have no experience with selling houses at all, so.
Speaker 2: Well, you know, it's quite funny. I believe that I
Speaker 2: could pick knowing from that very shorting caound that we had.
Speaker 2: I think I know the house that you want to
Speaker 2: live in, and I think I know the house that
Speaker 2: will make the most money are offline. I reckon, I
Speaker 2: know your two houses. I reckon.
Speaker 1: You might be right. Ok we'll just have to bring
Speaker 1: you back for We'll bring you back for a debrief
Speaker 1: on the whole series once it's okay, I love it. Well.
Speaker 1: The last couple of questions I had for you was, well,
Speaker 1: I guess it's off the back of what we were
Speaker 1: just saying, do you, at this point in your mind
Speaker 1: have a house that you think audiences will be drawn
Speaker 1: more to as the one to watch?
Speaker 2: Okay, I really feel like, you know, towards the sort
Speaker 2: of you know, pail end of the show, that's when
Speaker 2: those opinions really form, and I really feel that the
Speaker 2: public will have similar opinions, such as the judges where
Speaker 2: it really fluctuates. But it really fluctuates. It's not until
Speaker 2: you get to those final stages where it really comes together.
Speaker 2: I mean, landscaping is so important for a buyer, and
Speaker 2: landscaping kind of the last things to occur, so, you know, landscaping,
Speaker 2: you know, the facad all those sorts of things. They
Speaker 2: have such a massive impact on how a viewer will
Speaker 2: feel about the property and how a buyer will feel
Speaker 2: about the property. So you know what I love. What
Speaker 2: I love about is that the week by week people's
Speaker 2: opinions will change as to who the front runner is.
Speaker 1: Before we go. The last question I ask everyone who
Speaker 1: joins the podcast is what is something from behind the scenes,
Speaker 1: something that we as an audience won't see, but kind
Speaker 1: of like a behind the scenes either secret for you
Speaker 1: being on this series, or maybe a funny anecdote or
Speaker 1: something that had happened during the production of the show.
Speaker 2: There wasn't a blunder, but there was something really magical
Speaker 2: which occurred on the show. And it's probably halfway through
Speaker 2: and I can't actually say what it was, but when
Speaker 2: you see it, you'll know exactly what I mean. And
Speaker 2: it's something that was super special, particularly for me and
Speaker 2: my family, and I just think that when you see it,
Speaker 2: you'll know what I'm talking about. But it was just
Speaker 2: one of those life moments that you'll never forget. I
Speaker 2: think that's going to be really cool to see.
Speaker 1: What are the people going to say from work White Fox.
Speaker 1: Are they going to be impressed with you now that
Speaker 1: you've finished the show? What are they going to matter.
Speaker 2: What they all know exactly who I am. So they're
Speaker 2: going to go, holy shit, he actually has been mad.
Speaker 2: They're going to go, hey, we've told you for years
Speaker 2: is exactly like this. So I think for White Fox,
Speaker 2: so in particular, it's a really you know, we're seven
Speaker 2: years old. We've got offices in Melbourne and in New Zealand,
Speaker 2: in queen Town and Auckland, and you know the vision
Speaker 2: is to continue to build this boutique agency throughout Australia.
Speaker 2: And what it does for White Fox is gives that
Speaker 2: stamp of credibility. You know, you get credible in business
Speaker 2: after years and years and years, and you know, after
Speaker 2: fifteen years is an advisor and negotiator, I became credible
Speaker 2: as a business owner after seven years. You know I
Speaker 2: was credible. But I think what TV does it amplifies
Speaker 2: that credibility and it gives you the reach that may
Speaker 2: have taken maybe ten or fifteen years, and hopefully that
Speaker 2: shortens that by a little bit and we can continue
Speaker 2: to expand and attract great operators and people that love
Speaker 2: what we do to their assets and how we market
Speaker 2: them and how we communicate with them and really just
Speaker 2: help people that want that White Fox magic on their properties.
Speaker 2: So you know, from our perspective, everyone in the team,
Speaker 2: we're really excited to be put on that type of
Speaker 2: platform and stage to show you know who we are
Speaker 2: and what we are, and that it's these types of
Speaker 2: pillers being bold polished as matter of fact, which are
Speaker 2: the three brand fillers of White Fox, which are really
Speaker 2: brand fillers of me as a person to shine through.
Speaker 2: And I'm really honored, like I said at the start
Speaker 2: of the conversation, and excited you to see how it
Speaker 2: all pans out.
Speaker 1: I'm so excited I fil Marty that they're people are
Speaker 1: going to really like you. You know, I get I
Speaker 1: said this to you in one of the rooms. I
Speaker 1: can't remember. I'd spoken to you downstairs and I saw
Speaker 1: you upstairs in one of the rooms, and I was like,
Speaker 1: I wonder whether or not this show's being made where
Speaker 1: we get to see you in a certain light at
Speaker 1: the very start, so that we are drawn to like you.
Speaker 1: And I didn't realize if you were standing next to
Speaker 1: one of the creators of the show and he then
Speaker 1: had a conversation with me downstairs. But the weird thing was,
Speaker 1: I just as I've watched more of it. I just
Speaker 1: think people are going to be drawn to your honesty
Speaker 1: and there's a lot of warmth in you that I
Speaker 1: think brings a huge asset to this series. And yeah,
Speaker 1: I can't wait for austraight to fall in love with you.
Speaker 2: Oh how cool? Well, hopefully it's a It's a great
Speaker 2: series and people love it, and you know, the opportunity
Speaker 2: to continue to do it is there. It's really cool,
Speaker 2: and then.
Speaker 1: You can have your own spin off show like The
Speaker 1: Kadashians with your wife and your child friends disguise.
Speaker 2: The link ye ah, jeez. I don't know. My wife
Speaker 2: loves being a bit more behind the scenes, so you
Speaker 2: have to you have to crack Charlotte on that one.
Speaker 1: Well, all the best, mate. I really appreciate how generous
Speaker 1: you were with your time and sharing your story and
Speaker 1: now good Lucke under Block twenty twenty three.
Speaker 2: Thank you, look to talking again in the future. Appreciate
Speaker 2: your time as well.