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Izzy Whitley - Masterclass on Resilience, Building a $40 Million Business, Rob Fyfe & More!

February 25, 202401:06:36
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[Music]
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Izzy Whitley from alh Welcome to my
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podcast cheers brother thanks for having
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me on hey mate thanks for coming over
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it's been a hell of a day hell of a day
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it's uh at the moment uh quter to8 on a
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Thursday morning um you made me come
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around to your well you didn't make me
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you suggested I come around to your
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house at 4:30 yeah we had two options
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and if you didn't pick that one I was
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going to be pretty disappointed so how
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you pick that one so option so yeah that
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was option one which was the harder
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option of the two so what's the morning
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entailed uh so 4:30 you you came at mine
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you're early you're on time which is was
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always good uh we jumped in the uh ice
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bath for a few minutes each and then uh
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went out to
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HQ did a little session had a little
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sauna had a coffee and here we are it's
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only quarter
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to it and this is like an average
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morning for you yeah when I'm in Oakland
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yeah yeah yeah yeah so you wanted to
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give me an insight into what an average
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morning for you so you you just went
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putting it on Dick swinging this was no
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no no no yeah yeah hooking into it it's
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routine is important for me right I like
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esecially when I'm here in in in Oakland
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it's um it's probably the only time I
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can get a sense that I'm in control of
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my time and kind of using it to the best
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of my ability and and and getting
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getting a sense of kind of control is of
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that time a good thing oh and I I I I
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loved it and um I was more than happy to
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do it because if you're going to give me
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time to go on my podcast it's
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interesting to get more of an insight
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into who you are before we sit down to
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do it um I I was last night when I was
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um researching you I was trying to think
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how
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do do we know each other through Sarah
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Tetro Sarah Tetro is a good friend of
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mine s Sarah F now um mother F that's
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what I call her um yep so I was about to
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do my first marathon with my brother
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banjo um and uh I said gez what do I do
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she goes message Dom he's done hundreds
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so that's when I flinged off a DM and uh
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sent you message I said quick F I was
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actually at the start line about to run
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and I I think she sent you a photo and I
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was like quicki tips man you're like you
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only run your first marathon once and I
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was like enjoy a pretty good tip yeah
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what else could I say too late to train
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actually I got a voice note for her
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she's in London at the moment
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yeah oh that's Bluetooth hang on just
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turn the Bluetooth
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off way to motivate is to tell him he
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can't do
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something like you'll never be the CEO
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of a big company that kind of thing not
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that I've ever met a human who needs
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less motivating than he does he's got
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enough drive for everyone yeah Fair cool
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yeah that's probably a perfect way
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perfect description I see but I've um I
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did quite a bit of research on you
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you're a curious guy so I feel like
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there's two trades of thought there's
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people there's like um you know your
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haters that you can use as Mot
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negativity like that you can use as fuel
