It all starts here: From Shorty Street videos to Celebrity Treasure Island
When James Mustapic's mum left for a trip to Europe, he started filming videos recapping Shortland Street's weirdest moments from her freezing Dunedin living room, meant purely to catch her up when she got home. She loved them, and so did some of the show's own cast, who started sharing the clips themselves.
Host Vanessa Williams, General Manager - Customer at realestate.co.nz, talks with the comedian, TV personality and Celebrity Treasure Island 2023 winner about that accidental start, after years of unwatched bedroom comedy videos beforehand, the discipline that turned it into a real career, and why, eight and a half years into the same Auckland flat, he's still a committed homebody. They also get into his nightly diary habit, nearly eleven years running, and why his new, bigger Auckland bedroom has him hunting down the bar heater he grew up with in Dunedin.
Highlights#
- Growing up in a famously cold Dunedin house, he got by on an electric blanket and a glowing red bar heater long before the family got a heat pump.
- James started filming Shortland Street recap videos from his mum Janet's Dunedin living room at 15, meant only to catch her up while she was travelling in Europe; before long, cast members from the show were sharing the videos themselves. Before that hit, there were years of unwatched comedy videos filmed from his bedroom, purely for practice, and that same bedroom is now, rather less glamorously, a bathroom.
- He also won the New Zealand International Science Festival's Science Idol with a chemistry-themed parody of Justin Bieber's “Boyfriend”, about atoms bonding, beating his own teacher to take the prize.
- In 2023, he won Celebrity Treasure Island and donated $100,000 to Gender Minorities Aotearoa, a charity run by and for trans people, sleeping under a hessian-sack shelter on bunk beds by the lake in Wanaka the whole time.
- He's lived in the same Auckland flat for eight and a half years, calls himself a committed homebody who gets nervous about change, and has kept a nightly diary for almost eleven years to process each day before sleep.
James Mustapic on how home has shaped him.
The homebody who built a career from his bedroom#
From making Shortland Street recaps for his mum to becoming one of New Zealand’s favourite creators, James Mustapic says the best things in life still start at home.
Before the comedy shows, television appearances and hundreds of thousands of online followers, James Mustapic was just a teenager in Dunedin making videos from his bedroom.
Growing up in Dunedin meant home was more than just where James slept - it was where much of life happened.
He lived with his mum and older sister, and while the house wasn’t particularly warm, one household essential became legendary.
It was cold but I had an electric blanket of course. People always say that they cause fires. But if that's the cost, I'm okay with them.
That cosy upbringing also nurtured something else: a love of storytelling.
The YouTube channel that began with one viewer#
James’s career famously started with Shortland Street recaps, but the original audience wasn’t the internet - it was his mum.
When she travelled to Europe, he began filming humorous episode summaries so she could keep up with the drama from overseas. What started as a thoughtful joke quickly snowballed after Shortland Street actors shared his videos online.
On episode three, some of the actors from Shortland Street shared the videos.
It looked like an overnight success, but James is quick to dismiss that idea. Years earlier, he’d already been uploading what he happily describes as “terrible content” from his bedroom, quietly learning how to write jokes and edit videos long before anyone was watching.
Choosing home over the student flat#
Unlike many Otago students, James never embraced the infamous Castle Street lifestyle. While friends moved into halls and flats, he stayed living with his mum throughout university in Dunedin.
Looking back, he admits it meant missing some of the student culture, but he has no regrets. Home offered stability, and it gave him the space to keep creating. Ironically, the bedroom where so much of that creative journey began has since disappeared.
She turned my bedroom into a bathroom. I was a bit upset at the time, but you know, I hardly go there anymore.
He laughs about it now, even if it was a little heartbreaking at the time.
A homebody on reality TV#
Winning Celebrity Treasure Island might seem like an unlikely achievement for someone who openly describes himself as a creature of habit.
I’m really a homebody… I’m very particular about things being clean and things being in certain places.
Despite loving the show since childhood, living outdoors for weeks pushed him well outside his comfort zone. Yet it also became one of the highlights of his career, culminating in a surreal victory and $100,000 raised for charity.
I sort of wanted to cry, but then I didn’t because I think I was just too overwhelmed.
For James, the experience reinforced something unexpected: even the biggest adventures make you appreciate coming home.
Why he’s stayed in the same flat for eight years#
While many Auckland renters move regularly, James has done the opposite. He’s lived in the same flat for more than eight years, recently making what felt like a surprisingly significant change - moving into a different bedroom within the same house.
The new room is bigger, but it comes with one flaw.
The bigger room is really cold… I’m just so cold all the time in winter.
It’s a small detail that perfectly captures his personality. Rather than chasing constant change, James values familiarity, routine and having a place that feels distinctly his.
The nightly ritual that keeps him grounded#
Perhaps the most revealing part of the conversation is the habit he’s maintained every single day for nearly 11 years: journaling.
Every night before bed, James writes about what happened, how he felt and anything he wants to process before going to sleep.
It helps me process... at the end of the day I get it all out... and then I can go to sleep.
It’s become both a personal archive and a form of mindfulness, allowing him to revisit memories with a simple search while also clearing his head at the end of each day.
A dream home that’s surprisingly simple#
Asked what he’d buy if he won Lotto, James doesn’t dream of castles or sprawling estates overseas. Instead, he imagines a cosy home in Mission Bay or St Heliers, close to the beach but still connected to the city.
I would like to live in Mission Bay... I want a sparkling water facility of some sorts, I would like a pool... A spa, gosh, I love a spa... I'd love to have a nice little office, that's really cute... I love a loft, it's like being on bunk beds, but in a whole house.
It’s a fitting answer from someone whose career began in a modest Dunedin bedroom. Because for James Mustapic, home has never been about grandeur - it’s about creating a space where you feel safe enough to be yourself.
If James's story struck a chord, follow It all starts here wherever you get your podcasts.
Host Bio #
Vanessa Williams, General Manager - Customer, realestate.co.nz. Vanessa is one of New Zealand's most trusted voices on property, at home unpacking market data for industry audiences and translating it into practical guidance for everyday buyers and sellers. She regularly appears across national television, radio, print and digital media. Her commentary combines the extensive listings, search and market data held by realestate.co.nz.
