First published on 3 Apr 2012. Updated on 6 Dec 2012.
Free Sh!t Men was about getting everything for free. What was your best score?
Steve: We got a free racehorse worth $60,000, and a house at the end of the series. We both got a Brazilian wax – and I’ve got a tattoo for life. Getting a coffin was the weirdest episode. We saw the chill room with the dead bodies, and then we walked off down the street with a coffin on our shoulders.
Do you still try to get everything for free?
Steve: That’s how we started our businesses. We had all these ideas, no cash and didn’t want to get a bank loan. We’re both Dutch, so we’re tight-arses.
Is that why the Doss Blockos brand is based on squatting in New York?
Josh: We spent time with some squatters in New York, who shared our ideals in terms of free living and doing what you want – not worrying about the commercial or financial aspects of life. So the beer’s based on the romantic side of squatting – not breaking into houses and screwing over landlords.
Why brew? It’s a big departure from your other work.
Steve: We're excited by products with awesome stories – we wanted to give people more, rather than just saying, "Hey, here’s a beer." So, our ginger beer (Lick Pier) is based on beach culture and Fog City cider promotes urban foraging. And we like the drinks themselves. Personally, I don't like bitter, heavy beers. Doss is a North American easy drinking lager.
Josh: They're all sessionable. Full of flavour, but you could drink about a billion.
You do viral campaigns rather than commercials for promotion, right?
Josh: They’re not viral campaigns. They’re earnest action adventures. We decorated public toilets and left a six pack of Doss Blockos in there to give to the community in a fun, interesting way. We’re talking with companies like SBS about a potential documentary – there’s an abandoned brewery underneath New York city. We want to find it and set it up again.
What else are you working on?
Josh: Five feature films and TV shows; a vodka – that’s hush hush. And we've just toured with Aqua.
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