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um but then on the other hand Rob um
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said to you once um oh this is this
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company's worth like 30 million a year
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or whatever and you you weren't thinking
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that big so you're like well if he says
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it then I can do it so it's like you
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just find positivity from everywhere
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look dude I you know every day first and
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foremost every day you can wake up and
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and move your body and do something you
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want to do and get out of beds a good
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day and uh it's just about kind of being
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optimistic and and positive on on on
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things that happen throughout it so you
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know I latch on to things and and
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there's probably a few comments a year
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that I'm like oh and I'll just you know
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really hone in and Hyper focus on on
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achieving that and looking forward to
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that so I'm always kind of open ears for
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for one of those comments which come
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around every few months and I'll focus
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on it yeah another thing I found um
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quite weird this morning um I'd heard
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this about you and I thought this is
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something we'd have in common I if I
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find a song I love I I can listen to it
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on repeat listen to and over again um
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but you like we when we were on the ice
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bath on your deck at home we had this
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it's a and it wasn't a great song it's
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just a beat some it's a week beat man
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yeah Panic Room yeah not even a great no
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it's not going to be a classic it's not
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a Timeless so you're playing on that on
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Bluetooth in your home then for the car
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ride 20-minute car ride to your to your
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alh headquarters we had it there then
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you put on Bluetooth um while we were
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doing a workout then it was playing
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while we were in the sauna then on the
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way back into town yeah um So Pro
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probably heard that Panic Room song
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which is again nothing song maybe 30
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times this morning yeah well it's
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consistency for me right it it it just
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kind of helps me almost Anchor Point
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back into to whatever I'm thinking that
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day so yeah but I've also heard you talk
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about the importance of time and in
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particular a thing called compounding
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time which I'm familiar with um wouldn't
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that time be better spent listening to
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podcasts which can make you better well
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hey I'm on a flight tonight so I'll
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listen to a couple of the the Dom Harvey
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ones all right okay all right I feel
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like um in the easy Wily story this sort
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of um three there's um um the early
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years you know the childhood the
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foundation then there's the um adversity
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which is a very very short but a very
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significant chapter over a couple of
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years in your life y um and then there's
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the beginning of an entrepreneur which I
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feel like you're still in that chapter
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now just just getting out of neutral in
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that chapter I feel like um we start
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with the current chapter the
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entrepreneur chapter and then we'll go
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right back to chapter one and chapter
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two okay so alh outet labor High was
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Ackland labor higher and labor higher
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yep um branches around the country you
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you start you're 29 now yep you started
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this business at the age of 21 with 500
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bucks yep so what like what do you do
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when you start as someone that's never
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started a business what where does 500
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bucks go it went into the incorporation
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fee it went into going and um paying The
