For most, the thought of waking up to go to work on a Sunday while it’s still dark outside has us reaching for the snooze button.
But David Woiwod is not like most people. Weekend Sunrise’s handsome new co-host practically leaps out of bed pre-dawn to head into ‘Brekky Central’, thanks to years of 5.30am swim squad training “conditioning” him.
“I come from a long line of early risers, so I love mornings,” David tells New Idea exclusively.
“It also means I come from a long line of people who go to bed early. Nothing makes me happier than when dinner plans are canceled and I can be in bed by 9pm.”
It’s almost one month since David, 40, joined Monique Wright on the Weekend Sunrise couch. He took over from Matt Doran in early December. It meant relocating to Sydney from America, where he’s spent the last five years as 7NEWS’ US bureau chief.
David says the allure of “sausage rolls and cheesy mite scrolls”, as well as being closer to his family and friends, made the decision to return home an easy one.
David enjoyed his time working in the US – particularly covering the recent election – but is very excited to now be sharing Australian stories.
“My first newspaper editor drummed it into me that ‘everyone has a yarn to tell’,” he tells us.
“I’m looking forward to hearing more yarns from Aussies all over the country, and telling a few of our own as well.”
For David, it’s always been about the story.
A self-professed “proud Melbourne boy”, he jokes that he pivoted to journalism after a “distinct lack of talent” and “two dislocating shoulders” dashed his hopes of a “promising junior AFL career”.
He started out in community newspapers in Victoria before landing a cadetship at The Examiner in Launceston, TAS – a job he really loved.
“My beat was essentially the local lawn bowls tournaments and big pumpkin competitions,” he recalls.
“I moved into TV in my twenties, and the only thing I regret about the change is my haircut at the time!”
After so many “grueling” years on the road, David is loving having a regular ‘work wife’ in Monique.
“Mon is the most talented, generous, and hilarious person to work with and I look forward to riding her coattails until the bosses notice,” he says with a flash of his megawatt smile.
“The best part of Mon is that she makes every day so much fun. Aussies see that when they watch her on TV, and I get to experience that in real time sitting next to her.”
When he’s not working, David likes to, you guessed it, swim! Although these days he has traded pool lanes for open water.
“I love ocean swimming. I recently won a swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco … I refused to google the shark situation,” he explains.
“I’ve swum New York’s Hudson River from the base of the Statue of Liberty to Manhattan, done a two-week swim trek through Vietnam’s northern islands, and have competed in Perth’s famous Rottnest Island swim multiple times!”
He also values time with friends and family. When asked how his mates might describe him David jokes: “Well, behind my back I hope they would call me loyal, funny, and trustworthy. All I know is that to my face they call me very different things!
“The same goes for my mum for that matter. Note – if your mum calls you handsome, it doesn’t count!”
