Pete Blasina GadgetGuy™ honoured for 3 decades of service

Pete Blasina

Pete Blasina is better known as the Hawaiian shirt wearing GadgetGuy™. He received the industry’s highest honour – the inaugural IT Media Pioneer award at the 2018 Australian Computer Society IT Journalism Awards – the Lizzies.

Where does one start on someone who has for so long been a household name in consumer lifestyle/technology?

Pete Blasina

Perhaps nearly thirty years ago when Pete hung up his secondary school science teaching hat. He donned the Hawaiian shirt, morphing into GadgetGuy™. That led to a career as a technology reviewer, writer, publisher, media commentator, corporate speaker and founder of GadgetGuy.com.au.

For 25 of those years, Pete was the technology correspondent on Tony Delroy’s ABC Australia radio NightLife show.

Not long after he became the trusted GadgetGuy for Channel 7 Sunrise as well as The Morning Show, Better Homes and Gardens, The Great Outdoors, Today Tonight, 6 pm News and Kochie’s Business Builders.

He was also seen on the Channel 9 Small Business Show and Business Sunday and appeared in print in the Sydney Morning Herald, Age and The Australian newspapers, MacWorld magazine Travel and Leisure magazine. He was a regular on 2UE and had gave up to 15 radio interviews a week!

Pete loved an audience and didn’t run from the spotlight

In fact, he possibly had too much spotlight when he featured in Cleo as a centrefold!

A high-energy, big-ideas tech evangelist, Pete brought sunshine (or is that Sunrise?) to so many people. He was generous with his time and advice, to viewers, listeners, business associates and media colleagues.

His network of contacts is extensive. From the inventor of karaoke, plasma, the SD card and DVD, to CEOs, celebrities and government ministers.

Pete Blasina

He started at a time when PC meant politically correct – not a personal computer

Joe and Jane Average needed a voice to explain the complex and emerging technology. Pete was careful not to devolve into marketing speak, but use terms, they could understand.

Many other mainstream media did not understand the impact of technology, nor the great stories. Pete made sure they did.

Where to now?

Health issues have seen Pete Pete step back from full-time work. He still follows all things tech and is a regular at GadgetGuy’s offices. He has four adult children from his first marriage and a teenage son Quinn with his wife, Anika.

Anika is content and editorial manager at GadgetGroup which is one of Australia’s leading specialist creative agencies and content studios, helping lifestyle technology companies engage with customers and reach their target audiences.

Val Quinn is his business partner and CEO in the GadgetGroup for over a decade. He has taken on many of Pete’s Sunrise and media responsibilities but steadfastly refuses to wear a Hawaiian shirt.

GadgetGuy is now Australia’s oldest and one of its largest lifestyle/technology websites. Nearly half a million readers each month have come to rely on its 100% independent, objective, news and reviews.

For a bit of nostalgia look at some of Pete’s career.