DAM: Today we’re sitting down with Beauty & the Geek 2022 co-winner & Train Driver – Aaron Seeto. Aaron, talk to us a bit about train driving, was it a passion you had since you were young?
AS: Yeah so it was a passion I actually had when I was a young kid. I was sitting and watching Thomas the Tank Engine on the TV and reading books on trains as well, that sort of grew and grew. I remember a long time ago when Thomas the Tank Engine had those magazines, and it had a page – ‘what do I want to do when I grow up?’ – including all the roles around it [train driving] and I’m thinking, ‘driver looks good’, so I wrote it down. I had a hobby of going to the station, taking photos of trains or going for a little ride around on the weekend. I also got into collecting model trains – all these things grew and grew which lead me to my day job now, which is a train driver.
“I was sitting and watching Thomas the Tank Engine on the TV and reading books on trains as well. Thomas the Tank Engine had those magazines, and it had a page – ‘what do I want to do when I grow up?’ – including all the roles around it [train driving] and I’m thinking, ‘driver looks good’.”
DAM: That’s very cool. What would you say was the point where your passion and interest for trains developed into – ok, this is what I want to make a career out of?
AS: It was probably when I hit high school that I realised this was what I really wanted to do. I started just looking up some things and doing some research on the position but I had some resistance from my parents, you know, Asian parents. I went and did an IT degree for four years. I thought, I’ll just do it, finish it, and then when that’s done, I can just do what I want to do. After uni I applied for entry positions at the stations, and it was after my last uni exams finished that I was notified that I got the job. Four months after my last exam, I started training for my new job.
DAM: How did it feel driving a train for the first time?
AS: Well, when I took the seat on my own, my first instinct was to assume there was an instructor there but then I got there and realised, ‘Oh wait, I’m just on my own’. When I drove that first train by myself, after I finished everything, I thought, ‘I did it, I jumped through all the hoops that were thrown at me and I made it’, so it was more of a sense of accomplishment that I got there. It took a while, but I got there.
“When I drove that first train by myself, after I finished everything, I thought, ‘I did it, I jumped through all the hoops that were thrown at me and I made it’.”
DAM: Was it a challenging process to get to that point?
AS: First, I had to jump through all the hoops to get accepted into the training program, and then once I got in it was like being back at uni. There’s a lot of studying because even though it’s a lot of practical work, a lot of it’s also what you know. From my personal perspective, because I wanted to – I enjoy that sort of thing, so I really excelled at it. I really enjoyed learning; what all buttons did and what I needed to press to make something work. Overall, I found it interesting.
DAM: What is your favourite part of the job, and what is your least favourite part of the job?
AS: OK, so my favourite part is seeing the kids on the side of the platform and honking the horn. Yeah, that’s probably the favourite part of the job.
DAM: Hahaha!
AS: My least favourite part is when it comes to the situation of massive delays. I think people don’t realise that it’s something that we don’t have control over. We do want to get you there but we have procedures that we have to follow or if something isn’t available to us at the time, it’s out of our control.
DAM: For sure, that makes sense. Well, leading onto Beauty and the Geek, being the 2022 winner, we’d love to ask, what sparked your interest to apply for the show?
AS: I was watching the season before my one and I was thinking, ‘this actually looks like fun’ and I want to give this a go. I thought if they do an ad looking for people for the next season then I’ll put my name down. Low and behold, when I was watching it, an ad came up saying we’re looking for people and I was like ‘well that’s a sign for me’.
“I was watching the season before my one and I was thinking, ‘this actually looks like fun’ and I want to give this a go.”
DAM: Where were you surprised when you got the callback?
AS: I was actually, because I spent all this time filling out the form and thinking I’ll just do it then see what happens and then I think one day I just finished a night shift or something and the phone rang. I answered and they were like, ‘hello, you filled out an application for Beauty and the Geek and I would like to invite you to the next stage’, so I was quite surprised. Another sign was when I was filling in the format and I had to come back to it and they actually sent a follow up email saying that they noticed that I was only halfway through in the form, so if I had any queries then give them a call. I gave them a call and they set up a Zoom interview. Not that long after I got another call which turned into an interview audition and the rest is history.
DAM: Were you nervous?
AS: I was nervous and excited. I was excited because I was thinking I’m here, I’m ready to have some fun, meet new people and more importantly, push myself and potentially find someone. That might not happen but still I was very excited to just push myself and make new friends in the process. Probably the most nervous thing though was meeting Sophie Monk for the first time!
