Culture Club - Parasocial Fans, Coming Out Online & Being A Private Public Figure With Louis Hanson

00:00:00.000 And I've never shared this before.

00:00:04.040 I'm Jasmine.

00:00:05.000 And I'm Maggie.

00:00:05.880 And you're listening to Culture Club Chats.

00:00:08.000 This is our interview episode where we sit down with a guest to chat all things life,

00:00:12.880 culture and creativity.

00:00:14.720 Today, we're recording on the lands of the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung people.

00:00:17.900 We would like to pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to

00:00:21.900 any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander listeners today.

00:00:24.580 today's guest is louis hansen louis is a melbourne presenter writer podcaster columnist

00:00:34.740 and comedic content creator he's known for his internet comedy sketches podcast co-hosting

00:00:40.640 duties and writing in publications like the guardian gq sbs and the sydney morning herald

00:00:46.900 now he's taking his charismatic self on the road with his first ever international solo show

00:00:52.860 good boy louie welcome to culture club we're so excited to have you here thank you we were saying

00:00:59.000 before we started i love being able to observe the introductions it's very indulgent but you

00:01:05.140 just sit there like and like how are you being perceived like what are people going to say

00:01:09.760 totally totally um thanks for having me of course oh my goodness like we have been in each other's

00:01:15.680 orbits for i feel like quite a long time now this is the first time the three of us are really sat

00:01:22.220 down together totally it's always like at events i'm like oh my gosh hi how are you like a quick

00:01:26.860 chat in the corner of a room and then it's like we get swept away so it's nice to like sit down

00:01:31.340 and have a coffee you are actually our first solo male guest on the podcast since december of 2023

00:01:38.140 yeah so we are honored to have you here today oh my god like i feel honored and privileged

00:01:43.680 are you kidding the male drought has been quenched on the podcast yeah no that's like a that's really

00:01:51.340 high praise and not something that I take lightly.

00:01:53.700 We're going to do a game to start us off.

00:01:56.400 It is called Lou or Boo.

00:01:59.300 Love it.

00:01:59.860 So I hope you can get it from the name, but if you like something, you shout out Lou.

00:02:03.940 And if you don't, it's Boo.

00:02:05.500 This is heaven.

00:02:06.880 Are you ready?

00:02:07.420 I feel really comfortable, by the way.

00:02:09.200 It's good.

00:02:10.020 Yeah, this feels like home.

00:02:11.600 I can't wait.

00:02:12.240 Okay, so the first one, verivating.

00:02:15.220 Lou.

00:02:18.460 Liking Instagram stories as a form of flirting.

00:02:21.280 Lou.

00:02:22.520 It's like a Lou where it's like, I do it.

00:02:27.260 It's hard out here.

00:02:28.800 I can see that for you as well.

00:02:30.260 Yeah.

00:02:31.040 And also you get brands flirting back with you on Instagram.

00:02:34.540 Yeah.

00:02:34.800 Like the Australia, the actual Australia account,

00:02:36.760 like flirting with you back.

00:02:38.260 I think that's why I'm like, I've been single for quite a while 0.99

00:02:41.600 because like once Australia flirts with you,

00:02:44.220 it's like, where do you go from there?

00:02:46.540 Yeah, truly.

00:02:47.280 How many people is that now?

00:02:48.260 Like 27 million, something like that.

00:02:51.840 It's a few.

00:02:52.820 They represent all of us.

00:02:54.360 Okay, next one.

00:02:55.420 Small plate wine bars.

00:02:57.540 Lou.

00:02:58.020 Yeah, you're a big Lou.

00:02:58.840 Love.

00:03:00.020 Using chat GBT as a therapist.

00:03:03.020 Boo.

00:03:04.720 Boo, boo, boo, boo. 1.00

00:03:06.680 Boo.

00:03:08.080 It's concerning.

00:03:09.460 Stop.

00:03:10.480 With love.

00:03:11.900 With love.

00:03:12.700 Okay, I love that.

00:03:12.920 Stop doing it.

00:03:14.120 Trauma dumping.

00:03:16.740 Boo. 0.90

00:03:18.860 Boo.

00:03:19.140 There's a time and a place.

00:03:22.140 Gym mirror selfies.

00:03:26.200 Boo.

00:03:29.940 And you love the gym.

00:03:31.020 And you do love the gym.

00:03:31.860 You can admit it on the pod.

00:03:33.440 Yeah.

00:03:34.080 No, I love a gym.

00:03:35.180 It's weird because, like, I love a gym, but I also, I still find it,

00:03:39.020 I don't want to talk about it.

00:03:40.100 Do you know what I mean?

00:03:41.140 It's like anyone talking about, like, their fitness, it's like, 0.99

00:03:44.400 shut the fuck up. 1.00

00:03:45.780 Shut up. 1.00

00:03:46.900 Shut up. 1.00

00:03:47.660 So I like to do it like silently and like stay in my own lane. 0.99

00:03:52.180 Unless there's the occasional gym mirror selfie.

00:03:56.100 A boy's got to do what a boy's got to do. 1.00

00:03:57.840 Oh, shit. 0.99

00:03:59.560 Speaking of sport, influences at sporting events. 1.00

00:04:03.280 Lou.

00:04:04.320 Lou.

