LUMEN Winter 2019 - Flipbook - Page 6
G
regarious larrikin, former Biggest
Loser contestant and wannabe bull
rider Andrew ‘Cosi’ Costello lives
for making others happy.
He’s also intent on making radio station Hit 107
number one and “becoming the most influential
media personality in South Australia.”
“That could be perceived as being arrogant,
but I know that if I can achieve it, I can help
truckloads of people,” said the TV personality
and Hit 107 breakfast host.
And helping people is what Cosi does best.
From throwing a birthday party for children
who’ve never been invited to one,
organising charity events for kids with
disabilities, to buying cows and then lending
them to impoverished Cambodian families,
Cosi confesses he’s “wired to please people.”
“Giving back is addictive. Every day I look
at what I can do to make other people’s days
better,” he said.
After failing Year 12 and receiving the lowest
mark in Maths B in the state, Cosi repeated and
went on to study a Bachelor of Agriculture at
Roseworthy College. He was working as a pig
farmer 19 years ago when he won his coveted
position on SAFM (now Hit 107) through the
station’s Great Race competition.
“I had no home for about 18 months after uni.
I just did contract work on farms, camped in
caravans and swagged it every other day.
I wasn’t homeless, I could’ve afforded a home
but I chose not to,” he said.
“I then started working for SAFM and my
colleagues couldn’t believe I didn’t have a
house. I’d finish my day’s work on the farms,
drive to Adelaide, and if I had to work on the
breakfast show the next morning, I’d just roll
out my swag opposite Greenhill Road and sleep
near the creek or under the building.
“People in the industry still joke that I was that
guy that used to sleep in the swag.”
Sporting an $8 Dunlop shirt and carrying a
Woolies plastic bag with his things to attend a
‘la-di-da’ lunch after our interview, the affable
father of three is probably the least
materialistic person you’ll ever meet.
“I hate materialistic possessions, I basically have
none except for my massive fish tank at home
(the largest in Adelaide) which holds two tonne
of water and I have my race horses because they
make me feel connected to the country.
04
THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE
“I have no desire for stuff, just a desire for
memories and moments,” said Cosi.
That wasn’t always the case though. Before his
appearance on The Biggest Loser, Cosi’s
single-minded goal was to be a millionaire by
the time he turned 30.
But the social isolation and confinement of
being on the reality TV show transformed his
financially driven life philosophy.
“Two weeks into the show with no radio, no
phone, no contact with your family or friends,
nothing, you start to do a bit of self-assessment
and I realised I had all my priorities around the
wrong way.”
While Cosi was in the Biggest Loser house, the
financial crisis hit and he lost a lot of money.
“I lost 52kg in the house and a quarter of a
million bucks but it was the best quarter of a
million loss because it reset me,” he said.
From this reset, local travel TV show South
Aussie with Cosi was born. It’s been screening
for the past eight years, is the biggest TV show
in the state, broadcast internationally and is 100
per cent self-funded by Cosi.
“Investment in travel is such a win. At the end
of the day, we’re all going to be lying on our
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