The Block stars Karstan and Maxine might have not won big on the show but that was just the beginning!
Stokes’ face lights up in pure joy as she gazes lovingly at beautiful little Zena Stokes Smith, who arrived just five days earlier, complete with a luscious head of dark hair and curious blue eyes.
“I was only in labour for one hour – eight big pushes. And it was a posterior birth!” she laughs.
No looking back
Max, 34, and her husband Karstan Smith, 36, are the teen sweethearts from Newcastle who got married on The Block: Glasshouse in front of other contestants Michael and Carlene Duffy, Chris and Jenna Susetio, Shannon and Simon Vos and Darren and Deanne Jolly.
Karstan and Max shared their gorgeous wedding with Woman’s Day in 2014.
(Credit: Supplied)But their time on what became known as one of the most controversial seasons of The Block, and their disappointment at taking home just $40,000, fades in comparison to their extraordinary adventures in the nine years since.
Fresh start
When COVID hit in 2020 they chucked in their jobs, rented out the house they renovated in Newcastle and took to the road with their then-six-month old, first-born Zuri, in a battered old kombi van and started documenting their adventures.
“We’d be in these really remote outback places and people would be surprised to see our kombi, but their jaws would drop when they saw that we had a baby,” grins Karstan, who admits lots of people thought they were crazy.
They are now a huge online success!
(Credit: Instagram)Their kombi van adventures captivated thousands of fans stuck in their homes during the pandemic, and Max, Karstan and Zuri (@karstanandmaxine) boast around 70,000 followers on Instagram, 44,000 on Facebook and have their own YouTube channel.
And they don’t plan to stay still long, despite Zena’s tender age.
Family on the move
The couple, who made an extraordinary $1.2 million profit when they sold a house they renovated in Newcastle two years ago, are just putting the finishing touches on a new reno before they hit the road in their brand new expedition truck.
“I think you get more passionate once you have kids because it’s your job to show them the world, and that’s what I want to do with my girls. It’s so fulfilling,” explains Max, who cherishes every moment with Zuri and Zena after a difficult journey to motherhood.
She and Karstan endured the “horror” of four miscarriages, including miscarrying twins, before Zuri was born, and another two miscarriages before Zena arrived.
After multiple miscarriages, the couple are happy to have grown their family.
(Credit: Phillip Castleton)She needed weekly blood tests and daily needles to thin her blood throughout her pregnancies.
“On one occasion with this pregnancy, we travelled 2000km in two days just so we could get the medication,” she says, admitting both she and Karstan lived with the constant fear of miscarrying again.
“We had a lot of hope, and we knew it was going to happen, but it was extremely tough. When you’re trying for a baby, you think about it every single day, and it’s really hard when you know you’re fit and healthy and they can’t give you an answer as to why it’s happening.”
The smiles of delight on Max and Karstan’s faces as she snuggles Zena and Karstan cuddles Zuri give a glow of happiness that Karstan says is like nothing he has ever experienced before he became a dad.
“How could anything be better than this?” he says.
