#186 – Brad Blanks Makes Moments/

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Wait a minute.

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conversation, sometimes worth recording with Josh Janssen and Tommy jen Valley talk show live from New York City. Bry blanks? Yeah, bread blanks.

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This is the most daily podcast in the world, right? Yeah. Yeah, thanks.

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five days a week. Do you think we can say that we're dialling for five days away? Yes. That's pretty good. You need weekends off? Yeah. Good relationship. Yeah, true. Yeah. Two grown men out there in the world. And you don't Yeah, in the same room? Oh, well. Yeah, we haven't been so we're gonna be back in Melbourne obviously after this us trip. But yeah, for the last, what? Three months. We have been doing the show remotely. So it's been weird hours. Wow. Doing like, TJ would do like 6am morning shift. I'll do like 10 minutes.

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him and Joshua tight the night shifts and is that we found a clean difference in the quality of show pointed out by a listener. Right. That I wasn't a morning person he wasn't in the morning controversial already. Yeah. The problem is though that I don't know if you because you do do you do breakfast right? Yes, that's it. That's all Yeah. Do you find because the thing is that your voice is getting still warmed up. So TJ would do a bit of

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a bit of that. Yeah, Fleming actually I love that. I I love morning. I think I'm a son of a dairy farmer. I love being a paper boy. And I love the love breakfast. I love my morning radio here in America. I don't know if you've figured that. I call it morning z. Yeah. So you were on Craig Bruce's podcast, game changes and you were talking. You're talking about that at the beginning of your career going in and saying, hey, I want to speak to the Breakfast Show producer. I had no idea. No idea. And I was like, but don't get me wrong was only talking to receptionists. Yeah, we've all been there pitching a receptionist job that we've always wanted and received.

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Don't take any of that. And I'll be the receptionist. We don't want to talk to guys like me ringing

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put them through to the mailroom. And that was what was happening to me in that that morning where I sat there for like five hours ringing the top 20 radio stations in New York, not that I knew they were really the top 20 but it was the top 20 from one of those old website lists in the 2000 if you if you guys were you guys are live. I was alive.

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1988 for me, right different times. So you you grew up on a farm? Yeah, we're a country in a town. So like I grew up in the town of Cobra, which I know it's country you know, you know, just down the road to the Murray River and I live in ship

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from Africa, not far from you know, caught yet and but I always go to the city and people go Oh, you're a country boy. And I'm like, well, always felt it was like a suburb anyway, we'd get an account with no troubles be in Melbourne in two and a half hours, three hours and so we would be under the

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A lot of weekends when we weren't playing footy is kids and getting the train down there but yeah, it's a country town and I spent the first three or four years with I'm from a dairy farming family so you know, my dad just decided to sell caravans and instead of going on for he's you know, dairy farming fulfilling his destiny yeah we talking the road sale caravan milk That's right.

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Yeah, my only love of radio came from my dad doing commercials to to queue engineer liquid on the phone and I'd sit there as a young boy and listen to him Raven rant into the telephone, live on the run to my bedroom and listen to him on the radio, which I yeah, was a cool little moment. So what I love about you is the fact that you're doing this in a different country. Like here's the thing it's like Australian radio is really sort of glamorous in a lot of in the sense that it's sort of it's got, it seems like there's a bit of an investment there. There's a lot going on also thing, radio, it's arguably the most it's the most

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Number one radio market in the world yeah Dave inside Really? Yeah. From from comparisons over the years yeah. Australia is a radio gold mine it's just it's Britain's Got the best people it's why do you think that is I studying it like I used to say England was on comparison that you've seen Christian Melman and it looks like he's killing it you know? And very happy from what I see and hear and so I can't nail it down is it? Is it the breadth of the length of the country that how big it is or I don't Yeah, I can't nail it so it's a different but that's what I find so surprising is when I started listening to us radio i'd like you know, stream it on the phone. And it just surprised me that the difference in the the showmanship, there's a showmanship to to radio where it's a little bit broadcast and it's Yeah. How did you decide how did you end up in the world of the the US and

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what's what's your perspective? on that broad? Yeah, because really on that whole point you still right on terms of the showmanship because really shouldn't be here. I wasn't coming in and doing a song and dance. You know, I was I was just still trying to just have a chat. Yeah. And I was essentially emulating the guys that I grew up liking and you know, enjoying on Melbourne, or starting off in ship, ship it and radio and listening to three ASR and sun FM, and then down to Melbourne for my university days, and that would have been triple M and back into day FM. Not today. If I'm sorry, I took double tff Yeah.

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Yeah, and yeah, so then getting here, I just wanted to chat and I knew I

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was just, I'll get to how it happened. But the show I ended up getting on was a comedy show. So in essence, they wanted they wanted to be funny and I knew I had to provide be the foil to their funny Yeah. And then, you know, there were a jeweller and a straight man who was a funny guy, but then a really funny guy. Real quick.

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Just shop and what's this show called? That was that was the Scott and Todd show on p Lj was watching on YouTube I searched on youtube I think it was after hearing hearing your chat with Craig and some of the stuff that happened like I think there was one where it was sort of some sort of tickets some so strip. I don't know it was some YouTube video where it's like

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it's like radio show. campaign now we're sort of like, it was like wet t shirt competition or some shit like that. Do you remember?

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It wasn't in my day.

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It was like 10 years ago was like I think it was like 2008 or something like that.

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No, no, but it might have been recently Yeah, or maybe but I think they realised that like howard stern or something yeah resort of a certain style right now that

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there are those stations throughout America classic rock stations. Genre where there is that Yeah. Wild affair. I am on a station.

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Minneapolis that would be cost not so wild anymore but in the hours it was more wild. Yeah. I think the wild radio stations have Yeah. Yeah.

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Yeah, it is. Yeah. It's a risky business model yeah it's

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really risky right? Yeah.

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The show I was on was very young soccer mom listening audience very Yeah, yeah, very today FM very Fox FM Yeah, good good fun. Yeah. upbeat just, you know, to god it was it was two guys

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a woman who she was the news guru of the show and then I managed to come in as sort of this Australian psychic were really they didn't really need me but I every day I was trying to figure out why to create beat to be wanted and to be needed and that it worked. Yeah. And so you will listen we listening to a bunch of radio then are you just having a guess of what they were? No, no, no, it was just a guess of what I wanted to like. My whole thing started around. It was 2009 and on for I always love

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When I was very young, I love Norman Gunston and then I loved in the 90s. I love Dennis Panisse with him. But I knew I wouldn't be able to pull off the real ballsy moves. I've done some ballsy moves. But in terms of being a pest or whatever, I'm not too much of a pest, because I always still wanted to be invited into the party for the free beer or the free chicken wings. But But I love that style of let's call it reporting or creating bits. And, and then it got to demonstrate and then around the late 90s, I was in London in 9798 99. And that was sort of the beginnings of Sacha Baron Cohen. And so look at all that stuff. And I'd be inspired of the sort of stuff of how I'd like to interview people or talk with people by no means not like them at all. They're geniuses, but that's sort of banter with people to get sort of a an off script chat. That's not not me. Not cheeky, just fun, upbeat, something different that you wouldn't hear on the radio and that sort of mesh with what these

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Guys they didn't know what they wanted the beginning this this radio show which was a big it's a big deal then it was a big Disney iron radio station the crown jewel in Disney's FM sort of you know they own stations all across America and the show was a sort of a short heritage show they called that's been going for and been going for about seven years before I turned up so I sort of created this character that slotted in the character was me anyway but yeah fitted in with them yeah I used to do some red carpet reporting I kind of ways on my way in as well but I remember watching your stuff thinking Are you know just trying to get some info of the red carpet stuff you are doing Hamish and Andy yep at that time and you know I loved it I loved you know it's so interesting meeting you and then saying that person very you know similar where you kind of people looking God is a character that rz really carving it out and in the states what was that like the for the Hamish and Andy stay with that. Yeah, well

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was great because the Jaime Shandy, every awesome The One Show, and then as our show started taking my interviews, then you're like, wow, because you never know what if people like you never know where you work if they actually really liked you, I guess the only way I can tell is if you have the job. So you have the job and you're still the checksum clearing. Like you never, there was never any feedback in New York. I never got any feedback when I sucked. Oh, yeah, I was just I knew that because I hadn't done any radio beforehand. So it was this Baptism by fire and I was getting smashed and I get smashed on the air and a little bit off the air but it was never constructive. It was ever was pretty brutal, but smashed on the air. What do you mean? Yeah, like, like Hamish and Andy would smash me on there, but it would be comedically, and we'd be only if I play five. Yeah, exactly. And I love that and even, you know, big radio, people could do that stuff, but I would be getting broken down of my ability on there and I'd be like, oh,

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Yeah, but it was I wasn't that wasn't what the issue my issue was my issue was more like

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yet my bit is to not is to suck. This is what we're doing to try and create the bit. Yeah, like and my bit was always to throw stuff out there so the others could collaborate comedy off the back of me. Yeah, no, I wasn't the one that came in to do the punch line. Yeah, I was creating that I was being the boy in the bag, punching bag and I was fine with that. Yeah. In the early days, it was tough just to keep it down. But I knew I was debuting in New York. I'm like, I didn't I didn't cry too much in the corner because I walk outside. I'm like, I'm in New York City every day. Yeah, to me was a bonus cuz I'm like this will end and as soon as this ends, I've got a hell of a storey to tell my mates back in the top pub in Cobra. Yeah, like the stuff I was doing. But I was squeezing so much stuffing that it was actually elevating me within the show. Did yeah goes do you say status and ego then like it did. You sort of could

