North Wollongong's Ryan Turner is not one to shy away from a new experience.
After a stint with the Sydney Roosters under-20s squad, bobsledding caught his eye - and in a very short period of time he'd moved to the other side of the world to give it a crack.
It's perhaps this adventurous spirit that saw the 28-year-old coal miner put his name forward for a chance at romance on national television in Love Island Australia.
Turner will make his debut on Monday night when he enters the villa in Mallorca, Spain as one of the two 'bombshells' who arrive to stir things up.
But viewers can meet him first in a teaser airing on Thursday night.
It was with just a day left to submit that Turner thought "stuff it" and completed his application for Love Island.
Eventually he reached the audition stage - a nerve-wracking experience for the normally unflappable former footy player.
Turner said the fact he had so many nerves made him think going on the show would be a good life experience - plus, he hoped to find love.
"I don't drink... the lifestyle I live now, I don't really go out much, and I was struggling on the dating apps - we all know how great they are," he said.
While he couldn't reveal too much about his time in the villa, he did say it was a challenge going in when people had already built solid connections, and even getting in with the other men was tough.
"They were kind of intimidated and knew we were there to steal their women," Turner said.
Turner said the show was "definitely an experience", especially having never been on camera before.
He had to live in close quarters with a bunch of young people as a single man used to living on his own, and "felt emotions [he'd] never felt before in [his] whole entire life" - whether these were good or bad will be up to viewers to discover.
Turner was born in Wollongong and grew up in Towradgi and Picton.
After playing with the Roosters he decided to look for something new and a fortuitous browse of YouTube brought up a bobsledding video.
He discovered no opportunity to try it out here but found a job going in Whistler, Canada on a track crew (which does maintenance), applied for a visa and within weeks he was off.
Turner became so good at bobsledding he could have made the Australian team if it weren't an Olympics year (he said the team did not like to make changes in these years).
Upon returning to Australia he spent time on the Sunshine Coast and played in the Queensland Cup, before moving back to Wollongong a year ago.
Turner is friends with Wollongong's previous Love Island contestant Taku Chimwaza but says the pair are yet to catch up and trade stories of their time in the villa.
He said he was both excited and nervous ahead of his first television appearance.
But Turner won't be doing anything big to celebrate, saying with a laugh that he would watch it at home by himself and "die with embarrassment".
You can watch Turner's Love Island entrance on 9Now from 6pm on Monday, November 13 or on 9Go at 8.30pm.
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Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