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Upfront cost for a phone plan um and it
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paid for my first uh Facebook um paid
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advert on our Facebook page so it was
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gone pretty quick 500 go that's nothing
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so um yeah actually for anyone that
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doesn't know what is Oakland labor out
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labor so we're a temporary and a
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permanent Staffing Solution um to any
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range of businesses that are just
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needing some support in in their in
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their internal staff but kind of bring
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it in we I like to say it's a tap on and
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off service but sometimes the people
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need to tap on for longer than they're
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not so we just love coming in injecting
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some of of our culture and through the
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people that we put in and and helping
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service those needs and this has
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dominated your 20s and you've grown it
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into a behemoth and I know you you'd
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still say you're in the startup phase
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potentially yeah yeah in my opinion
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where for where we're going to get to
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then yeah yeah so th those um those
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early years where you you have $500 and
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you pump that into starting up the
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company with a Facebook ad um how do you
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survive like what do you do it's funny
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like I look back and I
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think you know for me even at 21 on 500
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bucks I was on study link at the time I
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was still living the best life I'd ever
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lived so it's not like my life ever had
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to scale back to start this business and
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I look back and I think each year I've
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never overextended my lifestyle that if
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we ever had to I ever had to pull it
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back then I I could pull it back so
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whilst I can look back and be like how
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did I do that that was still that was
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great for me that was the that 21 I was
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living better than I was when I was 20
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when I was 20 I was living better than I
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was when I was 9 so my life only got
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better and you don't know what you don't
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know I didn't know what it was like to
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live in a better environment or or or
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surroundings in what I did so I was fine
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I was buzzing it's not till now I look
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back and I think that might be a bit
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tricky to to dial back in were were you
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making money from um from day one or
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were you just suring on that study link
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dude I didn't pay myself for 3 years the
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the first salary I paid myself was in
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year four and that was on that was
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$375,000 and for me that felt great so
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how how are you scraping by in those
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early years well I was I was studying at
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the time but I'd still go and do I'd go
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and do laboring for alh and I'd pay
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myself for whatever work I'd do on site
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but I wouldn't take myself any money out
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of the pot that I was trying to grow to
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to continue
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pushing so what keep so you're you're
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you're a driven guy um so before that
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you were um a very good footballer oh I
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wouldn't say very good but yeah you you
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were devoted in your hardw working um so
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you're in this alh thing for a few years
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I suppose you're seeing some sort of
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some sort of growth or some sort of
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green Roots whatever you want to call it
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but what what keeps you from getting
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bored and thinking now I got to move on
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to something else like you know that's
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actually a relatively common question
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because it took a long time before I
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started to feel any tangible or or
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physical or visible results in the
