The day I shook hands with an X-Man
The best memories in life are the ones you’ll happily replay in your head at 3am, months after they’ve happened. You know, instead of doing something useful, like using the time to sleep or doing fun things to put yourself back to sleep.
I won’t forget the tears of joy when I proposed, our little boy announcing the world his arrival, looking down from 8000 feet in a tiny plane and thinking ‘Well in a minute I’ll be hurtling through that at 325kph with a bag full of silk strapped to my back…’
And to add to that, I don’t think I’ll ever forget meeting the guy who’s been an on air psychologist, a rake hating Simpson nemesis and a blue furred highly athletic mutant. Who I didn’t just meet, he also presented me with an award I’ve been gunning at for the last 12 years, ever since I first set foot in a radio studio…
And the winner is...
It was the 2011 Australian Commercial Radio Awards held at the Miami themed Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast. The night of nights for commercial radio people Australia wide – whether you made 6 figures a year or even just $60 a day reading funeral announcements, selling airtime or giving away bread. For radio people, it’s the Emmys, Grammys, WWE Championship, ARIAs, Oscars and everything else rolled into one. Over 1000 Aussie radio superstars – old hats, new guns – dressed to kill, ready to party. And for the second time in 10 years, I’d been nominated for one of these prestigious awards.
Not even the incredible hulk driving a turbo boosted dump truck could’ve have stopped me, my lovely better half Donna, my gun co-host (the award was for the on air team) or his girlfriend being there.
And when the bloke presenting the award you’re gunning for (as well was co hosting the awards night) just so happens to be in one of your favourite movie series, well that’s a pretty rocking night.
Hello Mr Grammer!
I crossed hairs (on my chest), toes and every part of my body when it got to the award we were in. Donna loaded up a picture of our beautiful boy Jackson to wish us luck.
The finalists flashed up on screen – my company cheered.
Kelsey read out the winners name…and in the split second it took me to work out he’d said my name wrong, the other half of my brain screamed that the rest of what he said was indeed correct…we’d won! Out of the four finalists, we’d done it!
After punching the sky, hugging my fiance, hugging random people that I used to work with and punching the sky a few more times (and trying not to tip over when my co host gave me a huge bearhug on the way to the stage) we climbed up next to Kelso, I stuck out my hand and all that came to mind was:
‘Hi! I’m a huge fan!’
‘Why thank you! Well done on winning this!’ and our onboard luggage back home suddenly became a couple of kilos heavier.
‘Did I get your names correct?’ He asked my cohost. Not at all, but we didn’t care. It’s not every day you score such an amazing and humbling award…and get it handed to you by a bloke you never thought you’d cross paths with..
More winning than Charlee Sheen...