00:04:05.520 Let people have fun, I say.

00:04:07.540 Let people have fun.

00:04:08.740 And I just, I truly think nothing is ever that deep, everyone.

00:04:13.100 It's okay.

00:04:14.240 Everything will be fine.

00:04:15.560 Live and let love.

00:04:17.660 I love it.

00:04:18.380 Especially as like for you, massive tennis fan,

00:04:21.700 you were at the AO like working like day in, day out.

00:04:25.260 I don't even know if you left the premise for like the whole month.

00:04:28.380 Well, you've done it two years now?

00:04:30.280 Yeah.

00:04:31.300 Mentally, mentally I'm still there.

00:04:33.280 But I feel like the start of every like tennis season,

00:04:37.380 I definitely get the odd comment being like,

00:04:42.340 what's he doing here? 0.98

00:04:45.540 Gay boy. 1.00

00:04:46.380 That kind of vibe 1.00

00:04:48.000 Yeah, famously gay men are not allowed to play sport 1.00

00:04:50.360 Well, exactly right 1.00

00:04:51.120 So they're confused

00:04:52.040 When a slightly flamboyant man is in the sporting space

00:04:54.860 But I constantly have to remind people that like

00:04:57.780 Tennis is my thing

00:04:59.160 So it's like at the end of the day

00:05:01.140 Regardless of people's professions

00:05:02.340 You don't know what their passions are

00:05:03.660 You know, that influencer may really love the F1

00:05:06.400 You don't know that?

00:05:09.500 Were you one of the ball boys

00:05:11.040 Like at tennis like tournaments when you were younger?

00:05:14.120 Such a great question

00:05:15.220 I never was

00:05:16.560 I feel like it gives that

00:05:17.560 Like you're a tennis fan

00:05:18.460 Yes

00:05:19.200 But you know

00:05:19.860 You weren't

00:05:20.440 Every year

00:05:21.760 Like it rolled around

00:05:23.140 And I was

00:05:23.920 Thinking about applying

00:05:25.140 Like

00:05:25.640 Then I

00:05:26.820 Just never would

00:05:27.640 I'd procrastinate

00:05:28.440 And then get really jealous

00:05:29.400 Of all the ball kids

00:05:30.260 Yeah

00:05:30.640 I really wanted to do it though

00:05:32.520 Yeah I had a friend at school

00:05:33.920 And that was like his

00:05:34.860 Like he did it one year

00:05:35.900 And everyone would talk about it

00:05:37.120 And he got a UE boom

00:05:38.240 Because like

00:05:38.580 They don't get paid

00:05:39.300 But they get paid in like

00:05:40.200 Hashtag gifts

00:05:40.920 Hashtag gifts

00:05:42.380 Hashtag sponsored

00:05:43.120 Yeah

00:05:43.480 It was like the clout

00:05:44.680 Like

00:05:45.220 to have what was it like a label of being a ball kid like that stays with you for life so so sorry

00:05:50.080 you didn't get that I know but now you're hosting which is true and it was a kind of full circle

00:05:55.420 moment last year I did as part of the promo for the hosting I was doing I did a skit dressed up

00:06:02.020 as a ball kid so I got to take home a ball kid outfit which was great and so I still feel like

00:06:07.380 I have that honor you have achieved that dream yeah just 20 years later what sports did you two

00:06:12.780 play no did you play any i did dance dance i did a bit of soccer in school but like you know yeah

00:06:21.520 that's mandatory like i didn't do anything outside i'm sorry no no no i'm sorry no it's like tennis 0.99

00:06:28.340 was my thing but literally nothing else yeah i feel a bit of fomo from the netball girlies like

00:06:35.700 i never had that experience like friends play netball my parents are not sporty so they i don't

00:06:39.700 know just didn't think of it but sometimes i feel that fomo of like i never had that australian

00:06:43.420 cultural like netball experience but yeah otherwise just dancing we've got two more quick little game

00:06:49.260 things and then we'll continue because we just want to chat sorry okay little boo linkedin korea

00:06:55.000 updates boo i feel like that exasperated side does sum it up because it's sometimes like i have to

00:07:02.740 but then also like i don't want to but hear me out it's like once again i don't want to yuck

00:07:08.560 anyone's yum i don't know yuck your yum you know celebrate your wins i love it i think it's just

00:07:13.380 because i personally i have a linkedin account but i've just never been well versed in the linkedin

00:07:18.780 realm you know so like who am i to judge i'm just not like connected with it you know boo

00:07:26.140 final one small talk with your plane seatmate boo boo boo boo boo boo love you so much as soon

00:07:35.280 as i'm sitting down my headphones are on i might even pretend to be asleep i'm wide awake i'm like

00:07:43.200 a few coffees in but i'm gonna pretend to be asleep because i just don't want to lock eyes

00:07:47.260 with you with love we're on separate journeys i feel like do you take that attitude to your like

00:07:54.460 everyday pt journey here like in melbourne yes i have a story i'm gonna bring this up friend of

00:08:03.680 mine I won't say her name she fan of your work has seen you once in life this was on a tram

00:08:10.460 Melbourne trams like you're kind of like you can kind of sit and they're kind of like in

00:08:15.180 fours where you face each other you guys are facing each other from like two like one carriage

00:08:20.040 down from each other kind of thing okay she sees you and you're so in your own head you're like

00:08:25.380 like just you know in your own zone there's a girl that comes to sit right opposite you

00:08:32.260 and she is apparently furiously picking her nose 0.99

00:08:35.860 like nobody's business, like just getting all up in there

00:08:39.500 and my friend's watching this and you apparently had no clue.

