Tim & Artie: ‘OUR FRIENDSHIP IS BLOCK SOLID!

The boys in Team Blue open up about their 16-year bromance

- Carmen Lichi

“It all started here,” grins The Block NZ contestant Tim Cotton, gesturing to the green expanse of Cox’s Bay Reserve in Auckland on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

He’s referring to the moment he met his flatmate and Team Blue buddy Arthur “Artie” Gillies when the pair were 10-year-old schoolboys playing for the local rugby club.

“I was half-back and Artie was first five – a match made in heaven!” Tim tells Woman’s Day. “We just clicked from the get-go and we’ve been best mates ever since.”

Sixteen years on, Tim still plays for the under-85kg Herne Bay Hustlers, but keen muso Artie swapped the oval ball for the guitar a long time ago.

Entering The Block was the idea of photographer and lighting technician Tim, who’s always had a passion for architecture and even did a stint as a builder’s apprentice for a couple of years. But while their model good looks and endless in-jokes make the 26-year-old larrikins a TV dream team, account manager Artie wasn’t Tim’s first choice.

“I originally asked my girlfriend Molly,” he tells. “She’s a graphic designer and would’ve been awesome with the visual side of things. But she said no! And in hindsight, she was right. We’d only been going out for a few months when the show began filming and it would’ve really tested our relationship.”