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business especially in the way I was
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living but you know I've never done this
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for a dollar figure I've always done it
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for the challenge that that comes with
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it and I think that's what always
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excited me I was con conly being exposed
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out of my comfort zone um and having to
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learn on the go how I can resolve this
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problem how I can do better um so that
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constant kind of constant push was
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addictive and it still is can't help
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myself so can you remember the the very
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first one in the early days like first
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client first paycheck first whatever
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yeah it was a landscaping one um and I
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never forget I was like oh this is great
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and I I kind of said to myself I just
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need to get 10 5 to 10 10 people out on
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site and then I can do that for a year
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and I'll decide what I want to do next
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in life cuz for me I wanted to be in the
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in a suit and kind of work in the CBD
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and stuff like
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that I'd never experienced it right like
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I'm from a family of Tradesmen so kind
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of no one in our family ever went to
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work in a suit and I thought I just want
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to change it and for me that was a sense
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of a physical kind of appreciation that
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that you're doing something different I
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can think of even worse than going to
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work in a suit any day this is this is
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me dressed up so um so yeah that changed
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pretty quickly but the the the constant
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challenge that I've been provided with
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from from alh and and some of the other
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businesses gets me out of bed every day
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and I love doing what I do so so in
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those early days um I've heard stories
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about you just like eating noodles yeah
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yeah yeah yeah Maggie chicken soup C
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soup cup noodles is that um is that
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faction or is that adding adding man and
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and I still have a couple of Maggie soup
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cup noodles in my cupboard at home cuz I
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just a great little fix but that's all I
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could afford like at that time right it
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was like and then I just get big like 24
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backs of Coca-Cola and uh and that was
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kind of my thing so but the noodles for
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like breakfast lunch dinner and dinner
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yeah yeah and you know you'd go up for
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the oldd client thing where you'd kind
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of get some food or whatever and I'd
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possibly duck into Benji's family home
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and grab some of their dinner but I
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pretty independent dude but again for me
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it wasn't like my lifestyle was ever
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scaling back it's not like we ever had
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great cupboards full of food at home or
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or an amazing fridge full of food it was
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kind of like just what how can I get by
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you know yeah what's 91 pit like
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compared to 98 yeah and so when did Rob
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F Rob F by the way um prominent New
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Zealand businessman um he was the the
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CEO of e New Zealand for a while he was
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was he the boss of like A&Z or bnz one
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of the banks one of the banks yeah and
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then um during the pandemic he was um
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called into by juster to be part of the
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brains trust yeah um down in Wellington
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so he's very very successful very
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knowledgeable um now married to um Sarah
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Tetro Sarah 5 as you said um when did
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when did you first meet him how did he
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come into the PED I'm guessing that was
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a turning point of business met him met
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him through a mutual friend probably
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five years ago um oh no actually I would