00:08:43.580 So this was me.

00:08:45.100 I was – this happened to me.

00:08:47.620 Yeah, like it wasn't happening to you.

00:08:50.120 It was happening next to you, around you.

00:08:52.960 Furiously picking her nose.

00:08:55.020 Like so notably that my friend like picked up on it,

00:08:57.640 you know what I mean?

00:08:59.100 That's how locked in you were.

00:09:00.620 Didn't even notice that.

00:09:01.480 so checks out i if i'm like especially on a commute i am so in my own world i am so in my

00:09:10.660 own world like you could you like you both could be sat right in front of me and if like i've sat

00:09:16.960 down first and i'm looking out the window like i will not i'll have no awareness of anything going

00:09:21.720 on around me it's quite meditative the trams in melbourne i find yeah i like to lock in but then

00:09:27.900 i also really like to log off yeah that's a good slogan yeah all righty thank you for playing the

00:09:35.740 game with us um we mentioned up top your many hats that you wear in terms of the jobs that you do

00:09:42.200 you know predominantly as like a writer and presenter among many other things do you think

00:09:47.000 that you are destined to always work in a creative entertainment field yes yes and i think my my

00:09:54.640 parents will attest to that i think so i'm i'm the youngest of two i have an older brother

00:09:59.080 um and mum and dad will like to this day openly talk about the fact that james is very um well

00:10:07.280 the opposite of me in what way um james was very um sports commerce um accounting crunching numbers

00:10:21.580 I very wanting to do a ballet love the Spice Girls dancing and so mum and dad immediately

00:10:32.160 knew okay so we've got chalk and cheese chalk and cheese um and so I think because I was and like

00:10:39.520 am so different to James they just immediately knew that I was going to be a creative kid

00:10:43.920 um yeah I was always and still am a very introspective person um as a child very

00:10:52.080 sensitive introspective quiet but like very very creative um and so I knew that I wanted to

00:10:58.660 always have an outlet to express myself creatively I don't think I knew what that was

00:11:03.660 um but I just knew that I would yeah have those outlets growing up and you're now about to embark

00:11:12.600 on your first ever international solo tour,

00:11:15.820 which is super exciting.

00:11:17.220 You've previously done a comedy show with Lucinda Price,

00:11:20.880 a.k.a. Frooms, who's also a Culture Club alumni.

00:11:23.440 We love.

00:11:24.020 We love.

00:11:25.420 You've also held live shows for Everybody Has a Secret,

00:11:28.220 which is the podcast, the shameless podcast that you used to co-host.

00:11:31.200 So why now?

00:11:32.880 Why was this year the right time to do your first ever

00:11:35.840 solo international show?

00:11:38.240 It just felt like the stars aligned.

00:11:40.140 i think i had so much fun over the past two years yeah doing besties with lucinda and then

00:11:47.400 the ehas shows especially ehas shows last year i just had the most fun with the girls like it was

00:11:56.300 so much fun on stage and i think from there i just like something like lit within me it was

00:12:05.500 a reminder that like i just i love being out on stage i was a theater kid growing up like musicals

00:12:12.600 totally performing in them totally what was your favorite role that you did oh um i was um tom

00:12:19.780 thumb in barnum um i don't know those words yeah no that's like so fine um i was in pirates of

00:12:27.960 penzance and bye bye birdie i don't know this you know an eclectic array of musicals good range so

00:12:35.260 you sing as well i can i can hold a note oh my god i will and perhaps maybe i'm singing a little

00:12:43.940 bit in the show coming up who knows who knows i am you heard it here first you heard it here first

00:12:50.120 um but yeah i've just like always been a an inner theater kid um and yeah so uh off the back of the

00:12:58.380 the ehas live shows i was like yeah i need to i need to do this next year um and then yeah like

00:13:06.340 management came to me they're like okay do you want do you want to do the comedy festivals and

00:13:10.820 i think it kind of the idea kind of emanated from there and something within me was just like no

00:13:16.020 it's time to do my own solo tour yeah i saw on instagram that you kind of like locked yourself

00:13:22.200 away for quite a few months like over the summer or like two months or something just you know like

00:13:27.600 i'm writing every day like big big things coming um what was the process like of writing it so

00:13:33.920 like it kind of came in ebbs and flows i think so i went over to new york last year and i went over

00:13:43.080 there with the idea that i was going to start writing the show you know i had a few experiences

00:13:47.600 over there where i thought actually this is the show perfect um and so on the plane back from new

00:13:54.500 York, I really started to kind of like drunkenly, like looking out the window, start to, to jot

00:13:59.160 things down. And so that was probably in like October and started to dot points, some of the

00:14:05.280 main ideas. And then I had a moment where I was perhaps potentially ghosted by someone.

