December 16, 2025 • 18 mins
Leigh Hart is one of New Zealand’s most popular comedians, with a career that spans TV, radio, podcasts and even the odd chip and beer company.
He joined the Afternoons team to discuss his 2025 accolades - and look back on a year of accomplishments.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talks B follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Well, Lee Hart, he needs no introduction, but we'll give
him one anyway. He is this country's funniest and most
talented comedian, broadcaster and businessman. His business career continues to
saw with Snacker Changy Chips. He's launched the wildly popular
paid to talk show on podcast on Radio Hodaki, and
he's picked up the radio award for the best Sports
(00:36):
podcast for Sports Cafe Ish. It is a great pleasure
to welcome in as part of our Christmas catch ups
with kick Ass Kiwi's Lee Hart.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
You that pleads to see you got the intro email G.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yeah, yeah, thank you for that. Yeah, well it saves
us a lot of hassle.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Well, if we go to that winning the podcast for
best Podcast, there was a toit of surprise for you.
You weren't there to win it, you didn't know you'd
be nominated and you went up and received it.
Speaker 5 (01:04):
It was all a bit of a surprise for me
that one, wasn't it.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Yeah, that's out with mate, who were there, you know
for radio shows and other podcasts that kind of thing.
I was just sort of just snuck in and I
didn't even realize.
Speaker 5 (01:16):
We were nominated.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Of course, casts and Rick certainly didn't jull me, and
so I was there and next thing I know, I
had to get on stage and probably make the worst
speech I've ever made. But in the end of the day,
it was on X behalf, so it didn't really matter.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
When you're there for a few free drinks and you're
getting the ward lely, I mean, you know that's a
nice bonus, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Yeah? Exactly, But I've not I'd actually feel not to
win award, to be honest, better just known along, isn't it.
You know? Yeah?
Speaker 5 (01:42):
I always thought about that.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
When I'm not known for a war, I'm always sitting
there going hope I don't win, because then I.
Speaker 5 (01:47):
Have to do the speech.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
How you're a man with that, with a million ideas,
always got something on the boil, Lee, You know what,
what ventures have you fired up this year that people
might not know about this year?
Speaker 3 (02:00):
It's funny, isn't that, Because I'm just kept looking at
the calendar and the date, and I remember January last
year or this time the year. Thank god, next year
is going to be massive. I'm going to do all
these things I kept talking about on radio shows that
I go along and what's happening next to, you know,
talk about them trying to I should go back and
see what I mentioned. But I don't think I've done
(02:20):
any of it. I've sort of been busy. I fund
like I've been busy. I always like to do a
TV show every year if I can, sort of a
self indulgent kind of thing, a travel show or getting
around the place, And I've found I didn't do it
this year. So in many ways, I feel like I'm
not that I've let myself down. Well, what does it
(02:41):
dispute anyway? For a start, who watches them? But I
sort of feel that there's a gap there. But I
feel like I've been doing a lot of filming and stuff. Anyways,
I've been just as busy, but it just felt a
little lot more fragmented. Put it that way.
Speaker 5 (02:53):
Well, I feel like I was on something.
Speaker 4 (02:55):
Yeah, I feel like I was on something that was
kind of TV like with you this year they paid
to talk podcast.
Speaker 5 (03:00):
You're filming that?
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Yeah, Well, I mean a lot of the podcast of
films nowadays, a lot of the radio shows of films,
So does that make a show that filmed a podcast
and vice versa. And I mean when I was doing radio,
of course a couple of years back. They started filming
stuff then, and I was always not uncomfortable that. I
was just thinking, well, at what point does this become
a TV show? If you know what I mean, and
(03:23):
the reason I say that, in my case, I perform
or act slightly different. When I'm doing radio. You sit
back and like and you it's a little bit more reactive.
I suppose with TV I'm a little bit more I
would take in trive, but yep, you're sort of sort
of more in control of it, I think, and I
like to think. I like to know what I'm doing
(03:44):
a bit more, and that what I liked about radio
you could relax. But also look, what I liked about
TV was, you know, you're making something that you might revisited,
I suppose and a few use time and watch again.
Whereas a radio, you know, can be as you guys
know it's that was that show last week and you
know it's of the day.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
It's one of one of the worst things that happened
to radio was when they started filming it, and you
couldn't make up huge lies about where you were, You
couldn't pick.
