I am not positioning myself as someone that knows it all when it comes to men and I position myself as your tour guide to the land of man

The death of a father is never easy; to Phyllis Foundis it was devastating. After the initial shock, she was determined to bring something positive back in her life to make her mark in the world.
Her dad was her biggest support, her ‘cheerleader’, so when he started to lose weight, it was her mother that forced him to seek medical help. After a blood test, he discovered he had bowel cancer. “He wasn’t an ill man,” explains Phyllis, “he was a vital man.”
She says his death in June 2011 just flipped her world upside down, and as much as she doesn’t want to think about it, she wonders if he would still be here if he had that conversation about his health earlier.
Enter Foundis – a show that brings to the forefront male issues ranging from gender roles in reversal, to stay-at-home dads, to the art of the chat up; nothing is sacred or taboo in this show, as Phyllis and her fearless fellows set out on the task to tackle all things man.
“We want to start the conversations that men need to have and women need to hear,” she says of the show.
After she shot the pilot episode of Foundis in August 2012, Phyllis noticed a distinct gap in the market for “smart, honest, worthwhile male television content. Spurred by this and to make a change, Phyllis and her recruits are set to create a positive outlook for men, and not the skewed television content that is out there today. The panel includes Tim Brunero; Karel Segers; Nathan Leigh Jones; Nicholas Hope; Pastor Graham Long, with Tim Ferguson – former Doug Anthony Allstar and comedian – on the pilot episode.
With each show, Phyllis aims to get on guest speakers to discuss issues of physical and mental health, including speaking with subject matter experts so men finally have a forum where they too can go for their issues. Even though the content can be quite intense and cover such serious topics as suicide, and male depression following the birth of children, she says they are aiming to make the content as “palatable and entertaining as possible”.
Born with a “natural show-off gene”, Phyllis is no stranger to the spotlight. After spending 20 years in copywriting and advertising, she wrote her first book The Virgin Club about her experiences as a twenty-something good Greek virgin. The novel was adapted to a one-woman stage show and saw her perform all over the world from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Greek Festival of Sydney. Even though the writer and performer had to fake an orgasm night after night as part of the show, nothing could prepare her for having to do that performance in front of her in-laws and family.
But this is Phyllis’ first experience in front of the camera and she’s enjoying every moment of it. The panel of men – whom she admires tremendously – have in a way come into her life and not so much replaced her father but picked up where he left off with the support and the ‘cheerleading’.
She is the first to admit that while this show is about men, it’s just as much for the women of Australia too – she says it’s for anyone who has a father, a brother, a son, someone they love who is male.
“As the mother of two boys, I want to know what’s in their heads and try and create something that is going to make the world a better place for them,” she says.
“That may sound ambitious, but if we can reach young guys and show them positive role models on a show that has articulate, dynamic, intelligent, sexy men, if we can show positive role models, then we are doing the right thing.”
It may sound strange that a woman has taken the helm of hosting a show about men, but Phyllis says this is just another way to close the gender gap.
“While I am a huge fan of men, I am also a card carrying feminist but I am not the kind of feminist out there bashing males,” she explains.
“I love the fact that there are lots of strong opinionated women out there and the really secure woman is the one that will support her man and not trivialise the role that he will play.
“If we can create a better conversation between men and women we are closing the gap between the genders.
“The more we talk about our differences the further apart we become – I am tired of the gender debate and the gender wars.”
On August 23, Phyllis launched a Pozible campaign with the aim of raising $76,000 which would cover the complete production costs of six shows, bringing her dream to life. The campaign will run until October 3 to raise the much needed funds for the show.
“I am not positioning myself as someone who knows it all when it comes to men; I position myself as your tour guide to the land of man.”
For more information on the Pozible campaign for the Foundis show visit www.pozible.com/foundisshow