Andrew g          

... the FACTS 

Born: London, England on a Friday afternoon at 4:00. I was in a hurry, my mom's water broke while the car was in one of those automatic car washes. Moved to Australia a couple months later. Grew up in Brisbane.

Resides: Bondi Beach. Australia

Birth date: 3-29-74

Sign: Aries

Height: 5'10" on a good day.

Hair: Blonde - I pay a lot of money for my blonde hair.

Eyes: Brown - they get dark and spooky when I'm talking about things I'm passionate about.

Family: Mom is a doctor. One older brother, 2 younger brothers.

Status: Never married, no children

Want children: Yes, absolutely

Engaged before: There's a girl I was with for 7 years, we have matching tattoos, does that count?

Occupation: Co-host of Australian Idol.  Host of Take 40 Australia.

... on HIMSELF

Strengths: "Compassionate, I'm very passionate about everything that I do. I don't really waste any of my time on stuff I'm not into. If I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it as well as I can. I'm very easy to cook for, I'm vegan. It's a very small bit of groceries you have to buy when you cook for me. I've been a vegan for years. I'm a nice guy. I'm not an asshole. I've got nothing to prove. I like to think I'm quite fair and very reasonable."

Weakness: "I've got a weakness for girls who are powerful. I can't deal with girly girls. I've got a weakness for girls who really know what they want and who are really quite forthright and upfront. It's all over." 

Others may not see: "A lot of people see what I do and make up what kind of person I must be and what kind of music I must be into but what people don't see is my record collection, to be really honest. They assume because I work on these shows that are involved with pop music and mainstream culture that that's what I am, that I'm a Ken doll who reads auto cues. I do all my own research, I write all my own questions, I have done from day one. I'll go and see a Steve Wright play at the Sydney opera house. I'm into very weird music from all over the genres of existence. I appreciate many many things. I'm far from the mainstream guy. It's extreme for me to work on mainstream culture, I'll put it that way." 

I've been known to ... "play a mean air guitar when the right level of intoxication has been reached. And I've been known to play far far too much Internet scrabble."

Interests: "Music was always my passion. I did a contemporary music course in Brisbane. I got a job in radio after enrolling at a university so I dropped out. I thought what's the point, I'm already here. I always wanted to be a rock star. I still do. I played bass in some bands. The most recent thing I was in was playing double bass in a country band which was a lot of fun but I started DJing more and more which is also a lot of fun. My place is right on the beach, all I see out my window is water. I sit there and watch the waves and play my guitar and sing songs about girls. I'm down at the beach every day whether it be to go for a run or go for a surf. I love it. I wouldn't live anywhere else."

One of my main interests, number one would be to try and achieve some sort of harmony in my life as far as, this is going to sound strange, but I will say it anyway, like as far as being fit and stress free and eating right and being good to people around me and creating a harmonious environment for me to exist in. That's what I'm really interested in, is creating this space to exist in and not involving any kind of ... no shit into my life ... no people who bring bad ju ju into my world. Try to keep what I do and my friends and everything all moving in the same direction. I keep my friends very close and I keep my acquaintances at a distance. I will sit down and chat with you for hours but I keep a tight group around me. I like scrabble, I'm flirting dangerously with Internet poker, let me tell you. Me playing Internet poker is like shagging my secretary at work, I'm trying to keep it on the sly. I love being on the beach, I run, do yoga every day or I try and go surfing if the waves are right even though I'm a terrible surfer, I love it. I like to play golf but I'm a terrible golfer. I like to DJ but I'm an awful DJ, I really don't care. I play guitar and I'm a pretty ordinary guitar player but I really don't care. I love it. Here's the thing, whereas Internet poker or monopoly is about having more money than someone else, scrabble is about being smarter than someone else. Everyone wants to feel smart. When you win a scrabble game, you feel really smart and it makes you feel really good. It's not about vocabulary, it's about making your brain work in different directions than it normally would. I use it like I would go for a run or why I do yoga, I do it to exercise my brain. I play scrabble to make myself in directions that I don't think in all day long, and it really works. I really feel the difference. That and pinball. You'd be surprised how many ... I'm a bachelor, I've got a Charlie's Angels pinball machine, the whole left right brain thing using your hands playing pinball, you come up with amazing ideas playing pinball, it's great. I still write and record my own music, it's really wussy love songs about girls, it's all I write about now."

Turn-ons: "Girls who like to go snowboarding and who like the mountains, that's very important. Because that encompasses girls who aren't afraid of the cold. Girls who really know their music, obviously. Also passionate girls who play no games. Who like to try new foods. Friends. I like it when everything comes together, when a plan comes together, I love that. I like to go snowboarding, I like being at the beach with my friends. I like surfing with my friends. Surfing alone is no fun, surfing with your friends is so much better and I really like that. I like eating so much. I love to eat and I eat so much food, it's out of control."

