Max Futcher
Brisbane, Channel 7 journalist/newsreader, 50
What time do you wake up on a Saturday? My wife Kim and I would prefer to sleep in on Saturdays but netball season has begun, so we’re at Downey Park with Ava, 13, and Stella, 11, by 7.30am. We often have coffee/hot chocolate on the way home before I start boring stuff like mowing the grass.
Where and when do you exercise? I try and run a couple of times a week after work, which is a great way to clear my head. We also spend a lot of time at the beach on weekends, either surfing or swimming.
What’s your go-to weekend breakfast? The girls love cooking pancakes, and I will swoop in at the end and steal a stack of them.
Best place to go with kids? Ever since the girls were little we’d sometimes do a “city adventure”. We’d catch a train to the city, go to QAGOMA and the museum, before riding a Citycat and grabbing lunch and an ice cream in the city. They still love doing it.
Favourite park/green space? Noosa National Park.
Best place to go with dogs? We’re fortunate to live near the Kedron Brook Bikeway, which has plenty of open space. Our moodle Mintie is a rescue dog and doesn’t play nicely with others, so there’s plenty of room for her to run on her own and get some exercise.
Local coffee haunt? Entity Coffee at
Sunshine Beach is our favourite. We’ve gone there for years since it was called Costa.
Favourite takeaway? Thai Kitchen at Wilston is Kim’s favourite, but when it’s just Dad and the girls we get takeaway from Kan-tong at Everton Hills.
Best spot for date night? Honto in Fortitude Valley is a favourite. We’ve spent two wedding anniversaries there. It’s dark and private. All the food is great but I’d be happy with a platter of the lobster katsu sandos.
Best beach? In the right weather, the northern pocket of Sunshine Beach is the best strip of sand in the world. With its rocky headland, pandanus palms reaching down to clear water and glassy waves, it is a living postcard. But in the wrong conditions we brave the crowds and go to Noosa.
Favourite live music venue? I’ve seen some of my favourite acts at The Tivoli, but these days my mates operate the Eatons Hill Hotel, so I go there for live music.
What’s your perfect Saturday? It would start with surfing at Sunrise Beach before a morning lazing with coffee and the papers. I might cook a BBQ lunch on the deck before watching some football. Late in the afternoon we’d stroll to the Sunshine Beach Surf Club for a beer, followed by dumplings and bao buns at Embassy XO. We’d probably end up falling asleep in front of a trashy movie.