In a celebration of community, conversation and the complexities of life, television personality, creative director, arts aficionado, foodie, fashionista and writer, Fuzz Ali, is thrilled to launch his compelling podcast, ‘Life With Fuzz’ – an engaging, deeply personal conversational talk series, supported by Arts-Matter.
Recognised in Australia as a popular contestant on the Seven Network’s ‘My Kitchen Rules’, Fuzz Ali immediately attracted a niche following with his colourful presence, unique style and outgoing voice and personality as he built his audience on air. However, what many at-home didn’t get to experience was Fuzz as a leading creative director, seasoned television presenter, writer, stylist, fabulous fashionista, queer, BIPOC man who has lived and worked between Australia and Fiji since birth, and even more so since graduating from Sydney University, with an impressive TV, radio, print, arts, finance and fashion portfolio with incredible cross-cultural connections.
Determined to explore identity, meaning and belonging in a world where questions and conversations on the complexities of the ever-changing world we live in grows ever-louder, Fuzz Ali continues his life journey of self-discovery through the hearing and telling of stories from those who are queer, BIPOC, and/or allies to these communities.
As a cultural communicator and new voice in the Australian media, Ali speaks to multi-dimensional local and international guests with complex backgrounds he has wanted to further explore in order to understand his own identity. This includes First Nations actress, writer and director Nakkiah Lui; huge US media leade, founder of @them Magazine, ex-CCO of Teen Vogue, and Chief Marketing Officer of the Los Angeles LGBT Centre Phillip Picardi; artist, best-friend and inaugural recipient of the prestigious AGNSW La Prairie Art Award, Atong Atem; magazine and MasterChef favourite, Courtney Roulston; media mentor, columnist, best-selling author, and former Editor-in-Chief of VOGUE Australia, Kirstie Clements; multidisciplinary visual artist Nasim Nasr; finance presenter & newsreader, Gemma Acton; writer, commentator and multi-media personality, Benjamin Law; Sydney Dance Company, Artistic Director, Rafael Bonachela; and Arts-Matter Co-Founders, Michelle Grey and Susan Armstrong.
All subjects talk to Fuzz with ease and candour, telling anecdotes and revealing stories never told before, something they all put down to the humour, warmth and honesty they experience via the “fuzz effect”.
‘Life with Fuzz’ launches with first guest First Nations actress, writer and director Nakkiah Lui. Over 45 minutes Ali and Lui delve into colour, community and confusion around stereotypical ideas of what it is to be a ‘privileged’ indigenous Australian, the BIPOC community they share, Lui’s transformative start in public life that has defined her artistic voice inc her travels o/s as a 16-year-old, her family at large and how she defines success and herself in the very current “voice” of Australia today.
Nakkiah’s ideas on Indigenous cuisine and how it is missing from our tables is also profound in its simplicity. Knowing what will be served when you are guests in a Chinese, Italian, Greek, Lebanese, Fijian or Indian home is a given, but what of the Indigenous cuisine? “Food is land – it’s political, it’s history, it’s a representation of culture, family & who we are. It’s so incredibly personal, and the political is personal,” says Lui.
A major coup for Ali, was having highly recognisable queer advocate, Phillip Picardi, join “Life with Fuzz” in an Australian exclusive. Founder of Them Magazine and CMO of the LA LGBT Centre, Picardi, delves into a deeply political conversation with Fuzz exploring his Catholic upbringing, move to NY, his time with Teen Vogue, the tap on the shoulder from “Anna”, American politics and terrifying policies for the queer community, the Murdochs, his advocacy and his current position as CMO at the LA LGBT Centre … plus, what’s driving him in the scarily right-wing reality of the US today.
But also … “We all know Anna loves her gays” …
Ali’s gift is speaking to his guests about their relationship with evolving attitudes towards multi-dimensional, multi-gendered and multicultural communities and enables listeners to find relatability and depth in topics that are at the forefront of today’s society.
