You might know him as Foreman Keith, or even The Blockinator, but former The Block star Keith Schleiger is better known as “a big softie” at home.

Walking away from the home renovation TV series in 2024, the 50-year-old is enjoying spending more time with family in his native Melbourne, and continues to renovate bathrooms and project manage on his own accord.

“I’ve got two daughters, 15 and 13, and they’ve mellowed me out big time,” he told PerthNow.

“I’ve become a great, big softie. I always was, really.”

The latest season of The Block sees five homes in the regional Victorian town of Daylesford go under the hammer.

But of course, the long-time enforcer will not be on deck to throw his weight around.

Loved by fans for his tough-but-fair approach to adhering to building regulations, and putting fear in the eyes of contestants while doing it, Schleiger has opened up on his latest role as Golden Gaytime’s first-ever Foreman of Workplace Hunger.

Because, as he puts it, “I’m certainly not retired”.

“Golden Gaytime have a new Frozen sandwich out called the Slab. And they basically weren’t happy with the standard of the workplace snacks in Australia, so they had me go around to building sites and offices, and just check up on people’s snacks,” he said.

“I’m on a mission to make sure that Australia’s worksite snacks stack up.”

Unsurprisingly, the former show regular revealed he’s always been more comfortable “barking orders” than taking them, at least at work.

A promising cricketer as a teen, and playing Under 19s football for North Melbourne, the tradie soon re-focused his energy to construction and assumed the “captain” role on site by age 23 or 24.

Working as a foreman for 20 years before he even set foot on the set of The Block in 2011, Schleiger always backs himself in to get the job done, and expects others to fall in line when he offers direction.

“I don’t like it when people say no to me once I give them an order,” he said.

“I always stand up for myself. I’ve been taught to do that, and if I think something’s wrong, I’m simply not going to let it happen.”

But, contrary to what some may believe, the hard man in the hard hat does maintain amicable relationships with others on site.

And he’s not always the one talking.

“I form a good relationship with all my workers, and I listen to them, and I try and make their job as easy as possible by preparing the area they’re going to work in as much as I can,” Schleiger added.

“I tend to be friends with people I work with, not enemies.”

Asked to assess the quality of contestants on The Block throughout his tenure, he suggested it’s a bit of a mixed bag.

However, the ones not pulling their weight typically get found out.

“Some of the contestants work their butts off all day every day, and some of them choose to probably be a bit slacker. The ones that are a bit slacker ended up running out of money because they should be doing the one percenters themselves,” he revealed.

Reflecting on his 16 seasons on The Block, the former TV foreman said his favourite moments were always the home reveals at the end of filming.

Though, there were many cherished relationships forged along the way.

One in particular stands out — the camaraderie he shared with ex-partner in crime, Dan Reilly.

“Dan and I had a lot of fun filming The Block together. I do miss working with him, I must admit. But The Block’s in very capable hands, he’s quite up to the task, and he’s doing a good job,” Schleiger said.

Fans wondering if long-time host Scott Cam still enjoys getting his hands dirty off set, the former show regular insists he “still keeps his fingers on the tools” on his farms and at home when time permits.

Aware young people are facing a tough time acquiring the keys to their first homes, the father understood ballooning interest rates in recent times hadn’t made it easy.

However, he did offer some advice to inexperienced buyers, albeit words they’ve probably heard before.

“I think it’s just money really. You’ve gotta save, but the earlier you get into the market, the better off you are,” Schleiger said.

“And I just advise people to buy something as soon as they can get in the market and own it. Rather than give somebody else rent money — have your own property.”