00:14:15.780 That's a boo. That's a boo. It's loser behavior, loser behavior. And we were in the early stages

00:14:23.760 though but you know what it's like it's almost like a situation ship and then it could turn

00:14:29.360 into something and then the ghosting happens and I don't know sometimes I find like it's more painful

00:14:35.560 to have like a fizzled situation ship than like a fully fledged relationship because to me the

00:14:41.480 situation ship is like the idea of what could have been that didn't turn into anything long story

00:14:48.000 short. I was kind of heartbroken. And so I whisked myself away to Anglesey. Love. Victoria, shout

00:14:55.860 out. Perfect. Because I was like, I want to be heartbroken. I want to be in my feels. I want to 0.83

00:15:04.600 sit atop like a mountainside somewhere that looks over a body of water. Anglesey. Perfect.

00:15:11.700 and so i go to anglesey for like three or four intense days of like savvy b um i think my

00:15:21.520 roommate had potentially given me a dexie or two so i could really lock in um and that's when i

00:15:27.660 hibernate for like an intense four-day period and write the entire show i was feeling a lot of

00:15:32.880 emotions but it really i don't talk about that ghosting in the show but it really helped bring

00:15:38.660 forth a lot of the emotions and the passion to tell a story oh my gosh this has made me even

00:15:46.400 more excited it's called good boy so are you a good boy what's the can we give that away or

00:15:53.740 well that's kind of the crux of the show you know the quest to be a good boy what makes a good boy

00:16:00.620 am I a good boy what's like the public perception of me does the public think I'm a good boy

00:16:07.800 is that really who i am yeah there's like and you know i feel like there's also the

00:16:13.640 tongue-in-cheek kind of playful undertone of like good boy you know the submissive

00:16:21.100 role um so that's kind of what i unpack in the show in a roundabout way so you'll have to you'll

00:16:29.380 have to come and see because i don't know do you think i'm a good boy do you think i'm a good boy

00:16:33.520 from like my online image yeah you give high school school captain energy yeah like i i say

00:16:42.160 this to a lot of like like women when they give baker's light energy like they they give off the

00:16:47.720 vibe that they work there maybe you gave like pool lifeguard energy yeah you have like this 0.99

00:16:52.640 trustworthiness to you but it's inaccurate you know i like that i was on the like student council

00:16:59.780 in school so that kind of was my my route um yeah I think that is yeah it's hard because it's like

00:17:09.160 obviously I love I love that image but you know I think we all have stories perhaps that we like

00:17:16.600 feel like we can't necessarily share on a podcast or like on TikTok or Instagram

00:17:23.220 um and so those are probably the um stories that I'm like shining a light on on stage because I

00:17:33.200 feel like the stage is kind of a safer space to explore things when I was like writing the show I

00:17:39.120 kind of like wrote a list of like I asked myself I was like what what are my biggest insecurities

00:17:46.540 what are my biggest fears and I kind of like wrote a list of them all and then it was like

00:17:52.080 five or six things and once I wrote the list of my biggest insecurities I was kind of like okay

00:17:57.820 focus on that for the show wow like focus on the things that like really scare me

00:18:03.100 that's so brave to explore on stage like even for people exploring it in the day-to-day like

00:18:09.120 to sit down and be like what are my insecurities and then go work on them like that's brave let

00:18:12.460 alone standing on a stage in front of like hundreds of people like let's unpack it together

00:18:17.840 on stage and it's funny because i think a lot of people who follow you online who have listened to

00:18:22.820 you on podcasts have formed this very strong parasocial friendship with you you know you

00:18:27.440 talk about like um people who were fans of the podcast you were on like coming up to you and

00:18:33.260 like striking up conversations all the time and there's this weird juxtaposition where i think

00:18:37.360 people think they know you well and i feel almost similar but then we actually don't know too much

00:18:42.260 about you i think you can be quite private in some ways is this something that's intentional

00:18:47.140 Totally. Yeah. It's, it's interesting because I think I've always been, I don't know. It feels

00:18:54.820 like quite ironic to kind of have like a public profile, but I feel like I am quite a private

00:19:00.240 person at the end of the day, especially I think mainly when like my nieces came along.

00:19:07.560 And so I think I just thought that when it comes to my like family life, um, and also my dating

00:19:13.720 and my private life yeah it's kind of at the forefront to keep those two aspects rather private

00:19:19.980 until I'm on the stage well of course fuck it and speaking of that like kind of tension between 0.95

00:19:30.040 like public private at 19 you came out as gay in the most writery way possible you wrote an article 0.99

00:19:36.220 and I'm curious that's been quite a few years now hey um how does it how do you feel when 0.94

00:19:44.000 you reflect back to that moment oh my god I just want to hug him um what I mean what like a sweet

00:19:53.720 little angel I think what like a naive little angel um yeah I have like so much love for 19

00:20:02.060 year old Lou because I feel like when you're 19 you feel like an adult but you're not you're not

00:20:09.700 you are a baby you're such a baby um and I think that I've I thought naively when I wrote when I

00:20:18.840 published that article that it was almost like wiping my hands clean we're done I've like solved

00:20:25.340 all of life life's mysteries I know everything that I need to know I'm a fully formed human being

00:20:31.300 but I feel like that was just kind of the I guess the entry point into like a journey of

00:20:37.160 a true journey of self-discovery I thought that I thought that I would be happy once that article

00:20:44.080 was posted um but yeah no I think it kind of really it did the opposite and like shone a light