Speaker 5 (04:13):
You put Yeah, theater of the mine. You know, it's
a disaster.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Well, podcast seems sort of at the moment to slip
between the middle of that, a bit of a no
man's land turkey for me. You know. So I did
the podcast page to talk this year and I thought, well,
we might as well film it. As soon as we
started doing that, I'm thinking, well we might as well
as I do it at the Eco Lodge and trying
to add these I don't know, it's it's a funny one.
(04:41):
I still don't understand it.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Oh, I love it, matey. How are the chips going?
You had a big goal of getting a snack of
chiny chipped to every KEYWI. How did you go on
that journey?
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Yeah? I hope you wouldn't bring that up and put
it asway the the reading call it. The promotion was
very popular. I think it was a bit bit ambitious
trying to get one chip to every k in the country,
but I tried. I did about probably less than one hundred.
And then then the community, so to speak, New Zealand
took over, which was kind of the deep an was
(05:12):
kind of the plan, I think, and it was it's
really good. And as I say, you know, thanks for asking,
the chips going are going really good. We like to think,
you know that that was the idea of the campaign
that you know, once everybody tries one, you know, I'm
buying large. Most people say, yeah, that's pretty damn good,
you know.
Speaker 5 (05:29):
I mean, that's really good chips.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Yeah, that's pretty basic chips, but you know you can
have you know, we like to think they're pretty good,
you know, and it's yeah, why not.
Speaker 4 (05:39):
They're on any New Zealand flights now, which which I
was quite impressed by because you know, we've been friends
for a long time. Lee Hard and the whole ship
thing sort of surprised me because you know, you've done
a lot of stuff, and then the chips immediately tried them.
They were delicious, and I thought, well, he's just a
bit of a tie in. Here's a bit of a
novelty thing, Lise. He's doing a little thing, and then
(06:00):
it exploded into being one of the biggest things you've
ever done.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Yeah, but it's kind of a comedy of therors. I mean,
it's like you know, something will stick eventually, you know,
I don't all the tvps and stuff, and the reason
I started beer brand first, and that was to try
to keep momentum going in between TV shows or funding grounds.
You know. That's like, so I thought, you know, let's
(06:26):
keep the momentum going so you can have a product
out there, you know, doing some work to you, you know,
where you're waiting to make another show. And the beers
took off, and that sort of had the same attitude,
et cetera, of a you know, sort of self deprecating
kind of thing, like a lot of the comedy I
supposed we were doing. And then when the beer it
was going fine as well, but you're kind of an
even new story the whole time. So I thought, what
(06:48):
the hell, why don't we get a snack to go
along with the beer. You know, it's an obvious thing
to do, and it'll be fun and I'm not thinking
too much of it. It was actually nuts that I
was thinking, I'm first, So I approached Griffin's and they said, oh, yep,
they'll give a go, and next thing, you know, we're
doing chips instead of nuts. And then there you go,
(07:08):
and it's sort of sort of taken off. So it's
kind of thirty years in the making, but it seems
very sudden. You know.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
Yeah, Well, as a businessman, how do you feel the
country is going?
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Oh, as a businessman, Look, it's funny because I can
only I can only get a gauged from you know,
sort of news stories of seeing people out there and
my friends and family and people you know that have
got other you know, legitimate business and stuff and wetherip
are really still straggling out there, and some are saying
(07:40):
it's getting better, and some saying it's taking long to recover.
Then it should have the problem with the chip gag
for example, you remember COVID, for example, when everybody was
really struggling. Ironically, chips were selling, you know, I was
selling great in ze markets because that's all people were
doing for eating chips and things. And even in our
(08:01):
head even in sort of a type of times, you know,
you know, certain foods and stuff rightly wrong, they still
we'll get eaten. And I'm just not certainly not an
economy proof because you know, there's riding up and down
with the economy now. But I like to think it's
without I like to think it's getting better, but it's
slower than I thought, but you know, I can't complain
(08:25):
on that on that front. I do look out there.
I do worry about some you know, all the restaurants, cafes,
all that sort of stuff closing down and stuff, and
hoping there is you know, at the bottom at least,
and we're starting to come out of it.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
So you know, I'm positive, man, next year, it feels
like there is some optimism of foot, which is a
good thing.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Lee.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
This isn't a similar vein, but what is exciting you
as we in twenty twenty five and going into next year.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
I could probably tell you sexually, but it doesn't seem
the time or place to be doing that, So instead
I'd sort of talk about next year. I'm hoping to
get back into some sort of TV I suppose, you know,
seeing I didn't do anything this year. The other thing
that's kind of excited me at the fact that my daughter,
my own issues off to university next year. So my
excitement is kind of you know, through her in away.
