Aussie swimming legend Susie O’Neill makes shock career switch
An Aussie sporting icon has shocked many by making a bizarre career switch.
Entertainment
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Former Olympic swimmer turned radio host Susie O’Neill is now diving into the world of music as “DJ Lazy Susan”.
At the age of 50, O’Neill, now an empty nester, is embarking on a self-proclaimed “gap year” to recapture the youth she missed due to her swimming career.
“I never really went to nightclubs when I was younger because I was always swimming,” she said. “So I thought maybe it’d be fun to not just go to the nightclub but be a DJ.”
Her debut DJ event, coined Butterfly and Bangers – a nod to her iconic sports moniker, Madame Butterfly – is set for May 23 at The MET nightclub in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley.
She plans to play a 30-minute set comprising current chart-toppers and timeless tunes that might just include Kenny Rogers or Dolly Parton if she gets her way.
“We’re going to try and make it a mixture of current stuff but also nostalgic stuff that people will remember,” she said. “I’ve got my son who is going to send me what he says is really good songs that are going off on TikTok at the moment.”
Despite her limited experience in nightclubs and a tight three-week window to master the art of DJing, O’Neill is not letting the nerves about performing for potentially a thousand attendees get to her.
She’s under the tutelage of Nova 106.9 program manager Chris “Buzz” Bezzina, and has been picking up tips from established DJs such as Mashed N Kutcher and Scott Tweedie.
“This could fall really flat … but I’m not going to let that stop me,” she said.
Tickets to this exclusive “boiler room” gig are available only through winning them on her radio show, Ash, Luttsy & Susie O’Neill, and across the day on Nova 106.9 with Maddy Rowe.
STAR’S BRAINWAVE ON WELLCAMP
It appears the Queensland government may have overlooked a lucrative opportunity with the Wellcamp quarantine facility in the realm of film production.
Aussie actor David Wenham has endorsed the 1000-bed facility in Toowoomba as a potential filming location.
Currently on the Gold Coast for the production of Spit, the sequel to his 2003 hit Gettin’ Square, Wenham shared that the former quarantine site doubled as both a filming location and crew accommodations in an early phase of the project.
“We didn’t just film there we filmed there and stayed there. So we would work through the day and then walk 20 minutes and go to bed there,” he said.
Wenham praised the arrangement’s efficiency, noting the advantage of having no commute, which increased relaxation time and productivity.
“We didn’t know how it would go but the crew actually loved it. It meant that they had more downtime … They rolled out of bed just walked to catering, had breakfast, and we’d work again so it’s actually really efficient.”
Discussing the potential of repurposing the $223m facility into a bustling film production hub, Wenham saw significant possibilities.
“It could serve as a studio; the potential is certainly there,” he said.
Considering the vast budgets often allocated for local and international films, the Queensland government could have likely recouped the cash spent on the quarantine facility with just a few film projects had they retained it.
In 2023, the state handed back the keys of the Wellcamp quarantine facility to Wagner Corporation after the expiration of a 12-month lease, during which time only 730 people used the space.
Spit revisits the misadventures of Gettin’ Square’s loveable rogue Johnny ‘Spit’ Spitieri (Wenham). Many of the original cast and crew have rejoined for the sequel, penned again by Gold Coast lawyer-author Chris Nyst. The cast and crew have set up camp in Southport for filming this week, just down the road from Nyst’s own law firm.
The movie is produced by Trish Lake of Queensland-based Freshwater Pictures alongside Greg Duffy, Felicity McVay and Wenham himself, with Jonathan Teplitsky, who has been spotted around Southport sets in recent days, returning as director.
LABOR SETS BENCHMARK
The appointment of a new Supreme Court judge by Labor has caused a bit of a stir. Rebecca Treston KC made history when she was elected as the first female president of the Bar Association of Queensland in 2018.
But some may also remember Ms Treston from a 2019 controversy when – while in the apolitical role – she was snapped wearing a Labor T-shirt putting how-to-vote cards for Ali France into the hands of his opponent, Peter Dutton. She said, at the time, she was just being supportive of her friend, and Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath said Ms Treston had her “full confidence”.
But as one commentator noted at the time: “Ms Treston’s campaigning was a bad look. It may rebound if she is ever appointed to the bench.”
Guess we’ll wait and see.
LAWYER TAKES FIGHT TO HANSON
Star Brisbane barrister Saul Holt KC has been making his presence felt down south, taking on another Queenslander Pauline Hanson who is being sued in Federal Court.
The legal action was launched after Senator Hanson told Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi to “piss off back to Pakistan” in a tweet after the latter posted to Twitter she “cannot mourn the leader of a racist empire built on stolen lives, land and wealth of colonised peoples” on the day Queen Elizabeth II died in September 2022.
