Better Than Yesterday with Osher Günsberg

My guest today is Jarrod McKenna.Jarrod McKenna the is the Teaching Pastor at Cornerstone Church in Perth, he is the co-founder of "First Home Project", a community welcoming housing and “giving a hand up not a hand-out” to recently arrived refugees, and is a peace award winning nonviolent social change trainer.Jarrod obviously a very smart and charismatic man - not many pastors are anything less - but Jarrod is also a man who is voracious in his drive to campaign for positive social change when it comes to asylum seekers and refugees.Not many folks are willing to risk their lives for a cause - and Jarrod did just that, when he was smuggled onto Manus Island to spend time with and speak with people that our Australian government has detained.Among those people - are 107 children.Children like your kids and mine.Kids who are far from home, scared and needing care and support.When I pay my taxes, that money gets used for many things that I’m happy about.Roads, hospitals, infrastructure and social services.That money is also being used to detain children who had no choice in their situation.That’s my money. Your money.Personally - I’m not too happy about it.Do I have an answer to people arriving to Australia by boat?Nope.Is locking up children the answer?Not as far as I’m concerned.Jarrod belongs to a church that I have had a few things to do with over the years - and not all of those experiences were positive, but as you’ll hear me say to him - I’ve learned to be quick to see where religious people are right.Just because I have a different idea of what might be ‘god’ or a ‘higher power’ doesn’t mean that I can’t powerfully share values of kindness, compassion and caring for others in our community that a man like Jarrod does.Jarrod is a good man, a kind man, and I’m very proud to support him and bring this conversation to you.If you’d like to support Jarrod and his work - www.kidsoffnauru.com is where to start.We do talk about some pretty heavy stuff here - including talk about suicide. If you or anyone you know needs support - please take control and call lifeline on 13 11 14.I hope you enjoy this conversation with Jarrod McKenna. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest today is my wife, Audrey Griffen. You can find her on instagram @audreygriffen.Long time listeners of the show will know her through the stories I tell about her, and if you’ve read the book you’ll know all about her and how we met. You’ll also know how she’s played an enormous role in helping me heal and indeed come back from the edge of sanity.Last week on the show you heard me tell Todd Sampson about how Audrey saved my life, and today you’ll hear her side of the story - and truth be told, I learned a thing or two about Audrey today that surprised me too - and I’ve been with her for four years by now!You might not all be my wife - but listening to her journey with her choice to have a child as a single mother in her early 20s, to how she managed to start and maintain a relationship with someone who was clearly quite sick - well it’s one I’m grateful to help her tell, because I know we’re not alone in our relationship dynamic. I know there’s a lot of people listening who are the partner of someone who’s going through some tricky times, or they themselves are going through tricky times and might not have considered their partner’s perspective. Either way, I’m very grateful that Audrey found time to do this today. Come now to our kitchen table and enjoy a nice cuppa and a chat with me and my wife, Audrey Griffen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest today, once again is me.A few weeks ago legendary human, documentary maker, story teller, adventurer and all-around super-human Todd Sampson came onto my show and when he did, Todd insisted that one day he interview me.Part one was last week, and if you’ve not listened to that, please go back and check it out, because it will make this conversation have much more context.In this second half of the conversation with Todd, we get into the darkest of the darkness. We discuss the stuff that I cover in the book - including alcoholism, psychosis, and suicidal ideation.If you or someone you know is struggling please call lifeline 13 11 14.It’s of course an incredible honour to have Todd do this - he’s a very smart, very busy man, and he took nearly three hours out of his day to come to our kitchen and interview me.It ended up with us both in tears and there’s a point at the end when Audrey even joins in, and thanks to your requests, I’m going to get her on as a guest in coming weeks so we can talk about what she does to get through life living with a guy like me who’s capable of incredible intensity from time to time.If you like what you hear - please reach out to @ToddSampsonOZ on twitter and let him know.If you like it a whole lot - come see the live show on August 30th which is basically this, but with a songs. osher.is/live the link is in the show notes on your podcast app.If you really like what you hear - buy the book.The link is live now at oshergunsberg.com or in my instagram bio.Ok are you ready?Come back to my kitchen table in Bronte for a nice shot of espresso and a chat with the wonderful man that is Todd Sampson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest today, is me.A few weeks ago legendary human, documentary maker, storyteller, adventurer and all-around super-human Todd Sampson came onto my show and when he did, Todd insisted that one day he interview me.Well, today’s the day.It’s an incredible honour to have Todd do this - he’s one of the smartest and busiest men on the planet, and he took nearly three hours out of his day to come to our kitchen and interview me.It’s such a marathon that Andy and I are splitting this into two parts.Because it’s too good to miss.If you like what you hear - please reach out to @ToddSampsonOZ on twitter and let him know.If you like it a whole lot - come to see the live show on August 30th which is basically this, but with songs. osher.is/live the link is in the show notes on your podcast app.If you really like what you hear - buy the book.The link is live in my Instagram bio.Come now to my kitchen table in Bronte for a nice shot of espresso and a chat with the wonderful man that is Todd Sampson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Emilie Brabon Hames is author, Transformation coach and Nutrition coach, and one 1/2 of the team that helped me totally transform my body for the cover of men’s health magazine.You can find her online @emiliebrabonhames .We heard from her husband Chief last week, and now it’s Em’s turn.Her story of how she went from a reclusive kid to one of the most powerful transformation coaches in the country, transforming literally thousands of lives every year with her Original Bootcamp work - well it’s something that’s completely inspiring.Em’s journey covers some difficult territory, and hearing how she reclaimed her life from the darkness will move you as much as it moved me I’m sure.On that - if anything in this conversation brings up difficult feelings for you please call lifeline in 13 11 14.However, I assure you that this chat has a very happy ending.You can follow Em’s adventures on Instagram at @emiliebrabonhames and there you’ll find the link to buy the new book she’s written with Chief - 8 Weeks to Wow.I hope you enjoy this chat with Emilie Brabon Hames. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chief Brabon is the Fitness Director at Men’s Health Australia, the CEO of TransformationCoach.com and CEO of Original Bootcamp.It was with Chief Brabon and his wife Emilie Brabon-Hames that I worked out every day for ten weeks to achieve my cover shot of Men’s Health Australia.When you spend an hour of your day with someone every day - you get to know them pretty well, and I got to know that both Chief and his wife Em have remarkable stories to tell.We’ll hear Em’s story next week, it’s compelling and a transformation tale in itself - but this week it’s all about Chief.Chief and Em are the team behind the biggest selling Men’s Health Australia covers of the last few years - Larry Emdur, James Stewart and yes - Guy Sebastian.In fact, while I was doing my transformation I sat down with Guy and we talked all about the mental aspect of how doing this changed the way he works and lives. Check that episode out for more.Chief is a man who’s driven by a desire for knowledge. He’s traveled the world to train with and learn from the best in industry, and then passes that knowledge on to the people he works with - be in the parks and beaches every morning for his Original Boot Camp workouts, or during his 1-1 transformation coaching like he and I did.His story is one that takes some turns you might not expect.A former military man, he had a significant injury in his 20s which left him with chronic pain that he still lives with every single day.How he overcame that pain and transformed his own life is what this conversation is all about.We don’t pull any punches and we do talk about suicide in this conversation - so if you or anyone you know needs support please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.You can find Chief on instagram where he’s always posting workouts and the like - @chiefbrabon, and for more about the program that I went on - transformationcoach.com .I hope