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Cuz I guess in some regards, it's in Australia with, you know, total puppy syndrome or even being self deprecating, like we like. Yeah, like characters like Brad, you know, but maybe, you know, I remember a friend of mine cyan who works in the tech industry, she had a meeting with some American, you know, venture capitalists or whatever, and she's a underplayed what she did, and all that sort of thing, and she's got a really successful company. And the thing that she learned was doesn't always translate. It doesn't at all. I think I just I still struggle with that. Yeah, definitely. For sure. You gotta you gotta sell yourself and I'm still not not haven't nailed it. Yeah, it's still there for the taking. If any of you listening want to come here and Yeah, but you got it's that whole measure because we we still enjoyed on the streets of New Yorkers and rz because we still like have that light back things so you can't let ambition get in the way of what you what we are is pretty cool, relaxed sort of people but also you've got to still say something

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Back in those early days I there was no i think i i still called myself goofy I should probably still do but I had to eradicate that word probably in the light hose when you know when people started going hold on now you know exactly you know it's just when people when you're doing something people really know exactly what you do it like it is a bit yeah so Louis theory effect in some regards, you know Louie throws someone who it's hard because as he's going through, he's going you know exactly what he's doing what he's playing.

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So true. And what was his strategy once I worked at your strategy?

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Sounds like it's all very contrived. But I enjoy what you Yeah, I think he's had to keep I had to keep evolving I had to make, I think my enemies at times when someone I'm interviewing is not playing along, I had to make them. I had to make them interesting, you know, entertaining and not realise it's not always going to be about getting that joke or when I'm in my head, you know, when you're interviewing and yourself editing. Not not funny. No.

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I'm

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trying to come try to make the person I'm interviewing funny. Yeah. Oh, and you know, update or something. And you're not getting it just going, well, it doesn't matter this will still work. And it happens in I guess the thing the challenge with what you're doing is you're getting such a small bit of time. It is like what like when I bring up strippers and with teacher and you're like, I don't know what the fuck you talking about?

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My database was rolling. The advantage is that it's like okay, you spend one minute getting bit sweaty and get hot, and that's okay. I can shoot like it. So we've got an hour to fucking chat. And so how do you deal with it when it's like, you've got three questions with someone and your first question is tanks right? Crazy brilliant, because you know, I've got a minute let's say minimum of two minutes amazing, but I got a minute and I'm going to win the moat. The Strip strip when I started cracking it in about 2002 on a red carpet.

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first six months I didn't even hit a red carpet I was just you know a sidekick on the morning show and doing man on the street. Yeah stuff and and then I realised this is free content you know I'm just this opportunity a treasure trove of people where I could go and I was always at the very end of the red carpet always the bottom of the red carpet and always fun with that no worries and I stand there and I'm and and I had to just had to get the first question out and be gentlemanly and you know and this and rapture them in that first minute in the hope that they would stay and I get the second one in and by the third I'm hoping I can get a punch line in not necessarily me delivering the punch line me setting them up to really take a swing at me or a swing at the movie or their whatever they're selling just something different. That would be funny. Again, like with high mission and he which started with you know that at the end of our five you know, as you said sweaty it was always me being sweaty and nervous in front of Angelina Jolie and or you know

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gambling my words or

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how I would do the one minute I would back, I would back myself into a corner and then try to fight my way out of it verbally. Are you reading them as you're doing it

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off the cuff? Yeah, and there's not much prep going into

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the good ingredients to get that scenario that like if you go down the prep, like I there be some other I would prep and I would just I'd be too prepped and I had to had to be a reaction to get their reaction. So I love the feeling of this. When two people are just it's just not spiralling down but just getting evolving into this explosion. But yeah, did you know Gibson it sort of went a bit pear shape. Yeah, I did. I might have say I didn't know GIFs and it was with the strip of video

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games in a few times. There was one that was a bit of a meltdown as awesome though, but that's the Russell Crowe

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I had Russell, I want to ask you about drinking and you guys don't drink that much or something like that. I'm sorry, Mr. Crowe.

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Why didn't you like Brian's filling up? And Chris Martin, I am a press. I know. You guys have been in radio you was like a young kid that knows this was a big one. This was this was a Coldplay event, that WP Lj was hosting a venue called the China Club, which, you know, still running our big sort of famous music venue and in up in Hell's Kitchen, and it was a lunchtime event. So your listeners would come in, filled it. And then every record executive in New York, which is essentially America was in this room, and other radio stations would come because radio stations invite our don't mind. It's, you know, an open book, come in and watch other radio executives, everyone's in there. And I was hosting it with a real life DJ. She was a professional and I was the Yeah, but I was the guy in the audience running around and sort of CO hosting

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This event and I, I thought I've got to get something unique. He was about to have their second child, Moses, I think, yeah, Moses and second job. He's about to have the baby. So I asked Johnny on guitar said, Johnny, yo, yo, you getting ready for the big whiskey night, you know, and get the cigars out and celebrate the imminent arrival of Chris's new baby. I didn't even directly to Chris. I went to Johnny. And Johnny laughed. He's like, Oh, yeah, yes. It's gonna be great. Yeah, we will drink some whiskey. We'll have a good time. And then Chris stopped it. And guys, to that. That's personal. Yeah. Yeah. You can ask questions like this. And there's probably three or 400 people in this room. And I'm just like, I've gone this is this is the lowest point ever and I've just the blood comes from the bottom up in your head, and yet you feel the veins in your forehead, right? That's where it's going. And I had nothing to say and then the co host just picked it up and moved on to the next thing. And I'm like, this is a bummer because if it was, if it was a radio show, it was your radio show.

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You could rectify it. Yeah, there's no rectify just moved on. I said, I can't. And I've still got half an hour more of question time ago. So I had to come back and I got it back on track by going. All right, Chris. You know, Mariah Carey, your last year you and Mariah Carey went head to head in the charts. That'll get a music just for Sylvia. How do you feel when Mariah Carey's chasing you? And it was a typical red carpet question. And the imagery if you can imagine Mariah Carey chasing Chris Martin down the street, he beats on that imagery could have went he could is went down. And he just went in this whole description of Mariah Carey's boobs just chasing him down. Fifth Avenue, and it and it was wonderful. And I didn't I'd got back on track. But they're the moments where that I probably didn't enjoy it but work but again, if I put myself into a corner and got the best result where that sort of QA got picked up then and it was Yeah, went around. Yeah, so so that word, what's the actual skill set? Do you think? Like dude like, if you're

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Translated to Josh loves to work at a strategy. That's a good thing. Is it something like I'm wondering, is there moments in your life where it's like fuck this is really like in this specific scenario. I'm doing what I do with a microphone but I don't have a microphone a great yeah, I think in the early days trying to meet girls that might have happened

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that that's if that's not being recorded, there's no win, right because you just

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gotta go.

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Gotta go.

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But, um, but yeah, in terms of Yeah, I I don't know. How would that work? Yeah, I don't think I think it's just in a microphone when it's when it's for me just having a chat but then I've always had good chats in the pub and yeah, when you're talking to people will meeting people to sports of Anna watching something or doing Yo, yo you're analysing and things got bad and you ran a crazy bunch of free talks.

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Strangers a bit if you're on a plane at the time to

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so much anymore, but I was and I think just as a bit all those what, ya gotta sleep and not engage anymore where Don't worry I've just learned from you You inspire me Maybe I should get back to chatting more. Because I think I do I think that that's like I say that I love people and I love having conversations but at the same time, I can go fully weird where it's like, oh, I have a different persona when I'm sitting next to someone on a plane where I'm the guy who looks seems like I don't like anyone and I would just be like minding my own business on that. On that point what you say that's really interesting because let's say the red carpet or Junko wherever you're assigned to interview the movie star. Before that even goes down and my whole job in that interview or we're all doing interviews, we will chat and we will not be in that moment of the end of when the interview get say. And you know when you've done a good interview and everyone's been charming, and they're not

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band we've really everyone's one, right? But in the light of that me, I'm not necessarily winning when I'm talking to the publicist or their manager.

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I've always been proud of my small talk, but in those scenarios of the people around the star, I'm failing red carpets or where I'm trying to Hey, hey, going not don't even wanna bother me that was a walk strike. Yeah. And then you like cheese, hence the scene if you're gonna go and then you go and do this amazing interview of the talent you like, how can I nail the interview of the talent yet? yet? Anyone around the machinery who's bought that talent? I'm not managing to win over a create a moment or create, that's always fascinated me, that helps with the content, right? Like, I think that what can be hard is maybe when I go I've even seen it happen on YouTube, where it's people have who have created a living out of making content for their life, and then you've come to a position where it's like, hang on, am I only doing this now in my life for content, right? Whereas I think like you've got the advantage to maybe being able to

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separate those things. Yeah, maybe that's a good point. Yeah. We're going to end if everyone's just doing content,

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saying we talked about ABC always be contacting you like, everyone's looking for a moment to elevate the situation because it's going to reap a reward with 10 years ago. That was radio Morning Show. Breakfast Show. That was host, everyone.

