After two months of crazy fights, dastardly deeds, and shocking romances, season 14 of Big Brother Australia is about to come to an end.
To celebrate its 21st birthday, 21 housemates were invited into the swanky Big Brother house in Homebush, Sydney, a mixture of old faces and new contenders.
Now only a handful remain, including 33-year-old Taras Hrubyj-Piper, a musician who entered the show with a clear game plan: to manipulate but also love, to be serious but also have fun.
And it’s clearly paid off, with the plucky 33-year-old now in with a strong chance of walking with a cool $250,000. Considering he was expected to finish second at the start of the series by Sportsbet, everything is basically on track.
Ahead of tonight’s grand finale, here are 7 reasons you should vote Taras to win Big Brother Australia 2022.
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He’s a songwriter for Sticky Fingers
Taras was a founding member of one of Australia’s biggest indie rock bands of the last two decades. Joining in 2008 on guitar and keyboard, he left the Sticky Fingers lineup just one year later.
It was an amicable decision, however, with Taras sticking around to help out with the lyrics. He has several notable songwriting credits throughout the Sticky Fingers discography, including on their new album Lekkerboy.
He’s in an incredible band (F-POS)
After leaving Sticky Fingers, Taras had other musical projects in mind. He formed the excellently-named F-POS with mate Paddy Cornwall, the pair reconnecting and building a makeshift studio together.
That spawned their debut single ‘Classic’ last year: with a groovy reggae style and infectious beats, it was more than a match for the song’s confident title.
Big Brother’s definitely keeping Taras busy for now, but F-POS have previously described their music as sounding like “cyborg punk, dirty clash, and Playstation rave,” which means more songs should be something to look forward to.
He has a secret YouTube channel
Everyone loves a secret YouTube channel – people recently lost their minds when it was discovered that Timothée Chalamet had an old channel where he modded Xbox controllers.
Taras also has a sneaky little YouTube channel, featuring a mix of hilarious comedy shorts and handy guitar tutorials. Learn to play a Babe Rainbow song while also having a laugh about what you should say when you run into your ex.
He’s hilarious on Instagram
Taras’ secret YouTube channel might have comedy shorts but the real comic gold is on his Instagram page. This is his bio for starters: “arch enemy was a guy called nick from soccer when I was a kid. i found out recently i was the last boy to kiss the girl he has a baby with now.”
A frequent poster, his Instagram shows exactly what attracted the Big Brother producers in the first place. Social media is key, people.
He leads the band at chapel
When he’s not appearing on a Channel 7 reality show, Taras is part of the band at Wayside Chapel, a parish of the Uniting Church in Sydney’s Potts Point. He plays the tunes as the Chapel offers programs and services for those on the margins of society.
He has an unexpected university degree
A music-based degree? No. Something to do with the arts though, surely? Wrong again. Taras attended UNSW, graduating with a degree in…marine biology. That should come in handy on Big Brother, mate.
He once fainted and pissed himself at Bondi Beach
As the old saying goes, leave the best to last. While trying to impress a girl at Bondi Beach’s outside gym – we’ve all been there – Taras pushed himself too much in the searing heat. Unable to cope with the excitement of the day, he fainted and promptly wet himself.
You’d think he definitely wouldn’t have stood a chance of getting the girl’s number after that but not so: “Would I do it again? In a second. She still dated me after this,” Taras shared.