you enjoy this conversation with Chief Brabon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Matt Griggs is a high performance coach, keynote speaker and meditation teacher from Sydney Australia, you can find him online at mattgriggs.com or on instagram @mattgriggs.For years Matt worked with some of the worlds most successful athletes in the surfing world, helping them focus in and out of the water for not only world-beating performances in competition - but with resilience out of the water too.Matt famously coached three-time world-champion surfer and shark-puncher Mick Fanning, and 6 time world-champion surfer Stephanie Gilmore, as well as numerous NRL players and other elite athletes.Matt is also a meditation teacher, and we delve right into the particular kind of mediation he teaches in this podcast, because while I’m still a novice - I do try to meditate every day and I do find it to be very beneficial in my life. I also know that not everyone will use the same kind of mediation - some may prefer mindfulness, some may prefer mantra meditations, or another way of finding that particular place in your thinking - whatever it takes, give it a go - because I don’t know much, but I do know that every elite athlete, leader, broadcaster, performer and business person I admire - they all meditate. Every one of them.So there’s something in it.Matt and I get technical when we start talking about focus and consciousness, but that’s ok you can hit rewind and listen again to anything that might have slipped past you.I’m all about these kinds of conversations - because while our lives may be full of questions - thankfully whatever problem we’ve had that’s hassling us - someone else has had it before and they figured out a way to deal with it - so all we have to do is find them, find what worked for them, and apply it to our lives.I’m so grateful that you get to hear this conversation with the fascinating Matt Griggs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sally Rugg is an LGBTIQ activist and Executive Director of Change.org - find her on twitter @sallyrugg or on Instagram @_campaign_papi.Sally is a smart, charming, powerful person whose leadership and drive to make our community as inclusive and excellent as it can be is something I found inspirational.If you’ve ever wondered about why someone might pursue a career in activism, or indeed what life is like for someone who stands up in public and fights for the human rights of those underrepresented in our community - Sally is here to tell you all about it.I for one feel we are lucky to have people like Sally in our community - people who tirelessly fight for the rights of others.She certainly got me thinking about the privilege I got born with, and what I choose to use that privilege for.Sally and I first connected over Twitter when we were trying to figure out a way to figure out a same-sex version of The Bachelorette happening, and after a few tweets back and forth I ended up asking her here to talk about that but also so many other things.So I’ll say this part now.In this conversation, I’m probably going to make a lot of mistakes when discussing the important nuances of life outside my heteronormative bubble. I will probably mess up some pronouns, I’ll probably accidentally minimise the impact of important distinctions and issues. I want to assure you - I’m keen to learn, I’m keen to get more aware of micro-aggressions in my language, so if I make some glaringly obvious out-of-my depth straight-white-guy mistakes, please be so kind and email me [email protected] and perhaps help me not make those mistakes again.I know that the more I discover about lives that are so different to mine, the more I realise how little I know, and how much I am yet to learn. So I’m all ears and I look forward to hearing from you.One thing I did learn - is that Sally and I share an undying love and devotion for the band Hanson. You may think this conversation is going to be political and explore the tricky ways that we could try to get a same-sex reality TV dating show to work - it’s all those things, with a lot of singing of Hanson songs.Sally is a fabulous person and I hope you do all you can to support her and the important work she does at change.org.She’s young, she’s full of energy, and she’s just getting started. I’m grateful that we had the chance to talk now, because mark my words in a few years from now you’ll be glad you caught a glimpse of the powerhouse this woman is, so you can say “yeah I always knew she’d go on to change the world” did you know she likes Hanson?If you like what you hear, please let her know on Twitter @sallyrugg or on Instagram @_campaign_papi.So enjoy this chat with the wonderful Sally Rugg. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Abdullah Zeinab is a plant-based ultra-endurance cyclist, a man with a crystal clear outlook on life and the capacity for incredible self-awareness. You can find him on YouTube by searching The Glucose Network, or follow him on Instagram @abdullahzeinabAbdullah is a prominent figure in both the plant-based and cycling community, his videos online and live streams are the stuff of legend.However - recently Abdullah completed the Indian Pacific Wheel Race, an ultra-endurance, unsupported bike race from the Indian Ocean in Western Australia, across the bottom of the continent all the way to the Sydney Opera House and the Pacific Ocean.The 2018 edition of the race was officially cancelled just hours before the event began, however with riders from all over the world already gathered in Fremantle, the GPS trackers already fitted to the bikes, many riders chose to ride the route at their own risk.Abdullah averaged more than 500km a day as he rode his bike across the Nullarbor Plain (literally the Latin name for No Tree) and ended up over 5000km later finishing the course in incredible time.Abdullah’s story of what he has not only discovered about himself through his life but most definitely what he discovered about himself on that bike ride - is truly inspirational.I was so impressed with Abdullah as a human. He came here to the flat with his lovely girlfriend, and we sat across from each other while he gratefully opened up to my questions, fearlessly exploring the areas I asked him about.He talks fast, so this one might need a second listen in case you miss something.I’m so grateful Abdullah came around, and I’m so grateful he was so open as this conversation took some turns, and went into some pretty deep concepts that might challenge you, and might even open your eyes to a way of seeing the world you hadn't thought about before.It certainly did for me.Enjoy this conversation with Abdullah Zeinab. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kath Koschel is an incredibly inspiring human. She’s the founder of kindnessfactory.com and has a story that will break your heart three times before it lifts you up into the glowing warmth of the collective love of humanity.This conversation deals with suicide and the effects of road trauma, so if you do need to talk to anyone please seek help from your doctor or call Lifeline on 13 11 14.Kath’s story is one of the incredible power of human resilience and the overwhelming kindness of our community at large.We’re so polarised to believe it’s Left vs Right, Liberal vs Labour, Sustainability vs Environmental pillage, but there’s actually a vast and overwhelming feeling of joy and compassion in our country and Kath’s story proves it.A world-class athlete struck down by crippling injury at the height of her career, Kath has learned to walk three times in her life. Once as a toddler, and twice as an adult. She’s also had to face the devastation of losing the love of her life to suicide just as the rays of sunshine were starting to warm things up again.Yet Kath’s outlook on the world, her attitude to kindness, forgiveness and trust in the goodness of the community at large will make you feel a lot better about the world as a whole. Because Kath’s out to show you, me and everyone else that kindness is indeed what we naturally have in our hearts and it’s something that on a self-centred level - actually feels good.Help her get to 1,000,000 acts of kindness over at kindnessfactory.com, and enjoy this conversation with Kath Koschel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

