Bob: And a Very Good morning, and welcome to the inaugural audition of “What’s in your garage”, a podcast that will be recorded once a month and put up on iTunes, I hope.
And for the first edition, I have a very special guest my good buddy Steve Trifyllis. Welcome, Steve.
Steve: Thank you, Bob, and how are you? I must say that we’ve known each other for a long, long time now.
Bob: A long time Steve about 35 years.
Steve: goodness gracious mates but we’re still well, we’re still alive and were still out there doing it.
Bob: Well at least I’m alive Steve, but you’re retiring from the radio business.
Steve: Well, 29 years on radio and started in the late 80’s at FM 104, did 15 years of Triple M then a whole lot of us left Triple M to go to 4BC / 4BH for 11 – 11.5 years, now back at Triple M, Hit 105 it’s called now, the old B105 for a period of just under to 3 years is I’ve called it a day. But they still want me to go to the radio station one day a week as a consultant mentor and make phone calls to the younger representatives to go do their course.
Bob: Hey mate, What’s the difference in the radio industry from when you first joined in 1989 or there about’s compared to what it is now?
Bob: Big difference, more stations obviously Nova’s come on here, 973, digital radio has started with it’s stations fragmenting their stations into smaller stations. Uhmmm the advertising side is the competition from internet websites which is competitive of radio. Each change is getting harder; the advertising budget is nearer smaller and smaller. Unfortunately, it’s got to get to a bigger pie.
Bob: So what do you think is your point of difference? You know, I bought millions of dollars of radio from you over the time, and you had some great clients, so what is your point of difference compared to the youngsters who are trying to do sales in radio now?
Steve: I think big difference there Bob, and that’s a very good question, I think personalities have changed they’re more sort of military, they’re more structured, they’re more serious, as where I went in an attitude trying to make everyone laugh, having a good time, I’m being serious obviously you are there help the client increases business, but just my sort of attitude of having a good time, being friendly, having a laugh and thankfully and thankfully it’s been fairly successful in my 29 years of radio.
Bob: Steve you’ve often joked that I hope you build your home in Kythera, if it wasn’t for Bob Aldons who had a big belief all jokes aside here, like radio, you use radio effectively and often in high-frequency factors and yes you were probably one of my biggest clients I’ve had in all the 35 years which I cannot believe of years in radio, in AM radio, in FM radio, sponsorship, promotions, heavy schedules, frequency which hopefully got your results over the years and made you a little bit more money.
Bob: But you know Steve I bought the, I bought the relationship, not the station.
Steve: OH Definitely, as many stories I can remember if you remember there was a fellow called Barry Drinkwater he was an announcer on FM 104 late 80’s and I think he got retrenched or sacked from FM 104,
Bob: He did.
Steve: He used to voice your ads.
Bob: He did I remember Barry really well.
Steve: I had to ring and tell you coz you’re such a big loyalty but I said ‘BBBBob BBBBarry Drinkwater’s been fired’. And of course, your favourite word was ‘cancel’.
Bob: hmm ha ha
Steve: I said, Bob, it’s not the voice it’s what the persons says about the dealership, about the commercial, or the offer. I don’t care ‘cancel’, and you were that loyal, even the voice over was very important to you and your commercials.
Bob: It was, it was very much so, and uh, and look that’s the thing about relationships isn’t it that you get tied to a person or a product and uh…
Steve: …and it works the other way too because when that person sees it, you are liked by the buyer because people only buy if they like you, you can the good product or a bad product but if they don’t like you see you later alligator,
Bob: see you later mate. Now, Steve, we were just talking before we went on air about a particular Honda and you went out with James Johnson to see a client out of Brendale, which is BMA auctions and funny enough that was the same site that I used to visit when I was running the Torque Group. Tell us about that.
Steve: I’m getting that rash again that I get everytime I think about that story. I’d never bought a car from you, all those thousands of dollars of advertising you gave me, and we just had a meeting in advertising we need to discuss in next month you gave me a brief. I want. It was a 15,000 dollars’ brief; I want these I want these commercials on live radio blah blah blah. So when we finish, we were both smoking in those days, so I said let’s go for a smoke, and I went duduaaarrghh ok, I was very nervous, as we walked out there were all these Fords line up at Brendale and the end car was a Honda, and we were walking past chatting, just having a chat what are you doing blah blah blah and you walk, and you walk past the Honda without saying anything and I say ‘Yes, I’ve got away with he didn’t see it’. Ha-ha but as we turned and went back, you turned to me with that scary face of yours, and he said is it aaaa I’ll take the explicits out of this, is that your Honda? And I’ve gone yyyyyeeah and with that, you took the brief out on my hand ripped it up, and I never saw you again for six months. So, loyalty is a big big part of you and uh…
Bob: put you in a sin bin for six months Steve.