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have met him probably six or seven years
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ago and we just got along really well
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and we kind of just grew a bit of a
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relationship in a bond s is really easy
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to get along with person um
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and one thing led to another and end up
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picking his brains about
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um about work and stuff and then we went
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on the Milford track walk actually
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together and that was probably for me
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the most inspiring week of my life that
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that that for me was a week that I the
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week I didn't know I needed well not
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that I didn't know I needed but the week
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that I I if I could go back and think
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about it and pinpoint where the ambition
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really got ignited um it was it was a
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week with Rob's and sar's um close
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friends um and that was just like whoa
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like he was sharing some of the War
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Stories and stuff of of some of his
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career and I was like I want to be able
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to have those those stories and go on a
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walk with a kid at 23 and and and give
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him some fuel and the thing so that what
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sort of War Stories like buying boeings
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yeah bit of that there was a bit of the
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airb the B but it was um there there was
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there's all sorts of stuff that was just
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fascinating for me the there some of the
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numbers and the transactions that he was
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doing on behalf of you know new Zeal
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whatever those are just numbers I'd
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never heard before my my uncle late when
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I was growing up I'll never forget he
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was on
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$144,000 and he was the the the the
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biggest ear I'd ever met right in giz
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and I looked at him like he was Jeff
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Bezos and kind but that's what I didn't
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know right and he was really inspiring
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and motivating for me at that point but
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the great thing about life and
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relationships you kind of commit people
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throughout that continuously keep
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fueling your fire if you're looking not
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that you go out looking for it but it
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doesn't take long to kind of naturally
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align with some of those people you're
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like oh well hold on here you go those
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are the things yeah it's was like the
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analogy um that that I was telling you
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before I feel like it's um it's like
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climbing a tree like you reach Pho next
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branch and then you reach and I suppose
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there's some people that'll the branch
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be 144,000 a year and when they get
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there they're like no I'm I'm good this
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is my Branch this is my ceiling yeah um
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but if you've got that growth mindset
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you're going to keep looking for that
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next Branch or that next taller tree
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whatever it happens to be so so Rob so
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yeah it's interesting so so your father
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passed away you started this business uh
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you're like three four years into the
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business before you met Rob F so he's
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like a business partner now business
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Mentor Father Figure as well yeah look I
00:14:41
dad nine years today right since since
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dad passed away um and and I think I'm
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incredibly blessed to have someone like
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like a Rob that I can spend enough time
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in and around their their family home
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where I can kind of unintentionally get
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that kind of you know I guess he's a
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phenomenal bloke right personally and
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professionally so it's it's it is a real
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blessing that you know he's incredibly
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respectful really kind caring guy and
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and and I've never been around a a BL
