Q. What changed your mind? I suppose it was a change in life; I was 37 at that time, when I started in telly 14 years ago [Scotty filmed the pilot for Backyard Blitz in 1999] it will actually be 14 years this October.
Q. You were a working chippie in ‘99, did you keep your day job at that stage? I had a carpentry gang; four of us, and we’d do home renos and things. I’d started the business in 1990, and actually only ended it about three years ago. I worked on the tools a little less during the last two years I still had the business, but prior to that I worked in it every day I wasn’t on television.
Q. Many blokes can tell a good story at the pub or make a quick quip, but they freeze up in front of a camera. Did you find presenting easy? I was lucky I didn’t get nervous in front of the camera; it didn’t bother me that much…. I think the key is to be yourself. And if yourself is no good, then it’s not for you.
Q. We see you in Mitre 10 ads, being mighty helpful… what does your work with The Block’s sponsors involve? Our show doesn’t survive without our sponsors and we’re pretty transparent about that. We do things like trade nights where we have our sponsors to The Block and I do a little talk.
Q. SBM interviewed your co-host Shelley Craft in 2011, and we were impressed with how normal she is. Tell us about working with Shelley and rest of The Block crew. Shelley’s fantastic to work with; we’ve worked together on a number of shows over the years. We work well together, we finish each other’s sentences, we’ve got good timing and we can make stuff up as we go if we need to. That’s a pretty unique thing to have with someone, and I’ve worked with a lot of people!
there are probably 50 people working on the block itself, then another 50 on post-production. It’s a big team, but we’re cheap to make compared to other programs. We’re pretty streamlined and we all do our bit.
Q. By the time this edition goes to print you will have launched ScottyCam.com.au. Tell us about that. I’m preparing to launch my website, ScottyCam.com.au, in July around auction time for The Block Sky High. The website will be a magazine-style site with daily tips, how-tos, and different deals that I’ve called mates rates. When I buy something, I often get a good deal so I thought, just like I’d offer to buy my own mates that product at the same good rate, what if I could offer that deal to my followers. I love Australiana too – Australian history, Australian bush – I don’t think enough of our history is taught in schools, so there’ll be Australian articles on there. I’ll do a blog, and I’ll going on Twitter and Facebook for the first time as well.
Q. What do you consider to be your most successful professional achievement so far? I’ve worked on about 10 different shows; some have been successful and some have not. I’d say my biggest success, professionally, has been longevity – both at the network [14 years], and at this show [Scotty has just wrapped his fifth season with The Block]…. I’ve been with The Block for over three years. I’ve worked hard, kept my head down, turned up on time every day – I’ve made it easy for them to keep me there.
Q. If you weren’t doing what you do, what would you be doing? I’d be hanging a door or building a roof somewhere – because that’s the only thing I know how to do!
Q. Parting words? Keep working hard.
As for the rest of the team, there are eight cameramen, eight sound recorders, five or six producers, executives, the production team, challenge team;
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