Matthew Ridge has signed on David Ring (right) as his new podcast partner, promising to bring banter "without boundaries" to listeners.
Matthew Ridge has signed on David Ring (right) as his new podcast partner, promising to bring banter "without boundaries" to listeners.
Matthew Ridge has unveiled his new broadcasting partner, who promises banter ‘without boundaries’. Spy reveals how they met.
Former sporting and television legend Matthew Ridge has replaced his former broadcasting pal Marc Ellis with a Monaco socialite.
On Sunday, the first podcast of Ridge and David Ring’s The Brink will go live on Spotify and it promises to offend anyone ‘woke’.
In The Brink teaser on Instagram, Ridge manages to call out Ring on name dropping that he lives in Monaco, his sexuality, Botox and being a former alcoholic, whilst Ring attempts to bring Ridge into the 21st century (or at least the 20th).
Five years ago, Ring, a former man-about-town in Auckland, moved to Monaco with his high-rolling Australian husband of 10 years, James Vaile. The pair has two Chow Chow dogs called Hercule and Lilou and live in Monaco’s beach district of Larvotto, famed as a playground for the rich and famous.
A stop in with Ring and Vaile in Monaco is a sure thing for many Down Under Rich Listers doing the season on the Mediterranean.
Ring tells Spy he and Ridge met at a lunch in Monaco when Ridge’s daughter Jaime, a long-time friend of his, was visiting from Los Angeles.
“Expectations were low, particularly on my part, as on paper the differences between Matthew and I are glaring,” says Ring.
‘We soon recognised we had a shared disdain for small talk, as is common with many people with ADHD, something we both have.
“We discovered a mutual love of deep, judgment-free conversation that led to a friendship and a connection that we find as baffling as everyone around us.”
The self-described odd couple’s families spent Christmas together.
If the two new besties hit the town, they like to go anywhere with great people watching – “the weirder the better” – and great music. They like to bounce around meeting other like-minded oddballs with interesting stories, backgrounds and viewpoints.
Ridge and Ring will record The Brink together alternating at their home bases of Monaco and France.
“We’re having these chats anyway, so Matthew just said why not record and see if we can share some of the benefits this great connection has afforded us and encourage others to seek out the same,” says Ring.
Matthew Ridge has replaced his former broadcasting pal Marc Ellis with Aucklander-turned-Monaco socialite David Ring. Photo / Greg Bowker
Through their banter they say they aren’t just poking the bear – they’re giving it a full wedgie as they dissect norms, hurl stereotypes out the window and dare to ask the awkward questions that more sensible people are whispering about.
“Our banter is unfiltered, borderline inappropriate and without boundaries, but always under the umbrella of mutual respect and an agreement that no matter how seemingly offensive we are to each other that it is only ever said and received in good faith and humour,” says Ring. “Essentially we’re in constant competition to see who can pay each other out the most.”
They intend to delve deep on any range of issues from sexuality to relationships and connection, mental health, addiction, victim culture and more.
“We see the world turning away from the polarised status of cancel culture and hope to explore more of the grey zone that has been off bounds for too long, where questions can and should be asked freely,” says Ring.
Ricardo Simich is the New Zealand Herald’s Spy Editor. Based in Auckland he covers all roads that lead to popular culture.