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Yeah.

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It's a bit of a joke. That was fantastic. We literally flew to New York.

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Each Other Yeah. Oh, geez. We're in the middle of something you might have broken. What are you like on social media? What's your strategy? I posted I posted enough on my lazy poster where I based on what who's telling you to do that? That's a great question. This is good because I feel that I'm not posting enough. Yeah, I should be posting more the Korean Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I think so. What I'm doing

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Or where I'm heading or? That's a good Good point. Yeah. Should we not be posting for what should we be posting?

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Like a creep? But for fun testing the working the muscle?

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Yeah, I think a lot of people doing it so much to get the role or to land, the job. And so you're in the middle of it. Yep. And so I don't know, sometimes we can say it's like, I've had discussions with people who are really successful in their area and had that same thought of, I need to be posting more, but then the people who are posting more going, I need the job. And so there's things I which direction do you take it? All right, this is good. But I mean, there's also a social media

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psychology to that and what's the Yeah, what's the cycle? What's the middle ground? You know, I'm interesting. It's also like interesting, the mainstream media meeting social media because there's this breakfast show hosts in Australia that have been number one in their time only, like

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into five years ago, who would have a social media audience that's smaller than, like the majority of the population? How does that work? Yeah.

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But that's the interesting thing is it becomes like, you start to think about things like writings and Nielsen and all that. So it's like, well, how much does? You know? Like, what does? Yeah, I mean, what are we counting? What is the what's the the end game? What's the goal? And what like, what is social media? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I think my numbers are particularly high. But, you know, I haven't got to a stage where people are going to hire me or not hire me off the back of my numbers, but I'm sure people executives need a measurement regardless if that's the right measurement or not, right. Media executive. I'm not talking just right. If anything, yeah. How many? How much of your mind is business focused? And

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I think 5050 Yeah, yeah, just going to create gotta get ahead, go. Yeah, I got a yo. I do the radio.

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Show on CBS FM now but outside that I come to this office where we are now and I will be thinking of trying to come up with a picture of you know, what's the next picture? What's the next thing? Yeah, definitely. Yeah. Because

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we all want to get to a state where we're operating some sort of heightened heightened state. Yeah. And the heightened state comes when you're involved in making something but then being with you guys even now and you know, we've just sort of met each other and we notice each other's work, but I'm going you guys have created your heightened state yourselves, would you would you say? Well, I mean, it says it's garden thing of picking yourself and so the thing is that like, you know, Tommy has done amazing stuff when it comes to presenting his

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stuff.

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But he started off in the sort of old school, you know, being good mates with jewels, learned how to get away and

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the thing is, you see that say that journey and it's like, there is a

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Yeah, there is something right now that's happening where it's like oh well you can you don't have to worry wait to be picked by the executive you can be picking that yourself and the thing is that maybe the number of the social media numbers isn't to sell in to then get the next job. The numbers is the thing the audience like that is your audience. Yeah, juicing for right yeah, no, no, I I totally agree. But then then the other side of it is how do you get that I love the pic yourself. And I know a lot of what I've done is essentially get yourself a blended,

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blended in to what often in the mainstream game, but but then at the end of the day, I'll give you an example. I made a documentary earlier this year, Major League Baseball spring training. I loved it. And I went in for ESPN, Australia, right. Not a big audience. But you know, they had the money to put it up and we went and made it was wonderful, wonderful listeners. But if I had a peek myself for that, I probably wouldn't have

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Got into the club rooms,

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not of ESPN Australia like ESPN initially do to me. How do you get your leverage? I think the thing is, it's like this old different games, but you sort of playing the same sort of thing. It's just like, whatever the bit that outcome that got to where you want it to go being picked or whatever. But the thing is, it's like, I think that being in the different if we had the experience that you had, we probably wouldn't have to do that. Like we wouldn't be doing this right. The other reason we're doing this is because we've got nothing out like if we Yeah, that's it made me laugh again, because I love what you're doing. I'd love to be going down the road of doing a daily podcast. Yeah. Yeah. Well, it's the thing is like writing. Like it's YouTube is one of the on TV TV stars want to be YouTubers. Yeah. And so I think that it's this interesting world that we're in right now. Where it's fucking confused. It is. It is good. What do you think about what do you think about this stuff? That man definitely Yeah.

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I just think about how, you know, what's, what am I roadblocks and maybe it's the wrong way to think maybe there's a lessening, changing, thinking, you know, you know, when I said roadblocks roadblocks to getting a project off the ground getting, you know, drop it, you know, something where I love small town America drop myself in a small town America, and I'd love to make a show around that. But do I need Travel Channel to do that. And now as as I'm going through it and learning more about sort of non fiction programming, I travel channel might probably is not the type of able to make the show I would want all the show that you guys know of my experience of the show I would probably end up making, which I think would be funny and heartwarming and update Travel Channel wouldn't put that on because it wouldn't make sense in a 22 minute format. So I'm still learning all that I think I'm just sort of, you know, I've been here in New York for 18 years. I'm by no means figured any of this out. Yeah, there's we've spoken to quite a few people who've been in the been in America, and it's they have learned things from the amazing

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Americans that Australians don't have. Yeah. Is there anything that you know that the Australians have the Americans don't have? yet? Yeah, in terms of I can only maybe speak from let's start with radio. Yeah, I love I

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will go back to as I did with Hamish and Andy, you know, the sense of my chip on the air was something that I that I don't he is friends, but there's usually a main guy and everyone rallied around the main guys assembled cast and I'm a part of that now. And it's, it works very well along with a legend Scott Shannon, who Scott was part of Scott and Todd and he went over now, so we all rally around him. But this whole equal matrix that the fact that might, you'd still think I'd go out for a beer afterwards there's a lot of put together shows where they just put put together Yeah, I like Australia. The thing in Australia is it's like you're, they appreciate mate ship and they want to get to mate ship, but unfortunately what ends up happening is if this revolving door of trying to get these two people who are trying to be

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Josh is

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actually

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very good together

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it's um yeah, I think Australia appreciates it. Yeah, based on people like Hamish and Andy have done a great job. I think that the hard combination is that in some regards creativity in this sort of form can be I think it's hard to find other people yeah like to be able to connect like Could you imagine doing a Joe Did you I never gone Yeah, I don't know how it would work. I think I'm probably got past that. I could do a fivesome. Yeah.

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flashback was the

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point of July think bread bread and band on the radio.

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But baby, that's something we'll have to do. Sorry. been out there, wherever you are one day with my co host. Um, but in terms of you're saying more. What I What could I say?

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More from Australia? Well, I think it was some of the things we've heard is like, the, like, the not the hustle. But there's just a real drive in the Euro in the US, and it's a bit different in Australia is,

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like want you to succeed here because I think once you can show them that you get back to executives or the ad sales people within a radio station. Once I say that you're on the mic and you are hustling for them, then you get caught up in that machinery, which is a good thing. And that's pretty much my whole existence on with PL j from 2000 to 2010 was I was good with sales, and I knew that quickly that I had give them an opportunity opportunity to sell me and sell me well when I was Yeah, yeah, even though I'm playing this complete, you wouldn't. You wouldn't let me sell anything. Yeah, I'm just this goofy guy that, you know, that came to America on his own, which was so outside any of the People's worlds that I was working with, they couldn't understand a guy that would live in a backpackers hostel.

33:00
You know, and and then I had to then flip the switch and and present to the salespeople say look, you know what, you know, I can be a good endorser of a product and which will then give me money to eat. Yeah, so the integrations do you actually do what other stuff I'll back up like you get a car running like whatever like oh,

33:19
okay yeah getting back in back in then that really that's good back in the back in the hours when radio was still sort of booming in New York it was it was a free for at&t. You know the phone company sponsored me for like eight years. I finally finally let me go after I got

33:39
using all this fucking data

33:42
the Beijing Olympics in 2009. I got I got let go in the February following that because obviously that was in August, but then they don't really get their own bill. I'm like, they should know my bill. They

33:56
didn't get the bill or they didn't see what the bill was. Yeah, it's a $20,000 bill.

34:02
And then I got I got the phone call as yeah I got the phone call in 2009 and I wrapped me up

34:15
covering covering pretty much everything my existence yeah Wow It was great. It was great money and what did you have to do in return? I know just mentioned them on the air it was it was just to mention

34:30
Russell Crowe TNT I wouldn't mention maybe the host Yeah, I would do what you do anyway. That's right.

34:41
six foot three your big toes

34:47
even bigger and you know more Frankenstein like on red carpet. Yeah, and to the extent I one video I did scare Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler, which is probably my most successful interview on YouTube. For

35:00
hits because I was crouching because most reporters are all their beautiful petite female red carpet interviews. They're always next to me and they don't really like me because I'm being I get my other camera and they liked me as a friendly guy. But Brad, can you move and nice at this time I'm going to I'll do my interview on my knees. So Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston Ted, I'm Nick very tiny as well. And as I'm interviewing them like, Yeah, kind of like Dickie nay on.

35:32
Brad is is moving the microphone. When you hear

35:39
I am I Jennifer Anderson goes Can you please stand up? What are you doing? And I stood I said I'm gonna pour a bit of gravy on this.