`Paul Field is the Managing Director of international children’s entertainment mega-brand The Wiggles. He’s also an ambassador for Red Nose Day, which funds research and support around the incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS.Nine babies and children in Australia will die today as a result of SIDS, but that number is down 85% of what it once was due largely to the incredible research and awareness that Red Nose Day raises money to support.After listening to this, I’m sure you’ll want to throw some help their way - you can donate year-round RedNoseDay.com.auPaul Field is now the MD of The Wiggles but as you’ll hear he was once the front man for incredibly successful Aussie pub rock band The Cockroaches - along with his brother Anthony, and a sleepy keyboard player named Jeff.However, as you’ll hear, The Cockroaches eventually wound down and The Wiggles wound up, all while Paul dealt with an incredible tragedy in his life - the sudden death of his infant daughter Bernadette when she was just 8 months old.This is a heavy tale, and if you or anyone you know has been through something similar this podcast might bring up some intense emotions for you - perhaps there’s some unprocessed grief still lingering - we talk about that a lot - if so please reach out for help if you need it or if you’re in Australia call Lifeline on 13 11 14.I can’t thank Paul enough for coming around and sharing his story so authentically- and I hope you resonate with his message about how he loves his life now even after going through such incredible loss and grief.I’m grateful you’re here and grateful that together we can have this conversation with Paul Field. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rob Mills is an actor, singer, and musical theatre superstar from Melbourne Australia. You can find him on Instagram @robmillsymills.Rob first rose to prominence during the debut season of Australian Idol back in 2003, and as you’ll hear had a rollercoaster ride from there to where he is now. One that involved the highest of highs, and the very lowest of lows. In this conversation we do talk about the subject of suicide, so if you or if anyone you know needs help - in Australia please call Lifeline on 13 11 14, if you’re outside Australia please reach out to a health professional asap.Rob is the pure story of someone that looked at their life and said “I’ve got more to offer than this”, found his “why” and then put in the work, a day at a time. That work lead him to someone who’s now cast in the lead role in massive musical productions that have a cast and crew of hundreds and a LOT riding on his ability to deliver.Rob found his ‘Why’, Rob put in the work, and Rob’s life is now the life he created for himself.We spoke as he as preparing for a massive George Michael tribute gig which is happening at the Sydney Opera House on July 8th, you can get tickets at https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/george-michael.I couldn’t be more happy to have had this chat, I hope you enjoy understanding the ‘why’ that drives Rob Mills. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ditch Davey is an incredibly successful Australian actor and producer who first rose to prominence on the TV show “Blue Heelers” but has since gone on to appear in countless films and TV shows - notably Spartacus and Black Box, and most recently the TV show Harrow which you can see on ABC iView.  Ditch is a remarkable man with a brilliant outlook on life.  He’s a man who’s pursued a career in a seasonal industry, one that subjects you to the terrifying and constant judgment of who you are as a human - but that’s what being an actor is sometimes.  Ditch has incredible coping strategies in place to help him deal with the ups and downs of what it is to be a working actor and I can’t thank him enough for taking the time to share so deeply not only why he does what he does, but indeed how he deals with the cycles of work in his career.  You might never step on stage, you might never step in front of the camera, but I guarantee you’ll listen to this and hear a few ways that Ditch deals life that you will be able to incorporate into your own way of living.  He’s a wonderful and warm-hearted man, and we caught up on Skype from his home in Melbourne a few weeks back - so I’m grateful that he had the time to do this because it’s such an inspirational conversation.  If this chat ticks some boxes for you - don’t hesitate to let him know @iamditchdavey on Instagram. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest today is Danielle Prince. On Instagram she’s @danniprince, follow her there and let her know that you heard her here.  Danielle is a Commonwealth Games and Olympic Rhythmic Gymnast. In her words - rhythmic gymnastics is the absolute fusion between athleticism and art. It is the sport that is designed to make the impossible look easy.  And Danielle’s story is one of how much time, effort, focus, and dedication it takes to do just that, to make the impossible look easy.  Spoiler alert - relentless focus, practice and repetition.  But I’ll let her describe it.  Because there are no shortcuts to mastery.  Danielle has an incredible athletic career, she’s made history as the first female gymnast to represent Australia at 3 consecutive Commonwealth Games, and has represented the country as the only Rhythmic gymnast selected to get to the Olympics in Rio.  Danielle not only works with the Layne Beachley foundation, but Danni has developed her own scholarship to nurture young athletes to continue to strive to be their best.  And in this conversation, you can hear how she not only deals with the incredible successes that she’s had in her career, but also the times she missed the podium - which, let’s be honest will happen more to an athlete than not.  This is an emotional conversation. Twice while Danni was telling me her story I started to cry. Her grace and dignity in describing how even though she missed out on the athletic goal she’d set for her self, she emerged as a victor from a competition that she didn’t succeed at - it’s one that moved me and I’m certain will move you.  It’s the first time I”ve met someone who’s retiring at 25 from the thing they’ve done their entire life. And so I was fascinated to hear how someone who’s done nothing but dedicates their every waking second to a particular outcome now changes course and pursues something else.  You may never twirl a ribbon while doing a reverse scissor leap, however, what Danni’s been through and the lessons she has to tell you today will change the way you look at what you stand to win even when you look at the scoreboard it says that you have lost.  She’s a remarkable young woman, find her on Instagram @danniprince and wish her a happy birthday on Tuesday - and enjoy this conversation with Danielle Prince. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guy Sebastian is a singer, songwriter and producer from Sydney, Australia.  He’s on instagram and twitter @guysebastian  The first winner of Australian Idol back in 2003, he and I have known each other for most of our careers.  We’ve had interviews along the way, at Channel [v] or on radio - but he and I have never spoken like we speak today.  Guy Sebastian has an incredible voice, and is a very, very successful recording artist in Australia because he works harder than almost anyone.  However along the way Guy has had his struggles, and in this conversation he and I unlock a massive catalyst for change that happened with Guy, and it only happened in the last 18 months.  To put it simply, daily physical exercise changed his life. I’ll let him take you through it, however the way he describes how hitting the gym every day has changed the way he works, thinks and feels, changed so many things outside of the gym - well, I related to it so much because that has been my experience too.  Guy is a very deep soul, a kind man, and a man who feels great empathy and love for his life and also those who enjoy his music.  He spent a few hours in my apartment and we could have chatted all afternoon, however I think in this one we really unlocked a few keys to what makes Guy Sebastian one of the greatest performers our country has ever seen.  He’s a complete inspiration to me, and I hope you get the same feeling when this conversation is over that I did. One of elation, and a desire to go and move my body.  Guy’s touring around the country in the next few weeks, tickets are available at guysebastian.com  Even if you’ve never seen him live, after hearing this I’m sure you’ll want to go just so you can spend time being in the same room as him, because hs’e a very special human.  Please enjoy this long-overdue conversation with Guy Sebastian.  You can book tickets for his upcoming tour http://www.guysebastian.com - if you liked the chat, please let him know on twitter or instagram. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Todd Sampson is an adventurer, award-winning documentary-maker, television presenter and businessman. Originally from Canada, he’s made a home for himself in Australia where he rose to become one of the most influential business executives in the country.  Known to Australians as the guy in the t-shirt on one of Australia’s most successful and longest-running panel shows “Gruen”, Todd’s TV career took on a life of it’s own.  Aside from his TV work, Todd's business resume is formidable. He’s the former CEO of the Leo Burnett ad agency, he currently sits on the board of Qantas and Fairfax, plus he’s an active investor and advisor in Australia’s start-up scene.  However first and foremost - Todd is an adventurer. As you’ll hear, his quest for adventure and finding what lies beyond where his is comfortable has lead him to every corner of the globe, putting himself in places and situations that push the limits of human endurance in an effort to see what is on the other side of where most other people would turn back.  Somewhere along the way, Todd began to film his adventures and that has lead him to an incredibly successful career as a documentary maker, writing and producing "Redesign My Brain", "Life on the Line" and most recently "Body Hack".  I’m fascinated by Todd. His constant quest to discover what else he and in a way all of us are capable of when we take ourselves outside of the climate-controlled, low danger, low energy output, constant caloric intake world we have built around ourselves - is so inspiring to me. In the last few months I’m discovering what can happen for me when I go beyond what I thought I was capable of, and it has been transformational.  