How hard is Dancing with the Stars?
We're talking to some of the lesser celebrated stars of Three's hard-working reality show. Plus, the rest of the week's news wrapped up in a nice big bow...
Kia ora and welcome to The Spinoff Weekend. With colder weather arriving, it’s probably a nice morning to spend a little longer in bed. So we’ve got a few long reads to accompany you. Today, we’re asking why couples keep eloping two years into Covid, question the real reasons behind Countdown’s price freeze, and ask how much hard work Dancing with the Stars really is. Plus, we’re paying tribute to the iPod (RIP!), and finding out why bollard business is booming. Pour yourself a cup of freshly brewed mug of Coffee Supreme. You made it. Welcome to the weekend.
-Chris Schulz, senior writer
‘You’re their best friend, you’re their counsellor’
When celebs hit the dancefloor every Sunday and Monday night, they seem to gleam, sparkle and shine in all the right places. But for those tasked with teaching the stars everything they know, plenty of work goes into every single Dancing with the Stars performance. “You only see 90 seconds of work on the TV,” says Loryn Reynolds, the dance partner of former rower Eric Murray. “However, about 80 hours of work goes in every single week to get that 90 seconds. By the time we hit the live show, I mean, to be truly honest, you are absolutely buggered, in every possible way.” That’s not all: others talk of little sleep and no breaks while helping celebs through the live TV contest. “You’re their best friend, you’re their counsellor, you’re their dance teacher and a million other things,” says one. Sam Brooks goes behind the scenes.
Why couples keep eloping after Covid
When Melanie and David started planning their wedding in March, 2020, they had a full spectacle planned, with family flying in from around the world, and a venue booked that would hold 100 people. Then Covid hit, and they had to rethink their wedding. After two years of waiting around, they’d had enough, and decided to elope. They’re not the only ones. Around the country, wedding venues, celebrants and photographers are booked up with elopement packages for couples who can’t be bothered with a big expensive party, and just want to do it on their own. “It was the best decision we ever made,” says Melanie. Find out how it works here.
It’s sex work, but with the veneer of a real relationship – and that can leave ‘sugar babies’ vulnerable to manipulation. Fiona Fraser cover the rise of sugar dating.
From our friends at Coffee Supreme: It feels like we’re all spending more time at home at the moment. Naturally, this means keeping your mug topped up and rocking your slippers during those online meetings (yeah, we see you). Having your favourite oat milk, peanut butter or chocolate within reach can be a real day-maker. Not only do Supreme have your coffee needs taken care of, they’ve also made keeping your pantry shelves stocked super easy with their free shipping and next day delivery. Grab your favourite pantry bits here.
A deep dive into the Countdown price freeze
When Countdown announced a winter price freeze, former staff member Jacob Flanagan decided to crunch the numbers. What he found was an offering that sounded nice on the surface, but wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. “While there’s no fresh fruit whatsoever on the list, there are also just three varieties of veges – pumpkins, onions and carrots,” Flanagan writes. “These may be winter staples, but there’s only so much pumpkin soup you can feed your kids.” Even worse, Flanagan found, is that those veges often go down in price over winter. With the price frozen, consumers could no longer count on those wintry savings. Read Jacob’s story, and Countdown’s response to his claims, here.
Pic’s spends $10 million a year on overseas peanuts. Its founder hopes to be able to spend some of that money in Northland instead. Reweti Kohere finds out how.
A message from our creative director, Toby Morris: Here at The Spinoff we’re proud to be a bit different. In the way we approach our journalism, our tone, the things we’re thinking about, all the way through to our design and our videos and podcasts, we’d like to think we’re doing things and trying things in a way no other New Zealand media organisation would. It’s our beloved members who let us do that – both through their financial support and the encouragement of their engagement: they’re readers who care like we care, who are also interested in seeing things done in a slightly different way. If you like what we’re doing and want to see more of it, have a think about joining up, and help The Spinoff be The Spinoff. Join today!
To all the iPods we’ve loved before
For Catherine McGregor, her second-gen iPod classic was “life-changing”. For Alex Casey, life couldn’t get better than bingeing Ricky Gervais podcasts on her pink iPod mini. For Shanti Mathias, her iPod nano was loved so much it would shock her if she didn’t hold it just right. “These were a testament to what it had survived: jammed in backpacks to be carried in rickety buses over Himalayan passes, clutched in small sweaty palms in train trips across the Indian subcontinent, sand jammed in the click wheel from visits to distant beaches,” Shanti writes. Apple’s announced that the iPod, the .mp3 player that changed the way we listen to music, is going out of production. We pay tribute to it here.
Looking for something else to stream? How about Māori Shed Party, New Zealand’s best Spotify playlist? Find out the full story here.
Warming cold winter hearts and brightening dark winter evenings, the much-loved Elemental Nights concert series makes its return to Tāmaki Makaurau this July. Boasting a carefully curated lineup of global and local talent, this fortnight-long celebration of all things aural truly caters to all tastes – their massive first line-up announcement features Dope Lemon (AU), Nadia Reid & The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (NZ), BIIG PIIG (Ireland), Oliver Tree (USA), Jungle (UK), Tom Misch (UK), Diggy Dupé & Friends present The Panthers (NZ) and Reb Fountain (NZ), with more to be confirmed. Tickets are on sale right this minute elementalnights.com – hit the links for more info and to get your bookings in.
Why Bollard business is booming
The bollard business is in absolute bedlam. “Oh yeah, without a doubt, it’s just gone crazy,” says Peter Goodwin, CEO of Fel Group, which owns Bollards Online in Auckland. Cameron Woods of Bollards NZ in Christchurch echoes a similar experience of an industry-wide bollard boom. “We are very, very busy – got a big backlog of orders at the moment, mostly headed to Auckland.” Over at Astrolift, which stocks a wide range of both cast-in bollards and bolt-down bollards, marketing manager Josh McKenty reports a nearly 500% increase in searches for “bollard” in the last month. Alex Casey, The Spinoff’s self-appointed bollard expert, explains why bollards are in such high demand.
Everything else we loved this week…
If you need to say sorry, please don’t apologise like Simon Henry.
Russia’s war against Ukraine is now into its third month, with no end in sight. The New York Times (paywalled) has put together a photo essay full of stunning, yet incredibly bleak, imagery that will leave you breathless.
Is Jacinda Ardern’s residence haunted? Josie Adams takes a look at a recent photo to find out.
Gizmodo reports on the incredibly strange story of Jumi Bello, an author who had a book pulled from publication over plagiarism claims, then had an essay about the situation pulled for the same reasons.
The Avatar 2 trailer is finally here. Was it worth the wait? Nah. But you should watch it to see what many squillions of dollars can buy you in film these days.
Why is a Christchurch man building video game controllers out of bananas, tractors and Fisher Price Game toys? Sam Brooks asks him.
Why are New Zealanders being recruited to read and take notes on New York Times bestsellers for $300 a pop? Catherine Woulf investigates.
It used to be Auckland’s centrepiece, but Queen Street has become dirty, rundown and dangerous. We paid a visit to find out what’s being done about it.
Finally, I usually like to end with something upbeat, but ever since I heard The Daily’s podcast about American drone pilots, I haven’t been able to get the story out of my head. It’s like a surreal Black Mirror episode, but it’s all too real - with an unbelievably brutal ending. You can listen to The unseen trauma of America’s drone pilots here, but be warned: it’s a tough listen.