35:48
So I didn't and I did it very methodically, kinda like Dracula would rise

35:53
up in front of her and I kept going up to so I went to about six foot seven

36:00
And like an elevator me up and vice you just said, Oh my god, like this was crazy. And this is

36:09
Brad blanks is my YouTube channel. You could say this and Adam Sandler was in shock and he's like, Oh my god, you're scaring me.

36:17
So yeah, I'm a big bass, which I think

36:22
which adds to the probably this this guy that's, you know, sitting there trying to get, you know, a beat or a chat with someone on a red carpet. I reckon there's been people that have come to America that have handed out that have just tried to be you because I think you are that Ozzy. Like, Ozzy accent, you big and, and you're out there. Yeah, yeah, I thank you anyone if you came out then you if you failed, I apologise. Yeah, it was many I

36:49
know, it's like,

36:51
Look, I just wanted to, I just wanted to chat but no one else was having everyone's trying to do. You know, it's funny even when I hear red carpet reporter

37:00
Well I didn't set out to be a red I was just trying to create essentially right before any video it was all just trying to create a righty a bit yeah that I could then take the the goal is just the audio so long as I can tie the audio into the writing session next morning. I know me and whoever was showing them on Scott and Todd back then or Hey machine any or so, Scott now or I'm on a station Minneapolis KERS. And as long as I can tell the storey leading that interview and that's where if it's a 52nd bit if I've got five minutes of banter, five minutes of reaction from the host go and that sucked or GG screwed that up or this then I've done my deed there's something so therapeutic Can you just saying if I just all I need is the audio Do you think that things have changed now where it's like you don't just have to have the fucking audio you need to be making sure that GoPros on Yeah, you're getting all the different angles and that you need we're shooting vertical and horizontal because we want to storeys a feeling that pressure

37:57
I guess because it gets it

38:00
back to that when you asked me Are you thinking of business? I'm thinking of business not that I'm sort of not that my videos are getting the traction they should but I have this amazing I'm not giving up the fact that I could reinvent those archives like I've been filming myself since 2006. And and I only say a portion of it goes on YouTube and and you guys is my social media gurus you down they got Brad you consistency sucking Yeah, you putting up one a month and then you get a rush of blood and you put it up every one of every five days or

38:31
so I'm not very good on that. But yeah, the video I added the video in our sakes, and I used a little handheld camera that I bought at tele marine airport in 2001 on the way

38:42
and I used it in 2006 up until I might I might have used a no power law and TSA tells the Ozzie Yeah,

38:51
yeah. And then on the morning of the big spider man today to red carpet. I think it was I think it's may say may 3

39:00
thing to sell 2007 my camera broke my arm. What What am I gonna do? A mini DV? It was a mini DV using tape tapes. Yeah. So I run down the b&h and I just say, Man, I just got a big red carpet tonight. Spider Man like obviously didn't believe me. Yeah, I was like I'm trying to beat myself and I gotta buy a camera. So I bought the they got me another little mini DV camera. So it's NTSC then finally made it in America. And I take that I get on the red carpet. I managed to get it working and it came out great. And I use that camera for five years to the extent that it got to a stage where people would literally leave me for the size of my camera.

39:39
According to the size of my man.

39:42
That that turned into the bit. Yeah, that's like a character. That's right. Yeah. And I think that's the advantage and a little wise too because you're on a red carpet you can have especially the sort of old AMG style cameras on the shoulder. Yeah. versus when someone comes up to you.

40:00
You've got this little fucking camera. Yeah, people can sort of relax right? Yeah. Did you notice that? Can you actually visually say that Yeah, other people like people like the banter. Once he's on Jeremy Piven he was a stage every year I'd be interviewing for entourage he remember the little camera and I'd be place that was high.

40:19
I could realise it with HBO so they put me in a good spot you know, the camera made me move up the red carpet so I was going up what makes a good relationship by the way what was I with the

40:31
studio them actually knowing that I get the coverage for them I can get it in that and even even to the next level I know it's a beat so bit beat gives them you know, comfort in that you're not actually amateur hour but it's gonna be something funny that's going to show this star in this show and a good law. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It's again there's a vitality to it as well, which is like if you can bring out something you know different than your exactly, but not everyone gets that

41:00
That I always found the best to that I ever worked with. Who got that way HBO, and playboy

41:07
Playboy magazine. Yeah. But I'd stand in there and I'd be in the middle of massive cameras, and they'd be my little camera and my guy who was essentially like a accountant friend of mine who had, you know, buying some bs officer. And he turned up and then then in 2012, I got a Sony which is a little bit bigger, but every time I from adding the camera to getting the camera bigger my positions on the red carpet would move up. And the celebrity when I added the camera was a game changer. So I had four years of just doing radio interviews. No, it's kind of like an old school 1950s radio reporter and then by adding the camera the stars would just I felt that radio performance was better when the camera was on them in a sense. I remember seeing red carpet where there was a journalist from a paper who literally had a notepad and Pam Yeah, do you still say yeah, yeah, it's like an actual legit Ya Allah

42:00
So, even though it'll just the hot dry quarters are that mostly all iPhones now, but I always look at them and my brain kicks in I just have a friend standing on the shoulder. Yeah, with a little so much good stuff they're getting and they're not using it even if it's just straight questions. They're not trying to get a laugh or whatever, it's still good stuff. I was handed a publicist camera and she filmed it for me I got a good video is right now every like, I've been in so many scenarios where I'll take a camera and I'll say, Can you just hold it for me and just then I have no idea what they're doing. But they still get it. And the whole time. I'm looking up saying I've had given it to strangers in the camera suffering over and I'll be interviewing

42:46
you relying on the content, not the production value. And then the production value plays into the content as well, which is really short for sure. Which is part of the the whole bit it's sort of like you think about mockumentary style. You think about the office and

43:00
I just think that Oh, did you just that was happening? No, no, I got no idea. He's a camera, I'll never let it become look at the end of the day.

43:09
video wasn't wasn't going to be a warrior. I was doing the video for the sake of doing the video and I could put on YouTube. Like when YouTube was just starting I says, oh, six or seven I, but it was more.

43:21
I still had to get the audio. So if they even screwed that up, the the audio is going to be the audio is still going to be that yes, this is gonna be the good stuff. So long as the audio is good. It didn't matter. But then these other things were coming in with the video aspect that making it funnier, or you Yeah, you know, they're all crazy. Yeah. You know, you mentioned, you know, people describing you as a celebrity reporter or whatever it is. That there seems to be a trend at the moment, especially with tech companies where they don't just describe what they do. They have sort of a grandiose vision, you know, changing the world or Facebook. I was reading an article the other day that they there was an

44:00
Executive that was saying why Facebook was better than all the other companies and all that sort of thing. And it was basically that was, Facebook was saying, we're not doing it for the money, you're

44:11
connecting the connecting people. So they're saying, you know, like, you know, Google, Amazon, all that sort of thing. They're all about, like getting things to you quicker, or, you know, whereas, you know, Facebook's all about the people. Mike's been saying that for a while. Yeah, yeah, we're trying to connect everyone in the world. It is that right? That's right. Do you What is your view that sort of grandiose view if you're not sort of a celebrity reporter? What is that top line? Great. Yeah. Great. Great. Great question. Yeah, because I don't cook. I know that's what I do the celebrity reporter. And you'd have to know me well listen to my stuff. Well, to know that I'm not Yeah, yeah. That's hot in this world. We're only looking at people briefly. Yeah, absolutely. That blanks not doing it for the money.

44:56
Yeah, that's right. I think I I just

45:00
I'm trying to I'm trying to create moments I'm trying to create good moments for people in China. Yeah, I'm trying to get a reaction out of someone that's a good natured reaction that's fun a bit cheeky but up and and then seeing if I can get to the get in inside their heads a bit more for a laugh not you know not not trying to get too deep with them but I'm trying to find a bit of truth in you know them them creating something that's funny if you're going to put it down to that one minute moment that I get with a celebrity or better even if I go into man on the street. I'm only getting two minutes or three minutes of a person talking about current affairs or topic of the day or whatever, but I'm trying to get them to delve deep. I'm waffling on,

45:43
veer off. Have you ever had moments where it's like you've done a project? It's like actually this wasn't about the moment here or this was maybe a bit nasty or this was not feeling good about it. Yes, it will smith, it was a red carpet and the dude kissed Will Smith yet

46:00
Will Smith punched him in the face or slapped me slapped him know that that's like taking that team doing trying to get a moment that the got yet that's never what I've tried to do never kills me

46:14
that I never never know. I wasn't trying to get I was never trying to get punched

46:19
have that mo because I've had this sinking moment over the years where it's like you've done something out of thinking that you're doing it for the right yeah, or you have a moment where you haven't all the attention. Yeah, yeah, cuz I still had to being on a morning show when you're the sidekick Breakfast Show sidekick. You still gotta do stunts. Yeah, yeah. And and I did a good job of never of staying clear stance as long as I could and would be an example of well,

46:49
this is good. The crazy things in the stunts were crazy successful, but I'll give your mind. I had to do a triathlon for New Jersey. The triathlon was, I am

47:00
bike I scooter and then finished with a run so it was seven miles each leg and I was dressed as Elmo and it was the scooter portion was going up a massive hill and down a hill on a highway and and the show started so one host was in the studio the other host was in a car following me and and doing live play by plays as I was dressed as Elmo going through some pretty wild neighbourhoods in Jersey 21 miles you covering everything bad and I boots beautiful my votes everything and as I'm going through their people would come out to the road was like Forrest Gump and she me You know, this is great. There's Elman kids were coming, hearing it on the radio side. So the whole time I'm hiding it, but I was giving them you know, I'm of giving people special moment. Yeah. And I'm like Jesus was yesterday. Yeah. Was it just it was the word. It was terrible, but it was turning into great radio. Yeah. And the whole time I'm in pain can I do

48:00
Here was that a run it was like a Haitian suit. And when I was running the final seven miles of the fibreglass Elmo head bouncing on my on my vehicle Yes.

