He yelled in our faces about cheap hardware for more than a decade - but whatever happened to that bald guy from the Magnet Mart ads?
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We managed to track down 'Magnet Mart guy' - real name Brendan Sloane - through our advertising contacts. Turns out he's ditched the yelling and the red service station sunglasses for a quiet life in the United Kingdom, working in finance for the UK government.
Now based in London, Sloane is a project costing manager for the National Health Service (NHS), Britain's version of Medicare. He's dad to Roman, six months, and husband to Canberra girl Lucinda Watson.
But don't stress - he's still a staple on Canberra telly. You may have seen him in television ads for Phillip-based business Hip Pocket Workwear, which he shoots once a year when he flies home to Canberra.
"I remember the day I scored the Magnet Mart gig like it was yesterday - it was a stand-out and memorable day," Sloane said.
"When I looked at the script I said 'this strikes me as a younger Big Kev type so I'm going to give you that' and they said 'go for it'.
"So I did and within a minute the head of the marketing company fell off the back of his chair laughing and clapping and then ran next door to get other people to watch – we did the very first advert that afternoon."
It was the beginning of hundreds of 30-second television spots featuring Sloane yelling 'oi' down the camera and spruiking power tools, lawn fertiliser, outdoor furniture and solar panels. His run with Magnet Mart came to an end when the chain was bought by Home Timber and Hardware in early 2013.
"Everything comes to a natural end but I miss it – I loved doing those adverts and treated every single one with the attitude that 'this could be your last time in front of a camera'," Sloane said.
"A good mentor in the industry taught me that attitude. I am also happy to have a legacy as an actor – something I did that made people laugh or entertained – that's all I can ask for.
"I'm lucky."
So does Magnet Mart guy ever see himself moving back to Canberra?
"Once you get a taste of London it is very difficult to live anywhere else," he said.
"But I do love Canberra and think it's one of Australia's best cities. I was back recently and just amazed at the pace of cultural change and I love Canberra even more.
"It's like a small boutique version of Melbourne now."
