He may not have been Geelong’s longest serving mayor, but it seems unlikely Darryn Lyons will be too soon forgotten.
The paparazzo turned reality star turned local politician was last night formally sacked from office alongside his entire council after it was found his administration was rife with thuggish bullying, abusive behaviour and dysfunction.
While he readily concedes his “razzmatazz and in your face style has not been to everyone’s liking”, the eccentric celebrity’s life in the public service was peppered with flamboyant moments and outrageous colour schemes that will surely be burned into the memories of Geelong residents for the entirety of the four year caretaker administration that will now be installed.
Here The Feed takes a look back at some of the defining characteristics of his 29 months as mayor, from his zombie ad campaign to his $1million eyesore, and ever-changing hairstyles.
Source: AAP
His favourite props:
As Lyons would no doubt assure you, no mayoral tenure is complete without a host of extravagant props. Ceremonial robes are naturally the ideal place to start, and for the 50-year-old that meant a fur-trimmed navy gown with a weighty five kilogram gold chain and medallion.
Traditionally, robes are rarely worn and only brought out for important civic functions so when Lyons wore his to a private 2015 party he was hosting, quite the furore understandably ensued.
Coincidentally, the very robes were this month reported to have been transferred to the City of Greater Geelong’s CEO for safe keeping, meaning Lyons would no longer be able to whip them out on a whim but rather sign them in and out of the office.
A new councillor code of conduct was behind the move which, when it is comes into force, will “provide greater clarity regarding when and how [the robe and chain] should be worn and safeguarded,” according to a City Hall spokesperson.
Another marker of Lyons’ reign was his introduction of a heritage crest for the City of Greater Geelong, something the area hadn’t had since 1993. The design was co-developed by the mayor and somewhat unsurprisingly, features two unbridled lions roaring over a shield.
The crest was reproduced on flags flying high above City Hall and Lyons himself has been seen wearing personal merchandise branded with the same image.
According to the Geelong Advertiser, T-shirts, puffer jackets, luggage, stationary, towels, bathrobes and caps were all commissioned with his newly instated insignia for that extra touch of pizzazz.
But perhaps the most widely recognised symbol of Lyons’ time in office is the 25 metre, disco ball-like floating Christmas tree he installed in Corio Bay. The controversial piece of festive art came at an eye-watering cost of $1million to tax payers but as Lyons proudly promised, it would be visible from space. Really?
His ventures into film:
Only Darryn Lyons would think of putting his beloved city on the map by recreating a zombie apocalypse – which is exactly what he did for a 2014 advertising campaign.
The tourism ad, which was dubbed “demeaning” by one local paper, cost $37,000 to produce and featured living dead citizens wandering around the deserted city centre.
They were saved however, when a fully robed Lyons rode in with his magic staff and like Gandalf’s “you shall not pass” moment, brought life, colour and adventure back on the scene.
It was of course during the filming of this two minute video that Lyons had his infamous – and side-splittingly funny - equine incident.
Source: giphy
With a full face of makeup applied and his robes and chain in place, the politician mounted a horse only to have it suddenly startle and gallop off into the distance with Lyons in tow. When the film crew finally caught up with him, he had been thrown to the sand and hit in the face with his ceremonial medallion.
He escaped with nothing more than a concussion and later continued shooting.
And it by no means deterred him from more filming adventures as he last month released a Wizard of Oz themed video that stars himself as a ruby slipper-wearing Dorothy.
pic.twitter.com/j5nRLi0HMC — Darryn Lyons (@DarrynLyons) March 4, 2016
His trademark look:
It’s safe to speculate that much of Lyons’ spotlight grabbing nature may come from his extensive reality TV career. Prior to his foray into politics, the high-rolling paparazzo took his celebrity obsessed life to the next level by deciding to become one himself.
He starred on a number of (mostly forgotten) shows including Dragon’s Den and Excess Baggage in Australia, and Tycoon, Deadline, Paparazzi, Through The Keyhole, Top Gear, Celebrity Big Brother in the UK.
In one moment on the latter, he shocked his fellow housemates by revealing he’d had an ab job – by which he of course meant that he is the proud owner of a surgically sculpted mid-section.
Source: WENN
"It takes away all the fat around [your stomach] and actually lets your natural abs be there," he said of the “contouring” procedure at the time. "Basically it's the male version of a boob job.”
But Lyons’ abs are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his flamboyant appearance. There is of course the hair, which at various times has been a bleached blonde, bright pink, orange or purple coloured mohawk, before he mixed them all together for a sensory-assaulting rainbow one complete with a flowing rat tail.
Source: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images
His outfits meanwhile, have been just as exuberant with his love of brashly coloured three piece suits ensuring he is never overlooked.
Source: Getty Images
His relationship with (naked) women:
In December 2014, Lyons felt the Geelong Gallery could benefit from an insight into his personal life and he loaned the institution 32 works from his own art collection for their Lyon’s View exhibition.
One in particular drew more gasps, eye-rolls and horror-stricken WTFs than others: a lifesize bronze statue of a woman bending over while wearing nothing but a pair of stiletto heels.
Posing for a photo with his elbow resting squarely on her rear end, he told the Geelong Advertiser at the time, “There are some very controversial pieces, but I love the female form and I don’t look at it as controversial at all. It’s been painted since Adam and Eve."
A year later and it seemed Lyons hadn’t learned a thing as he was again found courting controversy with the help of a naked woman, this time emblazoned across his chest. The mayor was throwing an Oktoberfest event and chose to wear a T-shirt printed with a generous dose of full-frontal nudity along with the words, “Gas, grass or ass, nobody rides for free”.
Source: Glenn Ferguson
After an onslaught of angry comments pointing out just how disrespectful his choice of outfit was to women, he took to Twitter with an apology (of sorts).
His love-affair with the people:
Always a polarising figure and king of the bogans, Lyons’ relationship with his citizens has been mixed to say the least.
He entered office in November 2013 with a 29.79 percent of the primary vote after learning that “every election needs a comedy candidate”. He later described his victory to The Age as, “Lady Gaga storming in, the Mad Mohican from Geelong, with a landslide.”
Although he is known for raising eyebrows and rubbing constituents the wrong way with his various eccentricities, Lyons boasts a passionate following.
He actively keeps his fans updated as to his musings via his Twitter page and on one morning in 2014, shared what a thoughtful member of the public had done outside of his Western Beach home.
The two roaring lion statues that guard Lyon’s front gates had been given a mayoral makeover and fitted with woolly knitted neck warmers and golden chains to match his own. While the culprit failed to leave their name, they did attach a note that read: “Bombed with love - Midwinter Yarnbombers”.
They had heard it all before:
While some may be surprised by Lyons’ sacking, it isn’t the first time he’s been accused of behaving badly.
A document read to the Supreme Court back in July 2014 (eight months into his mayoral tenure) told of a mind-boggingly familiar tale from his time as the chief executive officer of his British paparazzi company Big Pictures.
It stated that Lyons was known for carrying on in “a belligerent and intolerant fashion” and “would shout and scream at staff and throw chairs in the office”.
It went on to say, “For an extended period in or about 2000, the plaintiff was so affected by illegal drugs and alcohol that he was unable to act as CEO of Big Pictures and it was left to his friends and colleagues (including his ex-wife) to cover for him”.
As it goes, history has an eerie way of repeating itself..
Lyons took to Twitter after his axing was finalised with a length message to the people of Geelong stating he was proud to have fulfilled his promise of revitalising the city and claim that "facts have been twisted and tarnished".