48:10
Yeah, I was like this is this is hell and then it finished that was something to not be off but but to change it and feel good about it No I don't know no it was it was

48:20
good because you gave people moments there was sacrifice sacrifice you know it was hard work but I know it was epic you know I know even telling that storey now is an epic storey so I'm proud of the storey and the end but going through it was so what's the filter then? If so, if then, you know the stations like we want to do this thing. It's an awesome moment and you got that thing out of it. Yeah. When I find hard to gauge is it's like, what's the difference between a good like wisdom line? I don't know. The fact that I only had to do maybe one a year. Yeah, that was good.

48:51
But I know it was like that old what was it didn't Matt diamond say the whole thing you gotta do the blockbuster say get to make your own movie. Yeah.

49:00
Independent yeah that was that was me so I could go out because I still love going on interviewing selling me say selling out a little bit

49:09
in the sky

49:12
but then I had to dress up as Hannah Montana which you can sort of see my see my face with fishnets and 10 inch heels I ran 10 miles The good thing I learned about it yeah I've been a white since those days but I was a big bigger boy you could do 10 miles Yeah. stem and I didn't 10 miles in you know massive yeah boots that I bought down on some marks place yeah, silver boots. I've still got them. They give me a shout out is when I hit

49:41
that was a hard one I did 10 miles and again people came out and rallied around me you know and police would give us police escorts yeah Wow, that's a bit but on the one that maybe I might have felt bad it was um, regret. Regret night because again

50:01
The highest

50:04
order for content Yeah, very good. You asked me quite a very powerful question. But everything was, which was, which were bad moments of my career, they actually turned out to be highlights.

50:17
But this one was they had been here one week, I was full time. So I did an 18 month of lobbying to get the job. And they eventually brought me over October 20 2001. And we know that

50:31
the September 11 happened. So it's like five weeks after September 11. Cities. Yeah, the city was actually quite cheerful. Everyone would look in the eye, and they're in a sort of rejuvenation stage of life and everyone's coming together. But it was Halloween week. And they said, Brad, we're going to send you to Hillary Clinton's house in Chappaqua, and you're going to trick and Trick or treat. And so it became a bit leading up to the moment. And are you sure you should only been there Wait

51:00
Don't do it. Yeah, I'm fired. Right?

51:03
So they said and we're gonna dress you up as Monica Lewinsky. Oh, I put me in the blue dress. I put the red berry on me. Yeah, I'm just wearing sneakers. And

51:14
I'm just it's just me and an intern from the promotions department. No no, no you lovely guy to great friends with him now. I was afraid to remember because I think I just met him that morning at 5am when we got into the pink p Lj event How did you feel in the moment on a terrible that was like I've been here awake and all I want to do is you know interview bits Yeah, cuz that's, that's, that's what was my skill. I said what you're interviewing people on already and bring it going out and getting audio around an event or a storey and then bringing the audio backing that was but now you're in a dress.

51:48
Dress Hillary Clinton.

51:50
He's like I've got a just a

51:54
three month visa in and out I'm like, and that and the night before the nation and good got put on

52:01
Yeah, the nation got put on high alert. They don't have an alert thing that they just sort of invented after 911 blue dress

52:12
I remember the space George which goes, we are now in a high alert stage for anything that could happen so be you know be on high alert. I'm like, Oh my gosh, this is what's going to happen I can get the poor worst thing is I get arrested. And then I'm done. Yeah, cuz I'm just not right. Yeah. But there's too much same worry about it. Then you kicking because you still gotta get the big. The big. Yeah. So we get up there. And the first stop is we knew that Bill Clinton would drink at the Starbucks there every day. So straight to the Starbucks. I walk in there, and I'm interviewing people live on the radio in a blue dress, and they're all laughing the stuff that I'm like Bill walks in here. What do I do? Yeah, luckily he didn't. We know you do.

53:00
That's very passionate. And then I walk out. I get it. I get back into the pale Jay van the whole town knows. Yeah, the pale Jay van and with people probably tuning in, and I'm Live on the Air as I'm driving, you know, I've got it. So I don't really know where Hillary leaves but I'm gonna find the house. I get pulled over by the cops. And I'm like, Oh no, I'm done here. So the cop pulls me over and he just wants to he doesn't get out. He stops us and he's yelling for his window to us. How close were you to their house? Do you think it sort of a point? Do you think I've gotten so close? Well, I don't know if I was caught. No, I don't know. I pull over and the guy guys have been listening this on the radio and was the chief of police. I said, Oh, yeah, hey, hey, you know, we're just having a bit of fun. He goes

53:47
I'll show you where the Clintons live.

53:50
This is unbelievable. The guys saw following me. So he and i and i said Why would you do this and you guys, we don't really like them around he like he said, no, no.

54:00
Wow, all right, this is politically charged. And he we followed him and he drove us in and was a court like kind of at the neighbor's court. Yeah in our neighbours. So we drove into the Australian

54:11
a cul de sac They call him into the cold a second and he just gave us a wave and drove out and we stopped we pull up outside the outside the clinton house so big white beautiful we are typical Americana you know, older house and I'm on the on live on the radio and I get out and we say on there that the storey Yeah, I love that was great. Yeah, yeah, total that I get out and the interns like, what are we doing? You know, so I don't want doing and I'm like, I'm rock bottom now. I got nothing to lose. So I get ahead. I walk up and then the two Secret Service agents come to the side of the got the gutter and I pretty much say you can't walk. Yeah. These guys wanted me to ring the bell. Yeah, Trick or treat. Yeah. And the gods gave you step on he you're done pretty much and so I stood in the God of doing the live report.

55:00
Man because the guy the week before Who did you?

55:07
President I only for like a year and a half. Wouldn't it be snipers

55:13
Secret Service

55:18
No one said anything and walked in a limo didn't come out of the back. a limo came out. So I'm like that that would have broke. I broke my heart that I've had that if Hillary's in the back. Yes. Prick from you know, typical, you know, morning radio. Yeah.

55:36
Yeah, like they think with times now, that wouldn't be done be done. Not for what reason?

55:43
I think it'd be too much. Insurance issues like yeah, my guys just didn't care which again, it works. I'm getting to tell you the storey and people amazed that the bulls on me pulling this off.

56:02
It's a wonderful storey I would know Yeah, it's I think that putting me up to bed. He couldn't do it now. Yeah, I think the whole the whole game has changed now. I mean, have your sensitivities changed in terms of what you say

56:14
to people?

56:18
If you want to switch into that, yeah, definitely from my, a lot of my a

56:27
lot of my stick was to flirt with a beautiful woman. Oh, yeah. And I, you wouldn't do that now. But then, but I my stuff was never misogynistic. Or you see all these that they had a big red red carpet campaign at the Oscars maybe 18 months ago, where people would only ask females about their dresses and that I was asking about dresses, and if I was it was a piece of cake for them to know that I was sort of Yeah, when we were wearing your blue

56:58
dress. Yeah, exactly. But

57:00
Definitely Yeah, you got to think about the sign of the times and but I never thought that there was anything I was doing anything culturally insensitive if anything, the cultural insensitivity I was trying to get them to be culturally insensitive against me as this big bull fed sort of overweight sweating Australia, Australian guy who couldn't really fit into a suit who shouldn't be on a red carpet. I wanted them to smash me. Yeah. Were you ever worried about like, You look amazing. Now you've lost like a bunch of weight. And I've gone through a similar I used to be 120 kilos. Wow. And so and did you have the beautiful

57:51
Were you ever concerned about the you know your image changing and then potentially your persona having?

57:58
Yeah, yes, yes.

58:00
I think yeah it's a good fucking excuse to a painting

58:06
I did notice is that that movie stars out very nice to fat people

58:13
yeah you summed up pretty quickly and they just tell us

58:19
that yeah definitely and then

58:23
it's funny even thinking that I can I can get a rapport going quicker back then it took me 30 seconds to get them on track to know that the bit was going on whereas now I can get the bit yeah happening. Yeah, definitely there's because we're in a we're in a game of instantaneous moments at me. Yeah, we're trying to capture something so you think looking slimmer, you're able to engage? engage? Yeah, and any Connect which is a shame. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So you Ricky device of you into the

58:51
race is a great example because you put the Ricky, Ricky Ricky Ricky Colby. He was so enamoured with the size of my head for so long and my head

59:00
shrunk a little bit. So it's gonna be we haven't seen him since the head shrunk a little bit so that'll be quite exciting. Have you noticed going through customs because of my weight loss? Even just going through New York through customs yesterday? I got asked to have your

59:15
photo When did you ever because I had my photo from 2011 Wow. So I was like

59:20
why you said you don't know this part of the relationship? Well I didn't know Josh when he was at the height of his here we go my passports here it's not the height. It's the at the width of ease.