Steve: And I told my boss we’re up there with my sales director a couple of weeks ago to put out another Bush fire must be the bush fire central at the dealership of Brendale. And we laughed our head off about Uncle Bob (as we call you) how he tore the brief up and never use the radio station Triple M for six months.
Bob: And Steve, and umm,
Steve: So listen out there loyalty is a big factor, everyone.
Bob: And Steve we’ve been buddies for a long time, and in fact uh you were my best man when I got married in uh, in 2000.
Steve: Buddies we go, we heard each other’s divorce stories, marriage I was your best man we’ve whinged to each other several times of uh, what’s gone wrong on in our lives you know so, you know it’s yeah it’s been a long time and yes I’m your best man in fact. How many years ago was that? Can I ask you a question?
Bob: That was sixteen just over sixteen, believe it or not, Second of June 2000. And Steve you use to love a game of golf, and we had a lot of amazing golf stories to tell.
Steve: Some wonderful stories particularly when you’re a sponsor of the Channel 9 Golf Day in early 90’s.
Bob: Yeah that went up to 2000.
Steve: The early days was fantastic because they used to book all the top line golf courses around South East Qld the Hope Islands, the Palm Meadows, all the flashy gold course and I was lucky enough for you to invite me cause I was liked to play a fair bit of golf in those days. It was nice because you played with lovely people, big companies played in the series and many, many good tales to be told. You gonna tell them about the golf balls?
Bob: Not yet maybe later. But we also played with Peter Senior who was one of the world’s best golfer at that time.
Steve: Well we were very privileged, you were very close to Peter Senior we didn’t manage to get him to play for you those channel 9 days when I still remember we had Bob Aldons had hit it a mile, I was a good chipper in Australia we had Peter Senior who was in his hay day as a Pro. And we never win it was an Ambrose event and the end of the day’s play we come to the winner, and today’s winner is on something ridiculous under golf world, Brosnan Golf. And we all just come second with the great Peter Senior; we could never win one of those days which was frustrating with at the time you know it’s probably one of the top golfers in Australia.
Bob: Steve now, what you gonna do post retirement, and that’s tomorrow are you going to Kythera. I’m going to a little Greek island in the south called Kythera where my parents are from; I’m going we’ve got two houses there, I’m going for four weeks. I’ve been going there since I was a little boy, Australian born but I’ve just renovated my grandfather’s 400-year-old home in Kythera in Greece it’s a little Greek island I’m just gonna,
Bob: and it’s got the Bob Aldons wing,
Steve: It has yes, I used to joke to Bob Aldons because if I didn’t have his business over those thousand years I’ve called the extra wing I’ve extended and put a wing on the side of it, and I call The Bob Aldons’ wing. So I told him that, and he loved that. So yes I’ll been staying there for four weeks and coming back yeah I have semi-retired, I’ll be working one day at the radio station, I’ve also driving limousines on Friday, Saturday and Sundays in the last six months I said what I do in my retirement I’ve been driving as a sales representative since I was 17 I might as well keep driving people to and from the airport, and their hotels and homes, so I’ll be driving a company called Lamoso. That has the Emirates account, I have a little apartment in Brisbane, and I’m getting a little bit of rent, and also I was lucky enough at the age of 18 to start Superannuation so for a single man like myself with no wife, children, I’ve fair or superannuation so I’ve got a few little of streams of revenue, but it will keep me going. But I’ll still be in radio 1 -2 days a week.
Bob: Steve it’s been wonderful having you here at Car Business at Redcliffe, but the topic of the podcast is called “What’s in Your Garage” and let’s get on to the three main topics. So Steve, what is in your garage at the moment?
Steve: Look number one, let me admit I’m not a big car person you know people admire and love cars at the moment I’ve got a little hired-car so to speak it’s a Mercedes Benz 2200 I think a B200. Yeah, it’s a dippy little thing, I was fair enough to be given by another car client of mine, but it’s another story, but I will see how long I will keep that for and will get a car later on.
Bob: And Steve tell me What’s your favourite car that you owned or driven over your lifetime?
Steve: I suppose I’m a typical. Can I use the word that starts with W? No,
Bob: You can’t use it.