With Todd, he’s doing it on another level altogether and you can see the results as he pushes himself into the limits of human endurance not just for great footage - but to see what else he will then be capable of with the knowledge that he can do such extreme things and come out the other side.  I could have talked to Todd for hours - but I think you’ll get a real kick out of this one. You might even need to listen twice.  The new season of Body Hack starts on Thursday night here in Australia, 8:30pm on Network Ten. Don’t miss it, it’s a life-changer.  If you enjoy this conversation please let Todd know, he’s on twitter @toddsampsonOz (https://twitter.com/toddsampsonOz).  Enjoy this adventurous conversation with Todd Sampson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jamie Pride is a serial entrepreneur, Venture Capitalist and author on a mission to help shift the needle on startup culture. Find him on instagram @jamiepride  We’ve all heard the Cinderella story - two people create an iPhone app, sell their business to Google for $20M after 18 months and now everyone’s taking baths in Lambos and Bitcoin taking Uber Jets to Burning Man.  However that’s not the real story.  92% of startups fail.  And Jamie has a very real and personal experience of failure.  Jamie was formerly a partner at consulting firm Deloitte, and then the CEO of realestate.com.au.  He rode a rocket ship of success to the stars, founding more than six technology start ups, raising over $16M in funding and even listing his HR startup Refined on the ASX in 2015. Refined listed and went through the roof, within 30 weeks the stock shot up to a Market Capitalisation of over $200M, and overnight dropped to $20. He had investors who’d poured millions of dollars into his business turning up to his house in anger, and he even had to deal with death threats. Jamie self-medicated and his health plummeted before he hit a dangerous rock-bottom both mentally and physically which he goes into in this conversation. Now on a path of recovery, Jamie is committed to preventing other start-up founders from going through what he went through, by helping them not only understand the astronomical odds stacked against them - but also to help founders build resilience, so that they can fail, and then learn from that failure, then fail again and again until finally they succeed. He’s written a brilliant book on the matter - it’s called Unicorn Tears which is out now, and it focuses on mental health and resilience in the start up scene. It’s well worth a read if you’re an independent business person, there’s a lot of valuable content in there, I certainly resonated with the attribution of your product’s success to your self-worth - which he and I discuss in this show.  We may not all be coders or tech start up geniuses - but all of us have ambitions and goals, and all of us can learn from Jamie’s story.  He has a particularly excellent philosophy when it comes to mornings and about the use of his phone - I certainly have changed my game since I spoke with him, I hope that what he says can resonate with you too.  Enjoy this conversation with Jamie Pride. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Melissa Ambrosini is an Author, Podcaster and Motivational Speaker. You can find her on instagram @melissaambrosini. Her first book “Mastering your Mean Girl” was an absolute hit, and she’s just released a new book “Open Wide”. We might not all be authors, we might not all reinvent ourselves and work hard to become authorities on self-help and self-love : but all of us have been at rock bottom, and Melissa’s story of how she came back from a place of true darkness and peril is one that will move you. This one gets dark. This one gets emotional, however it’s ok. It has a happy ending. Melissa’s Podcast is a superb listen and you can find it where you found this one, just search The Melissa Ambrosini Show. If you like this episode, go let her know online - my guests always get a kick out of getting feedback from you. So let’s not waste any time. Settle in for a tale of coming into the light out of the darkness with Melissa Ambrosini.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Simon Hill is an entrepreneur and advocate for plant-based eating. Originally from Melbourne, he’s now based in Bondi Beach. You can find him on Instagram @plant_proof and online at plantproof.com - a guide to living a plant-based diet for people who like to be on the more active side of life.Simon’s story is just remarkable.He is one of Australia’s most successful young entrepreneurs, investors, and advisors.As we talked he was very humble about his businesses - just casually dropping that he started a “tea company” while he was working as a physiotherapist.The tea company he’s referring to is the absolutely massive YourTea.com, giving people access to herbs and teas used in traditional Chinese medicine.But you’d never know he’s one of my country’s most successful entrepreneurs, he’s also one of the people behind Organic Village Foods and Bean Body Care.Simon’s a very smart, very humble man.Devastatingly handsome with eyes like turquoise tropical lagoons, Simon’s focus now is on advocating for a plant-based lifestyle.If you look at a photo of him, you’ll notice that he is cut like a chopped salad.The man works out.And Plant Proof was inspired by Simon’s own experience with transitioning from eating animal foods to a plant-based diet.As we discuss, initially he shared many common fears among men and women, who are doing the same thing.If I stop eating meat am I going to lose muscle?With all those carbs will I gain fat and feel bloated? What about my iron?Will I get enough protein?There are answers to all of these questions, and we talk about most of them in this show.What I love most about Simon isn’t just his inspirational journey - but that he doesn’t throw health claims around willy nilly.He only talks about stuff that is backed up by hard science. He won’t make a claim that isn’t backed by a reference to a peer-reviewed journal study.And in this day of Instagram experts touting miracle cures - that is an important thing to have.To add even more clout to what he’s talking about, Simon is currently studying a Masters in Nutrition so that he can come at anyone with cold hard facts at fifty paces.He’s a great guy, I hope you enjoy getting to know Simon Hill. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest today is elite cyclist Shane Perkins, you can find him on twitter @perkoperkins. Shane is an Olympic Games Bronze Medalist, a world champion team sprinter and a former Keirin track world champion.  Shane’s story is one of coming out from under his father’s shadow, committing to a goal and striving for what he wanted. We might not all be track cyclists capable of exploding an astonishing 2500w of power out of our legs, but we all have something that we want to get done. Shane’s story is so great because for him, those few seconds standing on the podium while the anthem plays - that’s not what he’s doing this for.  He’s doing it for the journey.  He’s doing it for what he’ll learn about himself on the way to stepping up on that small piece of oblong carpentry that stands on the edge of the track. That to me is the most inspiring part of Shane’s story - that the journey itself IS the reward. We caught up over Skype, thanks for allowing me to do more Skype chats guys. Enjoy this conversation with Shane Perkins. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fraser Bayley is a bodybuilder and trainer originally from NZ and now living in New Orleans, Louisiana. You can follow his adventures at @evolvingalpha on Instagram or FB.  Fraser’s story is a heroes journey if ever there was one.  From an unwell butcher who lived with a diagnosis of ADHD and then bipolar disorder, to a powerful bodybuilder who has achieved an incredible physique on a vegan diet.  However, Fraser’s transformation is way more than physical. The way he describes the dark place he was in during his teenage years, how he escaped a pattern of negative behaviour, how he identified ways to start to feel better and then simply worked on them every day, building momentum until he emerged from the chrysalis as a new man - this is a story that will show you the true gift we have as humans - the gift of being able to choose our next response and choose our next action.  That Fraser is a bodybuilder may not be something you aspire to - however, it is a physical manifestation of the focus and commitment he has to not only feeling better in his mind but also creating a new life for himself unrecognisable from his troubled past.  If you add on to that the extraordinary shift from being a butcher who did work in slaughterhouses, who worked every day cutting up animal carcasses for a supermarket meat section - to becoming the epitome of what masculinity celebrates when it comes to the “alpha” type - a fiercely competitive bodybuilder with an intimidating physique who trains and maintains that physique on a plant-based diet, that is truly astounding.  So much of the communication around health and fitness, and particularly muscle gain is all about eating meat - either the paleo diet or the keto diet - and when it comes to being a man, to expressing masculinity, one display of that we as a culture look toward is muscle.  