Big Brother star Daniel Hayes knows he ‘will polarise people’

Big Brother star Daniel Hayes says his enemies in the real estate business will want him evicted because “they stab you in the front”.

He’s the loud and cocky Geelong real estate mogul who’s become the breakout star of Big Brother.

But Daniel Hayes knows a long list of enemies in the property game will be praying for his demise on primetime television.

“I don’t know anybody in real estate that is liked by his opponent. Real estate is brutal,” Mr Hayes said.

“They don’t stab you in the back, they stab you in the front. There will be a lot of people watching the show wanting me to be evicted, make no mistake about that.

“I don’t care what people think about me, and that way I can be free. People are so conditioned; everything is filtered, like Instagram. It’s like, ‘I can’t show you who I am, so let’s put a filter on it, and a pair of bunny ears, because that looks real’. I am my authentic self, and that will polarise people, but really, I couldn’t give a f---.”

Daniel Hayes is managing director of real esate agency Hayeswinckle. Picture: Alison Wynd

Mr Hayes, the managing director of real estate agency Hayeswinckle, stole the show when Big Brother premiered on Channel 7 last week by describing himself as “king of the jungle” and the “greatest player of Big Brother in the world”.

A self-described “million-dollar bogan”, Mr Hayes has never shunned the spotlight and has bared his soul about his two failed marriages and his brother’s death from a heroin overdose.

These days, sober and highly watchable either on TV, his YouTube channel or knocking down the gavel on a sale, Mr Hayes is never far from his ­Harley-Davidson. But it’s the $250,000 on offer from Big Brother that commands his attention right now.

Hayes was approached by Big Brother producers after seeing his popular YouTube channel Million-Dollar Bogan, which chronicles adventures in exotic places on his motorcycle.

Mr Hayes grew up in a caravan in Whittington, near Geelong, wore gumboots to school in summer because his parents couldn’t afford sneakers, and dropped out of school in year 10.

Before real estate, he worked as a drug and alcohol outreach worker. But Mr Hayes battled his own drink and drug demons at age 19.

Daniel Hayes in action. Picture: Glenn Ferguson

“I weighed under 50kgs and I was going to die; that was my moment of clarity,” he said. “I asked myself, ‘Living or dying, what do you want to do?’ I went back to hospital, got treatment, and I’ve been sober for 30 years.”

But business success took a toll on two marriages, and Mr Hayes has been embroiled in some high-profile legal stoushes.

His strategy on Big Brother would be the same tactics he used in business.

“I’m not there for Instagram fame or to make friends. I’m there to play the game, have a bit of fun and evict as many people as I can.”

He added: “I’m not the villain of the show, I’ll be the hero, trust me.”

Big Brother screens on Channel 7 on Sunday night.

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