Steve: Alright at least I admit I’m one, I like the flashy European, nice lines Mercedes Benz, BMW, Porsches because I’m European I just loved the classic lines that those cars have.
Bob: So would you ever consider and Italian Car?
Steve: Not now. I can consider it, but what I can’t afford it is another thing, that’s a very good question. So yeah I admired them because of their beautiful engineering, and their beautiful lines and you know the way they design it.
Bob: So do Italians and Greeks get along ok? Italians and Greeks do Yes Italians have more sort of money than our poor Greeks because I export cars, clothing you know and Greeks they have Tourism to fall back on their main revenue. They don’t get along with the Turks it’s the other side. Because the Island of Cypress is half owned by Greek Cypriots and the North of the Turkish Cypriots. The Greeks live on south of the island, and the Turks live on the north. Neither two can get, you can but you need special permission.
Bob: And what do you drive when you’re over at Kythera my friend?
Steve: Well, I’ve got a little scooter, I’ve got a little 100cc Yamaha Max Biaggi when he was riding for Yamaha I bought a little scooter, It’s only down about at 11,000 kilometers is a hundred, I zip around the island for that because the rise over their very tight villages, packing is hard to come by. I have been lucky a few years ago a friend of mine from Sydney has got a God; I never know what it is, it is a bomb, but she keeps it on the Isle, and I’m lucky enough to borrow because she goes in June / July and I go in August, so I borrow her car. But you can hire cars, look what you got hire Hyundai’s, Fiat’s, you know what we have here is mostly what you can hire over there for the month. So I’ve got a Car and A scooter.
Bob: Very good. Yeah there’s a very famous car fella who’s a resident of Kythera too isn’t it?
Steve: Yes, his Family’s background is from the island of Kythera and Mr Nick Polidas the Owner of the AP eagles group in Brisbane when I would imagine a lot of dealerships in Sydney and of course the Sydney Roosters Owner.
Bob: So he is the Numero Uno Sydney Rooster
Steve: Oh for sure a lot of story about Nick Polidas of he is when I was on Kythera, on my little bike and I was just going to the beach and some of my Greek friends were cleaning up the beach, like you know, when you got a detention, and they would get you to pick up papers, I said boys ” What are you doing?” . and he in Greek they said that Nick Polidas is coming over next week with his family and grand kids and he sent instructions and money that we gotta claim every little beach from here to there. So he’s grandkids, his children, and associates will have a clean beach. And the beaches over there not like the Australian beaches, maybe little coves, little pebbly but he wanted it to be spotless, and that was the directive from Australia.
Bob: So he is very proud of Kythera?
Steve: Oh he loves it he’s got a four level house there in Kythera, he goes every year it was on June school holiday that he sends all his family over there. And he loves the island, and I’ve never seen him there because I go in August.
Bob: Have you met him? I’ve never met him, but he’s also given me a lot of business to the IPA groups over the years, so God Bless you, Nick, if you ever hear this, Stephen Trifyllis, 0412 729 927. But yes he loves the island, spends a bit of money in fixing things over there and yes he does love Kythera his parents and grandparents are from there.
Bob: So three dead generations?
Steve: Yeah, he was born Australian born. But he does love the island.
Bob: Steve, one last question before we finish up. We’re trying to keep these podcasts for about 15 minutes, so people don’t get bored, So the funnier, the better. If money was absolutely no object, do you have a car mind that you buy?
Steve: What’s the top range Lamborghini, Is there a top range Lamborghini?
Bob: Yeah, there is a Lamborghini that runs out about $700,000
Steve: And a Ferrari what’s the top line of Ferrari?
Bob: Yeah about the same.
Steve: I’d get one of them just to show off in.
Bob: On Kythera?
Steve: Not Kythera you buy a little Jeep, yes you wouldn’t mind any flashy things in Kythera because the roads are narrow and you’ll scratch the hell out of it.
Bob: We can’t have you scratching the Lamborghini or Ferrari Steve, so what would that ultimate car be?
Steve: In Australia? Top line Ferrari I don’t know the names but they look flashy, and that will do me, So I can be a W which I won’t sound on the podcast.
Bob: So you can be a W? I get it. Hey, Steve Thanks very much for spending a few minutes with us and this is the Inaugural episode of What’s in your Garage brought to you by Car Business. And if you ever want to buy a new car you can give Car Business a call, in fact, you can speak to me, Bob Aldons on the 0418 748 498, or you can go online at www.carbusiness.com.au thanks, Steve and have a great retirement!
Steve: Thanks very much, I enjoyed it.
For more information head to carbusiness.com.au