Sure Beats Working

Summary

Sure Beats Working follows the story of Freddy Botica, and the series of unexpected twists and turns that ended up being a long and successful career in broadcast radio.

Freddy was born in Auckland, New Zealand in 1947 – the youngest child of Croatian parents who fled the conflict of World War II to give their children a new life full of opportunities.

In 1969, while working as a signwriter for Coca Cola, Freddy was invited to spend a week aboard the Tiri 2 – the infamous ship that brought pirate radio station Radio Hauraki to the masses in New Zealand. He was on board the ship to repaint a faded sign, but when a severe storm hit Auckland a few days later, Freddy was asked to fill in on air for the rest of the week. His immediate success and appeal on air led to Freddy being offered a full time role with Radio Hauraki – the beginning of what would become a broadcasting career that spanned 5 decades, and broke Australian records.

Freddy’s time in radio gave him a chance to not only meet, but spend meaningful moments with many of rock music’s greats – from spending a weekend with Alice Cooper in Sydney, to hosting Sting and the Police at a barbecue on the beachfront lawn of his home. Many broadcasters have interviewed the stars. Very few of them have spent extended periods of time with the stars and their families. A chance meeting with Neil Young’s boat ‘Ragland’ in the Bay of Islands, led to a whole week spent with Neil soon after – windsurfing, and discussing life, family and music.

Freddy was then part of the team that took Radio Hauraki to the top of the radio ratings in New Zealand. A radio station that originally didn’t even have a legal license to broadcast was beating all their competition consistently through the late 1970s and early 80s. From there, Freddy was poached by the competition, and was a key member of New Zealand’s first (and also legal) FM radio station, 89fm Stereo.