00:20:53.020 on a lot of things that I needed to unpack you know all you know the the classic teenage years

00:20:59.720 school years of repression and and shame and yeah what I didn't realize at the time is that I would

00:21:07.320 probably spend like the majority of my 20s trying to unpack that yeah it's definitely not just like

00:21:12.540 a one and done like hey that's out in the world now I'm like yeah the fully formed adult I

00:21:17.500 definitely think that's true of a lot of writers who write these like personal essays or divulge

00:21:24.060 very personal things it's like almost a trope that yeah people in their early 20s do to like

00:21:29.940 get the byline and then you reflect when you're older of like did i need to write about that or

00:21:35.640 like not in your case but like would i do the same thing and like how's that impacted like

00:21:41.900 yeah the way that you move through the world and i think that's like almost a unique thing

00:21:47.300 to people with like a public uh platform i completely agree isn't it funny to be like

00:21:53.140 to chase the byline i think that's like perfectly put um because it is like a notch on your belt

00:21:58.920 um and i i do i do agree not with i'm i'm happy that i published that article but there are a few

00:22:05.580 there are a few that i posted around that time period that i do look back now as a 30 year old

00:22:11.120 and i go okay i probably wouldn't have post published that um yeah and i think maybe that's

00:22:20.740 now why I do have more boundaries when it comes to my family and my dating life because I think

00:22:25.680 yeah in when I was 19 2021 I posted a few published a few articles talking about my own

00:22:33.100 family or the people I was dating and in hindsight I probably I should have protected that a bit more

00:22:39.640 but at that time especially like just coming out you kind of have this like selfish mindset of like

00:22:46.760 they're my stories to tell. I became addicted to like the truth because I'd been like hiding for

00:22:52.520 so long that I was like, it's my story. It's my truth. Not really thinking about the way that it

00:22:58.240 would impact other people that I wrote about. So yeah, I'm definitely a lot more mindful of that

00:23:03.340 now. Am I right to think that your family calls you Lewis? Like is your name Lewis in a family

00:23:09.860 sense? Yes. So my, my name is Lewis. Oh, actually. Yes. My name is Lewis, but my nickname has always

00:23:16.060 been louis yeah spelt the same way yep yep exactly the same um and but my family also calls me my

00:23:22.940 family mainly calls me lou yeah or louis um and then yeah like my nickname has always been louis

00:23:30.720 which is funny because like louis isn't necessarily shorter than louis you know it's a bit more

00:23:35.740 playful i feel but there's also something in that separation right of like you almost having like a

00:23:41.180 public persona of like we know you as Louis but your family also knows you as like Louis yeah

00:23:47.520 yeah that helps you're like Hannah Montana no it really no right because I think it kind of like

00:23:52.480 really cemented it's funny when I started when I moved to Sydney I started working at Pedestrian

00:23:57.480 and there was another another Louis in the office Louis Costello yeah we all worked with Louis

00:24:04.240 yeah sweetie pie and i think yeah i i followed him and so inherently everyone in the office

00:24:11.380 was just like oh louis they actually called me tui because i was like louis number two

00:24:14.680 which was great um and yeah then when i started like doing like presenting stuff in front of the

00:24:22.600 camera it was just like inherently oh you know that that's louis hansen and so it did kind of

00:24:27.040 start to feel like a bit of a stage name which i i don't um i don't hate at all yeah like family

00:24:33.320 or, like, friends from, like, school will be, like, they'll overhear someone

00:24:38.480 and be like, oh, Louis, and they'll be like, oh, I knew him when he was Louis.

00:24:42.400 I knew the real Louis.

00:24:43.680 Yes.

00:24:44.320 I'm like, that's still me.

00:24:47.140 Yeah, no, it's funny.

00:24:48.460 A lot of people know you through Everybody Has a Secret.

00:24:51.980 Yes.

00:24:53.180 What was your favourite thing about being a co-host on that show?

00:24:57.540 Oh, my God.

00:24:58.360 literally just the bond that i had with had have still have to this day um and like will forever

00:25:06.420 have with belly and rubes um i think like we were so open about it from the jump i i think it is

00:25:13.980 so rare and like you two i'm sure will be able to attest this when you're going about your media

00:25:19.980 careers it is truly so rare to find a bond with like two or like especially three people like a

00:25:25.860 trio but like you immediately sit down and there's like you bypass like you almost like bypass this

00:25:33.380 like getting to know each other or figuring out how how we dance together um we the three of us

00:25:40.460 just sat down we were thrown into this room and we just got on like a house on fire and immediately

00:25:46.460 it was this like intrinsic bond where yeah we just felt like we could um immediately lean on each

00:25:53.120 other um and i just i fucking adore them and so i'm like of course the biggest takeaway from the

00:26:00.960 podcast um was was the relationships that i was able to forge with those two oh god i love them

00:26:08.680 i was with them last week yeah we heard on the podcast yes yeah you had like a guest i got to

00:26:14.320 go back which was so fun it felt like high school reunion vibes but um it's just it's just a joy to

00:26:22.380 be with them I just adore them that's so sweet to hear and I feel like I also do want to talk

00:26:28.460 about the fact that you know we we all work in similar creative professions we freelance

00:26:32.500 when when do you know that it's time to leave something though especially when something

