Celebrity has become the norm for Perth boy Tim Johnson.
The former Nova 96.9 radio presenter and producer has lived in New York City for almost two years come December and has notched up a suite of high-profile interviews.
From the cast of Sex and the City to Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnson has been weaving his way through the celebrity A-list in his new home.
As Johnson calls from his home, a block down from Central Park, he tells OUTinPerth of his adventures in NYC.
His descriptions of the town that never sleeps are gilded with fame and a glow that has drawn in many like him before.
Johnson now works for a host of publications such as the fashion magazine Grazia; hugely popular online film reviewer Moviehole.net and on radio spots.
Johnson said there were so many aspects to take in about NYC; forever contrasting and never static.
‘Home Alone and Sex in the City was what I was expecting,’ Johnson said.
‘I was expecting the hustle and bustle, there’s always something happening, you’ll walk down the street and there’s a parade on Fifth and Sixth Avenue that wasn’t even advertised.
‘And then there’s the nightlife which is everything like Spring Break with fake palm trees to $50 cocktails on top of a building, it’s amazing.’
Speaking of cocktails, his favourite interview remains the Sex and the City 2 movie launch; he rated it by far the best and the crowds outside the Bergdorf Goodman department store were ‘crazy.’
‘There was so much hype around the film … And I found the girls were really sweet. You know what? I think they actually looked even better in the flesh, too,’ Johnson said.
He even attempted to mirror the writing rituals of Carrie (from SATC) when he wrote up his review.
‘This is going to sound ridiculous but when I was writing the Sex and the City piece, I set myself up in front of my window that looks over one of the busy streets in Manhattan,’ he said.
‘I didn’t have a frock so it didn’t work.’
Unlike Carrie, Johnson had his start in the media back in 2003 when he joined Sydney’s Nova radio team as a presenter.
He followed this by producing the number one rating radio show, the Merrick & Rosso & Kate Ritchie Show before he made his move.
But even before then he had his eye on the lime light back in high school.
‘When I was 14 I did work experience for 92.9FM; I sat in on the Hot 30 and then went out with the road runners,’ he said.
‘It must have struck a chord with me.
‘I went to John Curtin School of the Arts in Fremantle and I was doing their theatre program.’
He quickly realised he wanted to be on the other end of the microphone, conducting the interviews.
His big ambitions in the big apple have drawn him so far in the bright lights of NYC but now Johnson says he is beginning a new chapter of his career.
‘I’m putting a foot into TV at the moment, I have a meeting with E’ News which will be great, so it’s kind of where I’m heading,’ he said.
‘LA via New York via Sydney via Perth… I’m starting to feel like a gypsy.’
Benn Dorrington
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