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triple j radio presenter, entertainer and comedian. Bryce Mills (2012) shares his journey to broadcasting, the Sydney Comedy Festival and interviewing the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP. Bryce shows us that persistence, initiative and creating opportunities for yourself is key.

You’ve been working as a presenter on triple j since 2018. Tell us about this and how you got into radio.
I always had an idea that I wanted to work as a presenter, entertainer or comedian of some kind. I used to spend a lot of time online researching the careers of people that I admired, not something I’d recommend doing…. I just didn’t know where else to turn back then!

One thing a lot of them had in common was the fact they started in community radio. After seeing that Macquarie University had a radio studio on campus as part of their affiliation with 2SER FM I pretty much made the decision on the spot to go there.

I moved to Sydney straight after school, signed up to start volunteering at 2SER FM and never looked back. I started hosting the Drive show there on Mondays and spent the next few years juggling university, learning to make radio, doing comedy - I’ve been lucky enough to do the Sydney Comedy Festival for a few years now - making podcasts and just trying to make cool stuff in general. Just recently I’ve started doing some work on screen for Channel 10 which has been super fun too.

As for triple j, I actually started working there as a receptionist! The regular receptionist took a few weeks off and I covered for her while she was gone. After that, I spent the next seven months trying to get back into the building and then finally got offered a position as a presenter towards the end of 2018 which was the realisation of a dream I’d had for a really, really long time.

You must have met some pretty interesting people. What’s been your favourite radio broadcast and why?
Probably the most unexpected encounter I’ve had on the radio was the time I interviewed the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP while I was still very inexperienced.

It was absolutely heaving down with rain and we were doing an outside broadcast at the time - basically where you set up a radio studio outside and broadcast live on location - and the wind was pushing the rain dangerously close to our equipment.

I wasn’t expecting to interview Mr Turnbull. We didn’t even know he was going to show up at this event. Then suddenly he was sitting next to me and I had to interview him on the fly while also making sure we didn’t die via electrocution!

Media and radio are pretty competitive. What is the trait that has been most vital in helping you succeed?
It’s so hard to pick the one that’s most vital, but I think having initiative is really important! Going through school I thought that the way to get your dream gig was just to wait for some guy wearing a suit to come up and “scout” you. I soon realised that’s not how it works. 

Favourite memory of your CCGS years?
I had the privilege of serving as Head Boy during my final year and, even though this might sound weird, I actually loved hosting Senior College assemblies every second Wednesday. In Year 12 my comedy hormones were truly raging and it was a chance to try out jokes in front of a real crowd! I remember we had one assembly where my fellow Head Prefect Maddy Paradise and I spent about fifteen minutes doing impromptu stand up to the crowd. It was chaos….in the best way possible. 

What is one piece of advice you would give current CCGS students?
None of your classmates can speak from experience when it comes to life after school, so you may as well trust your gut! People might say you’re making a mistake for dropping Maths after Year 10 because their cousin once told them it’s a vital subject. But heaps of those people will end up switching from their Accounting degree to something like Journalism after a few months even though they were convinced they had their future planned out. Definitely listen to the advice you get from the professionals. But don’t forget to listen to yourself too!