Spy: The Block that bonded brothers

Greymouth brothers Dylan and Keegan Crawford bonded on The Block NZ.

Greymouth brothers Dylan and Keegan Crawford entered The Block NZ show without a close bond and saw the experience as a chance to fix things.

Dylan left his hometown as soon as he was out of high school and went to university to study architecture in Wellington, while Keegan who is five years his junior, loves living in Greymouth and is a builder by trade. The brothers are like chalk and cheese - they have different accents, style and height and Keegan loves meat while Dylan follows a plant-based diet.

"It was a bit of an experiment to see how we'd get on," Keegan tells Spy. "It could have gone one way or the other and luckily it's working out great."

"Doing the show together has definitely bonded us - even just the first two weeks pre-lockdown brought us closer together. We stayed in more contact than before we started the experience and then during the show itself during good times and the tough times, we stuck together," adds Dylan.

Unlike one current contestant who will leave the show soon, the brothers are both back filming in Pt Chevalier after the set was closed last year in the first lockdown.

"It was a very weird feeling going from 100 to 0 within a few hours, when we got shut down. Starting back up again, even with a mostly new team of tradies, it was like we never really left - straight back into it," Dylan says.

Auckland has been serendipitous for Dylan. When lockdown happened he stayed in Auckland, met a new boyfriend and now lives close to the building site.

"Relocating to Auckland had been on the cards for a while, and I just used this as the final push. I needed to make the move since I'd already packed up my life in Wellington. My new relationship started during the break in filming. We live in different places though, so The Block hasn't been too different since we only get to see each other every couple of weeks anyway," he adds.

Keegan's building experience is a huge help to the brothers, but don't underestimate Dylan's design skills. He had already completed their budgets and planned the majority of the house, before last year's filming was halted.

Living close to the build site has brought inspiration for Dylan.

"Each time I come back to the Block ,it's like coming home, since I only live just around the corner. It's cool getting to see how the sun changes in the area from winter through summer."

Dylan likes to entertain at home, while Keegan is happy at the local pub, but that hasn't helped him form his own love affair with Auckland.

"I have found a destination I enjoy, 10 minutes down the road at the local boozer but I still can't wait to leave and get home," Keegan says.