(09:07):
My sounds already down there. So I'll be here by
myself really in the house, like I'm sort of being Emptynester,
so I'll have no excuses not to get on and
then maybe do something to forget next year. But I'm
just really excited about her because you know she's going
down and you know you think back and you're going
to still old course. But that's so excited that the
whole idea of him so and I'll be able to
(09:28):
go down there and visit her and him, and that's
exciting me. So it's going to be a big year
either way, regardless of what I do, It's going to
be a big year, you know, for my family in
that sense. So that's exciting me.
Speaker 5 (09:39):
Yeah, it's an interesting one when your kids go off
to university.
Speaker 4 (09:41):
And if you could visit my son down and Totago
as well, well you're down there, that would be great
for me as well. But the annoying thing about that
is that they don't know how great the situation is.
They're unecessarily and I was just saying to my son yesterday,
oh my god, I was just talking up his life
to him so much this holiday. You're on between years
of university. You know, you're off to a targo next year.
(10:04):
You've got this, you've got that, you're young, you've got
the whole. And he's like, yeah, yeah, I broke there,
you know.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
Yeah, and they don't know. I mean, but we kids
the same, you know, you don't know how like you are,
you know in that sense. I mean they've got these
festivals doing things nowadays to go to and all this
sort of stuff, and it's all built in Their whole
time up is built around that kind of stuff, you know.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Yeah, really have that luxury suites of your life. Bugger
all responsibility. You can drink as much as you want,
you can do pretty much what you want.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
You stay reasonably thin. Yeah, whatever you eat, whatever you do,
it's amazing. But you just you just got swirling drama
around you for some for some reason.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
News talks it'd be. We are joined by the one
and only Lee Hard as part of our Christmas catch
Ups with Kick Cars Kiwi's Lee, thanks very much for
joining us.
Speaker 4 (10:53):
When I came up with the name Christmas Ketchups with
Kick Ass Kiwis, I felt quite proud about it. But
every time you say it now I feel a little
bit humiliated.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (11:00):
What does the Christmas menu look like for you?
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Lee?
Speaker 3 (11:03):
The menu? Ah, that's a good point. It's going to
be quite a quiet one, that's you hid glos. I
think it's just going to be me and my mom
and dad. My brothers will stay up here, and it's
just one of those years where it's that way, that way.
I think we've decided to go less through this time.
We will definitely have white bait in the morning on
Christmas Day, you know, late morning kind of thing. And
(11:25):
I can actually tell you something you because my mom
asked me, what would you do? I think we're going
to do a lamb roast. Nice, but rather than having
a lamb and a ham and a turkey, we think
we're just going to go with the lamb. Then I
heard Dad and yelling their background or maybe just a barbecue.
That could change the last minute. But it's going to
(11:46):
be pretty low key, you know, if week and stuff,
that's what up. And as far as you know, I'll
be surprised. It should be pretty basic, pretty basic stuff.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
That sounds like a great time. Are the beast and
worst things about the feast of seasonally.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Well, the worst things are probably doing these sort of
puff pieces on newspapers and radio and that about Christmas. No,
actually I like Christmas. I like the whole sort of thing,
and you know, and I lose track of days and
twenty seven. Is that before Christmas? That's why it's after Christmas.
You know, I like Christmas. I'm the thinking back to
(12:21):
the whole commercialism side of it in the last few
years has started to annoy me a little bit. You know,
you got washing, you know, going shopping walls, and I
don't actually shop for anyone anymore now when i'm sort
of somehow that sounds worn down, and no one seems
to shop for me, So there's not so much of
that going on. My kids, obviously, I'll get them something,
(12:42):
but I think that's probably just the person in cash.
I think before they went away anywhere. We'll see about that.
But the worst things I remember some of the worst
gifts I got. So for example, when I was a kid,
there's different times, of course, you know. I remember what
I wanted was a brand new Tensby bike. You know,
like a lot of kids when they were like eight
(13:03):
or nine or ten were trying to get gund of thing.
And this year I just got the ac combinationation lot
for one, you know, you know, the secretly the lock
and that was that was under the tree and I thought, wow,
that's amazing. Mean the bike must be outside and it wasn't.
It was just that and all the other kids got
a bike and stuff now hanging out of the thell
(13:23):
be hanging down to the bike d with their bikes,
and I just been standing there with with the combination chain.
