Channel [V]’s Renee Bargh (left) with her co-B430 hosts

Before you turn 30 the world is your oyster – but where do you start? Channel [V]’s B430 solves the conundrum, and kicks off by unearthing the world’s coolest must-do music festivals. We catch up with Renee Bargh, one of the show’s team of globe-trotting VJs. to learn more about making the most of life “B4” the thirties hit.

What was the idea behind B430?

Basically, it’s a really fun look at how to travel before you turn 30, and how to visit all the best festivals around the world.

What does this show have to offer the under-30 crowd?

It’s a great show travel-wise, because it is showing kids the best ways to get overseas to these amazing festivals, and how to do it on a budget [or] if you’ve got the money.

Which festival did you check out?

The Sziget festival in Budapest, and it was absolutely incredible. It’s on an island, and it’s one of those crazy European festivals where everything that you ever dreamt of is there.

What crazy stuff did you see?

There was a counselling tent, a fortune-reading tent and a wedding tent – people where getting married there! There was a hire tent where people were hiring a mum for the day or a masseuse or whatever they wanted. There was bungy jumping and a massive flying fox… it was very cool.

What do you think is the best thing about being under 30?

You can just live your life and have fun. After you’re 30 you might not want to camp with half a million people on an island, going to a festival where there are crazy Europeans running around half naked, you know?

What do you think is a must-do for people before they turn 30?

Well, I jumped out of a plane – but I don’t recommend that! Everyone that says they need to go skydiving before they die is really insane. But I think just travel. And definitely go to a music festival in Europe, because there is nothing that compares [to it].

What haven’t you done yet that you want to try before you’re 30?

I would love to go backpacking around Europe. My parents live in Nepal, and I’ve been there a couple of times and I’ve done some trekking, but I want to tackle the Mount Everest base camp before I turn 30.

This article first appeared in OPTUS magazine, March 2009

Meet the green “alter eco” of Entourage star Adrian Grenier as he shows us how easy it is to save the planet without skimping on sustainable style!

Adrian Grenier’s fans are used to seeing him as the super-smooth Hollywood actor Vincent Chase living large in LA in the show Entourage, but many may be surprised to discover that in real life Grenier is, well, a bit of a greenie. Brought up by his “flowerchild” mother, Greiner was exposed to alternative lifestyles from an early age, so perhaps it’s no surprise that he feels an earthy connection with the world. “I’ve always had an appreciation for health food and recognising the importance of taking care of one’s own environment,” says Grenier.

Now Grenier has put his money where his mouth is as executive producer and host of The LifeStyle Channel’s exciting new 13- part series, Alter Eco. The title refers to the “side of us that wants to do the right thing, but in a fun, exciting, energetic, creative way,” he says. Part greenie handbook and part sustainability makeover show, Alter Eco promises to give a much-needed image lift to the environmental cause.

Every green guru needs a sidekick and in this case Grenier’s got a whole “green team” to help him save the planet. There’s eco-builder Darren Moore; online activist Boise Thomas; Angela Lindvall, the model with an eye for environmentally kind fashion; and last, but certainly not least, is Rick Byrd, the real estate developer who Grenier describes as “the Fonz of the crew”. Together they give Grenier’s 1920s Spanish home a dazzling eco facelift, offering advice as well as introducing viewers to eco-friendly paint, food, clothes, furnishings and even surfboards.

Always the optimist, Grenier believes the key to saving the world lies in all of us making different choices. “We have to make sure that we invest in the new technologies, in the new innovations, which will actually give us the same luxuries, but just in a more futuristic, high-tech way so that it’s not as wasteful.”

This article first appeared in OPTUS magazine, March 2009