'Rabbit' returns to the MIA to share uplifting human stories through the PodVan

In the late 1990s, Dave ‘Rabbit’ Rabbetts was a household name throughout the MIA as the original breakfast radio host on Griffith’s edgy new youth station, FM99.7.

More than two decades later, he has taken the show on the road, doing what he does best from a mobile podcasting studio dubbed The PodVan, delivering “a celebration of the lighter side of life”.

“I’m not interested in clickbait or putting any negativity out into the world, I just want to put out stories that are positive and uplifting and supportive,” he said.

“It’s a good vibe.”

The New Zealand-born broadcaster moved to Australia in 1998 with the promise of new opportunities opening up in regional FM broadcasting.

“I applied for a gig in Young and they said that they’d just filled the position, but Griffith was looking and so they said, ‘Can we send your cassette on to them,'” he recalled.

“They did, and I got a call saying, ‘We’d love to meet you’, so I jumped on a bus from Surfers Paradise for 20 hours down to Leeton where I got picked up, met the guys and got the job!”

‘Brekky with Rabbit and Trina’ soon became must-listen-radio and the early morning duo had a rusted-on listenership among the region’s younger demographic.

“I loved the town, loved the people and I think everyone was just so excited about the new FM radio station,” Rabbit said.

“I was 21 years old and full of ideas, treating the station like it was a capital city radio station but with no budget for anything.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back to Griffith this week for the first time in 20 years!”

Rabbit eventually moved on to host programs in Cairns, Adelaide and then Sydney with the launch of the new Nova 969, and eventually settled on the NSW Central Coast in 2015.

Despite consistently strong ratings, a string of awards and a loyal following, Rabbit’s contract was not renewed at the end of 2023 and he found himself facing an uncertain future.

“I’ve always loved radio and when that came to an end, I didn’t really know what I was going to do next,” Rabbit said.

“But I saw the rise of podcasts and thought I’d use everything that I’ve learned through my career, so I built a studio into an old 1960s caravan that I can tow around and meet people and get their stories.”

Rabbit did the renovations on the vintage van himself and sees the PodVan Podcast as “a testament to resilience and possibilities”.

Unlike radio, podcast interviews are not limited to four-minute soundbites and Rabbit said he’s enjoying the chance to go deeper.

“Finishing in radio after doing it for so many years, that became my identity – I’m a radio guy, that’s just what I am,” he said.

“But I realised it’s not just that, it’s conversations and getting people’s stories and sharing them.

“There are days when I record and afterwards, I just have this feeling of – this is what I’m meant to be doing,” he said.

Rabbit’s current odyssey has taken the PodVan to the Riverina via Bathurst and he will spend some time in Adelaide before making the return trip to the Central Coast.

“I’ll be catching up with friends and recording with them, and just stopping along the way and having random conversations with people,” he said.

“When I meet someone, if I find something about what they’re telling me interesting, I ask them to jump in the van; I’ve got all the gear set up, and I hit record.

“You just never know where a conversation is going to go!”