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like like that so it's been cool to
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learn in in a few areas of life often
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have you have you had had a falling out
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like where youve had a tough talk and
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you then you don't talk for a couple of
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days couple of weeks what people don't
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realize is is I've never had a falling
00:15:22
out with Rob i' Rob Rob could call me
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anything and I'd walk away right and it
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if you know well that's not like me I'm
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kind of always pretty willing to for a
00:15:32
fight but I've got so much respect for
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him um I've definitely had a few
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frakin you know wax from him I've
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probably had dozens and dozens of of wax
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but every day's a new day with Rob and
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and and that that's the one thing that
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that we've we've not ever had that
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conversation but that's just what we
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know you know can say one thing and then
00:15:52
it is what it is the next day yeah so
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you say WX so verbal verbal
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ver probably been times he wanted to
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physically wet me there's probably been
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him and Sara uh so there's probably been
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dozens of times he's probably thought
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jezy could probably do with one here but
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uh but any of these um wax spring to
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mind any any of that stand out as being
00:16:13
significant oh yeah I I I probably one
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to do with um one to do with work I'd
00:16:20
we'd kind of as alh was growing I
00:16:23
financially am pretty comfortable in
00:16:25
that area in business have have learned
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to become more com
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fortable I'd made a mistake on not uring
00:16:32
for certain invoices so basically I'd
00:16:35
told him that we'd outperform this three
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Monon period than what we actually had
00:16:40
we ended up basically making break even
00:16:42
over this three-month period when I
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thought oh we've made all this money but
00:16:44
I hadn't accounted for these invoices
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and to my defense I thought that uh I
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thought that um I could blame the other
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guy the guy that we had in the position
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at the moment I worked in there and I
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never forget yet just doing hot laps up
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and down Rob and Sara's driveway cuz I
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said to Rob mate I need to come and talk
00:17:03
to you I I need to own something here
00:17:05
and I'm gasing myself up I'm like man
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you'll be fine get in there you know
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he's going to be really accommodating
00:17:10
he's going to see where he coming from
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kind of within a minute I sit down I'm
00:17:15
shaking and Rob's kind of got this like
00:17:18
cold look that he can turn on really
00:17:20
well and that's when you know it's not
00:17:22
going to be the conversation you were
00:17:23
anticipating it was going to be and SC
00:17:26
the [ __ ] out of me and uh and I there
00:17:28
like you know Rob like this is kind of
00:17:30
this happened and he should have been
00:17:31
doing this and Rob just straight don't
00:17:35
don't try and blame him on this is a you
00:17:37
problem this is your business you're not
00:17:38
close enough to it you've got two
00:17:40
Detachment I just sitting there kind of
00:17:43
it's kind of it's never the thing is
00:17:45
with the works I've had it's never it's
00:17:48
never like an attack on me personally
00:17:50
but it's so direct and you're like was
00:17:54
like and it's just just so to the point
00:17:57
like you know and instead of using eight
00:17:59
sentences he'll use two so it's kind of
00:18:01
constantly doing those things um and you
00:18:04
know um perception's been a big learning
00:18:08
stuff for me right the first few years
00:18:09
you kind of especially from 21 to 24
00:18:13
there's definitely times I probably
00:18:14
thought I was a bit cooler than than
00:18:15
what I was and now pretty quickly like
00:18:18
stain your lane what do what do you mean
00:18:20
you're not oh just just little things
00:18:22
like if I was ever you know if if I was
00:18:25
wearing a shirt that was probably a
00:18:26
little bit too nice for me to wear in or
00:18:27
something like that like what are you
00:18:28
wearing that for like you shouldn't be
00:18:31
wearing that do you know what I mean
00:18:32
that's kind of always always actually
00:18:34
looking out for me and making sure I'm
00:18:36
not looking like a Dicky because
00:18:38
perception is a big thing and and I and
00:18:41
and I really focus on it and uh and
00:18:44
there's just many touch points where it
00:18:46
was kind of like there's been that many
00:18:48
that I can't you know again as funny I
00:18:51
was Toby's 21st the other weekend
00:18:54
someone said to me do you actually does
00:18:56
anyone actually ever tell you what off
00:18:58
you know don't kind of report into
00:19:01
family or whatever and then I went back
00:19:04
and I said that to S Rob I said just got
00:19:06
asked if you guys have ever told me off
00:19:08
before and they both hysterically
00:19:09
started laughing they're like ah geez if
00:19:11
they heard half of them that'd be in F
00:19:13
laughter so yeah so so yeah Rob f is the
00:19:16
is the chairman of alh now and and fit
00:19:19
out the um the other business yeah um
00:19:22
I'm I'm guessing a lot of like I mean I
00:19:24
don't know I'm purely speculating here
00:19:26
cuz I know nothing about anything but I
00:19:28
me I'm guessing a chairman job a
00:19:30
chairman role or chairman position is
00:19:32
