Today we’d like to introduce you to Oli Pettigrew
Hi Oli , so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
As a Hong Kong born Brit, Oli Pettigrew has spent most of his life traveling the world. 17 years as an award winning television host took him to over 50 countries and at various times he’s called Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK, Arizona and now Texas home.
He met his Texan wife Linda Black while they were both modeling in Singapore which kicked off a decade of adventure before leaving for the USA with their 2 children in tow.
For the last 2 1/2 years Oli has been better know as ‘ThatEnglishmanInTexas’ where his amusing observations and commentary about America’s most unique state caught the attention of the Lone Star State’s residents.
Described by a follower as ‘the David Attenborough of Texas’ Oli sees himself as the unofficial Texas ambassador – explaining Texas to Texans and non-Texans alike
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Starting fresh after the end of my American show RightThisMinute was no easy task – in the 17 years that I had been working in TV the entire landscape changed. People consume so much content on their phones. One day I just started telling stories as ThatEnglishmanInTexas and fortunately my TV skills translated.
It’s hard to stand out in the online environment but I feel that my approach to TV – being open and authentic – helps me connect with people on a personal level.
There’s still a long way to go – but I’m enjoying the adventure
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
17 years as an international and national television host.
In Asia I hosted over a dozen shows working for HBO, Cinemax, Sony, Discovery Channel, Food Network, TLC, Channel News Asia to name but a few. I was nominated for multiple awards, winning 2 international TV awards for hosting ‘Cash Cab Asia’ on AXN and ‘Kids vs Film’ for Discovery Kids.
In 2014 I moved to the USA where I immediately got brought onboard for the national TV show RightThisMinute where I remained for 8 seasons until the show finally ended after 11 seasons in 2022.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I’ve always enjoyed reading – especially flying as often as i have and because of the ‘hurry up and wait’ of television.
I’ve read almost every single Ken Follett book, almost all of the Jack Reacher adventures, I’m a huge fan of John Connolly and his spooky Charlie Parker series.
If I had to pick a favourite book – it’s ’The Pillars of the Earth’. I read through the night 2 days in a row because I couldn’t put it down.
When it comes to podcasts I love movies so ‘Unspooled’, ‘How Did This Get Made’ and ‘Blank Check’ are on constant rotation. So much so I even started my own movie podcast ‘The United States of a Movie’ where each week we try to find just one movie to define each state in the USA
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.ThatEnglishmanInTexas.com
- Instagram: @thatenglishmanintexas
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/ThatEnglishmaninTx/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@thatenglishmanintexas
