If you’ve been one of the thousands to walk through the hallowed turf of the Steyne Hotel over the past decade and a half, there’s every chance you have had a brush with the man they call Razzle Dazzle.
His trivia nights are legendary. The snazzy dressed, silver-tongued MC creates all the questions himself, structured to ensure all punters can have a good crack at answering. Razzle then has the crowd participating in everything, from throwing paper planes to cheering home greyhounds – in races he calls live himself, replacing greyhound names with the trivia teams, his voice box theatrics instilling the rollercoaster of emotions that only a Dapto dog race can manifest – to tie breaker contests from arm wrestles to staring competitions to guessing what age V plates were abandoned to racing to the nearest Kebab shop for selfies with always ebullient Kebab shop owners. A Razzle Dazzle trivia night is an all-in, immersive experience.
Since 2011, Raz has also hosted the weekly Ping Pong tournament. What was a noughties chaotic mess of backpackers ponging up the joint was transformed into a Thursday night beachfront fixture – players pinging with competitive nous whilst having a beer and a laugh, throwing their paddle in the ring to win a share of the few hundred dollars up for grabs.
His busiest day by far has become Anzac Day. When Harbord Diggers’ bowling greens were cleared for Freshie headland retirement living, many in the community were lost as to where to head ‘em up and come in spinner…Razzle, with sage counsel from Kevin Costner – if you build it, they will come – creates a field of dreams each April in the jam-packed Steyne beer garden. For 6 hours straight, Raz has the masses for the most part cheering and singing along in what is a truly phenomenal atmosphere.
Meat Raffles, Melbourne Cup and sports lunches, Super Bowl Hot Dog eating competitions, just to name a few, Raz has been in the thick of it all, hosting and entertaining Manly locals and tourists alike for the past 15 years. But sadly, all good things must come to an end. Razzle aka Matt Rawle has decided to call time on his tenure at not only the Steyne Hotel but the Northern Beaches as a whole, relocating his young family of wife Rebecca and 4 kids to the Gold Coast.
“It’s going to be a sad day that’s for sure”, says Raz, who has lived on the Beaches for the last 25 years. “I’ve got a million mates here who I’m going to miss dearly. Hopefully they don’t lose my number when they come up to the Goldy for Toolies!”
Raz has played 300 games for the Manly Wolves AFL side, as reported by Angus Buncle, but also played multiple seasons of League and Union for the Narraweena Hawks and the Warringah Rats. He knows his way around a Northern Beaches footy field just as well as a local pub.
“I’ve loved my time on the Beaches, in my opinion the best place in the world to live, which is ironic as I’m choosing to leave it!”
Thankfully not all is not lost. Raz has agreed to pack his pennies and head back down the Pacific Highway in April to once again partner up with his co-pilot on 2up day “Big Dan” so once again the patrons at “The Drain” will be whipped up into a frenzy.
We at the Tawny wish Raz and his family all the best as he relocates up north permanently, and we hope those filthy Queenslanders know how lucky they are to have him.
*Keep up to date with Razzle’s north of the border trivia adventures by following on socials @razzletrivia