like cracking the Whip and getting the
00:19:33
CEO like thirster and hungrier but with
00:19:36
Rob is it more like holding the range
00:19:38
like trying to hold you back yeah that's
00:19:39
what like an angry dog on a lead that's
00:19:42
probably his Des description he's kind
00:19:44
of like w he's like he's just trying to
00:19:45
kind of hang on to the tail right and
00:19:47
I'm just trying to go full full pace and
00:19:49
you know there's def definitely
00:19:51
decisions that if he didn't influence me
00:19:53
not to make the business would be in a
00:19:55
trickier spot for sure so it's guess the
00:19:58
chairman is is the mentor and and and
00:20:01
and helps direct the CEO and support him
00:20:04
yeah so so we're recording this towards
00:20:06
the tail end of 2023 how what's your
00:20:09
revenue for this year for alh in this
00:20:11
calendar year we we'll we'll probably
00:20:13
come in in around the mid 4S so we're
00:20:17
going to go for 50 we probably might get
00:20:19
early early 40s but you know it's been
00:20:21
it's been a challenging year the
00:20:22
economy's turned pretty quick um it's
00:20:27
the the market in that we found the
00:20:29
trickiest the opening of the regions
00:20:31
that we have that that's been that's
00:20:33
been phenomenal for us and that that's
00:20:35
actually been a really key foundation
00:20:37
for this business to keep pushing so it
00:20:39
doesn't take much things to turn to kind
00:20:41
of start to have to reevaluate where
00:20:43
where you sitting and redirect but all
00:20:45
in all we you know and amongst the
00:20:47
economy and the things that have
00:20:49
happened we're freaking excited for next
00:20:51
year and yeah I've heard you in some
00:20:53
other podcasts talk about your goal is
00:20:55
to get to like 100 100 million Revenue
00:20:57
so you're at 40 million for this year
00:20:59
goal is to get to 100 what what does
00:21:00
that mean exactly for someone that knows
00:21:02
[ __ ] about business look 100 mil's not
00:21:05
the goal anymore we want to go bigger um
00:21:07
I think we can uh we're opening up in
00:21:09
Brisbane in in February um which is
00:21:11
going to be awesome and that's a whole
00:21:12
another Market that we we're looking
00:21:14
forward to getting into Australia labor
00:21:16
hire perfect big fluk big fluk where
00:21:19
else can we go Africa labor Al Asia
00:21:22
anywhere anywhere a anywhere labor high
00:21:24
it's perfect um so like what does it
00:21:28
mean to some look it it's it's it's
00:21:31
strictly a sales metric it's not
00:21:33
actually a performance metric it's it's
00:21:35
like a market she metric so you can know
00:21:37
how much of it you're capturing the
00:21:38
performance of the business ultimately
00:21:40
is the bottom line and how much profit
00:21:41
you're generating but Top Line gives me
00:21:44
a sense of how much Market we are
00:21:46
capturing in and amongst this this
00:21:47
market so that's kind of always been my
00:21:50
focus where then we can start to drive
00:21:53
performance when we once we get that
00:21:54
critical mass so it's it's just kind of
00:21:56
adopting and and and trying to steal as
00:21:59
much of the market as we can and so how
00:22:01
does your um position so your CEO
00:22:04
managing director managing direct so you
00:22:06
get paid a salary yep get paid a salary
00:22:09
but and is it a good salary or look it's
00:22:12
I'm not complaining about it it's it's a
00:22:14
good celery it's definitely an under
00:22:16
Market celery like um but um and it's
00:22:20
probably the first time I've had the
00:22:21
celery and but you know I I work my ass
00:22:24
off and I've worked my ass off for seven
00:22:25
seven and a half years is it more than
00:22:28
made on 144 it'd be pretty
00:22:31
close but uh but but you know like it's
00:22:35
it's one of those things you you like if
00:22:38
if you actually kind of you know I
00:22:39
didn't pay myself for the first four
00:22:40
years and I'm actually constantly always
00:22:43
thinking where I'm not in it for this
00:22:46
year or next year or the year after and
00:22:48
if I get another 40 Grand or 50 Grand
00:22:50
this year it's not going to change my
00:22:52
life next year so I'm constantly
00:22:55
thinking well I'm always willing to
00:22:57
sacrif I some of my remuneration for for
00:23:01
generating bringing in bigger roles
00:23:03
creating new roles so we can continue to
00:23:05
grow this business because the the
00:23:06
dollar figure is not what gets me out of
00:23:08
bid every day it's a challenge yeah well
00:23:09
I I suppose ultimately it's your company
00:23:11
as well so you're not sitting there
00:23:12
going yeah man my boss is a [ __ ]
00:23:14
prick it's my company but I've like I
00:23:16
probably made a decision a couple of
00:23:18
years ago to make it feel like it wasn't
00:23:21
I was kind of like all right I'm I'm
00:23:22
effectively a CEO but managing director
00:23:25
I just want to make it and and having a
00:23:27
CH does make you feel like it's not your
00:23:29
own company at times which I like that
00:23:32
that's great for me it's that's what
00:23:34
some someone like me really thrives off
00:23:36
it adds accountability adds Direction
00:23:39
and and I've got results that we're kind
00:23:41
of constantly being reassessed on so
00:23:43
it's um so whilst it is my company I do
00:23:46
my I I try really hard to make it feel
00:23:49
like it's not and I'm kind of just in my
00:23:51
role to deliver the results that that
00:23:53
I'm putting forward yeah CU I don't
00:23:56
understand that stuff but I've been
00:23:57
listening to all the um Elon Musk book
00:23:59
um on Audi Bill and he's been pushed out
00:24:02
of some companies that he that that he
00:24:03
set up and that he owned could that
00:24:05
happen to you look if if if if I did
00:24:08
something drastically out of control Rob
00:24:11
Rob could ultimately remove me and and
00:24:13
and from the business but it's a crazy
00:24:15
concept it's a crazy concept but it was
00:24:17
a concept I signed up for and and and
00:24:19
it's it's really helped me like I'm I'm
00:24:21
a pretty Rogue like kind of not uh I'm
00:24:26
I'm pretty one-dimensional but also
00:24:28
pretty sporadic and and with my thoughts
00:24:30
and and things like that so it's great
00:24:32
to have some form of kind of direction
00:24:34
oh yeah I mean a lot of people could
00:24:36
find you very intimidating I suppose so
00:24:38
yeah as we alluded to at the start um we
00:24:39
spent the morning at um alh HQ and
00:24:42
what's pinrose OD who OD who um and
00:24:46
you've got like a basketball court there
00:24:48
there's there's a um a fully stacked gym
00:24:50
there's a sauna you cranked up the music
00:24:53
the what was it called again the Panic
00:24:55
Room Panic Room over and over again and
00:24:57
then um you know you were doing a set of
00:24:59
exercise then I'm doing a set of
00:25:00
exercise and you're yelling out like a
00:25:02
drill sergeant I love exercise so good
00:25:05
it is and then things like um it's
00:25:07
Thursday brother it's like oh my God
00:25:10
every day is a good day man and exercise
00:25:12
is like a drug like it's me exercising
00:25:15
in the morning is like me being at the
00:25:17