00:26:38.220 is so meaningful to you it's hard it's always hard um because I'm like I'm also like a sentimental

00:26:48.020 guy you know um and also like a job at shameless is pretty coveted in the media industry totally

00:26:54.940 it's a good gig it's it's an amazing gig um and it's definitely not something that i took lightly

00:27:00.620 or took for granted yeah part of me was like fuck if i could do this for the rest of my life with

00:27:05.420 these two girls like i would love to but it's almost like i had to take the my emotions out 0.97

00:27:10.560 of the situation and think objectively about you know especially where i wanted to be over the next

00:27:14.460 year or two um and the fact that I wanted to you know take part in the festival circuit and

00:27:21.520 um that I wanted to you know that would require me to travel and then that would be you know that

00:27:27.460 would impede on everyone else's schedules yeah I just had to look at it from like a logistical 0.78

00:27:32.260 standpoint and I had to go fuck I don't think I could do this um once a week yeah I might I might 0.54

00:27:40.400 be away I might be doing stuff I think that's a hard thing and a brave thing to do as well and I 0.99

00:27:45.720 think it's something that might come with age of like this is so fun like I'm having so much fun

00:27:51.060 but like where do I want to be in a year and how do I get there and what do I have to even if it's

00:27:55.480 like sometimes um compromising something else totally and it's like it's it's hard like oh my

00:28:03.700 god i miss i miss the vault i miss um our listenership our gorgeous shushies who will

00:28:10.560 forever be in my heart which is why i'm like i'm not too devastated because i know that the love

00:28:15.360 will always be there the love will always be there they're always going to be my kids um but

00:28:20.160 yeah like having that um place like once a week to to be able to talk to them openly and like

00:28:26.100 directly of course i miss that and it was so fun to go on the podcast last week but yeah it's

00:28:32.820 exactly right sometimes you have to make the tough decisions about like okay where do I want to be in

00:28:37.340 a year how do I enact those decisions and you know it's it's it's never easy and the premise of the

00:28:45.280 show in case people don't know is that you get listeners to send in secrets and then you discuss

00:28:50.860 and chat about it right I'm curious so how do you navigate secrets in your own life are you like a

00:28:56.360 secret keeper or a sharer i'm a i'm a secret keeper i'm a secret keeper the secrets are really

00:29:03.880 fun because a i feel like obviously we're exposed to like the wildest secrets like week in week out

00:29:12.980 and so like on one hand it did make me sit back and be like okay my problems aren't that bad when

00:29:20.360 we're talking about some really fucked problems like okay it kind of gave me a nice perspective 0.88

00:29:26.160 that like everything will be okay from my end from like a selfish point of view but yeah like 0.96

00:29:31.440 there there are definitely um I have my own secrets in my life that I feel like I'm an

00:29:36.320 absolute like secret keeper I think like yeah the the show is exposing some of those secrets

00:29:43.960 yeah yeah so it's like i guess i'm a secret sharer you know over the next few months yeah

00:29:51.700 but once again like maybe i'm a secret sharer just for the stage yeah for the sanctity or like the

00:29:58.320 privacy of the stage and also people can't like record it right like it's it is a safe space so

00:30:05.920 to speak of like people can word of mouth it but like they're not going to have the experience of

00:30:10.540 yeah hearing it from the horse's mouth so to speak exactly deny deny deny

00:30:14.780 I'm so intrigued by I guess that progression that you've gone through from when you started

00:30:21.840 out writing um sharing more personal stories about people in your life and like who you're

00:30:26.160 dating to now where you are divulging these stories but I'm sure in like a with a different

00:30:32.380 mindset right I'm so curious what it's like to date as a can I call you a public figure

00:30:36.780 because you know what's funny while we were researching i looked at your tag photos on

00:30:41.460 instagrams do you know what i stumbled upon what did you stumble upon i saw this like a fan post

00:30:46.940 like a collage appreciation post of your hashtag sexy legs and feet you know dan leg fan well of

00:30:54.880 course the instagram account dan leg fan famously yeah and i was like my goodness that just took me

00:31:01.300 you're back yeah they're always um thank you so much for digging that up there always has to be

00:31:07.840 at least one instagram account that creates montages of like some part of my body because

00:31:17.240 before dan leg fan there was mcfeet face feedy and mcfeet face feedy walked so that dan leg fan

00:31:24.300 could run and is dan his name i have no idea i thought it'd be like it should be louis like

00:31:32.180 but dan's the like fan oh yeah yeah i don't know i maybe i should um inquire is it just you on the

00:31:42.120 page no i think there's like um like media i think mainly like australian like male media figures

00:31:51.460 um yeah it used to be McFeet Face Feedy and McFeet Face Feedy would post yeah a lot of just

00:32:00.960 like photos montages of like my feet and then during COVID McFeet Face Feedy disappeared

00:32:07.380 and I was kind of sad because you kind of get used to a point where you feel this like outlet

00:32:12.020 of like support from this account always just being like yay they disappeared but then Dan

00:32:18.360 leg fan arose um and yeah no it is it is a kind of fascinating world in which you kind of you get

00:32:29.220 a mention and you're like oh i wonder what that mention is and then it's a montage of your like

00:32:33.580 legs that is is it not creepy i think i i don't know if i'm just like immune to things now