DAM: She was certainly very intimidating in that initial interrogation she had with you all! How was your first day on set?
AS: The very first time when we were filming in the military vehicles – they wanted a certain light, so we had to get up super early in the morning, but I’m just thinking it’s like one of my night shifts so it’s not too bad. However, we were being driven around in the military vehicles which naturally, they encounter like very uneven pathways of roads, so being thrown around like 4:30 in the morning was quite an experience.
DAM: How was it when you got to meet all the other contestants? Did you find that you connected with each other a lot?
AS: At first, the boys could mix with other boys but we couldn’t mix with the girls, so I found because of that, it helped us bond a little bit more. When we had the opportunity to meet the girls, I found that they were very, very warm, supportive and felt that they were willing to help us, which was really good. I’m sure you’ve seen the infamous train scene when Karly [Fisher] visited the hotel room, but I wasn’t expecting that visit so I was sort of in shock and trying to accommodate her and make her feel welcome at the same time. I was really happy when I got paired up with her, she was great throughout the entire show.
DAM: You both definitely had a great connection. What would you say was your favourite moment together?
AS: There’s quite a few, actually, but the ones that stand out are her helping me get over my dog fear because she’s a dog person, she knew exactly what to do and gave me some tips. The other one was definitely being lowered out of that building in our final challenge, I loved that one.
“I was really happy when I got paired up with her [Karly Fisher], she was great throughout the entire show.”
DAM: How did you feel the moment it was announced that you were both the winners?
AS: I was in shock. We’re all standing there and my chest was thumping because she’s [Sophie Monk] about to make the announcement and I’m thinking in my head, ‘It’s going to be one of us so whatever happens I’m just going to be happy for whoever it was’. When she called our names, it was such a shock. When someone now asks, what’s the most memorable moment of your life? I used to say it was when I became a train driver and unfortunately that got bumped to second when I won the show and made 19 new friends out of it.
“When someone asks, what’s the most memorable moment of your life? I used to say it was when I became a train driver, but that got bumped to second when I won the show and made 19 new friends out of it.”
DAM: What was the response like after the show?
AS: I had a few people that could relate to my teeth and when I took them out, like they really could relate with the insecurities and everything. Funny enough, I actually had a few Asians reach out and say, ‘yeah Asian pride!’. Overall it was positive but also what was funny is that when I first started, people thought it was like a joke, like I wouldn’t last, but when they saw the further I got, it changed their minds instantly. In terms of recognition, we had a watch party at a previous season’s contestant’s house where we all mixed together and that was good, but the day after I was going to work and I was walking through the station and two people stopped me for photos so that was cool.
DAM: Do you think the show has changed you?
AS: Because of what I went through at the show now, I feel like I’ve been so much less reserved at trying new things. I’ve nicknamed it, ‘On today’s episode of stop talking or thinking about it and just do it’. I found if you keep dwelling on the things you wish you could do, then they will just go past you.
“I found if you keep dwelling on the things you wish you could do, then they will just go past you.”
DAM: Are there any plans for the future? Any shows?
AS: I did actually sign up for another dating show but I didn’t make it to the final stages. They were really catering towards finding the match for me but it just didn’t work out. With train driving, I actually do want to be an instructor. I want to teach new train drivers, so fingers crossed for that.
DAM: What advice would you give people now that you’ve been on the show, for anyone who might be thinking of following in your footsteps?
AS: Even though it might be scary, and that’s understandable, you’re putting yourself out there not just for a few people, you’re putting yourself out there for the whole country or even world to see, and it’s a good experience. You’re going to make so many good friends, especially with my show. It pushed me to be a better person and what helped with that – is I had a lot of support from the cast members of the show. We all just wanted the best for each other and we pushed each other out of our comfort zones. So yeah, it might seem scary but it’s going to be so much fun and more importantly, you’ll have so many people that will have your back, so you don’t have to worry about anything.
“It pushed me to be a better person and what helped – is I had a lot of support from the cast members of the show. We all just wanted the best for each other and we pushed each other out of our comfort zones.”
Find more on Aaron here:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theflyingoreo2/
BATG: https://9now.nine.com.au/beauty-and-the-geek/aaron-seeto?ocid=Social-BATG
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Published by Sangeetha Gowda & Marshall-Weishuai Yuan
Photos by NOAH Creative
Diversity Australia Magazine 