You know, I'm locking it and locking it and I'm
locking it again. I remember saying to Dad, you know,
that's not fair, Dad, and he goes life not Life's
not fair so much so that was that there was
(13:47):
The gift was a lesson more than when.
Speaker 5 (13:49):
A lo Kids love a gift. That's a listener.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
I don't know, I should maybe retract. My parents will
be listening to this, so it could be that gets
through it.
Speaker 5 (14:04):
It's hard to retract. It's out there. It's life now.
Speaker 4 (14:07):
It's interesting you say that about commun because I watched
Charlie Brown Christmas from nineteen sixty five. You can watch
it on Apple TV, and I've always loved the music
to it. I listened to that every year, the jazzy
kind of Christmas stuff, and the whole theme of that
in ninety sixty five was the rant commercialization of Christmas.
It's the whole theme of it. And I was thinking,
you don't know what's coming. You wait, Charles Seltz, you
(14:28):
do not know what's coming. If you think Christmas is
commercial is nineteen sixty five?
Speaker 3 (14:33):
You just Boxing Days sales? That that is almost criminal,
isn't it. Yeah?
Speaker 4 (14:38):
Well, as a concept, yeah yeah, Well it's just like
we're going to play you for your caring about Christmas
and then and then you know, if you don't care,
then we'll give you a deal all.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
The day after well flee again.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
We'll play you will clearly play your emotions.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
I mean, it's all right if you're trying to get
in like a TV for yourself or something or you
you know, but if your kids are waiting for Christmas
present and you say, look, I just wait a couple
of days to Christmas before you get the present, you know,
it seems that sort of having a double dipping. Really
they need to be with the you know, the Boxing
(15:13):
Day sales and the whole the whole Christmas free Christmas prices,
you know.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
And the whole Christmas thing is let up with the
Black Friday sales as well. Now, Lee, we're pushing the
gratitude barrow hard on the show this year. So this
is a this is a cliched question for you. What
are you grateful for, mate.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Yeah, and it might be a cliche question, so I'll
give a cliche.
Speaker 5 (15:37):
Answer and appreciate.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
And you can quote me on this. It's got to
be family really has been in the last couple of years.
It's a really interesting time with them, you know, moving
on are there and you know, as we know, there's
always some people in your life, even this week that
you know that have lost lost people, you know, literally
lost people. You know. That puts everything in perspective, and
(16:04):
it's just such a you know, it really does. Also
a few know wants this day, you know, and relatively
young person, you know, so what and you know we've
lost a family member not so long ago, you know,
and that's going to make this Christmas very very strange
and hard and different for a lot so many people
this country, you know, just so so many people. It
(16:27):
would be a weird, weird Christmas as it is every year.
So while I can be I'm just so thankful for
what I got to be honest with my family.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Yeah, beautifully said Ley. And finally, mate, what is your
favorite Christmas song?
Speaker 3 (16:39):
Yep, I've got a couple. I'm an old rocket roller
from from way back because Matt knows like literally rock
and roll, like Chuck Berry kind of stuff. So he
has a classic, you know, run Run Rudolph or Run
Rudolf Run. I think it's called a lot of people
have covered it, the food Fighters that are good cover
of it, I think, and I hate to say it.
You know they're going back down the piece hal with
a cheese angle, you know, the old band. You know,
(17:04):
do they know it's Christmas band aid? I mean that
probably because of the eraror you know that was my
era I was fourteen or something that came out, So
it's nostalgic. It's nostalgic as well as a Christmas song
for me, know, I mean it's got a double meaning.
I just remember being bloody fourteen fifteen the whole overhead
of me, and that still sounds you know, it sounds
(17:25):
fash So it's the sort of thing you know. I'll
play that for sure, and a bit of rock and
roll Run Rude off Run fantastic.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
We're going to play that for you right now, Lee,
Thank you very much, and have a fantastic Christmas in
summer as well. We'll catch up next year.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Yeah. Likewise, you guys, have a good one. Everyone stay
safe from between the lanes. No, it's from between the flowers.
Drive between the range and from between the flowers. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (17:50):
Good advice, Yeah, great advice.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Yeah fantastic. That is, of course, Lee Heart one of
our Christmas catch ups with kick Ass kiwis you're listening
to News Talks here b beg very soon?
Speaker 5 (18:06):
Not a the range.
Speaker 6 (18:08):
Oh you're the mastermind. Run run Rudolf, run off, make
you far behind, run run rude alf Ran and gotta
make it to town Santra making Harry Clellan he can
take the freeway down. Run run the rude ol couse,
(18:32):
I'm really not gonna.
