Getting active with Trav and Brendan

Two Newcastle primary teachers are encouraging kids to get out and get active through their hilarious, but instructional, YouTube videos. Luke Horton reports.

Join Trav and Brendan as they take on the parkour challenge

Two Newcastle teachers are inspiring young children to get out, get active and try something new.

Travis Hawke and Brendan Jackson, or Trav and Brendan as they are better known, started the YouTube channel Active Adventures to inspire young children to try new activities and sports, as well as discover new passions and hobbies.

The duo are primary teachers at New Lambton South Public and for more than a year they have been making hilarious, light-hearted instructional videos that highlight their passion for children’s education, fun and adventure.

From mountain bike riding, cupcake cooking and netball, to parkour, kayaking, hair dressing and physical culture, Trav and Brendan are willing to give just about anything a go.

“The idea for the YouTube channel came about during COVID, largely because of the lack of kid-friendly, quality content that was about,” Trav said.

“Brendan had already been making fun videos for his Kindy class, to give them something to watch and motivate them to get out of the house. The idea really grew from there.”

Two men cooking. Two men cooking.
Image: Making playdough proved a challenge for Trav and Brendan.

Wearing distinctive bright pink and blue outfits, each episode Trav and Brendan learn a new sport or activity with a ‘kid-superstar’ or engage in an activity that children and their families can recreate and engage in together.

And what viewers see on the videos is very much a reflection of who they are in life.

“I’m a goofy, loud person. I started off as a pre-school teacher straight out of high school before making the move to primary school teaching,” Brendan said.

“Trav’s a bit of a perfectionist, he does all the editing and scripts everything, where I tend to roll with things a little bit more. It fits our characters, too.

“We’re really both big kids at heart. We love to laugh, have fun and, as primary school teachers, we care about making a difference in the lives of others.”

The pair has produced more than 40 videos to date and have more in the pipeline.

They aim to film at least two videos a term and try and squeeze in a couple over holiday breaks as well.

“It would be great to reach more families with the videos and hopefully break beyond the people that know us,” Trav said.

“It’s really a lot of fun. I don’t think either of us have been particularly good at one thing we’ve tried yet.

“Ultimately, it’s about getting the kids to have a go.”

Two men and a child with body boards. Two men and a child with body boards.
Image: Body boarding was another activity the duo were eager to give a try.
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