59:31
It is my passport.

59:34
So I look

59:38
like my next day definitely adds a little bit of a bit. You know, it's funny. So do you. Have you had any of those moments of losing white? Have you even you know, going through customs or no? No, I've had Yeah, I've had those. Yeah, for sure. But yeah, that whole thing's a funny one. You know? Um, yeah, it's definitely people taking more seriously. Yeah.

59:59
Do you get worried the

1:00:00
You take like that almost that you're because I know that I've I've had my own issues in the sense of like, you know, when you get everyone complimenting you it's a bit of a it's a fact because you start saying well what was what did they want think beforehand and then

1:00:15
not only was it what it because it was oh my god you look so good like fuck how yeah

1:00:20
so then it plays into the self esteem of like well I can never get back that if I ever get back there. I'm gonna person that everyone there's a whole thesis and what you're saying that yeah but a lot of issues was a lot of people were avoiding me I contact them chatting or even the ones that never said anything word another word because it taken six months to go to me. I thought you'd might have lost a testicle or something. Yeah.

1:00:44
Well, once you get like, especially like fascinated more about I was then yeah, then the actual guy you know, like well done from any big celebrities or Yeah, yeah, I'm trying to think of definitely got world

1:01:00
Put together a montage.

1:01:03
montage is Yeah, you know as a video man Tommy are you look at all your Yeah. All my montages are all me as a fat bastard. Yeah. And they kind of work out pretty good, but I'm like, wow, that's kind of not. Not me now. Yeah, I've got a great video of Oprah giving me advice. Yeah. And isn't that interesting that you say? You're not saying it's not what I look like now? You said, It's not me now. Oh, and so I

1:01:32
cry

1:01:36
Do you feel Did you feel a detachment to pass out? Oh, yeah, for sure. And, and because I think that the other thing too is like, I know that I can get into the negative self talk, but also talk about others where it's like, you know, being overweight, you know, lazy or you need to exercise or you've got no self control. How are you reconciling all that?

1:01:57
gets it's funny because it gets back to

1:02:00
For my handsome Mike sense what you're looking for, but it's more getting up and just striking the head of me what's in the day, my god like what I'm going to eat what I'm going to do. Yeah, so day to day, which is pretty much how I started my radio career at music, everything was day to day. And so if I can get back to that day to day, even in the Korea is still important. So

1:02:25
the loss of white is reconciling it is it's a day to day thing just can keep it going, keep it going moment, small momentum, and I think

1:02:34
long gone back to radio and the media and whatever. I lose sight of that day to day thing because you're always looking because you you've, you've got you've created this great history on radio or in media or videos or whatever.

1:02:48
I'm thinking I need a big the next big thing Yeah. Whereas you kind of that you just need your patience and to keep little chipping away at little momentum things like Lyft on

1:03:01
I think it's interesting

1:03:04
because I think it's like have lots of white now like Tommy talks about this a lot with me it's like oh well like it now you gotta lift you gotta lift like do you feel the pressure like white lift ya

1:03:15
tipping point for you know I woke up last

1:03:19
January 1 last year and I said New Year's resolution let's let's let's do the no sugar no big thing you actually did it a new year's resolution

1:03:32
and I did it with no before January I love beer and it's windy It doesn't matter. And then and then I went yet general and then we first went back on them but not not much couple of beers here in the air and and but it was the sugar and my thing was i'd love Yeah, I'd love pizza I'd eat the whole pizza. Yeah, I'd sneak a whole pizza or I just love before back sneaking a whole pizza is hard work.

1:03:57
Josh is told me about feeling

1:04:00
Can you please elaborate on your because you just said it in feeling? I love the feeling of like it I get it from mixing the certain cuisines I can get it from but

1:04:12
I was always good at never going no but nachos was a killer member nachos as in the late 90s

1:04:18
or whatever we and every time we would have nachos on them, they'd be epic and I'm like, jeez, Australians are really good at making nachos like

1:04:27
it's a main disguises and on track. Exactly. you've nailed it and I would smash those food

1:04:38
you're eating a snack? This guy's his own tribit then disguised as a boss.

1:04:45
Yeah.

1:04:47
Yeah.

1:04:52
Yeah, the thing is, yeah, that's the fucked up in the fucked up is that this this preconceived idea that we're all sharing but when

1:05:00
aspect to it. This could be a very noisy moment. So this goes back to the early days of fish and chips when you can get a dollars worth of chips. And you'd get them after school. Yeah. And you get into the fish and chip shop, play pinball machines or whatever and you get your dolls or a chip, and then it will be my good friends before it was around a table and we would fight to the death to get our last one.

1:05:22
barbecue sauce. And I think that's where it started. Yeah, I'd love a painful and so we're at Where are you now because I can definitely

1:05:33
still blubbery. That's what I feel like I'm in that constant blubbery fat. Like I feel like I'm old. You think you are you don't know. blubbery Well, yeah. Early 40s Yo, yo, dad bod. Yeah, we're still still going out with Josh.

1:05:50
I'm 28 and have a

1:05:55
challenge for both of you is to lose that talk. Because Yeah, You both look

1:06:00
Right and you're both in good shape so it's like At what point does that shift? Because I've known dudes who are bodybuilders that think they look back and shoot at us all right and then that's just mental and so I like on the talk or the self talk and you submit yourself Yeah. Isn't that always gonna and rapture people that are in camps everyone Don't get me wrong bed as folks in media because we're always we're coaching ourselves along bit to lose weight or beer to do a good bit on the radio or to make a good video and we always self

1:06:31
which is silly but also like it being able to get filmed at the red carpet and not hate the way it looks right like that would be another way like you know, I've never I never had a vantage

1:06:42
I never had the vanity issue, which is the vanity come with losing weight, everyone.

1:06:49
vanity that gets back to that shit. I fall off the waggon get I'm going to be shuffling papers at a kid's birthday party. Anyone saying again? Yeah, and and I don't want to do that.

1:06:59
Because I've said we're not

1:07:00
I've been in my best shape I've looked in the mirror more but then when I've stopped at I haven't looked but I haven't thought now I'm not gonna look because but it's just like I switch into this a bit vain mode when I've started lifting more yeah wow so all right but everything's good for you though and lifting is great

1:07:20
look in the mirror all the time

1:07:23
what what have you learned like having met you know what you could describe as the biggest egos in the world? You know Hollywood know what it don't talk about Tom Cruise? What have you.

1:07:34
What have you learned about ego? And what have you learned about maybe interacting day to day and that's we spoke spoke about status earlier. Yep. Yeah. How do you how has saying how you interact with them and how they interact with you. How's that changed how you interact with losing weight or just in general generally? Good, good. Yeah.

1:07:56
You know, with ego now what am I singing my interview

1:08:00
And to get them to stay is based around ego isn't it? To get them, I need to give them an opportunity to want to stay with me. And maybe at the beginning it was playing to their ego to get them to stay. But then I'm, I think every one, every one of those stars is different. So I don't really want to be on that red carpet. I don't really want to be interviewing a stranger and then I'd have to, in a way, the contracting to be there, but I don't have to. But I'm digressing again. But in terms of the ego, what have I learned?

1:08:27
They just doing their job. They're trying to earn a buck, of course, I have to put on a show. And they've got their own ego and I've got a big ego to be in front of up on a big screen but shit and this might. I might not definitely not knowing your question. But in my experiences, most of them are nice people. Most of these big stars are nice. They have common qualities, though, that you like actually, all of these people who I'm interviewing on the red carpet here are somehow different to the rest of the world. The big misconception their workers, most of them away.

1:09:00
Most of them just

1:09:02
gotta, they're working their asses off American. A lot of them find it hard to go to a red carpet, a lot of them are still very insecure. And not yet I'm one of the big a guy, but they have to use that to disguise themselves from the fact that, you know, they're just actors that stand in a little room with probably 10 people around them as they're filming something. Is there anything to learn from the ego in terms of how you could kind of use it as a hack to kind of give yourself some more confidence? yourself? Especially, I think people see Americans as like, sort of, you know, driven on that. Yeah. Well, alright, let's get back. If you brought up Tom Cruise. He has, he has to have a heck of an ego. But he still has this amazing ability to he can tell he's working his ass off drumming it down on the red carpet, which leads him to be the best person of interviewed on red carpets. That most giving when I say best, because I still need that piece of audio to take back and if I can get something in

1:10:00
him that I do every time I interview him. He's wonderful. What does that mean giving in this context giving time talking to me? Yeah. Coming up with as he thinking about bias. Do you think it's like if like you're a content, like, always be content in his head, right? Yes, I know. Yeah. So it's actually becomes a little bit transactional though to come here. And I know what you need. So I'm just going to give you that and I'm going to get it is and but in the case of the people there on the other side of the want, we want, it's up to us to make it interesting, right. Yeah. And not talking about him breaking his ankle on an aeroplane. Yeah, like, how can I get something different to the that he's done to the previous 20? And it but if he's, if he's signed up to that one minute dance, and if you're, if you're interesting enough, you're getting to say something different. So I don't know how that leads into the ego thing. I do like the fascination with the whole ego. And what was that movie that um, that no one wants. Guy Ritchie, the second I don't even want people to watch a shocking right the third one. He did.