Speaker 5 (18:33):
Merry go round
Speaker 1 (18:39):
For more from News Talks at b listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio
You're listening to a podcast from News Talks B follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Well, Lee Hart, he needs no introduction, but we'll give
him one anyway. He is this country's funniest and most
talented comedian, broadcaster and businessman. His business career continues to
saw with Snacker Changy Chips. He's launched the wildly popular
paid to talk show on podcast on Radio Hodaki, and
he's picked up the radio award for the best Sports
(00:36):
podcast for Sports Cafe Ish. It is a great pleasure
to welcome in as part of our Christmas catch ups
with kick Ass Kiwi's Lee Hart.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
You that pleads to see you got the intro email G.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yeah, yeah, thank you for that. Yeah, well it saves
us a lot of hassle.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Well, if we go to that winning the podcast for
best Podcast, there was a toit of surprise for you.
You weren't there to win it, you didn't know you'd
be nominated and you went up and received it.
Speaker 5 (01:04):
It was all a bit of a surprise for me
that one, wasn't it.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Yeah, that's out with mate, who were there, you know
for radio shows and other podcasts that kind of thing.
I was just sort of just snuck in and I
didn't even realize.
Speaker 5 (01:16):
We were nominated.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Of course, casts and Rick certainly didn't jull me, and
so I was there and next thing I know, I
had to get on stage and probably make the worst
speech I've ever made. But in the end of the day,
it was on X behalf, so it didn't really matter.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
When you're there for a few free drinks and you're
getting the ward lely, I mean, you know that's a
nice bonus, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Yeah? Exactly, But I've not I'd actually feel not to
win award, to be honest, better just known along, isn't it.
You know? Yeah?
Speaker 5 (01:42):
I always thought about that.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
When I'm not known for a war, I'm always sitting
there going hope I don't win, because then I.
Speaker 5 (01:47):
Have to do the speech.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
How you're a man with that, with a million ideas,
always got something on the boil, Lee, You know what,
what ventures have you fired up this year that people
might not know about this year?
Speaker 3 (02:00):
It's funny, isn't that, Because I'm just kept looking at
the calendar and the date, and I remember January last
year or this time the year. Thank god, next year
is going to be massive. I'm going to do all
these things I kept talking about on radio shows that
I go along and what's happening next to, you know,
talk about them trying to I should go back and
see what I mentioned. But I don't think I've done
(02:20):
any of it. I've sort of been busy. I fund
like I've been busy. I always like to do a
TV show every year if I can, sort of a
self indulgent kind of thing, a travel show or getting
around the place, And I've found I didn't do it
this year. So in many ways, I feel like I'm
not that I've let myself down. Well, what does it
(02:41):
dispute anyway? For a start, who watches them? But I
sort of feel that there's a gap there. But I
feel like I've been doing a lot of filming and stuff. Anyways,
I've been just as busy, but it just felt a
little lot more fragmented. Put it that way.
Speaker 5 (02:53):
Well, I feel like I was on something.
Speaker 4 (02:55):
Yeah, I feel like I was on something that was
kind of TV like with you this year they paid
to talk podcast.
Speaker 5 (03:00):
You're filming that?
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Yeah, Well, I mean a lot of the podcast of
films nowadays, a lot of the radio shows of films,
So does that make a show that filmed a podcast
and vice versa. And I mean when I was doing radio,
of course a couple of years back. They started filming
stuff then, and I was always not uncomfortable that. I
was just thinking, well, at what point does this become
a TV show? If you know what I mean, and
(03:23):
the reason I say that, in my case, I perform
or act slightly different. When I'm doing radio. You sit
back and like and you it's a little bit more reactive.
I suppose with TV I'm a little bit more I
would take in trive, but yep, you're sort of sort
of more in control of it, I think, and I
like to think. I like to know what I'm doing
(03:44):
a bit more, and that what I liked about radio
you could relax. But also look, what I liked about
TV was, you know, you're making something that you might revisited,
I suppose and a few use time and watch again.
Whereas a radio, you know, can be as you guys
know it's that was that show last week and you
know it's of the day.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
It's one of one of the worst things that happened
to radio was when they started filming it, and you
couldn't make up huge lies about where you were, You
couldn't pick.
Speaker 5 (04:13):
You put Yeah, theater of the mine. You know, it's
a disaster.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Well, podcast seems sort of at the moment to slip
between the middle of that, a bit of a no
man's land turkey for me. You know. So I did
the podcast page to talk this year and I thought, well,
we might as well film it. As soon as we
started doing that, I'm thinking, well we might as well
as I do it at the Eco Lodge and trying
to add these I don't know, it's it's a funny one.
