The ‘Apprentice’ Presenter

Kevin Tuffin, a qualified truck mechanic and Sweet FM presenter for two years, discusses his journey in radio, starting with a Thursday night show introduced by friend Brian Giddy.

“I've been a presenter with the radio station for about two years now. You could say, I'm the ‘junior’ member of the team, or what do you call it, the apprentice,” Kevin jokes. “I was introduced to the station by my friend, Brian. He asked me if I wanted to do a show with him on a Thursday night. And I said, ‘Yeah sure, why not,’ I thought, we’ll give it a go. The rest is history,” Kevin grins.

Kevin's passion for music dates back to the 80s when a local youth disco called ‘Sound Shelter’ was run by a former pastor in the Burdekin.

“The Sound Shelter was formed by a local parish priest. I was in the YCW (Young Christian Workers) at the time, and so that's where it all started. It was on Young Street there in Ayr, and I was helping run that for a few years in the early 80s. We were a group of youngsters at that time, so I would have been 18 or 19, but then I was delegated to be one of the DJs. That was a lot of fun.”

“But I always loved playing music. I’ve always had an affection for playing music and watching others have a great time. And I love all types of music, including pop, rock, country & western, heavy metal, all that sort of stuff,” Kevin says.

He alternates hosting duties with Brian, playing a mix of 60s, 70s, and 80s music mostly.

“Sometimes he's (Brian) running it, sometimes me. We do a turnabout. One week, I'll be in the hot seat running the show and he'll be the offsider, where he’s the one looking if people request a song, looking it up etc. Then the following week, he'll be in the host’s chair, and I'll be the offsider. We try and alternate it to mix it up a bit,” Kevin enthuses.

Kevin also runs Tuff’s Mechanical, a business he started in 1985, which is now managed by his son.

“I've had a business for a while that I kicked off officially in 1985, what’s that’s, 40 years ago? I started it from nothing and we're still growing today. My son's virtually taken over the running of it now because I'm getting older,” he laughs.

Does Kevin see any similarities between running a business and running a music show?

“You wouldn’t think there is, but there is. You’ve got to be organised, know what you’ve got, and to be prepared. It’s the same with business. You’ve got to prepare for the day, and in that respect, there's similarities. You want to be efficient, aim high, and as in my business, provide good service.”

Kevin enjoys his role, valuing the community impact with the joy of playing music. He hopes they can attract younger audiences to radio, and into the presenter’s hot seat.

"If you want to get a young audience, you got to play modern music. They’re the future! If you want to keep it (radio) alive, you've got to get young blood in,” Kevin declares.

Listen in to Kevin on Thursday evenings from 7-10pm. If you’d like to join the station as a presenter, contact Sweet FM on: (07) 4782-8394 or email: admin@sweetfm.com.au.

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The “apprentice” Kevin Tuffin (68), still learning, and loving music. Photo: Mark T. Rasmussen

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