Muscle that comes from eating animal products.  It’s touted as the only way to get that physique.  I’m here to tell you - it isn’t.  And Fraser is here to tell you too.  We caught up on Skype - so there are a few drops, but I hope you forgive the glitches and enjoy the inspiration that will come from this conversation with Fraser Bayley. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brett Robinson, or Robbo to his athletes and clients, is a high-performance coach who worked for years with the Australian Paralympic team. He’s since branched out into the wider community, hoping to bring his concepts and ideas that he learned and developed over the course of his incredibly successful career with elite athletes, and share them with the wider community. He has an excellent podcast that I highly recommend - Your Life Of Impact, which you can find wherever great podcasts are heard. Brett’s story does take some darker turns, but it’s ok, I promise he’s ok and found his way to Ok in a way that will inspire us all to live a life with more intentionality than before. I’m so grateful we got the chance to chat and to former podcast guest Rachel Neylan who made the introduction. Enjoy this introduction to the inspirational world of Brett Robbo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bernie Black is the CEO of Brave Foundation, and the author of the book "Brave Little Bear: The inspirational Story of a Teenage Mother”.  Bernie’s story is not uncommon, but it’s something we don’t really speak about still.  Teenage pregnancy.  I know that Bernie’s story will resonate with many people listening, and I am sure it might even be confronting to some people listening.  Bernie has not only built an incredible life for her son, and now larger family - she’s risen to create an incredible career for herself as the CEO of Brave Foundation - and you’ll hear how she’s making a massive difference not only with stigma reduction and support for teenage parents, but on a broad policy level here in Australia.  You might not be trying to tackle a powerful social issue like teenage pregnancy, you might just be trying to tackle getting your kids to ease up on screen time and engage more in real time - it doesn’t matter, Bernie’s story will leave you inspired about what is possible no matter what circumstances face you. And that with support and a solid reframe, many situations can turn out way better than you thought in the first place. You can find out more about the incredible work that Brave Foundation does for expecting and parenting teens at http://bravefoundation.org.au/ Enjoy this conversation with Bernie Black. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Luke Heggie is a comedian from Sydney Australia. I’ve known Luke since we were eight and growing up with him and watching his career flourish has been one of the true pleasures of my life. One new year’s day he decided he’d give stand up comedy a go. Less than a month later he’d won his heat in JJJ’s high-profile national Raw Comedy competition, and soon after that had won the whole thing. Since then he’s worked tirelessly to hone his writing, his delivery and his work. He regularly tours internationally and is launching into his new show for 2018 “Tiprat” at the MICF. You can get tickets to the shows lukeheggie.com, and look out for shows in Sydney and Perth too. When you do go to his show, have a listen out to the intro voice over guy. He’s pretty good I reckon. Talking with Luke is always wonderful, and usually it takes place on the back of small folding bicycles as he and I ride around the south eastern suburbs of Sydney looking for a cafe to play some scrabble in, yet today you’re able to hear one of these chats and I couldn’t be more happy about it. Luke regularly gets 4 & 5 star reviews, and I would encourage you to go and see why. The thing about talking to comedians is that the conversations sometimes aren’t 100% funny from front to back - that’s because the things that they say on stage are meticulously crafted to be a precise delivery of thoughts and ideas to make you react in a certain way. This is more a chance for you to get to know what makes up the man that is selling out shows from coast to coast, and rightly so. Please enjoy this conversation with Luke Heggie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest today is Michael Cassel.  He’s an internationally acclaimed theatre producer - when you see Lion King or “Beautiful” the Carole King musical - he’s the man who put everyone together in the same place to make the show happen.  Hundreds of people didn’t suddenly decide to learn the same songs and dance routines and turn up in a theatre to perform them in synchronicity with thousands of people deciding to sit in that theatre - he’s the man that makes those moments happen.  And he’s been making those moments happen since he was fifteen years old.  Even if musical theatre is the furthest thing from fun in your mind, Michael’s Story of how he just saw what he wanted to do and went after it with a relentless passion is the stuff I love to soak up.  I need to hear stories like his, to get reminded of how success can work. To be reminded of how focus can work.  Now you and I might not be aiming to put on the most ambitious musical productions of our time - we might be just hoping to lose a few kilos, feed ourselves and our family a little healthier, or maybe get a little further ahead at work - regardless of your goal - hearing Michael’s story will put the fire under your feet to get focused on what you want in life, and you might even do it with a song & dance routine to make it a moment.  Michael’s current production “Beautiful: Carole King Musical” is playing in Melbourne until at least June, you can get tickets at beautifulmusical.com.au  As Michael describes, it’s nothing but hits.  Enjoy this chat with Michael Cassel.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s show is with Dr Elise Bailylew, founder of Mindful in May and you can find out about her work at Mindfulinmay.org (https://www.mindfulinmay.org) It’s no mistake that Dr Bailylew is on the show today, as you know I’ve been trying to work a mindfulness-based meditation practice into my day as a way to help me deal with life now I’m off meds. It is certainly not enough in itself, but it’s one of the things that I use to help my brain work things out. I wanted to get Dr Bailylew on to maybe help you understand a bit more about why mindfulness works and the science behind it.  And I should state my position pretty clearly here - I’ve done my time with people who are called “healers”. I’ve shown up to a granny flat out the back of a house near Byron Bay and made my way through the wind chimes to have someone lay hands on me while I inhale plumes of patchouli. While that may have been ok for me in the past - now I’ve gone through what I’ve gone through, now I’ve had the experience through psychosis of having my ability to perceive reality correctly dissolve into a shimmering mess around me - nowadays I can’t just go with faith and placebo. That might have worked for me in the past - but now for the most part, I need to know that what I’m doing is backed by research. And for me, Mindfulness Meditation has enough scientific clout behind it to warrant me using it as one of the tools that I have when it comes to living with the brain I’ve got. It’s important to tell you that for a long time I wasn’t well enough for this meditation to help, or even work. It was only after being on meds for a long time that my brain healed enough so that now I’m able to start to train my brain to use these techniques.  It’s hard work, not unlike training a puppy - but I am making progress.  When I was really sick - meditation didn’t make things better for me, in fact they made things worse because then I’d be trapped in this rumination spiral in a state of consciousness that I’d deliberately put myself into. It was not ok. So let me underline that - don’t just stop taking your meds and download an app and think you’ll be right. You won’t. Everything I do that I tell you about it something that I’ve talked with my doctors about first, and that’s what I must insist on. I am no better at treating my own mental health as I am fixing a mechanical fault with my car. I know nothing about psychology or psychiatry - so I leave those decisions to the people who have studied and practised for years. Like I’ve said before - trying to make a decision about how you’re thinking using the thinking you’re thinking with is like trying to bite your own teeth. Clear? Clear. Ok. If you want to find out more about Dr Elise Bailylew and the work she’s doing, Mindfulinmay.org is the website. She’s a great human with a great story and she’s really helping a lot of people doing what she’s doing. I hope you enjoy the show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Geoff Wilson is a noted figure in the Australian Finance industry, he’s the founder and chairman of Wilson Asset Management. In the last year Geoff was named an officer in the general division of the Order of Australia for services to the business and finance sector, professional financial bodies and the community as a supporter of charitable foundations. I never grew up knowing