Born and Bred – Ben Hannant

WHAT WAS IT LIKE GROWING UP ON THE GOLD COAST? There is nothing like growing up on the Gold Coast, you get the best of both worlds. As kids, myself and my 10 brothers and sisters would be on the farm horse riding, motorbike riding and then after a long day we’d duck down to the beach for a surf.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF THE COAST? Everything! The Gold Coast has it all. From beaches to some of the best places to eat with friends, great weather and the hinterland. Why would you want to live anywhere else but the Gold Coast!

FAVOURITE PLACES TO SEE/DO/EAT ON THE COAST? I love going to The Glades in Robina and playing golf with mates Mat Rodgers and Greg Bird, and I’d have to say my favourite place to eat is at Jimmy Wahs in Burleigh. But nothing beats being at home with my family on our farm in Tallebudgera.

HOW DID YOUR FOOTBALL CAREER BEGIN? When I was in high school I joined my first football club, Burleigh Bears. In 2001 when I finished high school, I joined the Brisbane Broncos and played with them for the next nine years. I then moved south to play with the Sydney Roosters and Canterbury Bulldogs. My last club was the North Queensland Cowboys, we won the premiership in 2015 and I decided to retire at the end of 2016. During my career I also represented Australia and played five series of State of Origin for Queensland.

WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST LESSON FOOTBALL TAUGHT YOU? Small things turn into big things. If you do the basics right they turn into great results. If you take shortcuts, they can turn into big mistakes. I like to say from little things big things grow (good or bad).

Ben HANNANT

HOW HAS YOUR LIFE CHANGED FROM FOOTY PLAYER TO RADIO HOST? IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A BIG TRANSITION, HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? I was signed to play with the North Queensland Cowboys in 2017, but in the 2016 off-season I got asked to go to Brisbane and do a demo for radio… I didn’t even know what a demo was! I told a couple of stories, had a few laughs and two weeks later I got offered the job. It was a really hard decision for me, to leave a career and let go of the identity of being a footy

player, but my wife said I would be crazy not to take an opportunity to be part of a radio station I grew up listening to.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF BEING ON SEA FM? It’s a dream job, we get to chat with the Gold Coast every morning! We hear people’s stories, we have a laugh and it feels like a big family and friendship group with the entire Coast. It really makes this big city feel like small town, that’s a feeling I love. YOU ARE ONE OF 11 AND A FATHER OF EIGHT, WHAT IS IT LIKE HAVING SUCH A BIG FAMILY/FATHERING EIGHT KIDS? It’s the best thing in the world having a big family. I was always taught in life, nothing worthwhile ever comes easy. Being a father of eight isn’t always easy but it is by far the most rewarding thing that has ever happened to me. I am so blessed to have a fantastic wife and beautiful kids. They are my wealth.

ON A DAY OFF/WEEKEND, WHAT WOULD WE FIND YOU DOING ON THE GC? Usually on a weekend I’ll go for an early morning surf or fish with my son on Palmy Reef. Then we are back on our farm riding motorbikes, travelling around the GC together or riding the horses on the beach.