1:11:00
It wasn't a rock and roll or one. It was wanting that it was all about a goal in mind and how you see yourself. I do like that and you've got me thinking in that.

1:11:10
Josh actually that Christian, maybe you're thinking, okay that it goes a really negative thing. And some people I think think it's a really good I didn't think in the, let's say, you know, because of the last I've spent my life obviously into the 10 years of on with on PL j and then the last eight years which is, you know, yeah, a little bit with Fifi and jewels. And then ke Rs, which is the Minneapolis thing and I call him once a week and then the last four years on CBS, but I still look this is my next stage of my career. Kids have three kids and whatever.

1:11:44
So I always revert to the 10 the 10 year pipe, but in terms of the 10 year plan, all listen back to some of my staff, and I don't know from an ego ego point of view, but I was the moments where I would I got very cocky and was very arrogant. I'm like wow, I mean

1:12:00
wasn't meant to be my

1:12:02
it comes at Good, good.

1:12:11
That was Yeah, that was that was an evolution of me, you know for that stage. And I would hope that I I definitely didn't take that ego or being cocky on a red carpet copy and the ability to get good content. Was it confidence though? Some people think confidence is arrogant and they are coming through. Whereas I think when you're in the middle of it, you can just be like, now I'm nailing this, but maybe that is your ego talking. That that nailing it. That's interesting that you say I'm dialling lyst I got to through that whole 10 years as much as I got knocks and I had to dress up as Elmo and or seven or had to, you know, do various Hannah Montana and all these stunts.

1:12:51
That whole second part of that teeny play, whereas most people leave a job after five years and go to the next stage. I'm kind of glad I did the next five years because

1:13:00
It took me five years to get good at actually being decent on the radio. Yeah, being a baptism of fire was over. Now I just had to play that character. And I think I nailed and that's where the confidence maybe came from knowing who you are, I think Yeah. And Amy's talked about a Hamish Blake, he was saying like he listened back and he was I had some English accent at one point, but it's like he was just talking about finding his fate and knowing who he has to do more and more but yeah, I love that second part like and that's when like, I'm glad I did push in that second from our five to 2010 it was a great period but that's when the interview started happening and that you know, that were that were happening couple of times a year and and you know, the Coldplay incident all these leaving the stance played into it, because I mean, that was stupid, even though it's mentally affected. So, so maybe they maybe I did develop an ego maybe there was a sense yeah, I just got married. There was a crushing so I'm on fault. Yeah. But I think my

1:14:00
as a performer, you need a bit of that at the right time. I don't know how I can give you an answer of how to turn that on or turn it off, and still hopefully become a good bloke you can turn it on. And then it's awareness that can switch it off a bit and falling back into actually being a normal person or trying to who you are and trying to be a good person. Right. But I think I've always thought like, ego can sort of almost get you past this bit where you might not have had enough confidence to put yourself out there and do it. We can support I think it's the same with naivety, right? Yeah. Yeah. And I think nobody's important. And it's sort of it can be used similarly to the ego type of, like, say the naivety in the podcast that like the Tommy and I are doing that this actually matters, right? And such as the ego to that that like, we think that we somewhat important enough to even fucking reach out to you

1:15:02
That is an interesting thing, right? Which is like there is a, an ego and naive at to even pick up the phone for you to where you can just pick up the phone to ring.

1:15:12
That one will invite me. Yeah, and only one day. And the thing is that I don't know it's total neivert like actually call it stupidity. Yeah, like it and we apply different things to it. And so ego could be a negative thing. But also, if you use it at the flip side, you could say, well, ego can be a thing that you can use to then level up. It's like, what is the opposite of doing that? It's like the imposter syndrome that's really popular and talk. Yeah, yep. And so it's like, what what other options do we have? Do we fucking self hate and say, do it and and use that as a blocker? Or do we can say, yeah, we can do it and be seen as an hour. I mean, you bring on the ego, you bring on the imposter, and you still get the nobody? Yeah, and you do have you become a hodgepodge. With a paradox, I think. I mean, that's why like so many artists are your creative people.

1:16:00
Or do it later or be fucked up? Yeah. Because it's like there is that there is the highs and the lows. Are you are you are

1:16:08
you a consistent person? Do you think I know I think what would your wife say? No, she wouldn't know I think after.

1:16:18
I think after you do a good project and you have a little bit of success on something, then there's you think you can put your feet up and that the phone will ring or whatever. Yeah, and it never rings. Never like like I give an example a Olympics. I love going I love covering the Olympics. So London Olympics, I go there I worked for NBC to just go but I work 20 hour days to create the content I want and you did it on a 2006 2004 radio that's that was my first ever time talking on the radio after I'd pitch them here in studio went back to Sydney and so Olympics meant a lot to me.

1:16:54
But London NBC is all video cut. It was all web content argument wasn't on the main thing.

1:17:00
But so I was the only guy doing it for the website and you know it's the on the face I pop up in the corner thumbnail you know when you see a thumbnail It was great and I'm interviewing big names and creating bits every day. And then you've got to get you got to seduce is a terrible word or cajole even to cajole editors to buy into this because they normally editors that hit it, non sort of funny bits and more sports straight sports stuff. So you got to get them to find the gag or the the entertaining moment in that awkward bit you don't cut out that's

1:17:34
that's a hard thing when you NBC which is the rights whole very esteemed, that was tough, but it finished and I went This is great. And I remember no one then that see I'm back to get back doing my normal day to day thing which is awesome, but you thought that people watched it but no one you actually got to never stop hustling. Never stop. We have summed up radio completely like when I was working at Fifi and jewels in the as a digital content producer. I thought

1:18:00
The fucking everyone was listening right it was like it was a number one drive show and I thought like it and the the radio station everyone and and I think you need that that's like the thing and that's the same thing with our podcast is like we treat it there's that thing of like fake it till you make it rather than saying fake it till you make it. One of our previous guests paid a shepherd talks about doing something as if doing something as if there's a million people listening is great. And so it's about fucking faking it. It's about just giving it the oxygen and the effort to be like that. And I think go back to my first let's say my first two years on right here from walking into PL giant August 2000. Up until, let's say meeting my wife, Amanda to us. Let us that's a nice little book in life. But then it was just every The only thing that mattered was what came out of the speakers at the end and everything else behind that didn't matter so that every day I didn't have an overall goal. My goal was just to do good stuff on the radio so that gets back to your naivety

1:19:00
And don't get me wrong I had an ego because I'm pulling all this off of know my ego wasn't like probably being flashy. I'm pulling this off like a backpack I got no money yeah, I'm living in New York City I'm living in a hotel room on New York radio how that's so cool yeah like and I'm probably entertaining myself that every day is a is a bonus so I think that might get to you yeah I don't know if that blends in I'm so i know i'm i'm the funny thing about you as an interviewer you so fucking worried about being a good interviewer

1:19:31
every question we ask you like I'm hoping

1:19:37
you asked me some pretty hottie questions you guys

1:19:42
actually use psychology?

1:19:46
Yeah, very good. Yeah the ego

1:19:51
delved into my head, baby, these are just the thoughts that I normally haven't really pulled them out.

1:19:56
Is there what's the big misconception around what you do in the sense of

1:20:00
Other people giving it a crack, or people who want to get into entertainment or even if they want to podcast like, the exciting thing about the podcast stuff is I don't think it's a case of fact radio fact TV. Well, it's like let's learn everything we can about all of these things yet and bring it and create something new. What can you tell us? Fucking everything that you know that we should be incorporating into this at what are the best bits about radio and TV? Well, this is good enough a good question. Yeah. Jesus put the pressure on now. No, I mean, you guys are the example of what we're doing today is we're just having a nice chat. And I reckon and this environment gives you the opportunity to have nice open ended chats. You know, you haven't got a clock to go on a suit.

1:20:46
But I think you can have a new

1:20:53
body. No, I played hard. Look, my thing was all what I learned.

1:21:00
Was I was always working with people so it's all about people and yet and and the people you work standing like Facebook,

1:21:09
good people I was working with were tough and they're still tough. And I had to figure out how to feed into collaborate, collaborate. Yeah, but when I'm on my time here, they weren't necessarily collaborators and they just to bring something in and it and then I had to ensure that I picked up on what I was pitching in under five words, and then they will put it on and then they would carry it. And they'd be moments where I didn't know that five word pitch in a morning 601 when I walk into the studio when the show starts, I've got an interview with Matt Damon as funny.