anything about finance, the stock market, investment - it just wasn’t around me. It was only later in life that I started to meet people who actually knew what all the little numbers and charts in the stock exchange mean. It was only later still that I started to realise that these were jobs that people had, that they worked their way up to, that they could make careers out of. And Geoff is one of those people. I wanted to talk to him because I was fascinated by not only his career path and how a life in the finance world can build into an incredible career - but also because of how he and I met. Geoff is the founder of a number of managed funds - we will get into the terminology in the chat - but two of the funds particularly, Future Generations and Future Generations Global, are ways for investors to not only see a return but also give back to the community. As Geoff explains - the way fund managers get paid is usually a percentage of the fund and a performance bonus. So Geoff created the Future Generation Investment company and the Future Generation Global Investment Company model as a way for the funds management and finance industry to make a significant and ongoing impact to the community. How it works is that The Future Generation fund managers do not charge management or performance fees, allowing the companies to donate 1% of assets to the supported charities each year. What that does is provide an ongoing source of funding for Australian charities, with a focus on children at risk (Future Generation Investment Company supports 14 charities) and youth mental health (Future Generation Global supports 8 charities including SANE Australia, which is where I met Geoff). Listening to Geoff’s story and how he built a career in an industry that I knew little about was fascinating to me. But then hearing how he was affected by time spent working as a Lifeline counsellor - that was truly the most incredible part of this conversation. He’s clearly a very successful man, he’s worked very hard to get where he is today - and yet he still found time on a weekday morning at 9am to come over to my apartment to talk about his career, his work, and why he does what he does. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tess Haubrich is an Australian Actor who you can find on instagram @tesshaubrich (https://www.instagram.com/tesshaubrich). She's currently starring in Wolf Creek 2, available on demand on Stan in Australia - she’s also in the Ridley Scott film Alien Covenant and kicking ass and taking names in the Jackie Chan film Bleeding Steel. She’s an absolute badass and proved this by showing up at the apartment with her 2yr old when the sitter didn’t eventuate. So, through this show you’ll hear the occasional interruptions of Tess’ kid who was a delight to have around - and you’ll probably hear a few sounds of parenting that occur as she effortlessly kept her child occupied while she and I talked. It would have been easy for Tess to cancel the chat - but she didn’t. She came around and we had a great chat and I can’t thank her enough for that. It speaks volumes to the kind of person that she is, and I can’t wait for you to get to know her. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sandra Sully is Australian Journalism Royalty.  She’s the Senior News Editor for Network Ten News and has been the Anchor of their afternoon bulletin for more than a decade.  She's on Twitter @sandra_sully (https://twitter.com/Sandra_Sully).  Sandra is an astonishingly focused person, her dedication and drive to do great work is undeniable as you’ll hear in this conversation.  In a time when news of varying reliability is coming at us from every angle ten times a minute through our phones, the role of a legitimate and well-resourced news anchor is in my opinion has never more important. And that’s where Sandra comes in.  De-legitimzing news sources is a tool that politics has used for decades - and in these times of Fake News being thrown about any time there’s a critique of policy, it’s never been more important to have staunch and solid news sources.  That means -​​ not Facebook.  So - without any delay, come to the boardroom at Network Ten in Sydney across from the fish markets to have a chat with the incredibly powerful person that is Sandra Sully. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Beverley Mirolo OAM is the chairman of the Leukaemia Foundation Australia and she’s participating this year in the world’s greatest shave.  Bev’s got an incredible story - she grew up in country Queensland, trained as a nurse from the age of sixteen and is still a RN now in her 70s.  Through her work she had first-hand exposure to the challenges faced by people living with blood cancers. She started working at the Royal Brisbane Hospital in 1980 where she played a major role in the planning and development of the Leukaemia Foundation Bone Marrow Transplant Unit there.  Beverley has dedicated her life to helping and caring for people living with these diseases, elevating through her career to be the CEO Haematology Oncology Clinics of Australasia before she retired. And then in a strange twist - was diagnosed with a blood cancer herself.  Her story is incredibly moving, and I hope it moves you do support her doing the 20th anniversary of the World’s Greatest Shave - you can support her http://osh.is/worldsgreatestshave  I hope you enjoy this conversation with the wonderful Beverly Mirolo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yumi Stynes is a Radio & TV Presenter, Podcaster, Photographer and writer from Sydney, Australia. You can find her on twitter and instagram @yumichild.  She and I have known each other for 18 years now, and I get a bit teary at the end of this one when I start telling her how happy I am that she’s still in my life.  Yumi and I got together at the house where she lives with her wonderful family, to talk about her new book.  Look, there’s a lot of swearing in this episode - but we’re all grownups, and my download stats show me that you’re probably listening to this alone, with headphones. So no-one need to know why you’re giggling when she uses the C-word.  So now you’ve been warned, let’s talk about Yumi’s new book. It’s called  Zero Fucks Cooking.  Best Food, Least Effort.  Anyone that heard Yumi’s brilliant podcast “Ladies We Need To Talk” will know that Yumi is a powerhouse when it comes to keeping her family running.  And anyone that knows her knows that she lives a life of Zero Fucks. The cookbook is wonderful. And for me, it’s just the front door into how this incredible woman has created a life that is full of joy, laughter, children, happiness and a career to be proud of.  Yumi’s book is out on March 1st, buy it where you buy books.  If you’ve never bought a cookbook - this book is for you.  If you are intimidated by TV cooking and think you can’t do that so I won’t even try? This book is for you.  If you’d like to live a life where you give zero fucks?  Get on board.  So, throw a Zucchini on the barbie and enjoy a glorious hour around the dinner table in the home of Yumi Stynes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lucy Durack is a singer and actress from Australia who came to prominence as Glinda the good witch in the Australian production of Wicked. Lucy's method for creating the life she desired is astonishing.  You can follow Lucy on Twitter @lucydurack (https://twitter.com/lucydurack)  Her story of how she manifested her dream role, how she stayed ready for when the opportunity came her way - is incredibly inspiring.  I can't wait for you to hear this.  You can see Lucy perform in Wizard Of Oz, which just wrapped its run in Sydney but is heading to Adelaide and Melbourne in the coming months.  I won't lie - there's some nerdy musical theatre stuff on the way, but that's ok. I'll not apologise for loving musicals. I feel they're a wonderful form of storytelling that transcend the generations.  ​So take a big breath in, let a big breath out - and prepare to bask in the glow of the radiant energy of the fabulous Lucy Durack. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hilary Innes is an Executive Producer at Network Ten, and she oversees the shows that I work on, including Bachelor, Bachelorette and the soon to be seen Bachelor in Paradise.  Hilary is a legend of the Australian TV industry, and we talk all about her time working closely with Ray Martin during the heady days of the Midday Show on 9 - and yes, the famous Normie Rowe/Ron Casey punch-out segment was one she produced and she tells the whole story in this conversation.  Hilary went on to be the Head of Entertainment at Nine, and from there left the network to become Head of Entertainment at ITV studios Australia, a production company that makes such massive shows as I’m a Celebrity, and The Voice - so she went from making a bunch of huge shows from different production companies to making a bunch of huge shows for different networks.   Coming back into the broadcast side of things, Hilary is now an Executive Producer at Network Ten - where she oversees and steers from the Network side of things various shows in their line up, including the ones I work on.  Full disclosure, I adore working with Hilary and you can tell that as we speak.   