(04:41):
I still don't understand it.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Oh, I love it, matey. How are the chips going?
You had a big goal of getting a snack of
chiny chipped to every KEYWI. How did you go on
that journey?
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Yeah? I hope you wouldn't bring that up and put
it asway the the reading call it. The promotion was
very popular. I think it was a bit bit ambitious
trying to get one chip to every k in the country,
but I tried. I did about probably less than one hundred.
And then then the community, so to speak, New Zealand
took over, which was kind of the deep an was
(05:12):
kind of the plan, I think, and it was it's
really good. And as I say, you know, thanks for asking,
the chips going are going really good. We like to think,
you know that that was the idea of the campaign
that you know, once everybody tries one, you know, I'm
buying large. Most people say, yeah, that's pretty damn good,
you know.
Speaker 5 (05:29):
I mean, that's really good chips.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Yeah, that's pretty basic chips, but you know you can
have you know, we like to think they're pretty good,
you know, and it's yeah, why not.
Speaker 4 (05:39):
They're on any New Zealand flights now, which which I
was quite impressed by because you know, we've been friends
for a long time. Lee Hard and the whole ship
thing sort of surprised me because you know, you've done
a lot of stuff, and then the chips immediately tried them.
They were delicious, and I thought, well, he's just a
bit of a tie in. Here's a bit of a
novelty thing, Lise. He's doing a little thing, and then
(06:00):
it exploded into being one of the biggest things you've
ever done.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Yeah, but it's kind of a comedy of therors. I mean,
it's like you know, something will stick eventually, you know,
I don't all the tvps and stuff, and the reason
I started beer brand first, and that was to try
to keep momentum going in between TV shows or funding grounds.
You know. That's like, so I thought, you know, let's
(06:26):
keep the momentum going so you can have a product
out there, you know, doing some work to you, you know,
where you're waiting to make another show. And the beers
took off, and that sort of had the same attitude,
et cetera, of a you know, sort of self deprecating
kind of thing, like a lot of the comedy I
supposed we were doing. And then when the beer it
was going fine as well, but you're kind of an
even new story the whole time. So I thought, what
(06:48):
the hell, why don't we get a snack to go
along with the beer. You know, it's an obvious thing
to do, and it'll be fun and I'm not thinking
too much of it. It was actually nuts that I
was thinking, I'm first, So I approached Griffin's and they said, oh, yep,
they'll give a go, and next thing, you know, we're
doing chips instead of nuts. And then there you go,
(07:08):
and it's sort of sort of taken off. So it's
kind of thirty years in the making, but it seems
very sudden. You know.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
Yeah, Well, as a businessman, how do you feel the
country is going?
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Oh, as a businessman, Look, it's funny because I can
only I can only get a gauged from you know,
sort of news stories of seeing people out there and
my friends and family and people you know that have
got other you know, legitimate business and stuff and wetherip
are really still straggling out there, and some are saying
(07:40):
it's getting better, and some saying it's taking long to recover.
Then it should have the problem with the chip gag
for example, you remember COVID, for example, when everybody was
really struggling. Ironically, chips were selling, you know, I was
selling great in ze markets because that's all people were
doing for eating chips and things. And even in our
(08:01):
head even in sort of a type of times, you know,
you know, certain foods and stuff rightly wrong, they still
we'll get eaten. And I'm just not certainly not an
economy proof because you know, there's riding up and down
with the economy now. But I like to think it's
without I like to think it's getting better, but it's
slower than I thought, but you know, I can't complain
(08:25):
on that on that front. I do look out there.
I do worry about some you know, all the restaurants, cafes,
all that sort of stuff closing down and stuff, and
hoping there is you know, at the bottom at least,
and we're starting to come out of it.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
So you know, I'm positive, man, next year, it feels
like there is some optimism of foot, which is a
good thing.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Lee.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
This isn't a similar vein, but what is exciting you
as we in twenty twenty five and going into next year.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
I could probably tell you sexually, but it doesn't seem
the time or place to be doing that, So instead
I'd sort of talk about next year. I'm hoping to
get back into some sort of TV I suppose, you know,
seeing I didn't do anything this year. The other thing
that's kind of excited me at the fact that my daughter,
my own issues off to university next year. So my
excitement is kind of you know, through her in away.
