Twelve Questions: Matt O'Brien

Matt O'Brien with his miniature greyhound Mini and some of the many pop culture figurines he has collected from around the world. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Riding high on the property value wave is Matt O’Brien of Barfoot & Thompson, Ponsonby. He talks about his previous career as DJ OB1, pop art and bubble-bursting forecasts.

1. How do you make a sale when a customer is on the brink?
When I worked in radio ad sales I would go in for the jugular but I don't want to pressure anyone into buying a house. It's their decision. For me it's about putting the right houses in front of people and being someone that people want to deal with.

2. Apart from music, what does a DJ need?
The ability to read a crowd. The arse can fall out of the dance floor in one track, as we've all seen. So I think the biggest skill is the flow of your set, you can take people down a little bit and then up again. And I kind of had that connection. I think that's the reason that I'm good at sales. People connect with me. And I know a lot of people. I know them from all the schools I went to, and then I used to DJ all around the place, I'd be in a different city each week and I'd fly in and everyone would know me. It sounds like I'm boasting about all the friends I've got, but my real estate career got off the ground really quickly and I think that's connected to the amount of people that I know. And that I've been a nice guy my whole life. It's a karma thing.

3. Do you think the property bubble might burst?
My feeling is that it won't and I've heard as many informed people say it won't as are saying that it will. But I'm a sales person not a forecaster. My highest sale? Two million dollars. In Grey Lynn. I hadn't quite pitched the price that high. It was a cracking result. That particular vendor was a mate so we went out and celebrated.

4.Do you go out a lot?Not as much as I used to. I don't like hanging out in bars on Friday nights. I like being fresh for my kids the next day. I partied a bit when I had my first child, Bella. I mean I DJ'd for 15 years, I partied my arse off. This phase of my life I'm really serious about my job and kids. I've done one open home hungover in two years.

5. What's the soundtrack of your life?
As I kid I used to play my parents' records - Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, David Bowie. That really got me into music. Then I really got into dub and reggae. Well actually AC/DC and Led Zeppelin were the first albums I bought. I was a real rockhead. Then around 1991 I discovered dance music and it was a dark secret for a few years. I got a holiday job in a record store and started to import vinyl for DJs into the shop, and then I started to DJ and that's how the whole thing took off. And from there I had my blinkers on, for a good 10 years, it was all dance floor stuff. Around the early 2000s, 2manydjs were a massive influence on me. It was the early days of real mash-up stuff. Electro-pop like Peaches. Then around 2004 I needed a lifestyle change, I needed to sleep in the weekends. So I got out of DJ-ing and back into my rock roots. These days I listen to everything. I went to the Eagles last month with mum.

6. What was your childhood like?
Both my parents were really sociable - they were both sales people and into sport. We weren't the kind of family to sit around doing nothing. There was quite a lot of turmoil and as the youngest I would use humour to get attention. We had really great ski holidays and things but there was a lot of physical discipline from my dad. I was kind of scared of him. I think it was like that for a lot of kids in the 70s, a bit of a fear. But I felt very loved as well. Dad coached my teams, he was there for me in lots of positive ways. My parents split up when I was 11 and I remember feeling relief really that we were going to move in with mum. It was good news. I think mum felt some real freedom and really blossomed. I always loved seeing dad but it was a different vibe. Mum's house was more fun.

7. What kind of teenager were you?
Quite naughty. At about 13 or 14 I started getting into alcohol and things I shouldn't. I went to [Anglican] Christ's College - and I was just too naughty a kid for a school like that. So I left and went to [Catholic] St Bede's and got into trouble and was asked to leave. So I went to [public] Burnside and really enjoyed the rest of my school years. I moved out of home at 16 or 17, into a scungy flat.

8. Do you read books?
I don't read books. I got 50 per cent in School Cert English, and I had never read a book. I remember completing my first book - it was a Hare Krishna book - when I was 17. I've probably completed 10 books in my entire life. It's something that I keep meaning to get into. I'm a ridiculously slow reader. I was never very good at reading. So I never did.

9. You lived in Japan for two years - how was that?
I loved it. I DJ'd a lot, partied a lot, and worked in a kindergarten during the week which was quite a cool balance. I just loved the pace of life. The Japanese mainstream design is kind of pop and futuristic, and I've always loved pop culture. I've collected figurines from all around the world. I've got an original Steve Austin doll, still in the box. I like funny obscure Japanese Manga characters. There's a little piece of my heart in Japan. And in India. If I have any regrets it's that I didn't go to live in China for a while.

10. What kind of parent are you?
I think I'm a pretty awesome parent. I'm quite firm, which probably comes from my own upbringing, but I bring some 21st Century parenting values to it. I have two kids Bella 13, and Bobbi , 5, from two previous relationships and I have each of the kids about 40 per cent of the time.

11. How did you meet your current partner?
We were picking up our daughters from a kids' birthday party. For me there was an instant attraction.

12. How do you keep your attitude positive?
I did The Landmark Forum when I was 21. It's probably got mixed reviews these days but it came at a real key time in my life. It taught me about looking towards the future and envisaging the way you want it to be and not living your life out of your past. I ditched my baggage at 21.