The rapid rise of Mitchell Burns can, perhaps, be traced back to one specific video. He milked flowers in the the Australian outback for a social media audience of close to one million users. The former coal miner traded in 10 years' worth of early starts for something a little different last year.
Now 29-year-old Burns, who lives on a farm not far from the Gold Coast, spends most of his time running around the Australian outback with a camera. He wants to be the best-known photographer of his generation. He films koalas. He snaps unusual plants. He climbs rocks. And he gets the nectar out of really, really weird plants. He loves said weird plants. And, the internet has responded in thirst to Burns' happy-go-lucky bursts of documentation.
His followers on Instagram and TikTok, which he began properly using last year, double-tap en masse. The general consensus is that he's a younger and hunkier David Attenborough. He throws himself around the rainforest in a barely there Steve Irwin gilet and a pair of short shorts. “I think I'm wetter than that plant now,” said one user after Burns posted a video of himself wringing dry a ginger plant that produces a natural shampoo. “Is this educational, or just softcore porn?” said another.
As part of a new series exploring self-care that goes beyond a lone dab of moisturiser post-squat rack, we speak to Burns about what makes him look and feel good. There are surprisingly few hours spent in the gym. There are plenty of tuna lunches. And yes, there are many evenings spent alone on the Great Western Plateau.
Morning, Mitchell. How do you start your day?
Well, I go to bed around 10pm, and so I rise at 6.30am every day. I used to get up super early when I was mining, and it's kind of stuck. I don't do exercise in the morning, and just get on with my day.
Do you slap anything on your face in the morning? You're outside most of the time, so how do you protect your skin?
I actually don't. I am one of those guys that just uses a soap bar. The most I do when it comes to looking after my skin is putting on some moisturiser in the evening. I'm quite bad. I know I spend a lot of time outside, but I don't wear sunscreen and I really should! I have a Sicilian heritage, so I'm lucky in the way that I tan instead of burn. But yeah I ought to put sunscreen on.
Yeah, you really should. And what about breakfast?
I just have a mixture of oats, protein powder, banana, and some sort of nut almost every day. Like, food is just easy for me. I'm not a huge foodie. Food is nice, but I don't live for it.
What about the rest of your diet? You must be quite focused to stay in such good shape…
I'm pretty basic. I enjoy a good meal, but I'm not just like, ‘oh my god, this is amazing.’ I mean, this probably stems from way back when I first sort of started training after high school, where I was a bit overweight. I was over 100 kilograms when I was 17. And when I got into mining I was even more conscious of losing the weight and keeping it off. Sitting down and operating machines and stuff was a trigger, as so many guys in the industry put on weight as they snack out of boredom.
Lunch is just rice and tuna and then dinner is red or white meat, and rarely ever fish. That with vegetables. I find some fish is too fishy, you get me? If I crave something sweet, which usually happens in the evening, it will just be a yoghurt with some berries and a little protein powder mixed in. I'm not that into dairy, apart from the yoghurt. I drink milk alternatives.
Do you drink alcohol?
I'm a veteran member of the water club. But yes, I do drink alcohol. I'm not huge on it, but every now and then I will have a few drinks. I'm also big on caffeine. I used to drink a lot of it, especially with mining. Again, it's just sort of stuck.
And aside from running around outside for hours on end, how do you stay fit?
I like to go to the gym in the afternoon, usually around 3pm. I just do an hour. I'm not obsessed with it. I'm not a naturally ripped person and I don't always have a six-pack. But I've come to realise that striving for that isn't necessarily healthy either. But as I was once at a higher fat percentage, I can put muscle on pretty easily, which has its benefits. In the gym, I just either do upper body or lower. I'm not mad on strict regimes. I don't have many breaks – I like to superset everything. So if I'm doing chest, I'll go straight into a tricep exercise. Or shoulders, chest and shoulders. I'm just constantly moving the whole hour. I like to sweat and think it's funny when you see people barely moving. At the end of a workout I'll do some cardio.
Have you ever done anything left-field to stay in shape?
I've done strict calorie counting. The only time I did it was prior to a photo shoot for a swim brand, which in the end got cancelled. I lost all this weight and it was pretty hard. I went too hard too fast, because I only had an eight-week lead. So I was just like, boom, 1900 calories a day. I usually have around 3000 a day. Plus working 12 and a half hours days (I was still mining then), and it was a massive shift in my life.
So you wouldn't advise it?
I actually lost all my sex drive. Totally gone. It changes your hormones. It's drastic and you don't feel healthy for it.
Do you take many supplements?
Protein powder is probably the only supplement I take. I've gone through phases where I've been on creatine, but I don't think you need it. I never take pre-workout. I think it's purely a mental thing. What I do for a pre-workout is all natural: I'll have a quick snack before the gym like a banana or something. When I first started training I did take it, but I think it's full of sweeteners and stuff, which isn't good for you.
How do you keep on top of your mental health?
I try not to get too into the whole social media thing. Like, I'm present on it obviously, but I let it go over my head. I don't get too into the comments. Even the wild ones. I think the fact I am getting out so much really helps me to keep a level head in life too. When I was in coal mining my mental health was at rock bottom, and I would literally cry. I was so unhappy.
But you keep on top of your social media, obviously?
Oh yeah, I've got to. It's helping to create my brand. I mean, some of the stuff is wild. I have people coming up to me in the street and saying ‘you’re the TikTok guy with the flower', which is funny. You just have to laugh about it. People are also making edits of me now. The fan edits can be quite shocking. They remix my videos with sexier music. I just think, if more people do this more people see my stuff, so I don't let it freak me. Even when the comments get really weird. Which they do.
