Comedian Mike van Acker relishes dream gig at 97.3FM

HE WAS heckled and bitten by dogs in his formative years, so the new guy in 97.3FM’s breakfast team knows a job in radio is a dream gig.

Radio 97.3FM new breakfast team member Mike van Acker. Photo: Dominika Lis

HE WAS heckled and bitten by dogs in his formative years, so Kallangur’s Mike van Acker knows a job in breakfast radio is a dream gig.

“I actually got bitten by dogs going to work. Who does that?,” he asks laughing.

The new guy on the 97.3 breakfast radio team was referring to his time delivering singing telegrams as a 17-year-old which at the time he thought was “the coolest job”.

“There was one character which was my takeoff of Joh Bjelke-Petersen, the premier at the time … I only did that four times because it wasn’t a popular character and I got bitten by a dog three out of the four times. It’s not even a joke, I’m not even making it up,” he says.

Perhaps it was Karma for making fun of his teachers at school, but it prepared him for the often brutal Brisbane comedy club circuit.

“I really learned to deal with hecklers and all that sort of gear. Then the Comedy Club started and I thought ‘I’ll be good at this.’ I went straight up there and I was horrible at it for six months,” he recalls.

“It takes a long time to get good at stand-up and I had no clue what I was getting into.”

Radio 97.3FM new breakfast team member Mike van Acker. Photo: Dominika Lis.

Mike says comedy clubs are gyms for comedians and he quickly learned working out was the only way to tone up.

“You can practise all you want in your bathroom or while you’re driving you can say your lines … nothing can prepare you for how incredibly bright the light is … you can’t see anyone,” he says.

“Your legs shake, your breathing gets hard to control and if you’re doing long story jokes breathing and rhythm are things you need to be aware of. It’s like the singers, they make it look effortless but they’re working their diaphragm muscles and their throat. They’re utilising their tricks. We have tricks too.”

Mike, 50, has mastered those tricks of the trade and was performing stand-up, running trivia shows and compering events when his mate of 25 years, Terry Hansen, mentioned he might call time on his breakfast radio career.

Terry Hansen and Mike van Acker in 2006.

“Breakfast radio wears you out and he’d been saying to the management I won’t last forever you should get to know Mike … he’s done some, he’s exactly who our listeners relate to, he’s perfect for this,” Mike explains.

“He was saying to me ‘you should make friends with 97.3’s management’.”

Mike did and took them up on an offer to come in once a week and hang around.

“Dogs didn’t bite me then so I thought I was ahead,” he says with a grin. “I’d just go there and watch the guys do stuff and occasionally put forward a joke idea, if they asked.”

He joined the team in July.

“I’m loving it hard every day. I just feel really fortunate to get it. Even the early mornings, I don’t care,” Mike says.

“I wake up before the alarm, that’s ridiculous, that cannot keep happening. The alarm goes off at 3.30am and I leave at 4am.

“For a comedian to have … we have half a million listeners over the course of the week … and to have that many people potentially laughing or not laughing at what I’m doing, that’s an amazing thing. Every comedian wants that.”

The father-of-two has lived in Kallangur for five years and ended up buying the house he was renting. “I really did buy this house because my stuff was already in it. I’m glad I did,” he says.

“I’m in a good street, never had any problems here. Lovely Carol who lives next door puts my bin out if I’m not home on a Sunday. I whipper snip her front footpath in return … we’ve never discussed this arrangement … I love that.”