She has such an incredible depth of knowledge and experience and her career is truly remarkable both in the legacy of the shows she’s made and the time she’s been a major influence in Australian Television. Hilary also has a magnificent sense of style, and my team I work with on Bachelor are always commenting about how incredible her jacket is, or my goodness look at that scarf. She’s brilliant.  When we recorded this we’d just wrapped up Bachelor in Paradise, so she and I do talk about that a bit, and as you can tell - we’re both very excited by it.  There is another side to Hilary which I am very grateful she opened up about. At the same time as having a career that anyone would envy, at home Hilary is dealing with her partner of over 20yrs slowly succumbing to Multi-System Atrophy, a degenerative neurological disease that is fatal and has no cure.    Listening to the way Hilary talks about their relationship, even in the face of this extraordinary challenge, will move you beyond measure. I’m so grateful Hilary came to my apartment back in December so that we could talk.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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My guest today is Jan Fran. Find her on twitter @Jan__Fran . Jan is the co-host of the nightly SBS news show “The Feed”. She’s an incredibly skilled journalist and documentary producer who’s covered stories in places you’d be to frightened even fly over.Her recent work is available to see online at https://www.sbs.com.au including her documentary “America’s first climate change refugees” which we talk about at length in this conversation. Jan speaks three languages, but because I only speak one we did this podcast in English. Her story is inspirational, and it made me happy - because as the world careens to ever more critical problems that will only be solved with a global decision making process, Jan will be there to help us make sense of whatever is going on. This conversation does cover some pretty grim subject matter, so when you hear us talking about her time working in Africa if you’re feeling a bit sensitive to stories of kids in hardship you can skip forward about ten minutes and you’ll be safely on the other side. This is a long one, but it’s worth ever moment. Please enjoy this rigorous and fun conversation with the incredibly talented Jan Fran. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maz Compton is a well-known broadcaster from Sydney who for years was all over the TV when she worked on MTV, and later all over the radio, culminating in her Stint on the high-profile breakfast shift on 2Day FM in Sydney.  That life is mostly behind her now, however she did write a book about her experiences which you can at https://www.mazcompton.net or on Amazon.  Maz is a great chat, an inspiring woman, and I’m so grateful she came by the apartment to chat on a lovely Sydney afternoon.  Ladies and gentlemen, Maz Compton.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

James Mathison is an Australian TV Presenter, writer, father, activist and now politician.  James and I worked together for many years on Australian Idol, and before that we worked together on Channel [v]. I’ve known Jim since 2000 and he’s still one of the most clever people I’ve ever met.  He’ll read a paper cover to cover every day, read a book a week, and still find time to be a brilliant father to his two wonderful girls.  James came around and we shot the breeze at my old place back in Bondi about 18 months ago, so this chat is a little dated but it’s worth listening to because this guy has a brain the size of a planet and he has this ability to calm me down about things I get fired up about.  Y’see when I’m still mad that the Polar Bears are dying and we’re still burning coal, Jimmy is calm and considerate and thinking about alternatives that both sides of the political spectrum can get behind.  You can let him know you heard him here on Twitter @jamesmathison (https://twitter.com/jamesmathison)  He’s a very smart man, and a very funny man, and I’m sure you’ll love this conversation with James Mathison. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest today is Adam Richard.  He’s a standup comedian, writer, TV Guy and all ‘round wonderful human.  We recorded this before Australia enthusiastically voted YES to marriage equality, so you’ll notice that there might be a bit of chat in there about the plebiscite - but I wanted to leave it in as a memory of what we as a country went through.  Find Adam on Twitter at @adamrichard (https://twitter.com/adamrichard) and let him know you heard him here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest today is a giant amongst men. He’s a man by the name of Quentin Kenihan. @qkenihan on Twitter. We’ve known each other about fifteen years, and I’m glad he’s a mate. He was born with brittle bone disease, which basically means if you hug him too tight, you’ll break him. The last time he told me, he’d counted 662 broken bones in his life. That number has probably eclipsed that number by now. Quentin has been told by too many doctors to count that “this could be it” and “you might not make it”, and yet - his drive, persistence and passion for life keep going and his perspective where we can all learn from gets higher and higher. Quentin’s been in a wheelchair his whole life - and he lives in Adelaide with his excellent dog Patchy. Find him at https://twitter.com/qkenihan and https://www.instagram.com/qkenihan/, let him know you heard him here. I’m glad you’re here. Merry Xmas. Enjoy getting to know Quentin Kenihan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris Raine is the founder and CEO on the not-for-profit “Hello Sunday Morning” you can find him on Twitter by following @ckraine.  And if you like, you can download that app daybreak. Downloaded from wherever you download me.  Hello Sunday morning is all about creating a healthy relationship to alcohol. So when is conversation Chris and I talk a lot about his journey with alcohol, I talk about my journey with alcohol-most of the story you may have heard before but if you’re new it'll be the first time.  This conversation maybe confronting. All I ask is that you listen. If you feel afterwards inspired to approach your next drink differently-good for you. If you don't, also good for you. I thoroughly recommend checking out their website https://www.hellosundaymorning.org/ and just spending some time, exploring various questions they have to ask. You may go there because you're concerned about someone else-well there is support there for you as well.  I'm really grateful Chris came around, he's doing very important work in our community. I'm one of these people as I told you before that can't have one drink because then I'll have 100. You might be lucky, you might be able to only have a few and then stop. Or you might be somewhere between. Whatever your relationship is to alcohol, I'm grateful you're here and I'm really grateful you listening to this.  Enjoy this conversation with Chris Raine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nigel Marsh is an Author, Speaker, Body Image activist and the powerhouse behind “The Sydney Skinny” which is one of the largest organised skinny dips in the world, in an effort to promote body positivity and a healthier relationship with your self.Nigel wrote the best selling book “Fat, Forty and Fired”, and has a brilliant outlook on life that will challenge whatever amount of comfort you have in your comfort zone, causing you to look at what it is you’re doing with your day, or even your life. He’s a very good salesman because after this chat, I signed up to his swim - even though I’m utterly terrified of being naked in public, even just shirtless in public - but if you sign up to the Sydney skinny, you’ll find me there. http://thesydneyskinny.com.auNigel has a brilliant Ted talk which is about work/life balance which I thoroughly recommend, link is https://www.ted.com/talks/nigel_marsh_how_to_make_work_life_balance_work.We get deep on this one, and we even get into the talk about drinking - as Nigel and I both share the fact that we don’t drink.This chat might challenge you - might challenge how you look at your work, your life, your body and maybe even your drinking.That’s a lot to pack into a conversation - so let’s get to it.Wherever you are right now, at home, at the gym, driving, in a plane, hiking, walking, running, gardening, kayaking, or any other kind of thing that you’re doing - thanks for having me, and enjoy this conversation with Nigel Marsh. