Meet your next Lord Mayor of Melbourne? Nick Russian starred on racy reality show Temptation Island

He’s hoping to swap out his reputation as Melbourne‘s most famous nightclub mogul to the state’s next Lord Mayor.

But long before Nick Russian was rubbing shoulders with the likes of Kanye West and Britney Spears on the dancefloor, he was attempting to become a star in his own right.

While his public profile is now soaring in the political field, the 41-year-old first became known to the Australian public during his appearance on the trashy reality show, Temptation Island, way back in 2002.

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Nick became an official candidate for Lord Mayor of Melbourne last month after the Liberal Party reportedly called for him to make a bid for the city’s top job.

While his campaign for the coveted position is now in full swing, Nick was once eyeing up a completely different type of gig – reality television star.

Eighteen years ago, 22-year-old Nick starred on the Channel Seven dating series Temptation Island with his then-girlfriend Cassie Lane.

Long before The Bachelor and Married At First Sight, gripped viewers watched Nick and Cassie and three other couples dumped on a Fijian island – only to be tempted by a sting of glamorous singletons.

Former WAG Kyly Clarke, known then as Kyly Boldy, also starred on the series as one of the singletons hoping to stir up some drama.

Despite the show’s success, Seven failed to renew the contract for a second season.

Last year, Nick told News.com.au that he and Cassie, who were both working as models at the time, were immediately picked for the show because of their good looks.

‘I remember when we got there, there was a massive line, and the casting people came up to us and grabbed us and walked us straight through,’ he recalled.

Without the assistance of social media at the time, Nick explained that he viewed the show ‘from a business angle and as a platform to be seen and open further doors’.

‘I was modelling as well as running nightclubs. I found that after doing the show, it did help me significantly with both,’ he said.

Nick and Cassie broke up soon after the show stopped filming. 

Nick is now married to ballerina-turned-influencer Rozalia Russian, who has more than 255,000 followers on Instagram.

She has collaborated with brands such as Dior, Louis Vuitton and L’Oréal Paris.

The happy couple tied the knot in 2013 and share two children – daughter Willow, 6, and son Kingston, 3.

Following his stint as a reality television star, Nick ran the popular nightclub Eve Bar, where he met a slew of celebrities before selling the venue in 2015.

He now runs Together Events, which is ‘a luxury lifestyle and events brand created for sophisticated, fun and fashion-conscious individuals’.

Nick’s Instagram platform is now laden with posts encouraging people to vote for him as Melbourne’s next Lord Mayor, alongside the hashtag #BringBackMelbourne.

In a post shared on September 27, Nick wrote: ‘The campaign begins to Bring Back Melbourne! My opinion….We need change. We need innovators & business minded people to get Melbourne back on track. Let’s go.’

Nick has also vowed to aid the hospitality, hair and beauty, fitness, and several other small business struggling in light of the coronavirus pandemic.  

‘As the only Lord Mayor candidate who owns a small business in city of Melbourne, I understand the hardship that everyone is going through and will do everything in my power to get us open and the tills ringing again!’ he wrote on an Instagram post. 

Nick has also been retweeting posts on Twitter which are critical of Melbourne Premiere, Daniel Andrews.

Melbourne’s next Lord Mayor will be announced on Friday, November 13.