“The story of humanity is a story of connection, of sharing thoughts, of having disagreements, but all with the goal of confirming to our own humanity. In a world where conversations about queerness, gender identity and inclusion, BIPOC experiences and life outcomes, seem to be at the forefront. To make sense of it all and to broaden my own understanding – keeping in mind that I exist in between all these conversations – I sat down with some pretty cool people to verbally journal who we are as a people, based on our own embodied histories, and the role we all play in reactions and involvement to these important matters.
“It’s not an exaggeration to assert that how we handle this will determine our legacy as a generation. Hopefully, by sharing these stories through ‘Life with Fuzz’, we will have one more resource – an anthology of stories, thought, and hope”.
Fuzz is a dedicated LGBTQI+ supporter and champion of the global community he cherishes and is an advocate for the recognition of queer and BIPOC excellence in the creative space. As his “life” in Sydney rapidly expands – personally and professionally – his arts, culture and community connections formed have lead to the birth of this much needed, topical series.
“I have lived all my life existing in a space of “in-between”. Physically in between countries; in between the culture of my birth and its particular expectations, and as a queer man who may never meet those expectations. In between expectations – my communities and my own. In between being born in Sydney, Australia, and raised in Suva, Fiji. These examples of my in-between-ness have given me a particular perspective on what it means to be human, but as a BIPOC queer man, I have often had to endure conversations about my identity happening around me, without being given a seat at the table.”
‘Life with Fuzz’ Guests include;
- Nakkiah Lui | @nakkiah (incredible face and voice of note in arts, culture, comedy & community in current Australia with powerful quotes Fuzz discusses with her including: “I wish I had the confidence of a mediocre white man!” “Just surviving isn’t enough. You want to be able to thrive … that’s a sign of equity” “Food is land – it’s political, it’s history, it’s a representation of culture, family & who we are. It’s so incredibly personal, and the political is personal.”).
- Philip Picardi | @pfpicardi (Founder @them; re-brand and re-launch Editor, OUT Magazine; Chief Content Officer at Teen Vogue; Anna Wintour appointee and continuing confidant; current CMO at LA LGBT Centre).
- Courtney Roulston | @courtneyroulston (MasterChef favourite, culture & cooking contemporary of Fuzz with a life and background the contemporary public tend to pretend doesn’t exist).
- Atong Atem | @atongatem (Inaugural recipient of the prestigious La Prairie AGNSW Art Award, vibrant visual artist, first-time mum, using her art to explore the politics of colour, portraiture and more. Fuzz’s absolute best friend.)
- Kirstie Clements | @kirstie_ clements (author, columnist, ex-VOGUE Australia Editor, mentor to women in media. A close friend and confidante of Fuzz’s, who views the world from a considered perspective given her long experience and history with publishing, writing, and in the broad creative space)
- Benjamin Law | @mrbenjaminlaw (multi-media personality constantly challenging what it is to be “Australian”)
- Gemma Acton | @gemmaactontv (wife, mother, Channel 7 finance expert, at first judged for “not being Australian enough”, or a “pretender” with a personal story to tell. One of Fuzz’s dearest friends in Sydney.)
- Nasim Nasr | @nasimnasr_art (Iranian artist, defining cultural boundaries who Fuzz met at Sydney Contemporary, represented by the same gallery as his best friend, Atem. Nasim’s invitation for tea at her studio led to the discovery of a friendship forged in a common experience)
- Rafael Bonachela | @rafaelbonachela Artistic Director, Sydney Dance Company (Fuzz once dreamed of being a dancer, but it was not to be. He was reacquainted with SDC last year and was immediately engaged by the contrast of athleticism and softness of the performers. Dance tells a story when words are not enough. Joining Dance Noir in 2023, Fuzz’s patronage of the arts gets serious)
- Susan Armstrong & Michelle Grey – Founders Arts-Matter | @arts_matter | A “new” membership and salon-styled arts community born out of COVID to keep the community connected. Founded to take art and performance out of traditional galleries and performance spaces creating a social and comfortable setting in which to introduce creatives to a new community with multiple layers of learnings to offer all.
A new episode of ‘Life with Fuzz’ is available on Spotify each week.
