Billy Brownless and son Oscar to compete in The Amazing Race Australia
Geelong great Billy Brownless has tapped into his athletic past to become a prize contender in The Amazing Race Australia — and he’s made it a family affair.
Fiona Byrne
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Former Footy Show star Billy Brownless has drawn on his sensational 198 game AFL experience to survive his latest foray into reality TV.
The Geelong great tapped into his athletic past — and the tips he received from Cats physios and doctors — to become a prize contender in The Amazing Race Australia.
Brownless is racing with his son, Oscar who the proud dad described as “24, a good looking boy — thrown to me — he can talk and he has big nice chompers.”
Going into the Channel 10 show, Brownless said he was keen to race without running.
“I think I got better the longer it went thanks to anti-inflammatories, that was a big help, and some taping that I did myself,” he said.
“It took me back to the footy days where you tape your ankles and things like that. I got into it and really started to enjoy it, but there were times when Oscar is going to come across like the golden child because he is helping me up hills, he is helping me up mountains, he is carrying my bag. He is doing a lot of good stuff for his dad.”
Brownless said one of the attractions of doing the show was pairing up with Oscar.
“You live together when you are younger, then he moved out with his mates and he lived with his mates for a while and then all of a sudden we are back together, so it was interesting,” Brownless said.
“We flew together everywhere, we ate together everywhere, we drank together everywhere and because it is a budget experience, we had the same room. Sometimes there was a double bed and a single bed, sometimes there were two single beds, and a couple of times there was only one double bed so we had to share that.”
Having previously done I’m A Celebrity and now Amazing Race, Brownless admits he has got a taste for reality TV.
“I have become a reality addict, but only the ones I can actually do,” he said.
“I would not be able to do SAS and I would not be able to do Dancing With The Stars because that is too much physical effort, but certainly the jungle is a lot easier on the body and to be honest The Amazing Race, it was good on the body because you are not supposed to run at all, which helped me, let me tell you.”
Brownless’s next big gig is being father of the bride, when his daughter Ruby marries Josh Wallis in March.
“I have not had a lot to do with it, Ruby has taken control, and I have just been told to get a dinner suit.”
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