Turn-offs: "People who are unreasonable, inconsiderate, disrespectful. People who think that their desires and needs are more important than others is a real issue with me. Extreme right wing government who aren't into listening to a moderate voice. Girls who play games. Don't ever test a guy because you'll always lose. Every single time. Girls who expect guys to have esp. We're very very simple creatures. Put food in our belly, have sex with us every now and again, more often than not and occasionally tell us we're good at stuff and we'll do anything you want to make you happy. That's all we need, we don't really need much. If girls could understand that." 

Special Talents: "I'm very good at picking up languages when I go to another country. I can learn usually within an hour, yes, no, please, thanks. With accents and things, I'm very good at it. I'm told I speak without an accent. So I'm lucky to be good like that. I'm good at Frisbee. I can make you a vegan meal that will change your mind about what it means to be vegan."

Awards: "I have the Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Award for 2004. I was very proud and excited to win best burp. I've been nominated for Best TV Presenter. The show we worked on has won best reality show 2 yrs in a row."

Charities: "Prostate Cancer Foundation. It's a horrifically deadly disease, it kills more men each year in Australia than breast cancer kills women in Australia. Whenever I do anything stuff, like celebrity game shows, etc., I donate the money to them. I do events for them as well."

Spirituality: "I was baptized Catholic but gave that away when it all started not making sense. Then I went to a Buddhist retreat about 10 yrs ago. I got a lot more out of that than I've got from anything else. It all comes down to treat people how you'd like to be treated. If you be good, good things will happen to you, that's it. Very simple. I go to church only for funerals and marriages."

Fashion sense: "I don't own a suit. Wardrobe takes care of that for me which is very handy. I'm not the kind of guy who's going to wear a suit in a hurry. I've got a fascination with Hawaiian shirts and fedoras, I don't know why but I've moved on from thongs, jeans and a T-shirt which is a Bondi Beach uniform. A pair of javenos, a pair of cb jeans, a T-shirt that cost you 120 bucks and a choca hat, I've moved on to Hawaiian shirts and fedoras."

Staying healthy: "I used to eat heaps of meat and I used to smoke heaps of pot, I used to do all of that but not anymore. The benefits are amazing, colors look better, things smell good, things taste great. Once you stop dairy, if you're reading this and you think I could never do that, just stop eating dairy for a month and see how different everything tastes and how better you feel and how great your skin is. Everyone can go without dairy and you'll be fine. It's amazing living without dairy. I don't do yoga on the beach because I don't think anybody needs to see my downward dog at that time of day. It gets ugly, so I just do the yoga in my house." 

What touches my soul: "The final 32 vibes of Do You Realize by the Flaming Lips. Songs make me cry. I cry a lot on songs. I don't cry at movies, I cry at songs. There's a couple of songs that I just get goosebumps. Really really big time. I cry. I get so wrapped up in it."

... on WOMEN 
 
I first notice ... "her smile, her eyes."

Attention-getters: "Here's the thing, it's a skill I picked up doing Idol. Thousands and thousands people line up and you walk down the line and, I shit not, you can look in people's eyes and see straight away all right, you've got spark, you're a dud, you're a dud, you've got something, no, no, no, yes. A lot of people don't get the opportunity to look at thousands of people in the eyes every morning. I'm lucky in that I have this experience. It's incredible what you see in someone's eyes. They don't have to do anything to get my attention, you just have to be yourself, and if you're the kind of person that it's going to click, we'll both see it straight away. I wouldn't want anyone to do anything abnormal to get my attention because I don't want anyone to put a face on to meet me because you're going to have to keep it on for a long time if we end up together. Be who you are all the time. You can burp and fart and all that in front of me and I don't mind because that's who you are and it's all good. Her eyes and the way that she stands will always make a difference."

Ideal woman: "She's got to be independent, very sure of herself, very secure. She's got to appreciate and be experimental in all facets, food, travel, nights out. I need a girl who's ready to do anything and open to new experiences. A girl who knows the difference between the Beastie boys and the Backstreet Boys. Honest, adventurous, talented and fun."

I can't resist a woman who ... "knows what she wants and is not afraid to ask for it."

Most important quality in a woman: "Honesty. When there's honesty, there's informed decisions, no secrecy, and everyone gets what they want."
   
Ideal date: "Snow chalet, open fire, bottle of Pinot and a great weekend's snowfall."

What makes me call a woman back after a first date: "Cheeky smiles, wisecracks, intelligence."

I'd never date a woman who ... "is a real girly girl. I guess growing up with brothers sets me up to look for women who did the same." 

How I show I care: "Listen when appropriate, hug when appropriate, keep my underpants off of the floor."

What makes a woman unforgettable: "Great kisses. Great conversation."