00:32:40.000 but truly nothing shocks me like like the ai thing was that this week that someone was just

00:32:47.140 gonna bring it up i don't know the story so i and don't worry i'm gonna show the camera

00:32:53.520 um i get a mention i get a mention like any other day and i just go excellent i wonder what it is

00:33:00.240 and let me go into the archives and it's from dan leg fan oh it was dan leg fan um and dan leg fan

00:33:08.840 had posted an ai version of a beach pic that i took on bondi beach back in january

00:33:16.020 um except this time i'm like a giant and there's a crowd oh my god

00:33:23.420 i don't know maybe we can like zoom in yeah yeah you're massive take a look and i i just went

00:33:32.360 okay all right okay all right so that's that's fascinating um and that's kind of caption it oh

00:33:42.160 yeah oh oh um because I always love to lean into it I'm like either way that's like kind of great

00:33:48.660 content from my end but I feel like that is quite emblematic of the state of my message requests at

00:33:54.940 this point in my life um quite scary but also once if I lean into it kind of fun you know

00:34:04.300 I appreciate everyone's creativity and everything is content so you're like thank you for the free

00:34:10.340 free material thank you um but yeah shout out Dan Luke fan I mean hey I'd love to meet you one day

00:34:19.160 maybe sorry I'm I am shooketh by this story to have such an engaged and artistic fan

00:34:27.540 dedicated right I think I think it's kind of great yeah no nothing nothing really does shock me

00:34:35.540 I mean, look, we, we can also cut this next part out if it's a bit too, too graphic, but while we're on the topic of the conversation and I have, I've never shared this before, but on the topic of like why things don't shock me anymore is because I think I have like seen threads about me on forums and stuff that are like quite graphic and were like really shocking at the time.

00:35:01.580 but because they were so shocking i see like ai images from dan lake fan and i'm like that's fine

00:35:09.720 um graphic in like a sexual nature or like yeah haters no like appreciation but it's like sexual

00:35:16.740 it was like yeah these like forums of people being like his nudes are out there his nudes

00:35:20.780 are out there i think the like the thread title was like um louis hansen has the type of face that

00:35:26.400 you want to come on and then like the entire thread was just people trying to find my nudes

00:35:31.360 i laugh but i'm like at the time i was like oh my god shit and i think that's when i was exposed

00:35:38.040 to like how wild the internet could be yeah that's full on what's it like dating oh yes in that

00:35:45.600 realm like when you're talking to people well i don't i don't know i don't feel like i've cracked

00:35:51.040 the code yet i don't know i don't know i think i i'm definitely i'm definitely guarded

00:36:00.620 i'm definitely guarded um and look that's not just i'm not saying i'm no you know i'm not i'm

00:36:08.800 not kim kardashian um but i i still do find myself being a bit regard a bit guarded and reserved

00:36:14.940 um at first yeah perhaps there are a couple of walls but it's sad because i don't want to live

00:36:21.780 my life as a guarded person i have always considered myself quite like emotionally like

00:36:28.600 open and i've always loved my vulnerability but i do feel like perhaps over the past few years i

00:36:35.900 felt a little bit more guarded it's just a bit of a safeguard but yeah i mean there's definitely

00:36:41.940 been times when like i've like hooked up with people and then after the fact they've revealed

00:36:48.560 that they have they know me where prior to hook up say i like met someone on a night out and then

00:36:55.500 like we went home together they'd be like oh so what do you do what do you do that's and then

00:36:59.200 they tell you later i do actually know everything about you no yeah you don't like that no scary

00:37:04.880 scary scary the other way around yeah because i think sometimes people might be like oh well they

00:37:08.780 don't want to come across as like a fan if they want to like get to know you yeah i would prefer

00:37:13.340 i would prefer i'd prefer that than to be like actually i've lied yeah because it's saying like

00:37:19.380 i've like like what do you do like then you've you're like oh well you just lied to me last night

00:37:23.260 it's a yeah it's a form of coercion like to lie about things like that i kind of because the

00:37:29.000 dating experience is difficult enough as it is without having to consider all these additional

00:37:34.900 things as well so yeah no wonder you have stories to tell yeah but yeah I'm trying I think I'm in a

00:37:45.300 place right now where I'm just yeah I'm trying not to be as guarded I like yeah and I truly believe

00:37:53.200 that oh I just I just know that like when the right person comes into my life it's not that

00:37:57.660 I'm necessarily looking but I just truly have this belief that like oh yeah like the right person is

00:38:01.780 going to come into my life and if things will be easy yes it won't be hard yeah and it's so nice

00:38:08.860 to see you wear your vulnerability as like a set like as a source of pride because it should be

00:38:13.560 and it is um and i know that's why a lot of people you know really enjoy your content as well

00:38:19.220 we are wrapping up the episode i do want to know though what does success look like to you and what

00:38:25.420 does that mean to you in the next like coming years in this new kind of era that you're stepping into

00:38:30.060 I think success to me, well, domination. I want it all. But no, I think success to me looks like,

00:38:42.860 you know, I mean, continuing to have a platform where I can, you know, be on a podcast or like

00:38:49.360 on a stage or with acting, just continuing to be able to express myself and to show that

00:38:58.460 vulnerability and to feel like I'm able to just express myself the way that I am so perhaps like

00:39:05.820 yeah continuing my creativity um always striving to to be honest and I think that's what success

00:39:14.560 looks like to me you're such a good boy you'll find out let's just say mum and dad are coming

00:39:24.000 to the Melbourne show and there will be moments

00:39:26.480 where they go, oh, hello.

