This was published 2 years ago
‘Kids force you to articulate things’: Hamish Blake on tackling tricky conversations
By Benjamin Law
The Gold Logie award-winning TV presenter, comedian and broadcaster, 40, co-hosted the highest-rating radio series in Australian history – The Hamish & Andy Show – in the early 2000s. He now hosts Lego Masters Australia.
Hamish Blake: “We fought hard, got super lucky … Whenever I think of money, it always comes with a deep sense of gratitude.”Credit:
Money
What do you even put down as your profession when tax time comes around? When I write something like “TV host”, I feel like that’s a disservice to actual television hosts, people who wake up early every morning. Ali Langdon [co-host of the Today breakfast show] … now there’s a TV host! I think about what I do on Lego Masters – like driving through a mini brick wall on a stunt motorbike – and I don’t know what that is. I hope the Tax Office doesn’t read this, but I probably put down what I think I can get the most deductions for … like, “creative researcher”.
You’re one of the most recognisable faces and voices in Australia. Your wife, Zoë, is a best-selling author who founded a beauty empire. So how rich are you? I don’t want to speak for Zoë … but I guess I will anyway. With her endeavours, there has never been a discussion about money; it’s certainly never been a motivator. Of course we’re not struggling. And I’ve never had any qualms with the fact that we’ve been extremely lucky in our careers to get to the point where we’re financially secure. We fought hard, got super lucky, took some risks, and they paid off. We’re extremely fortunate. So whenever I think of money, it always comes with a deep sense of gratitude.
What are your criteria for saying yes or no to work nowadays? That it’s interesting, that it’s mentally stimulating. Work’s got to be fulfilling, bringing me – and, hopefully, other people – joy and making the world a better place, especially if it’s pulling me away from my kids and my wife. Hopefully it’s pulling me away to make me a better person, so I can come back and be a better dad. The juice has gotta be worth the squeeze.
BODIES
There was a recent gossip headline that read: “Comedian Hamish Blake, 40, proudly shows off his six-pack during a swim at Sydney’s Bondi Beach with his trainer”. Care to give us the back story? Man, I have got no idea what that’s about …
But you’re in good shape. I’ve seen the photos. [Laughs] But I don’t have a trainer! It was with a guy called Joel, but it’s funny because Joel is ripped. Shredded. What a bummer that I got papped that day, because there’s no way I look as good as Joel.
Still, the photos radiate body confidence. Have you always felt comfortable in your body? No. I had asthma as a kid, so [fitness] was never on the cards for me. I’m definitely fitter than I was, say, 10 years ago. Exercise is something I love doing now and it’s part of my life, but I discovered it late. There are many photos of me in my 20s rollerskating around in underpants. I was a normal-slash-chubby dude.
You’ve got two kids: Sonny, 7, and daughter Rudy, 4. Most dads stop exercising when kids arrive. You’ve done the opposite. It’s different for everybody. But for me, especially in Lockdown No.2, it was about building a habit. Motivation comes and goes but, if you’re in a good habit, it becomes part of your life. My motto is consistency, not intensity.
Do you have any tattoos? Yeah [rolls up sleeve and shows random tattoos on bicep]. It became a silly joke for me to get tattoos during our radio show. The very first tattoo I got was an anchor, because we took a tall ship from the mainland down to Tasmania when our radio show started getting broadcast there. I actually wanted it to be about three times smaller, but when I went to the tattoo parlour and, as a joke, said, “Give me the tiniest anchor that you can,” the guy was like, “Any smaller and it’ll just be a smudge.”
What’s your secret party trick? Juggling’s probably the best one I’ve got. I used to be, like, “Give me any number!” – and I could give it to you squared. That was back in my maths days when I had a faster brain. But these days, I can only do it every now and again.
DEATH
Your grandmother died a couple of years ago. Have you got any living grandparents left? No, she was the last. It’s such an interesting thing to go through with little kids. They suddenly force you to have to articulate things you hadn’t thought about articulating. Then you’re on the spot, explaining death.
How does that conversation go? Every parent just has to feel it out for themselves. You don’t want to be withholding something because that’s a disservice, but you don’t want to be causing unnecessary anxiety. My policy is honesty with enough space for both of you to process it. “Everyone dies, and everything dies, and that’s what the universe is: things dying, reforming and changing. If we never died, none of it would mean anything, and that is why everything is so beautiful now.”
How would you like to be remembered when you die? Your kids and immediate family are really all that matters, in that sense. I’d want to be remembered as someone who was willing to put energy and time and effort into creating memories: fun, love and adventure.
Lead me through your funeral. I’d like it to be somewhere physically beautiful, with a vista of a mountain or a beach. We all know – especially as we get older – how hard it is to catch up properly with good people over good food in a great place. It’s my favourite thing to do in the world – a good meal with your best friends – so I’d like it to be that, basically: a long table for lunch for whoever can make it.
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