1:21:44
And I smell weakness. Yeah, yeah, even if I put the interview on and there's nothing there all get smashed, and that was my hardest part. So I know it doesn't get to communicating, communicating quickly getting a message across and working and

1:22:01
I've always worked where I've always been a sidekick so the times where I haven't been the sidekick were like MBC I was That was my bit or that is still fresh new ground for me to tackle so I I can give you advice on being a professional sidekick on a massive radio shows you want to be the sidekick and

1:22:22
I have decided I don't I'm not looking to try and be a radio host

1:22:28
one thing is that I guess the US like it while you're talking about the mate ship type of thing. Yeah. Like, I guess you're you'd be open to being a mate on a show like, like maybe removing a part of what you do almost is like saying FUCK YOU TO status. Right. So the idea of trying to be the main guy. Yeah, probably get pushed back to anyway. Yeah, that's

1:22:48
right. Yeah. Yeah. I don't think I'm built to be a guy. Yeah. And I know I haven't answered your question. So I'm, I'm doing my interview analysis day and I didn't really give it to you. What do you think though, but if you actually I guess another

1:23:00
The way to phrase is like so you're starting, you know, you're starting a media company. Yeah, that's specifically new media. Yep. It's the it's podcasting. It's video online and you you know that the the point of difference that you have Yeah. Is all the experiences that you've had before so you walk in to a room with a bunch of YouTubers that you can be working with some people who have done stuff with gimlet media whatever the podcasting. Yeah, and you're the traditional head who also

1:23:32
Yeah, I'd going I my, my thing would be capturing magic moments. I from a YouTuber perspective, and then it's just them talking to a camera. I love it when they interact with people I in terms of Casey nice that I love when he's ups guy turns up and he's reacting with him. I even love it when Casey goes out interviews fans of himself. So I want I'm a people interaction moment, where there's something a given

1:24:00
Take from having others on with you always you that that I want to see that I want I want interaction country rematching real moments something unscripted, that's totally unscripted, not even what you're looking for. And probably it happens well within the first person context of like being being able to first person film like that idea of using the camera yourself and talking to the camera. Is that a muscle that you're looking at? Yeah, I haven't developed as well as I should. I reckon there were moments over the last 10 years where I was doing it. Yeah, not not not just doing because I had to and and then let it go. And logging. Yeah.

1:24:36
But you wouldn't thought I didn't even know it was. Yeah, there's plenty of moments. And you guys would have done it. You would have been doing selfies in 98. But you didn't know it was a thing because I know one on a right well, in my case in 2002 I think I got a selfie with Phil Collins. I still haven't no I think about a moderate my first selfie. Your first podcast was when he was too young and I didn't know what would have been like

1:25:00
or six or something like that like early? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And so now i think it's it's interesting about merging these things together I think that that's like an amazing thing. I'm excited to see how like because creativity and sort of those might things that you're talking about which is having moments they brought up they cross different mediums, different platforms you've now like, and I've done thousands of moments with people for radio, but I'm and I've filmed a lot of those. Probably not edited them, which is a whole nother just in the right way for a YouTube community or your viewership. You know, those magic moments, worked very well on radio, and that is probably my current disconnect in that bridging, making those magic moments pop in different medium. Yeah, because on radio, there's context. You know, I come on a mission anyone my bits would come on, right. What are you up to our winner last night, I went to

1:26:00
big party George Clooney was there and this and then what movies at this, this, this and this? Had you go all those beautiful people there and they let me in order to get anything. Yeah, he's my interview with George Clooney play the interview. So we have context already. Yeah, just that George Clooney interview up on YouTube. People like Who the hell's this? We'd like what's Yeah, there's no and that is probably something that I've got to get. This is understanding the audience like understanding who the audience is and what you're putting it up for. And sometimes that means like, even Tommy and I have discussions around podcast episode titles. So is the podcast episode title? You know, Brad blanks in New York City for is the title mainstream media going you like is, is the selling point bread blanks or is the selling point? So all of those Yes, what we're saying is can you come up with a title?

1:26:53
I wouldn't. Yeah, I wouldn't say bread blanks. I just say. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Monica. We live with you.

1:27:05
I mean I did have exhibit I on that arrow directed to something which is not very good in these modern times yeah so yeah disgusting it was anyway the yeah so with it with the with the titles and and clickbait

1:27:23
all this stuff as you sign this It's tiring to yeah like yeah but yeah it's stuff that you think other things like like do you want to sell it in haha i think the approach that TJ and I've had is like we want people to click on the content or listen to the episode and be happy that they listened versus feeling like they spoke about that thing for two seconds was trying to like I think you've been doing clickbait for years but yeah but you've actually delivered on like I think clickbait went too far. Yeah When it's like telling you say this cute dog and you get there the penguin

1:27:57
Yeah, yeah, you're right I'm I haven't nailed

1:28:00
And I, jeez, Jesus is good I philosophical by goodness. When a beer after this. Yeah, but

1:28:09
I hear that I haven't nailed that. And that's what I'm up. That's the whole thing. Yeah. When you want to write a book, do you want to write a book about yourself? Yeah. Which is what you know what i what i would like to do. And then you write the book

1:28:22
and how you sell it, you're not you've got to have in that book, you've got to have takeaways, and this is what I think from just talking to you guys. Now your podcast, there's going to be takeaways. Yeah, it's a bit of a journey. It's interesting, right? Because it's not like indexed like a blog, or like, you can't look on visually on Instagram. So it does have but I think we'll get to a point where all of this stuff will be indexed on Google so you'll be able to, you'll be able to type in Elmo,

1:28:51
Elmo, Elmo riding BMX, right, and that people will actually be able to, that would have heard me say it, yeah. And then it'll bring it up, but it's going to

1:29:00
Change think about how that changes the audience. Because what I'm worried about is the moment we haven't gone that, like, we get 300 plus listeners per episode every day. We haven't gone that far outside of our community, right? We've got more fucking friends on Facebook. Yeah. What's interesting is what happens. When do we want to target the person who just so happens to live 10 miles outside of New York who saw that they're going to be interested in in all the stuff that we're philosophical?

1:29:29
Maybe not. And so that's what like, that's what's fun and interesting, too. Yeah, well, building a community is had and sometimes you don't actually get to choose who that community is because I choose you. But are you saying that should you not worry about it, then?

1:29:43
You're in the thick of it right? Because we can strategize about the audience and community we want to build that I don't know if it's going to be that's what we will change. We know there's no for certain Yeah, we could have way more listeners right now. If we said we are doing a podcast about video production, your people

1:30:00
Who are starting their own business? And we'll be able to get and will be out in your niche. But I don't like what we're trying to do which is a little bit different is it's like the niche is us having a conversation, right so people are listening because they all right. That's good actually. Yeah, so that's that's fucking hard because it's white hot because the thing is that it's like it's a new category it is in a sense of like, if, if if you say peanut butter and chocolate and you've had peanut butter before you can sort of fucking gronk the same as what the some of the successful podcast Isn't that like Mark Marin isn't? And I listened to Marin because I want his take on it's like therapy.

1:30:41
To do that to stand

1:30:44
up being interviewed. You can't just be an interviewer not just doing the normal unit. You need your own niche, which is the personality and I think that that's what the difference between having a list of questions and going through, and that's what's maybe different, you know, the advice

1:31:00
Some people probably give with the podcast stuff is it's like people are tuning in like say with this episode people might be like, people are wanting to listen to Brad blanks a storey. It's like Craig Bruce's podcast, right? You listening because you want to hear the radio talent sort of thing. Yeah. But I actually like Craig's perspective as well. But there's a lot of people who might just he because I want to hear any Maguire's bit. And so the thing is that what we're trying to do is it's like, it's a bit of a package deal. So when people are listening for is it, you may Tommy we're all having this conversation together. And it's not just like, he can't cut us if you cut us out. Yeah, they'll just be a lot of you been like, I don't know if I've answered the question.

1:31:39
So I mean, I think you're a perfect example of someone who's done that you've been like, you know what, there are so many that there's a fucking red carpet full of people who are asking the same mundane questions that could easily just be ordered. I can automate that. Yeah, but applying creativity apply.

1:32:00
Now I like that because the again it gets back to these moments I don't see anyone else doing yeah creating these moments that go for a minute and a half so all I was doing don't think I met anything special I just saw a moment where I could get with a big name star that I was kind of a fan of anyway to create a bit yeah and I found that entry point and it turned me into a bloody red carpet reporter wasn't trying to do that but I just this is what anything that's right yes the thing and that's what like I'm excited about to see is when you're going and doing other stuff yeah so I think that that's maybe you know people pigeonhole and lots I think that there's it's just you see that that was asking before about you know where else do you see it in life because those that sit have no navigating moment? Yeah, most ran flights fucking everything. Exactly. And all season on a red carpet and people inside of this did that red carpet thing. I'll be like 50% on out on the street, creating game shows and beats with people and whatever, you know, anyone? I've got the episode title.

1:33:01
Celebrity reporter Brad blank

1:33:08
talk show, Brad blanks. Thank you for having us here.

1:33:14
Live rate where it was an upward.

1:33:18
Manhattan. Yeah, so guys loved it. Great stuff. Awesome lunch about myself. Thanks.

1:33:32
Very good. Very nice people. Thank you. The Daily talk show.com if you want to send us an email and we're also have you been on Reddit? No, I'm gonna get on your Reddit. Yeah, so we've gone Redis in general, I did a little bit not as much as you just started right? So we've got like 18 people, those people find my Elmo video on YouTube and

1:33:53
it's like the third video I think I ever made right yes. Now going to be I read it dedicated to all of this stuff.

1:34:00
Tokyo,

1:34:01
Tokyo Have a good one, guys
"