Bridget Hustwaite (born 10 April 1991) is an Australian radio presenter, television presenter, journalist, author, and health activist. Her debut book, ''How to Endo'', which chronicles her experiences with

endometriosis Endometriosis is a disease in which Tissue (biology), tissue similar to the endometrium, the lining of the uterus, grows in other places in the body, outside the uterus. It occurs in women and a limited number of other female mammals. Endomet ...

, was released on 2 March 2021.

Early life and education

Bridget Hustwaite was born in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...

, Victoria, on 10 April 1991. Hustwaite grew up in Ballarat and in nearby Learmonth. She graduated from

Ballarat High School Ballarat High School is a government secondary school located in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. Buildings and grounds The school was originally opened on 16 April 1907 as a Continuation School located at 208 Sturt Street (directly opposite t ...

in 2008, and then studied

visual merchandising Visual merchandising is the practice in the retail industry of optimizing the presentation of products and services to better highlight their features and benefits. The purpose of such visual merchandising is to attract, engage, and motivate the c ...

at the

Swinburne University of Technology The Swinburne University of Technology (or simply Swinburne) is a public university, public research university in Melbourne, Australia. It is the modern descendant of the Eastern Suburbs Technical College established in 1908, renamed Swinburne ...

Personal life

Hustwaite resides in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia. From 2016 to April 2021, Hustwaite was in a relationship with Matt Jennings. She now dates professional Australian rules footballer Oscar McDonald.

Health issues

Hustwaite was diagnosed with stage four

on 16 August 2018, following six years of suffering intense

abdominal pain Abdominal pain, also known as a stomach ache, is a symptom associated with both non-serious and serious medical issues. Since the abdomen contains most of the body's vital organs, it can be an indicator of a wide variety of diseases. Given th ...

nausea Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. It can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the throat. Over 30 d ...

, and

fatigue Fatigue is a state of tiredness (which is not sleepiness), exhaustion or loss of energy. It is a signs and symptoms, symptom of any of various diseases; it is not a disease in itself. Fatigue (in the medical sense) is sometimes associated wit ...

during her adolescent

menstrual The menstrual cycle is a series of natural changes in hormone production and the structures of the uterus and ovaries of the female reproductive system that makes pregnancy possible. The ovarian cycle controls the production and release of egg ...

years. Speaking shortly after the diagnosis, Hustwaite stated:

"We need faster
diagnosis Diagnosis (: diagnoses) is the identification of the nature and cause of a certain phenomenon. Diagnosis is used in a lot of different academic discipline, disciplines, with variations in the use of logic, analytics, and experience, to determine " ...
, better treatments and more education and awareness about endometriosis. The fact
hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
this research is being funded is a step in the right direction."

Hustwaite has used heat bags during her shifts on radio in order to minimise pain caused by the condition.

Career

In 2012, Hustwaite was the runner-up in

Channel V Australia Channel Australia was an Australian subscription television music channel that was available on Foxtel, Optus TV and Austar satellite and cable services. It was also previously available in New Zealand on TelstraSaturn's cable TV service ...

's Presenter Search. She then began volunteering for

music journalism Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary o ...

website ''

The AU Review Larry Heath is an Australian publisher, events organiser, and entrepreneur. He is the founder-owner of Heath Media, which publishes online magazine ''The AU Review'' and hosts the National Live Music Awards. Heath is associate producer at Soun ...

'' as a concert reviewer, and at

SYN Media Student Youth Network Inc., operating as SYN Media , is an Australian youth-run not-for-profit organisation providing media training and broadcasting opportunities for young people. Commonly referred to as SYN, the organisation produces new and ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. With SYN, a youth-run media organisation, Hustwaite presented the live music show ''1700'', which aired on television through

C31 Melbourne C31 Melbourne is a free-to-air community television channel in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its name is derived from UHF 31, the frequency and channel number reserved for analogue broadcasts by metropolitan community television stations in ...

. She went on to present radio shows ''The Hoist'' and ''Spotlight'' on SYN 90.7. In late 2015, Hustwaite was offered the role of

presenter Presenter may refer to: People * News presenter, person who presents news during a news program * Sports commentator, an announcer who presents analysis of a sporting event * Radio personality, presenter or announcer on a radio show * Television ...

Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...

's mid-dawn program. She took over from

Linda Marigliano Linda Marigliano (born Carmelinda Marigliano; 27 September 1984) is an Australians, Australian television and radio presenter, podcaster, musician and disc jockey, DJ, best known for her work on FBi Radio and Triple J. She also played bass guit ...

as the host of Triple J's weeknight evening show ''Good Nights'' in 2018. On 9 May 2019, Hustwaite created an endometriosis-themed

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account, titled "Endogram", with the goal of raising awareness, sharing information and encouraging conversations about

. In early June,

memes A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ...

using

pun A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...

s based on Hustwaite's surname began to circulate on the

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

group "Sultanaposting". Australian pop culture website ''

Junkee Junkee.com is an Australian popular culture and news website run by new media company Junkee Media. It covers various topics including film, university, food, TV, politics, travel, career, health, and Internet culture. Its target demographic is ...

'' labelled the memes "glorious". Following her endometriosis diagnosis, Hustwaite became an ambassador for Endometriosis Australia on 15 August. During the early stages of the

COVID-19 pandemic in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia was a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case in Aust ...

in March 2020, she launched "Bridget Hustwaite's Saturday Night Stay In" on Instagram, a series of videos in which she interviewed Australian musicians and hosted a live acoustic performance from them. On 2 March 2021, Hustwaite released her debut book, ''How to Endo'', which chronicles her experiences with her endometriosis diagnosis. On 11 May 2022, she was announced as a jury member for Australia's entry in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2022 The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 was the 66th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Turin, Italy, following the country's victory at the with the song "" by Måneskin. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and h ...

Professional work

Filmography

Podcasts

Published works

References

External links

* *
Profile
on ''

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hustwaite, Bridget 1991 births Australian health activists Australian women activists Australian women non-fiction writers Living people People educated at Ballarat High School Swinburne University of Technology alumni Triple J announcers Australian women radio presenters