Adelaide salon owners Robby Lippet and Mat Johnson star on The Block

One’s a barber, the other a hairdresser – and these best mates have zero reno experience. But that won’t stop them taking on reality TV’s toughest challenge yet.

SA will be represented on the new season of The Block by Robby Libbet and Mat Johnson. Picture: Supplied

Two Adelaide salon owners have traded their scissors for sledgehammers to take on Australia’s toughest renoshow.

The fact that they’d never picked up a power tool before wasn’t going to stop barber Robby Lippet, 37, and hairdresser Mat Johnson, 40, from giving The Block their all this season.

They’d already mastered semi-pro soccer and competitive figure skating respectively, so why not renovation?

It was Mr Lippet’s idea to apply for The Block while Mr Johnson, who had never even watched an episode of the show, was in Bali celebrating his 40th birthday.

“I was sitting at home and my partner Alyssa said myself and Mat would be great on The Block,” Mr Lippet said.

“But he was like, ‘no absolutely not. You’re a barber, I’m a hairdresser. We are so out of our depth.

Adelaide salon owners and best mates Robby Libbet and Mat Johnson star on the new season of The Block. Picture: Supplied

Robby Libbet and Mat Johnson say they are this season’s “larrikins”. Picture: Supplied

“So I made a deal with him at the end of last year. I said if we apply once and we don’t get on, I’ll never bring it up again.”

As fate would have it, the “chalk and cheese” best mates were chosen as one of five teams to compete on the show, which was filmed in Daylesford – 30 mins away from Ballarat.

“When we found out it was like what the f***?! Like, oh my god, we’re on and it’s pretty much been like that ever since,” Mr Lippet said.

While there was an initial learning curve to become “Block-fit”, he said the show was the hardest yet best thing they’ve ever done.

“We joke that we did our apprenticeship in four days and learnt the tradie lingo,” the father-of-one said.

“It was the first time we had to put steel caps and high vis on but we looked good.”

Nine’s renovation show is known for its intense drama and reno chaos and this year’s series is expected to be no exception.

As this season’s “larrikins”, Mr Lippet said he and Mr Johnson were all about bringing the good vibes on-site.

“We bring all these crazy ideas and we just have fun,” he said.

“We laughed ‘til we cried every day at our expense, at other people’s expense, and we made sure we enjoyed every moment of it.”

Beyond the laughs, they also brought a taste of home to the show, incorporating South Australian elements into their renovation.

“We bring a lot of Adelaide into our house – our beautiful wine regions and some local businesses,” he said.

“We’re very proud of where we come from and we wanted to show that in our house.”

For the first time in the show’s 21-year history, the Blockheads will be building houses from scratch that are exactly the same in layout and size.

The new season will premiere on Channel 9 at 7pm on 27 July.