(09:07):
My sounds already down there. So I'll be here by
myself really in the house, like I'm sort of being Emptynester,
so I'll have no excuses not to get on and
then maybe do something to forget next year. But I'm
just really excited about her because you know she's going
down and you know you think back and you're going
to still old course. But that's so excited that the
whole idea of him so and I'll be able to
(09:28):
go down there and visit her and him, and that's
exciting me. So it's going to be a big year
either way, regardless of what I do, It's going to
be a big year, you know, for my family in
that sense. So that's exciting me.
Speaker 5 (09:39):
Yeah, it's an interesting one when your kids go off
to university.
Speaker 4 (09:41):
And if you could visit my son down and Totago
as well, well you're down there, that would be great
for me as well. But the annoying thing about that
is that they don't know how great the situation is.
They're unecessarily and I was just saying to my son yesterday,
oh my god, I was just talking up his life
to him so much this holiday. You're on between years
of university. You know, you're off to a targo next year.
(10:04):
You've got this, you've got that, you're young, you've got
the whole. And he's like, yeah, yeah, I broke there,
you know.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
Yeah, and they don't know. I mean, but we kids
the same, you know, you don't know how like you are,
you know in that sense. I mean they've got these
festivals doing things nowadays to go to and all this
sort of stuff, and it's all built in Their whole
time up is built around that kind of stuff, you know.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Yeah, really have that luxury suites of your life. Bugger
all responsibility. You can drink as much as you want,
you can do pretty much what you want.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
You stay reasonably thin. Yeah, whatever you eat, whatever you do,
it's amazing. But you just you just got swirling drama
around you for some for some reason.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
News talks it'd be. We are joined by the one
and only Lee Hard as part of our Christmas catch
Ups with Kick Cars Kiwi's Lee, thanks very much for
joining us.
Speaker 4 (10:53):
When I came up with the name Christmas Ketchups with
Kick Ass Kiwis, I felt quite proud about it. But
every time you say it now I feel a little
bit humiliated.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (11:00):
What does the Christmas menu look like for you?
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Lee?
Speaker 3 (11:03):
The menu? Ah, that's a good point. It's going to
be quite a quiet one, that's you hid glos. I
think it's just going to be me and my mom
and dad. My brothers will stay up here, and it's
just one of those years where it's that way, that way.
I think we've decided to go less through this time.
We will definitely have white bait in the morning on
Christmas Day, you know, late morning kind of thing. And
(11:25):
I can actually tell you something you because my mom
asked me, what would you do? I think we're going
to do a lamb roast. Nice, but rather than having
a lamb and a ham and a turkey, we think
we're just going to go with the lamb. Then I
heard Dad and yelling their background or maybe just a barbecue.
That could change the last minute. But it's going to
(11:46):
be pretty low key, you know, if week and stuff,
that's what up. And as far as you know, I'll
be surprised. It should be pretty basic, pretty basic stuff.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
That sounds like a great time. Are the beast and
worst things about the feast of seasonally.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Well, the worst things are probably doing these sort of
puff pieces on newspapers and radio and that about Christmas. No,
actually I like Christmas. I like the whole sort of thing,
and you know, and I lose track of days and
twenty seven. Is that before Christmas? That's why it's after Christmas.
You know, I like Christmas. I'm the thinking back to
(12:21):
the whole commercialism side of it in the last few
years has started to annoy me a little bit. You know,
you got washing, you know, going shopping walls, and I
don't actually shop for anyone anymore now when i'm sort
of somehow that sounds worn down, and no one seems
to shop for me, So there's not so much of
that going on. My kids, obviously, I'll get them something,
(12:42):
but I think that's probably just the person in cash.
I think before they went away anywhere. We'll see about that.
But the worst things I remember some of the worst
gifts I got. So for example, when I was a kid,
there's different times, of course, you know. I remember what
I wanted was a brand new Tensby bike. You know,
like a lot of kids when they were like eight
(13:03):
or nine or ten were trying to get gund of thing.
And this year I just got the ac combinationation lot
for one, you know, you know, the secretly the lock
and that was that was under the tree and I thought, wow,
that's amazing. Mean the bike must be outside and it wasn't.
It was just that and all the other kids got
a bike and stuff now hanging out of the thell
(13:23):
be hanging down to the bike d with their bikes,
and I just been standing there with with the combination chain.
You know, I'm locking it and locking it and I'm
locking it again. I remember saying to Dad, you know,
that's not fair, Dad, and he goes life not Life's
not fair so much so that was that there was
(13:47):
The gift was a lesson more than when.
