Craig Andrew Barnett (born 16 July 1974) is an Australian model and former international modelling pageant finalist, best known as "Mr Australia 2007" at the 2007

Manhunt International Manhunt International is a prominent international male model search for the next ''Male Supermodel,'' founded in 1993. However, the competition's roots trace back a few years earlier, when a single national preliminary was held in Singapore. ...

World Final. He was the national title holder of Manhunt Australia during 2007 and was also the face of Australian swimwear label Funky Trunks from 2004 to 2010. Barnett, commonly known by his nickname ''Barney'', is also recognised for his appearances on Australian television,

Network Nine Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air televisio ...

1 vs. 100 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

in 2007 and

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...

's eighth series of Australia's Big Brother

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

show in 2008. Earlier in 2008, Barnett was named as one of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

's most eligible bachelors when selected as a finalist in Cleo Bachelor of the Year and featured in the March 2008 edition of Cleo Magazine.

Early life and family

Craig Barnett was born in

East Fremantle East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

and was raised in the suburb of Kardinya. He has two older sisters. Barnett attended Kardinya Primary School and later went to

Melville Senior High School Melville Senior High School is a public co-educational high school located in Melville, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Opened in 1960, as of 2024 the school had an enrolment of 1,451 students from Year 7 to Year 12, with its catchment ar ...

in Western Australia. He excelled in athletics as a junior, equalling an Australian age record for the U/13 80m hurdles. He picked up an amateur

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...

sponsorship between the ages of 14 and 16 and also became involved in competitive

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

at the age of 16. He graduated from high school in 1991 and was awarded an outstanding sporting achievement award, recognising his sporting contribution, which included winning the athletics champion boy and swimming champion boy in his final year, only eight months after taking up competitive swimming. Barnett went on to swim competitively at a national level for over thirteen years, which included three Australian

Olympic Swimming Swimming has been a sport at every modern Summer Olympics. It has been open to women since 1912. At the Olympics, swimming has the second-highest number of medal-contested events after athletics. Summary Long-course swimming Men's events P ...

Selection Trials. He was club captain at the Applecross Swimming Club during the 1991/1992 season, and held several sprint freestyle and butterfly club records, some of which still stand today. He was also the City of Perth Swimming Club Captain during the 2003/2004 season and retired from national level swimming shortly after in 2005. He held the Victorian state short course record for the 50m Butterfly in the 35-39-year age division of the Masters Swimming Association, from 2010 to 2016.

Manhunt

Manhunt Australia

Barnett was the winner of the national male modelling competition Manhunt Australia in November 2006 which earned him the title of MR Australia throughout 2007.The Sunday Times, 19 November 2006. Page 13. Contestants were judged on physique, photographic (photogenic qualities and the ability to work with photographers), interviewing and public speaking skills, and catwalk modelling ability. He later featured on the front cover of the Men of Manhunt calendar in 2008.

Manhunt International

In February 2007, he represented

in the largest contested and most prestigious international male modelling competition in the world at the time, the Manhunt International 2007 World Final, held at the six star ''Kangwon Land Casino Resort'', in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, where he competed against a record 48 contestants from as many countries. There, he finished 3rd Runner-up and walked away with cash and prizes including a modelling contract in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Barnett is one of only three Australians ever to finish in the top five since the Manhunt International competition began in 1993.

Modelling

Modelling career

While competing at the Australian Swimming

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

Selection Trials for the

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, 2004 Olympic Games, Barnett was approached by rising

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 ...

based swimwear company ''Way Funky'' to model their men's label, Funky Trunks, and was the face of the label from 2004 to 2010. This led to other modelling offers and sparked an invitation to compete in the 2006 Manhunt Australia competition in which he won the national title the same year. Since 2004, Barnett has featured in many Funky Trunks advertising campaigns and commercials, as well as other well established fashion labels and product advertising. These include the Zu Shoes "Presidential Collection" campaign, released in December 2010; Tourism Victoria's Yarra Valley campaign in April 2011; Bosch Automotive in September 2011; The Como Hotel Melbourne 2012; Palace Cinemas 2013, Vic Roads 2014, and Tourism Australia campaign in 2014. In 2009, Barnett featured on a deck of playing cards wearing Funky Trunks, which were issued as a limited edition promotional offer with Funky Trunks purchases. He appeared on the CD single covers for "Perfect Strangers" and "Hot Lovin'", written by Drew Heinemann and performed by Daniel McGahan and Natt Dunn in 2011. In 2017, Barnett's image was used on a Funky Trunks print known as the "Gun Show". In 2019, an image of Barnett stylishly dressed seated in a private jet was used in an app created by OMG Game Internet Company on Facebook, where users generate a prediction of their "life in the next 5 years", showing images of extravagant lifestyles.

