‘Fighting in the end’: Hamish Blake faces death in his home gym

Radio host, television star and podcaster Hamish Blake hosts some of Australia’s most popular shows.

As well as hosting the podcast and radio show Hamish with Andy and Andy Lee, he is the voice of Jack Bluey’s father and hosts the LEGO Masters show.

However her greatest achievement may be the birthday cakes she makes for her young son and daughter every year.

He sat down with Virginia Trioli for the Don’t You Know podcast to answer a few questions about the time he got the most wrong as a parent and his secret life as a gym junkie.

You may not know it but…

I spend more time than people would imagine in my garage sweating and moving heavy things while I train and exercise. Like, sometimes I might go to the gym, but… for me, it’s very personal.

I really enjoy the mental aspect of exercise and pushing myself hard. This results in doing bigger endurance events, your classic mid-life challenges like big bike rides and big cross country events. I prioritize it and make sure I do it.

I wasn’t like that in my 20s. I really developed a love for it when I entered my 30s, and I probably did for a good 10 or 12 years.

The feeling of training as a 30-year-old is very different for me like a 42-year-old. He has this slow onset [realisation]: I’m not going back and I’m not defeated like I thought. And you know very well that you will use it or you will lose it.

As they say, you have one meat suit and it will be stronger from today or if you do nothing, this will be the strongest you have ever been and you will get off here. So I think maybe it’s about facing your own mortality a little bit, ho [realise] the human body begins to decline and it will be a struggle that is ultimately futile. But you [can] start now, the decades-long fight against fragility and stagnation.

It’s probably something I don’t talk about often because no one cares. It’s such an old saying, people start to think that what you post on social media is your life. I think I can post views [on social media] while panting and sweating profusely on the bike. But I’m not sure why I do it. I do it for myself.

The way I wanted to take it was…

When I first got into comedy [with Andy Lee]there was a fork in the road a lot in our radio days.

I was working at a radio station [in Melbourne] and one of the guys there said, “I’m leaving to run a radio station in Adelaide. Do you want to do a morning show?”

I was 19 years old and I was happy because I [was] like, “Wow, this is a real job, like this is a fair wage.” But I would have to live in Adelaide.

And Andy and I had actually started doing things together, but on public radio. So it was like, do I keep doing public radio with this guy I know and love, or do I let the bright lights of Adelaide FM give me?

It’s trivial now. But at that time it was a real war. I was sure this was coming I will never go back and I was turning down my one chance to get into entertainment.

It’s probably a good example of ego versus something that felt more pure for a moment.

Obviously, now I know that going for things with conditions and external validation will be futile, and that’s not why you should be chasing things. But I’m glad that in those years, it was understood [like] right away.

The time I did it most wrong was…

My sixteen children. All of us remember the pain of our childhood when our parents were not on our page, or even the sting of just one unkind word or joke that hurt us and that the thought of adults were funny. I still remember those things from when I was 11 years old.

So we know how serious the impact is on young people.

So the sad thing about being a parent is like, “Oh my God, I’m going to do that to my kids because of the many interactions we have. I can’t fix it, I’m going to hurt them.” pain [at some point]”.

These come with parenting; they are the sands that stick to your heart.

So for me, the standout times where I’ve done wrong with my kids is…not taking their feelings or fears seriously. I would say the nature that we have as adults, especially when you have young children between five and 10 years old.[year-old] where they have anxiety and they have fear, or they have anxiety and uncertainty…our attitude is to rush into things, it’s like, “Oh, don’t worry about that” because we know , with 35 years of experience, that is fine.

Instead of trying to rush them out of it… I want them to remember that if something upsets them, they will have a father who listens and cares.

The thing I can’t stop thinking about is….

Andy loves golf and I’ve always played golf. So I said to him: “When I’m 40, I’m going to play golf.”

Golf is all I can think about right now because I can’t for the life of me [get it right].

I wish you had a black box recording of how your brain thinks when you are [standing] finished [the ball]. It’s like the game was designed on purpose for addicts because you can’t finish it, you can’t finish it.

There are like six people in human history who found it perfect. I just look at other people. I’m like, “How do you make the ball move so easily?”

Then you go to the drive-thru to try to solve this, and it’s weird because the parking lot is full of really fancy cars. So you’re like, “Well, obviously you’re very successful in your life, you’re an architect, you’re a pilot, you’re a doctor, whatever”. it doesn’t do what they want it to do.

I can still laugh with it. I’m just one of them now.

My secret happiness is…

No one will be offended that I find this fun, but I love a day spa. I like it a lot. So, I’ll go get every supplement. I will take two hours to massage. I would say it’s my high point.

I wouldn’t say no to a deluxe massage. I will go as hard as I can. And I have, even way back when I lived in a shared house, back in my radio days.

It’s a small thing, but I’m still proud to be…

This is back to the old midlife crisis events, but there is an event in New Zealand called Coast to Coast, which is a two-day multi-sport race across the South Island of New Zealand. It’s kayaking, rock climbing and mountain biking and mountain running and other things.

So there was a long private mission, and I did it in February and it took a good year off to improve academically.

That’s why I enjoy doing those physical things. You know, you’re just doing it yourself. Of course no one else cares that you did it, but I guess that’s why you do those things. You do them because you know a little about yourself, if you are at that stage, and you can feel proud of yourself. you.

I remember saying yes [my wife] Zoe: “I’ve been practicing this for a while. My father has put a lot into this.” She was like, “Yeah, we should try to get to the finish line, me and the kids.”

I said, “That’s a problem. You’ll have to fly across [to New Zealand] just to be there at the finish line.”

Then Zoe came back and she was like, “Hey, we can’t come. It’s too much to bring the kids for the final thread.”

But I thought he was cheating on me [I thought]”It will be amazing when I finally see them after two days in the country”.

And then there was a pause and Zoe said: “Just in case you think I’m cheating on you, I’m not. We’re definitely not coming. I can’t stress it enough. Let’s yes. we’ll be home.”

Listen to a long interview between Hamish Blake and Virginia Trioli on You don’t know me podcast.