I wish women understood ... "that we don't have ESP and we actually really appreciate when you tell us what you want. If you tell us what you want, we give it to you and that makes you happy. You happy means you like us more. You happy and liking us increases our chance of sex. Sorry, it's that simple."

One thing a woman has never done for me yet, but I would love it: "Fixed my car."

... on RELATIONSHIPS  
 
On relationships: "Relationships only work if they're balanced, it's give and take people! Trust, fun and growth is the most important thing in relationships. Without growth, things get stagnant, boring and eventually end."

Top relationship keys: "Communicate with your partner and give up being right about everything. Both of you." 

A woman in a relationship with me can expect ... "to find out that I'm far from stable. No, seriously, I'm the guy with the hot water bottle. I'm the guy who goes and gets the Midols in the middle of the night, I'm the guy who is great to shop with, and I'm also the guy who farts in front of you, tells you when you don't look your best (yes, those pants do make you look fat) and is honest, all from a place of love and respect. Except for the farts, they're just funny." 

What I expect: "Honesty, respect and fun. Lots of sex is good too." 

When I'm in love, I ... "don't even notice when girls are trying to pick me up." 

What makes me feel close to a woman: "When she sees me vulnerable."

Greatest relationship lesson: "It's got to work for both of you. Don't fall on your sword, have respect for yourself as well as her." 

What makes a woman marriage material: "She's awesome fun, hot, understands my odd music obsession and can burp in front of me without thinking I care about her standing as a lady of decorum."

... on SEX  
 
What makes sex good: "Smiles, adventure, passion and distinctive requests for what you want."

I feel my sexiest when ... "I'm all fluffy in the freshly washed white linen."

Most sensual part of a woman's body: "Her eyes. They make or break sex. One look can send me right over the edge, so it's lights on always (candles are OK)."

Sexiest thing a woman can wear in private: "Something that can be left on and worked around." 

Surefire to seduce me: "Whisper what they'd like me to do to them in my ear while I'm talking to someone else."

... on LIFE
 
Making my mark: "By showing the world that not all vegans are anemic hippies with a grudge about society." 

Responsibility to society: "To show the world that unsustainable factory farming is not only bad for the world we live in, but eating the products of those places will kill you a lot quicker than global warming will."  
Valuable life lesson: "Everything comes back to you and if you ask the universe for something, it will come to you. So be careful what you ask for." 

I must ... "smile, relax, figure out how to surf better."

Best advice received: "My father translated a Czech proverb for me when I started in broadcasting when I was 20 - `Make friends with the steps on the ladder on the way up, as you will need them again on the way back down.'"

Best advice I've given a woman: "Perhaps it's not the fact that the world is full of arsehole guys, but maybe the fact that you only go for arsehole guys that's the problem?"

... on HIS FAVORITE THINGS
 
Movie: "Anchorman. I love Lamp!" 

TV Show: "Extras. It is the show from Ricky Gervais (The Office) and is a joint BBC/HBO production. It is hilarious." 
 
Book: "The Godfather by Mario Puzo."

Music: "My chocka-block 60gig I pod."

Food: "My favorite food is actually in America. I go there for work quite a bit. On the East coast there's Candle Cafe on 3rd and 75th. I have dreams about the food there. It's vegan, it's macro, it's unbelievable food. It's the most incredible place. I'm getting hungry talking about it now. On the West coast, there's M Cafe on the corner of Melrose and La Brea which is a macro vegan, kind of a Japanese vibe and it is just the most incredible food. Oh mate, you eat it and you just glow for hours. People rarely know how much food can affect them. They'll take a drug, an advil and expect the drug to kick in, they don't actually realize that when you put food in you it has the same effect. If you eat great food, you just sail through your day, if you eat shit, take away, French fried food, of course you're going to feel tired, irritable and cranky. You get out what you put in." 

... final THOUGHTS
 
Wheels: "I drive a stick, fast around corners and slick on the highways." 

Pets: "I have two cats and I'm stepfather to a Labrador. Ain't no chick magnet like the Lab in the dog park."

Tattoos/piercings: "I have a tattoo (a ring around my toe) on my left foot, that I got in Cairns with an ex-girlfriend. She's about to have her first kid, and she and I are still really close, so it reminds me of her every time I look at it. That's the only tattoo I have so far. I was thinking of getting one of those tribal things on my lower back, but no I'm kidding!

Always in my refrigerator: "Tofu, Rice Milk, Bananas and fruit." 

Hottest possession: "My vast collection of inappropriate Hawaiian shirts." 

I would change places for 24 hours with ... "Prince, just to be on stage with his band would be amazing." 

I would most like to hang out with ... "my little brother in the snowfields of Japan again."

Celeb I'd love to take on a date: "Cameron Diaz, so I too could learn the lessons that turned Britney-Shagging Timberlake into a man." 

Why I'm such a great catch: "Because I have no time for drama. Life's too short!"

Me in a word: "Spontaneous."