Senator Faruqi alleges the tweet breached the Racial Discrimination Act and her barrister’s cross-examination of Senator Hanson has led to some memorable exchanges in the Sydney courtroom.
“I suggest that the reason that you told Senator Faruqi to pack her bags and piss off back to Pakistan, at least a reason that you did that, was because she was from Pakistan,” Mr Holt said in one exchange. “No,” Senator Hanson replied.
Mr Holt’s performance has even attracted its own thread on the Reddit community.
Senator Hanson’s defence team has argued politicians are expected to use emotion as a political device.
The case has been adjourned for judgment.
MPS BACK WITH ROOM TO MOVE
Hotel living and basement working is almost over for Queensland’s members of parliament, who have been told to pack their things ahead of a long-awaited move into their new digs.
Queensland’s parliamentary annexe – where non-Brisbane MPs live and work – has been closed for more than a year for critical upgrade works.
Their eviction from the building forced MPs to stay overnight in a nearby hotel, while a shortage of office space across the parliamentary precinct meant many were crammed into every available square metre.
Even Opposition Leader David Crisafulli had to give up the pomp of office. He’s taken pleasure in showing almost every person visiting his new office – in the basement next to the carpark – the view of the bins through the window.
Those days are almost over, though, with MPs stuffing their belongings into filing cabinets last week to be taken back to their refurbished office and rooms.
These new rooms feature new carpet, a fresh coat of paint and a more modern style than the 1970s-era fit-out they previously lived – and partied – in.
We hope these new walls can talk.
SMALL SNAG FOR SOIREE
The who’s who of property and finance flew in from around the country to attend an elaborate black-tie soiree to mark local developer Max Panettiere’s Brisbane house-warming.
Some 300 people walked a red carpet and schmoozed their way around Mr Panettiere’s brand new, four-storey house made from concrete and frameless glass on the river in Norman Park.
Real estate agents, models, developers, restaurateurs, and entrepreneurs were among the guests at the party, which was to show off “Gill House” in all its glory.
A DJ and one of Australia’s top violinists, Yena Choi, entertained guests, while the soundtrack to Jaws the movie blasted outside. The food left a bit to be desired though, with only party pies and sausage rolls on offer.
THE NAME’S BIONDI
Sicilian-born soul singer Mario Biondi – hailed as the Italian Barry White – is coming to Oz for the first time, performing at The Tivoli in Brisbane on May 21. Biondi, 53, who has performed with the late Burt Bacharach, will also share the stage with Diana Rouvas, who won The Voice in 2019. The father of 10 – his youngest child was born in March – says he can’t wait to perform in Queensland.
OLD IS NEW AGAIN
Flamboyant interior designer to Queensland’s movers and shakers, Christopher Thomas, has thrown open the doors to his new studio in Paddington. Well, actually it’s the old studio – a once-derelict cottage he bought with business partner and best friend Mark Alexander in 1997 – but this week it was relaunched in opulent style.
Thomas & Alexander Interiors is a Brisbane institution, beginning in the World Expo year of 1988, and has since styled the homes of celebrities and A-listers. The 201 Latrobe Tce space is shared with antique dealer Andrew Butterfield (Brittle & Co) – and very soon a prominent jeweller will be moving in too. Stay tuned.
RAIN, HAIL OR SHINE
In a twist that perfectly caps off a year of adversity, Supercars star Fabian Coulthard and Becky Lamb opted for an impromptu indoor “I do” after their outdoor wedding plans were derailed by unpredictable weather.
The last-minute venue change symbolised a year fraught with challenges for the couple, including the destruction of their Gold Coast home by a tornado and subsequent floods on Christmas last year.
“We actually had a full outdoor wedding planned, however, Mother Nature had different ideas, which is purely ironic, given the last six months that we’ve had,” Lamb said.
Just when they thought they had weathered the worst after their home was declared uninhabitable post-tornado and floods, their wedding week was marred by relentless rain — except for a brief respite on their wedding day.
Their celebrations, which unfolded over five days on Hamilton Island, embraced an intimate gathering of 55 guests, including their six-year-old twins, Carter and Mackenzie, who stole the show as ring bearer and flower girl.
The ceremony was peppered with lighthearted nods to Coulthard’s racing career, highlighted by a speech brimming with car puns delivered by his father.
Amid these festive preparations, Becky faced her own personal hurdle when her wedding dress vanished in the chaos of relocating their possessions during the floods.
The dress, lost for nearly two months, turned up in an unmarked box at a friend’s house only weeks before the big day, leading to frantic alterations just weeks before the wedding.
“It was one thing after another,” Becky recounted, but despite the hurdles, she remained grateful for the overwhelming support they received throughout their ordeals.
“It’s been a humbling experience,” she said.
As they begin their married life, the couple is now focused on rebuilding their home and continuing to navigate life’s challenges with the same strength and optimism that marked their wedding day.
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