SurF and TurF
Despite fierce protests from locals, ByronBaes offers more than meets the eye, cast member Hannah Brauer tells
SURFING and selfies. Botox and beach yoga. Cocktails and couture. This is the milieu of Byron Baes, which Netflix announced as its foray into local reality television last year. Residents of Byron Bay, the NSW town at its centre, soon made waves voicing their fears the program would shine an unflattering light on the not-so-private influencer community living there.
But Hannah Brauer, the crystal- obsessed and selfdescribed “quirky bohemian” cast member who says her impending reality TV stardom was predicted at a tarot card reading, says her postcode “is actually a really relaxed town where people are open-minded”.
Brauer and her parents, Ralph and Kathy, who run a homewares and textile company, moved there 12 years ago and hope the series will showcase the area as more than just the place Chris Hemsworth and his famous friends have turned into an internationally known holiday destination.
“What people don’t realise about Byron is that while so many people want to live here, it can spit you out if it doesn’t feel it’s right for you,” Brauer says. “The energy isn’t accepting. It really strives for authentic people.”
That’s why Brauer says she was unnerved by the uproar when production first began. “To be honest, the way it was promoted was shocking,” she says. “And if I didn’t know about the show, I would have gone, ‘ What the hell is this? Like, are you serious?’”
As for the protests? Brauer says, “The guy who started the whole thing, he didn’t know families like mine were going to be on it. And he’s actually close friends with my parents – they’re all on a holiday together in Fiji at this point in time.”
That’s not to say Brauer didn’t have some reservations, whatever those tarot cards may have indicated. “[I questioned] everything I was originally told – that it was going to be about our beautiful authentic lives. It rattled me to my core. But then I got a puppy that week, and it really sorted things out.”
Ultimately, Brauer decided to persevere, seizing the opportunity to promote the family business
and break into acting and music. But she isn’t the only influencer keen to take her social game to a whole new level with Baes. Viewers may recognise Nathan Favro, who courted Ali Oetjen on The Bachelorette Australia before turning up for a second shot at love on Bachelor In Paradise Australia. His surfi ng buddy and Baes co-star Elias Black also appeared on Love Island Australia.
Joining these reality veterans is Jade Kevin Foster, who, with 1.2 million Instagram followers (thanks in part to Kim Kardashian sharing a selfie they took at her fragrance launch), claims he’s Australia’s most influential influencer; local sisters
Lauren, a model, and Jessica Johansen-Bell, a fashion designer; “eco-entrepreneur” Elle Watson and talent manager Alex Reid.
Unlike reality shows where participants only spend time together when the cameras are rolling, Brauer says most of the cast have genuine and longstanding relationships.
And while there’s still a lot of fierce local opposition to the series, she’s betting that people’s minds will change once they see it.
“We touch on so many different subjects that normal reality shows about young people don’t talk about,” she explains.
“And for me as a person, I’m really sure of myself because I’ve been on a big, healing journey, and I just think, ‘ Why not talk about what we go through, because it will help others?’”
STrEaMInG, nETFLIX