00:39:29.220 Oh, Lewis.

00:39:30.540 Lewis, Lewis, Lewis, Lewis.

00:39:32.980 They're used to it by now though.

00:39:34.380 Every week on our podcast, we ask each other

00:39:36.080 for recommendations of the week, what we've loved,

00:39:37.800 watching, reading or listening to.

00:39:39.560 So do you have any cultural recommendations for us this week?

00:39:43.060 Oh, yeah.

00:39:45.620 What have I loved listening to?

00:39:48.320 Like a music?

00:39:49.460 Anything.

00:39:50.000 Anything.

00:39:50.460 Music, book, TV, show, movie.

00:39:52.020 Heaven.

00:39:52.940 Heaven, heaven, heaven.

00:39:54.000 um Slater's new album yes I knew you were gonna say that and I was like if he says Slater I'm

00:39:59.740 like fangirling so hard over Slater I was listening to it while I was walking down the

00:40:02.820 street today I'm obsessed right I cannot stop listening Slater Slater Slater incredible

00:40:07.640 she's fucking amazing um that that album that body of work so incredible and I think it's really

00:40:15.920 kind of mimicking my my my state of mind at the moment i'm excited for things i feel passion and 0.72

00:40:25.360 it kind of instills this like ferocity within me that i really really enjoy so if you want to like

00:40:31.080 stomp down like smith street with a sense of like pride and purpose listen to slater's new album

00:40:37.880 that's why i was listening to it on the way here to get in the zone for this i was like 0.90

00:40:40.740 fuck yes like go into the podcast studio it's so good and she's actually the same age as us 0.88

00:40:44.920 and um I think it's I heard um that the album came from like 10 years of her like grinding it 0.99

00:40:52.060 out like in music like trying to break trying to break and she channeled all of her anger about

00:40:56.500 like not having her big break yet like reaching 30 in the music industry too which is like a whole

00:41:00.220 other level of like ageism and sexism and stuff and she channeled her anger into this album and

00:41:04.760 now it's like the number one album wow that's what it's all about so it's like you can feel

00:41:09.920 that like frustration through the album and yeah I feel like it mimics like a lot of people like

00:41:14.920 going through Saturn Return and, like, being 30 and being like, 0.90

00:41:17.700 fuck this, like, this is what I want, like, go after it vibes. 0.99

00:41:21.580 I completely fucking agree. 1.00

00:41:23.600 I completely agree. 0.98

00:41:24.600 You listen to it and it's like you feel this innate desire of, like, 0.99

00:41:28.480 okay, let's get to fucking work. 0.99

00:41:30.780 Let's fucking do this. 0.99

00:41:33.220 And, God, I love it. 0.99

00:41:35.020 We're, like, high off Slater.

00:41:37.040 Yes.

00:41:37.800 I've yet to listen, but I'm going to be plugging that right in

00:41:40.560 after this episode.

00:41:41.800 What a great recommendation.

00:41:43.080 Glowing.

00:41:43.620 Like, I'm radiating.

00:41:44.780 yeah can you feel energy energy in this room guys and it's not just the second coffee I've

00:41:49.680 had before 10am yes of course well thank you so much to Louis for joining us today this has been

00:41:54.860 such a pleasure we've really loved getting to know you on a deeper level and thank you so much

00:41:59.620 for sharing we will be linking all the details for your upcoming shows in our show notes and

00:42:05.340 where can our listeners find you elsewhere as well um I just think it's Louis Hansen

00:42:12.020 on instagram it might be louie hansen with a dot or something in tiktok but i feel like if you just

00:42:18.120 start searching things things should pop up hopefully so perhaps there um i can i just say

00:42:26.460 maggie jasmine it was a pleasure to sit with you you you two are amazing and once again i feel like

00:42:32.920 it is an honor that i'm the first solo boy to come on for quite a long time i think that is amazing

00:42:39.240 I don't want any other solo boys to be sitting on this couch.

00:42:42.380 I like this.

00:42:43.920 For me?

00:42:45.020 It's got your name on it, don't you worry.

00:42:47.160 Thank you.

00:42:47.900 But, yeah, you two are amazing.

00:42:49.820 I'm always such, like, a proud fan from afar.

00:42:54.100 And even, like, seeing the shift into this new space,

00:42:58.020 the new video format, like, seeing the evolution,

00:43:01.460 I just watch from the sidelines being like, 1.00

00:43:03.620 fuck you two are killing it. 1.00

00:43:04.840 Thank you. 1.00

00:43:05.880 Thank you so much.

00:43:07.240 much warm and fuzzy yeah all around we can't wait to see you on the stage oh my goodness

00:43:14.620 see you there and then we can debrief about some of the stories afterwards yes perfect

00:43:19.160 well thank you so much again talk to you later bye

Culture Club - April 14, 2026

Parasocial Fans, Coming Out Online & Being A Private Public Figure With Louis Hanson

Episode Stats

Transcript