Peter ‘Spida’ Everitt was always one of the AFL’s more colourful characters, so it’s not surprising he’s wound up as an entertainer.
Since his early days at St Kilda Football Club, when he sported long dreadlocks and a range of tattoos spread across his body, Everitt was always an intriguing character to watch. His haircut is a little more conservative 20 years on, but with a 203cm frame and an even bigger personality, he still sticks out in a crowd. It seems fitting he now has a media career, though Everitt says it wasn’t something he’d planned while he was still playing AFL.
“I was playing my last year of footy, decided I had to do something towards the end of my career, and didn’t really know what,” Everitt says.
“But I love travelling, so I thought ‘I might try to get a gig on one of these travel shows’, and then I thought, ‘oh well, I might travel myself and do it myself’.”
“But I love travelling, so I thought ‘I might try to get a gig on one of these travel shows’, and then I thought, ‘oh well, I might travel myself and do it myself’.”
The result was The Great Australian Doorstep, a travel series as unique as ‘Spida’ himself. The series has uncovered many of Australia’s hidden gems, with a particular focus on finding great spots for family holidays away from the beaten path.
The series has become a success – with five seasons completed so far – but Everitt admits he wasn’t totally sure how it would pan out when he started.
“I just packed up the kids, grabbed a couple of cameramen and a sound person, headed off and started putting a show together,” he says.
“I’d never done it before in my life so I didn’t know what to expect or how to do it, but pretty much learnt from there. So we’ve been learning our way around Australia and I’ve been lucky enough to not only travel around Australia but go internationally as well.”
Peter and his wife Sheree have travelled as far as China, the US and Canada as part of the series, but ‘Spida’ insists the program will continue to focus on “some of Australia’s great places.”
“No matter how long you travel for, you’ll never get to see the whole of Australia,” he adds.
Despite the number of great holiday destinations in Australia, Everitt believes many families still have a tendency to overlook what’s… well… on their own doorstep.
“How many people have gone on a holiday in their own area?” he asks.
“I grew up on the Mornington Peninsula – when I tell people that, they always say: ‘that’s a beautiful area, I love holidaying down there!’
“Everywhere you look there are some hidden treasures just around the corner. People expect to pay thousands of dollars on a holiday when realistically you can go 50-100 kilometres up the road and spend a couple of hundred bucks and have an absolute ball – and the kids will love it!”
Peter and Sheree’s kids have played a huge role in their journeys over the years – it’s been a great experience for them too.
“I’ve taken my nieces and nephews at certain times and obviously my three daughters and my young fella as well. They learn so much,” he says.
“It’s not only the history of the place, but they’re able to interact with a lot of the locals.”
Everitt enjoys the fact his kids “play outside, where there aren’t too many computer games” and says the time on the road has given them all a range of experiences they’ll never forget. Interacting with those they meet along their travels is a bit part of the journey.
“It’s amazing – when you go to a caravan park or a camping ground, everyone’s equal. It doesn’t matter if you are a millionaire of if you’re on a standard wage. A lot of single parents go as well.”
When he’s not filming The Great Australian Doorstep with Sheree, ‘Spida’ has a radio gig at Gold FM on the Gold Coast.
“I was in the right place at the right time. I did a sports show on the Friday night and they asked if I wanted to try out for the breakfast show, so I did that about two and a half years ago,” he says.
As he starts reflecting on radio, some of his trademark humour comes to the fore.
“We work long hours though – it’s five to nine. We’re not soft like the capital cities who only go six ‘til nine! We don’t have a producer, so it’s always nice to see the other side of radio as well, rather than just get in there quickly, talk and head off.”
It’s a somewhat unusual set-up, but Everitt wouldn’t have it any other way. ‘Spida’ has never been afraid to do things a little differently, and isn’t one to put all his eggs in one basket either – something that is no more apparent than when he’s asked which footy team he supports since he retired at the end of 2008.
“It’s a funny one,” he explains.
“My eldest daughter barracks for St Kilda and my next two go for Hawthorn. I thought the youngest would go for Sydney, but he actually goes for Port Adelaide. I’m not sure why, but that’s his team and he’s sticking with it.”
If that wasn’t conflicting enough, Everitt throws a few more teams into the mix.
“I grew up barracking for Collingwood, but I love watching the Geelong footy club play. I watch the Cats nearly most weekends, which is quite funny as we’ve got an association with the Suns as well.”
While he has soft spots and connections all over the place, it’s not surprising where Everitt’s decision finally lands. His brother Andrejs has a chance to win a premiership with Sydney this year, and for ‘Spida’, family trumps everything.
‘I follow my brother,” he admits.
“If I was to say I barrack for someone, I’d say the Swans.”
Seasons one to five of The Great Australian Doorstep are available on DVD, with season five to be aired on 7TWO later this year.