Going from the frosty winters of Goulburn to the tropical heat of Darwin is quite the seachange, but Samual Mansfield and Anthony Johnston – aka Hot100 Breakfast duo Sam and Ant – are taking it all in their stride.
In an industry where overblown egos often run rampant, Sam and Ant are refreshingly unassuming and humble, grateful for every career opportunity that comes their way.
When Radio Today first spoke to Sam and Ant in April last year, they were co-hosting Breakfast on 93.5 Eagle FM in the New South Wales Southern Tablelands.
Keen to market themselves as a duo, their goal was to work in cap city radio – ideally, at one of the ‘big dogs.’ In other words, a station with (quote) “loads of free muffins and other free stuff.”
Six months later, cap city radio did indeed beckon.
Sam and Ant suddenly found themselves chucking away their winter woolies and packing their board shorts for a new life in the Top End.
Like any move, it’s taken some adjusting. But both feel they’ve adapted pretty well so far.
“I’ve really enjoyed it,” says Sam. “It’s nice to be in a city where there are people my age and fun things to do. The people here are really nice. I think we’ve been accepted pretty quickly.”
“And it’s hot!” he adds enthusiastically. “It’s really hot! I love it!”
Ant is also enjoying everything his new city has to offer.
“It’s been great. I’d never been to Darwin before. It feels like what Americans think Australia is. It’s got scary animals. There’s hot weather. The people are a little bit loose – but with that, they’re also very relaxed. Down to earth. And like Sam said, they’ve accepted us very well and the team who we work with have done such a great job ingratiating us into the culture and community up here. So yeah, we’re very lucky.”
Accepting the gig was a no-brainer.
Friends and family members told them ‘It’s amazing up there. It’s like a different world.’
Hooked as soon as she heard Sam and Ant as a radio duo, Hot100 Content Director Sarah Passalick was convinced Darwin would welcome them with open arms.
“She really sold us on it,” says Sam. “So it was a pretty easy decision after we spoke to everyone.”
An easy decision. But a huge call as well.
“It was a big decision,” Ant admits. “It’s a long way away and you are a bit more isolated from friends and family. But the more people we spoke to who work in radio, they just said the same thing – ‘You have to do it. It’s an amazing opportunity.’”
Ant says the team at the ARN station did their best to facilitate their move.
“They helped put us up in a hotel at the start. Our good friend Jac (Cowan), who does the Drive show, helped us both find accommodation.”
Ant says Cowan (pictured above with Sam, Ant and Hot 100 Mornings host Xy McEwan) has also been instrumental in helping them get out and about and build their social network.
“There are awesome people up here who we’re working with who can help make those challenges a lot easier, whether it be on-air or off-air.”
Right now, Sam and Ant’s main goal is to immerse themselves in the local community and connect with listeners.
Sam says “The way I look at it is – Hot100 is Darwin’s mother, and we’re the step dads. So we’ve got to get on their good side and get to know them.”
“We just want to make a lot of noise and do a lot of community driven things in Darwin. The community feel up here is really, really strong.”
“Then we want to work as hard as we can and learn a lot. Obviously, there are a lot more facilities up here. We’re developing our skills on-air. It does motivate us to keep going and hopefully take it to the next level sometime in the future.”
And it doesn’t hurt to have a bit of ‘Territory toughness’ about you.
“I think we’ve got to be a bit Territory tough ourselves,” Ant smiles.
Exactly how tough is ‘Territory tough?’
As Sam explains “There’s a guy up here who broke his pinky finger and instead of getting surgery to fix it, he just said ‘Cut it off.’”
“That’s the toughest thing I’ve ever heard!”
Sam and Ant can be heard weekdays from 5:30am to 9am on Darwin’s Hot100.