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark Humphries is a comedian, writer, multi-linguist and satirist from Australia who currently bringing the funny every night on the SBS News Show “The Feed”. He’s the blonde guy, the funny one. On November 24th Mark and his writing partner put out an end-of year special which you can catch on SBS On Demand, it’s called “Privatise Now” - https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/1092676163844/Privatise-Now-The-Feed-End-of-Year Mark is a super-interesting man, a man who’s created his own work out of thin air, in a way that I do love to hear about on this show. If you like what you hear, let him know - @markhumphries on Twitter. Wherever you are, thanks for being here. Enjoy the show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joel Pilgrim (https://www.twitter.com/joelspilgrim) is the Founder and CEO of the Waves of Wellness Foundation. He also works closely with One Wave is All it Takes, who have featured on this show before.Joel is a surfer who has a passion for helping others, particularly in the mental health space. He’s worked as an occupational therapist for mental health patients transitioning back to life after hospitalisation and now runs a program called Waves of Wellness - Joel and his team are pioneering evidence-based surf therapy intervention in mental health.I’ll let him tell you the rest of the story, but it is a good one.Glad I can have him on the show today, and I’m glad you’re here for it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Luke Ford is an Australian actor best known for his roles in Animal Kingdom, Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The Black Balloon and most recently What if it works?You can find him on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lukeford__/We met at the premiere of What If It Works his latest film, which is an exploration into a love story between two young folks living with very different brains. Luke plays a man with severe OCD and he falls for a woman with Dissociative Identity Disorder. Both mental illnesses are shown on screen with great respect and represented in a way that even someone who has never known what either look like might be able to appreciate how difficult life can be for those living with it, and those who care about those living with it.Luke is a strapping young lad, tall, broad and handsome, has a grin that lit up my kitchen and has some pretty raucous stories to tell about life as an actor.He’s a great human and someone who’s had a powerful arc across his career already, which he’ll describe as we talk.Luke did show up with a mate of his which was handy because my dog Frankie just went nuts for him, however in the middle of a heavy story Frank decided to start humping his humpy pillow so sorry in advance for that - but it’s all a part of coming up to our flat for a chat.I’m not alone in having a humpy dog.So whatever you’re doing right now, on the bus, the train, the plane, in the car, on your bike, in a hammock, up a mountain - wherever you’ve chosen to listen to this right now, thanks for being here and enjoy this conversation with Luke Ford. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Barry DuBois is a carpenter, builder, developer, philanthropist and TV Renovation guru from Sydney, Australia.He is probably best known to Aussie audiences as the man who re-makes people’s homes on “The Living Room” which is on Network Ten on Friday nights.Two weeks before he and I had the conversation you’ll hear today, Barry announced to Australia that the cancer he’d beaten a few years ago was back, and aggressively so.Barry was kind enough to come around to our small apartment in Bronte to share his story.Barry is an incredibly inspirational man. You’ll hear his positive vibe coming through your speakers, and if you’re anything like me you’ll do your best to soak up the wisdom of this incredibly successful man who is independently wealthy, who retired at 45, who is a loving husband and father, who is dedicated to helping others and is utterly determined to beat the challenge of his illness.You can find Barry on Instagram @Baz_dubois where he is very active and engages with people all the time. Let him know you heard him here if you’re there.Enjoy this chat with Barry Du Bois. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Munro is an Australian journalist and author, who rose to prominence as a part of the early line-up of the then groundbreaking TV Show 60 minutes.He went on to host the nightly magazine show “A Current Affair”, which broke some of the biggest stories of its time, before editorially turning a corner that lead him to split from the show - which he talks about in this conversation.Mike’s latest project is called “Lawless” - The Real Bushrangers, you can see it in Australia on Foxtel and NZ on Sky.He takes a forensic archaeology team back to the sites of famous last-stands of Australian bushrangers - that’s a highwayman if you’re in the US or UK. They discover some incredible things still to this day, and unpack what Australia’s romanticism of Bushrangers is. Mike himself is a direct descendent of the last bushranger hanged in Australia.A quick trigger warning, we discuss alcoholism and domestic violence as a part of Mike’s personal story - so if you want to avoid that today, just skip to about ten minutes in from the start of the interview and you should be fine.If you want to avoid the chat altogether that’s also ok, I’ll see you next week.Enjoy this conversation with Mike Munro. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alicia Malone is an author, film critic and friend who lives in Los Angeles California. She and I crossed paths a few times in our careers and grew to become quite close during my time in L.A. Difference is, she managed to stay afloat while I had to come back to Sydney.Alicia’s career path reads like a blueprint for success.When people ask me about getting into the industry, Alicia’s tireless work ethic, undeniable drive and creative creation of her own work is an example to follow.Alicia’s latest book, “Backwards and in Heels” chronicling the path of women in film is out now on Amazon and wherever you buy books.You can follow her online @aliciamalone wherever such handles occur.It’s not often I interview my close friends on this show, but I’m so happy that I can have this chat with Alicia now - because her story is a story that reads like a how-to in creating the life you love to live.Enjoy the show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Benjamin Law is an Australian journalist, author, screenwriter, activist and speaker. He shot to fame when the semi-autobiographical TV series based on his best-selling book “The Family Law” became a massive hit. He’s recently written the latest “Quarterly Essay” which addresses the “Safe Schools” education debate in Australia and is an active campaigner for equality in Australia. Benjamin is a wonderfully smart and charming man, who brings a kind grace to the topic of a demographically changing face of Australia. When he speaks, people can be very reactionary - because the facts he speaks from can be uncomfortable to hear if you’ve never been challenged in your ways of thinking. Many people have a foregone conclusion as to the kind of man Benjamin Law is, but I’d invite them to look beyond the bile-filled Op-Ed articles of the conservative press and listen instead to the kind of man that Ben is. If you like this conversation, find him on twitter and tell him - he’s @mrbenjaminlawEnjoy the show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Easkey Britton is a passionate ocean advocate from Donegal in the rugged North-West of Ireland.  Find her on Instagram at @easkeysurf, where you can follow her adventures around the world.She and I met in Amsterdam when I attended the THNK school of creative leadership.Easkey is the co-founder of Waves Of Freedom - which uses surfing as a creative medium for social change.Last time she was on this podcast she described in incredible detail her joy of teaching women and girls in Iran to surf on the Caspian Sea.Easkey is an inspirational public speaker, and her TED Talk “Just Add Surf” is a must-see.Easkey is a fascinating woman, who’s passion for the ocean and protecting the oceans and therefore all life on earth is something to behold.She’s just become a founding member of Ocean Collectiv - dedicated to building a model for sustainable ocean management around the world.Glad I’ve got Easkey on the show today and I really want you to hear this one because she’s doing some incredible work at the moment in the space of how contact with nature influences wellness.I’ll let her explain it more, but she’s got some important stuff to say about getting out of the house, putting the phone down and really looking at the world - as a way of making you feel better.I hope you enjoy this conversation I had over skype with Easkey Britton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sam Dastyari (@samdastyari) is an Australian Politician, he represents NSW in the Senate - and he’s a part of the Labor Party. He was only 30 when he won the seat and has made quite a name for himself in the four years that he’s been in office. A non-practicing muslim, Sam has drawn a lot of scrutiny from some people who can’t quite conceive of there actually being such a thing. I’ll let him explain it. Sam has quite a story, and in the comfort of my kitchen over a cup of tea he and I were able to talk at length. Now, politicians can talk - we all know that. But you’re going to hear the full flow of a very learned man as he verbosely crafts his points of view and outlooks on the world. This is less a string of soundbites put together and more like that Mars Volta album, the one with only one 45 minute track. Sam came around on a weekday afternoon in school holidays with his assistant, and his six-year old daughter on school holidays. Occasionally you’ll hear both either chime in, or us referring to both of them - but I think Andy my producer will cut most of that out. Sam came across to me as a straight up guy who genuinely cares about people, and genuinely cares about other humans. I hope you enjoy this florid conversation with Sam Dastyari. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.