Speaker 5 (13:49):
A lo Kids love a gift. That's a listener.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
I don't know, I should maybe retract. My parents will
be listening to this, so it could be that gets
through it.
Speaker 5 (14:04):
It's hard to retract. It's out there. It's life now.
Speaker 4 (14:07):
It's interesting you say that about commun because I watched
Charlie Brown Christmas from nineteen sixty five. You can watch
it on Apple TV, and I've always loved the music
to it. I listened to that every year, the jazzy
kind of Christmas stuff, and the whole theme of that
in ninety sixty five was the rant commercialization of Christmas.
It's the whole theme of it. And I was thinking,
you don't know what's coming. You wait, Charles Seltz, you
(14:28):
do not know what's coming. If you think Christmas is
commercial is nineteen sixty five?
Speaker 3 (14:33):
You just Boxing Days sales? That that is almost criminal,
isn't it. Yeah?
Speaker 4 (14:38):
Well, as a concept, yeah yeah, Well it's just like
we're going to play you for your caring about Christmas
and then and then you know, if you don't care,
then we'll give you a deal all.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
The day after well flee again.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
We'll play you will clearly play your emotions.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
I mean, it's all right if you're trying to get
in like a TV for yourself or something or you
you know, but if your kids are waiting for Christmas
present and you say, look, I just wait a couple
of days to Christmas before you get the present, you know,
it seems that sort of having a double dipping. Really
they need to be with the you know, the Boxing
(15:13):
Day sales and the whole the whole Christmas free Christmas prices,
you know.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
And the whole Christmas thing is let up with the
Black Friday sales as well. Now, Lee, we're pushing the
gratitude barrow hard on the show this year. So this
is a this is a cliched question for you. What
are you grateful for, mate.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Yeah, and it might be a cliche question, so I'll
give a cliche.
Speaker 5 (15:37):
Answer and appreciate.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
And you can quote me on this. It's got to
be family really has been in the last couple of years.
It's a really interesting time with them, you know, moving
on are there and you know, as we know, there's
always some people in your life, even this week that
you know that have lost lost people, you know, literally
lost people. You know. That puts everything in perspective, and
(16:04):
it's just such a you know, it really does. Also
a few know wants this day, you know, and relatively
young person, you know, so what and you know we've
lost a family member not so long ago, you know,
and that's going to make this Christmas very very strange
and hard and different for a lot so many people
this country, you know, just so so many people. It
(16:27):
would be a weird, weird Christmas as it is every year.
So while I can be I'm just so thankful for
what I got to be honest with my family.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Yeah, beautifully said Ley. And finally, mate, what is your
favorite Christmas song?
Speaker 3 (16:39):
Yep, I've got a couple. I'm an old rocket roller
from from way back because Matt knows like literally rock
and roll, like Chuck Berry kind of stuff. So he
has a classic, you know, run Run Rudolph or Run
Rudolf Run. I think it's called a lot of people
have covered it, the food Fighters that are good cover
of it, I think, and I hate to say it.
You know they're going back down the piece hal with
a cheese angle, you know, the old band. You know,
(17:04):
do they know it's Christmas band aid? I mean that
probably because of the eraror you know that was my
era I was fourteen or something that came out, So
it's nostalgic. It's nostalgic as well as a Christmas song
for me, know, I mean it's got a double meaning.
I just remember being bloody fourteen fifteen the whole overhead
of me, and that still sounds you know, it sounds
(17:25):
fash So it's the sort of thing you know. I'll
play that for sure, and a bit of rock and
roll Run Rude off Run fantastic.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
We're going to play that for you right now, Lee,
Thank you very much, and have a fantastic Christmas in
summer as well. We'll catch up next year.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Yeah. Likewise, you guys, have a good one. Everyone stay
safe from between the lanes. No, it's from between the flowers.
Drive between the range and from between the flowers. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (17:50):
Good advice, Yeah, great advice.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Yeah fantastic. That is, of course, Lee Heart one of
our Christmas catch ups with kick Ass kiwis you're listening
to News Talks here b beg very soon?
Speaker 5 (18:06):
Not a the range.
Speaker 6 (18:08):
Oh you're the mastermind. Run run Rudolf, run off, make
you far behind, run run rude alf Ran and gotta
make it to town Santra making Harry Clellan he can
take the freeway down. Run run the rude ol couse,
(18:32):
I'm really not gonna.
Speaker 5 (18:33):
Merry go round
Speaker 1 (18:39):
For more from News Talks at b listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
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