Do This Then Die

As a thirty-something, pen-pushing, beer-gutted child owner, there are plenty of things I wish I’d done before I hit 30 - most of them sexual, some involving travel.

Exuberant Gen Y host Billy Russel doesn’t yet have those regrets, and neither need you provided you watch Channel V’s latest installment of B430 - essential shit to do before hitting the big three-oh.

“It is a good job - a fantastic job. I do four days a week in the office, which can involve going out and doing interviews, we do a daily chart show - most of the time I’m researching, watching new (film) clips, news and heading out on location filming stuff. Every single thing we do revolves around music to some extent, and that’s exactly why the gig is so fantastic,” says Billy.

“When I got the phone call to say I had the job, I could barely walk. I was in a complete state of shock. To have someone tell you that you will be waking up every day knowing that a job in music is yours - it’s not a feeling that everybody gets to experience. My body reacted accordingly and I could barely walk mate!”

We’d better talk about the actual show for a second - Billy’s first (and so far only) assignment for B430 has been a dash to the powder-laden snowfields of Niseko, Japan.

“I was lucky there was so much powder, because I’ve never actually snowboarded before, so I constantly fell on my ass through the whole filming. 

“I loved how different Japan was to home - we spoke to a Fugu chef, and they cook the most dangerous fish in the world every night - he was just such a character, he was telling us how he used to be a Sumo wrestler - the people in Japan are just the best and they’re what makes it special.”

The art of Gen Y bashing seems to be quite prominent throughout mainstream media - what would Billy say to those who paint his generation as a pack of whining underachievers?

“I think the ‘lazy’ tag is particularly unfair. I can only speak for myself, and I’m a firm believer that it’s not a good idea to generalise about an entire generation. I’ll be 24 in a couple of weeks, and there are teenagers who are now considered Generation X who I’m wondering about. But I like to think it is my passion and dedication to this gig that got me where I am.”

B430 kicks off on Channel V on Thursday March 18 at 7:30pm.