Judging

Due to his success on a national and international level in modelling pageants, Barnett has been a guest judge at several Australian national beauty and modelling contests, including Best Model Australia 2007, Manhunt Australia 2007 and

Miss Hawaiian Tropic Hawaiian Tropic is an American brand of suntan lotion that was founded by Ron Rice in 1969. Hawaiian Tropic became the largest private manufacturer of sun care products in the United States. The company was acquired by Playtex Products, Inc. in ...

2009 national finals.

Film and television

1 vs. 100

Barnett was a contestant on the

television game show

, hosted by

Eddie McGuire Edward Joseph McGuire (born 29 October 1964) is an Australian television and radio presenter, journalist, Australian Football League commentator and former TV executive. He is also an occasional ''Herald Sun'' newspaper columnist. He hosted C ...

, which aired on 9 July 2007. He was the "1" against the "Mob" of 100 challengers. He was the sixth highest money winner in the history of the 1 vs. 100 (Australian game show), walking away with $108,500.00.

Big Brother 08

Barnett appeared in the Australian series of the

reality television show

Big Brother Australia 2008 ''Big Brother Australia 2008'' or ''Big Brother 8'' was the eighth season of the Australian reality television show '' Big Brother'' and was the final season to air on Network Ten. The eighth season launched on 28 April 2008. A total 20 housemat ...

. He entered the Big Brother house, which was located inside the Dreamworld amusement park in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, on Sunday 4 May 2008 under his nickname ''Barney''.

Television commercials

Barnett has also made appearances in Australian television commercials, which include the

Volvo The Volvo Group (; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of truck ...

"Attention Seeker" TVC, televised to a global audience until 2012., Target TVC March 2012, Bike Exchange 2012, iiNet 2013, Funky Trunks Underwear 2013, Holden Storm 2015, and 5digitalquotes.com.au 2015.

Music videos

In December 2010, Barnett featured in the

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

"That Season Again" performed Australian country music singer, Rose Carleo, directed by Twinpeak Image. "That Season Again" peaked on the Country Tracks Top 30 national radio chart at #3. Barnett also co-starred in the 2011 music video, "Say It's Over" performed by Australian pop singer songwriter, Tania Moran, released in April 2011 by Dusk Music Video Production.

Radio

Prior to, and during, the 2004

Olympic Games, Barnett was a guest speaker on radio station Radio Fremantle 107.9 FM as a swimming expert due to his vast knowledge of the sport and his inside information on several Australian Swimming Team members.

Other

Barnett spent much of his adult life working in the field of

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

ping and still remains involved. He currently resides in

, Australia. He is also a member of the North Cottesloe Surf Life Saving Club in

Notes

References

Northern Territory News, Monday, 13 November 2006. Page 3. Perth Now (2006-11-17). ''Model manhunt ends in Perth'
Model manhunt ends in Perth Perth Now
The Sunday Times, 19 November 2006. Page 13. Procon Leisure (2007-01-10). ''Craig Barnett wins Manhunt Australia title''
Procon Leisure Australia Pty Ltd
Procon Leisure (2007-02-14) ''Manhunt World Final Korea'
Procon Leisure Australia Pty Ltd
Manhunt International (2007-02-14) ''Manhunt International 2007 Winners'' Procon Leisure (2007-02-14). ''Procon Models Score in the Top 5'
Procon Leisure Australia Pty Ltd
News.com.au (2008-02-18) ''CLEO Bachelor of the Year 2008'
Cleo's 50 hotties offer brains and brawn
Adelaide Now (2008-02-18) ''Cleo announces Top 50 Bachelors of 2008'

Procon Leisure (2008-05-05) ''Manhut Mr Australia Craig 'Barney' Barnett into Big Brother'
Procon Leisure Australia Pty Ltd
Perth Now (2008-05-02) ''Hunky Perth model and lifesaver to swamp Big Brother'
WA lifesaver to swamp Big Brother
Big Brother Chaos (2009-01-05) ''Big Brother Australia Housemates'' Pageantopolis Masters Swimming Association Australia
WebCite query result

External links

*
Funky Trunks Swimwear
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnett, Craig 1974 births Living people Big Brother (Australian TV series) contestants People from Fremantle Australian male swimmers Models from Perth, Western Australia Swimming commentators Australian sports broadcasters Models from Melbourne Male beauty pageant winners