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The two women who have captured The Block boys’ hearts

Big Dyls and Dylz junior talk about the special women they owe it all to.

While the hot-tempered builders from Tauranga don’t always get along with the ladies on The Block NZ: Girls vs Boys, there are two women that Dylan “Big Dyls” Cossey and Dylan “Dylz Junior” Guitink always see eye-to-eye with.

“I’m a mummy’s boy,” smiles Dyls. “She’s the only woman in my life I really understand. There’s nothing better than coming home and getting a cuddle from Mum.”

Dylz agrees, adding, “I love my mum to bits. We’re tight-as, like I am to the rest of my family. They are everything to me.”

Taking a break from filming the hit TV3 reality series to take a leisurely stroll along the beach with the special ladies in their lives, it’s clear the mother-son duos are as close as can be.

As Dyls’ mother Tracey begins talking about her youngest child, her face lights up remembering her wee boy who took a liking to hosiery.

In fact, when Dyls was very young, he would “walk up to strangers and start stroking their legs if they had pantyhose on”.

“I’ve always been a ladies’ man!” quips Dyls (28).

Whanganui local Tracey adds, “Then as a teenager, Dyls was the one that you would have to nail the windows closed so he couldn’t get out at night! The good thing was he was always into his sport so we always knew we could find him at practice or at his Saturday morning game.”

Family bonding time (from left): Julie, Dylz Junior, Tracey and Big Dyls.

His teammate Dylz is also a gifted sportsman. The 25-year-old’s mother Julie smiles as she recalls her eldest of three being a top swimmer growing up, competing for Waikato as well as at junior nationals.

While their athletic achievements make both mums feel proud – Dyls has played professional rugby abroad in Canada and the UK – it’s their time on The Block that now has them bursting with pride.

It’s something they’ve got a new appreciation for after getting their own hands dirty while making an appearance on the DIY reality show themselves.

Julie laughs, “We got a taste for it and that was enough for me! After that one day, I came home and said to my husband, ‘That really stressed me out – and they’ve been doing it for weeks!’”

Julie, Dylz and dad Paul.

“Welcome to my life!” says Dylz. “You can see now why I don’t have much time to reply to your messages and phone calls.”

And while family violence coordinator Tracey (47) and office worker Julie (52) haven’t been so hands-on in their support, the doting mothers have been watching their boys every step of the way, even when it’s been tough.

It is no secret that Big Dyls has had a rough time on the Auckland-based renovation show. Stoushes with site foreman Peter Wolfkamp, butting heads with other teams and breaking a few rules along the way are a few of the hurdles that have seen the fiery builder lose his cool.

Julie on The Block NZ site with Niki’s mum Lisa Pasalic (far left) and Courtney’s mother Sandra MacKay.

Tracey tells, “He can be quick-tempered and I felt like he was being portrayed to be a bit of a monster, so it was really difficult to watch.

“Dyls is a bit of a perfectionist, he likes all his ducks in a row, so at times you could tell that wasn’t happening. His reactions were more from a place of frustration, but it came across as anger on TV.”

Dyls explains, “Mum knows what I’m like. I fly off the handle and I’m quick to judge. But there is nothing I can do that can surprise Mum now, she’s like, ‘There he goes again, Dyls being Dyls!’”

Dylz’ mum Julie sizes up host Mark Richardson.

While both mums think their gym-junkie sons have done an amazing job, whether they take out the top prize come auction day in mid-August, there is one thing they would change about their time on the show.

“Their swearing! There is a lot of ‘beep, beep, beep!’” giggles Julie, adding, “but hey, after working for that one day on the show, I would be doing a few ‘beep, beep, beeps’ too!”

Words: Danielle Lagos

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