gas tank fueling up it's like I've got a
00:25:20
couple of weird quirks right I bit weird
00:25:23
some I've um I've had people tell I've
00:25:25
never been diagnosed with anything but
00:25:27
um I I do think there's traces of ADHD
00:25:30
and I think maybe I'm on the Spectrum
00:25:31
somewhere like a little bit aspery or
00:25:33
something but I heard all that yeah yeah
00:25:36
yeah yeah definitely definitely but it's
00:25:39
intoxicating it was it was a fun morning
00:25:41
and I really enjoyed it it was but but a
00:25:43
lot of people must find it very quite
00:25:45
intimidating do you have some stuff that
00:25:46
come along and they just don't last
00:25:47
because they don't fit the mold yeah
00:25:49
massively it's a high performance
00:25:50
culture you you get in you get stuck and
00:25:52
or effectively you get out right so and
00:25:54
it's not for everyone and we do our best
00:25:56
to try and be honest honest about it but
00:25:58
it's not for everyone so but you know
00:26:00
like my my exercise and my routine if I
00:26:03
don't get like I do my best to be as
00:26:06
aware of my quirks and chinks of the
00:26:08
chain as as possible so you know if I
00:26:12
don't get up and do a morning workout
00:26:14
I'm a nightmare for the rest of I can't
00:26:15
sit still I can't focus I I like I've
00:26:19
had to build a really clear consistent
00:26:22
infrastructure around my day in order
00:26:24
for me to perform um and it's it's a
00:26:26
creature of habit kind of a a day but
00:26:29
it's if I didn't do that I couldn't sit
00:26:32
down and focus where I need to yeah
00:26:34
being that in tune with yourself I think
00:26:35
it's a real powerful spot to be in and
00:26:37
you you found that spot really really
00:26:38
even with some of the OCD stuff right
00:26:40
like kind of like hygiene and time those
00:26:42
are some things I'm pretty weird with I
00:26:45
I just make sorry for pissing in your
00:26:46
ass I saw that saw the red the yellow
00:26:49
trap it's so cold there's no chance of
00:26:51
doing we in an ice you certainly
00:26:53
couldn't um but you know but that's it
00:26:56
it's just kind of like making sure I've
00:26:58
got the infrastructure around me that I
00:27:01
need to perform and and and that's it I
00:27:03
think cuz you know all um my PA was
00:27:06
around yesterday after dinner and we're
00:27:08
figuring out my first three months of so
00:27:11
January to to April geez it's it's
00:27:14
hectic right I'm kind of away more than
00:27:16
I am home and it's just kind of say all
00:27:18
right well little things can we make
00:27:19
sure we've got consistent stuff in
00:27:21
around the fridges and and the branches
00:27:23
that I'm going to be at um making sure
00:27:25
I've got exercise booked in making sure
00:27:27
I'm kind of the the hotels that I'm
00:27:29
staying at have a sauna have a gym where
00:27:31
I can get a little workout or something
00:27:33
like that and so it's that kind of
00:27:35
orchestrated to to make sure I feel like
00:27:37
I can kind of just get in there and
00:27:39
deliver yeah it's it's a fascinating
00:27:41
chapter we could stand on this forever
00:27:42
but um time is limited unfortunately um
00:27:44
just before we move on from this chapter
00:27:46
three and go back to chapter one the
00:27:48
early years um if someone came and um
00:27:52
offered to buy the company today what
00:27:53
would the price be not for
00:27:56
sale everything's for sale no like like
00:28:00
I like I I've got no interest these next
00:28:02
5 years for me like at a minimum right
00:28:05
we've kind of got a 5 to 10 year cycle
00:28:07
and and I like I I couldn't go and get
00:28:11
this challenge somewhere else tomorrow
00:28:12
if we sold it okay I suppose what I'm
00:28:14
asking I'll I'll be honest with you I'll
00:28:16
look at you direct and ask you honestly
00:28:18
the Rob fway um you're 29 years old it's
00:28:21
a company you set up eight years ago
00:28:22
yeah uh what would you be worth what's
00:28:24
your need wor oh geez I'd be happy if I
00:28:26
was a million bucks I don't know I I
00:28:28
don't get caught up in this Stu that's a
00:28:29
lot yeah come on that's I don't I don't
00:28:32
know I don't I don't get caught up on
00:28:34
focusing on that yeah it's way way more
00:28:36
than that though I don't know look I I
00:28:38
don't get caught up on that stff because
00:28:39
I I heard a podcast you did and you said
00:28:41
growing up you're obsessed with two
00:28:42
things um what people were earning or
00:28:45
what they're worth and their height yeah
00:28:47
yeah yeah yeah I um not interested in
00:28:49
your height but what are you worth look
00:28:51
I don't know honestly I couldn't tell
00:28:53
you I I don't know I honestly I I
00:28:55
couldn't tell you and uh and that's not
00:28:57
a metric that I'm constantly assessing
00:28:59
myself on you must have an idea though I
00:29:02
I don't honestly I I couldn't tell you
00:29:04
it's um hick I generally off the top of
00:29:07
my head I don't know but uh but you know
00:29:10
I've I was always interested like you
00:29:12
know when got a coffee this morning
00:29:14
money is a metric but the most exciting
00:29:18
thing for me is the actually the
00:29:20
challenge to get to that metric and
00:29:23
that's so when I talk about the 100 Mil
00:29:25
when I talk about the 250 mil or when we
00:29:27
get to a 250 mil I'm talking about 500
00:29:30
mil it's not the money metric that
00:29:33
excites me the most I certainly I think
00:29:35
there's such a challenge to get to there
00:29:37
and the challenge I've had to get to
00:29:39
here excites me to keep going and um and
00:29:42
as long as I can I'll be determined and
00:29:44
motivated to keep pushing that boat out
00:29:45
because I love the challenge so that
00:29:47
metric is almost like the last 10% just
00:29:49
a tick box to say cool we've done that
00:29:52
but I'm signing up for the challenge
00:29:54
underneath and that's what excites me
00:29:56
the most yeah that's that's a nice
00:29:58
answer but for for the workout this
00:30:00
morning I was walking behind you outside
00:30:01
your apartment um that was definitely a
00:30:03
real Louis Vuitton backpack oh I think I
00:30:06
got that one from Hong Kong for eight
00:30:08
bucks it's not a Balon special I can
00:30:11
tell all right um yeah thanks I
00:30:15
appreciate the way you answered that it
00:30:16
was a very skillful answer thanks it's
00:30:18
an UNC uncomfortable question isn't it
00:30:20
oh look it's it's a question that's not
00:30:22
overly uncommon but it's it's it's
00:30:24
genuinely not something I get too too
00:30:25
fixated on yeah okay okay let's go back
00:30:28
to the early years so um izy from Gizzy
00:30:31
busy izy from Gizzy yeah so um gizon
00:30:35
very very Christian house like heavily
00:30:37
religious household and you're the baby
00:30:39
of the family um unplanned massive age
00:30:41
Gap right yep yeah big age Gap bu's 12
00:30:44
years older than me banjo's 10 years
00:30:46
older than me Rosy's five years older
00:30:48
than
00:30:49
me okay okay so then then you came along
00:30:52
then I came along yeah and um yeah I've
00:30:55
heard in um other podcasts you've done
00:30:57
you talk about your relationship with
00:30:58
your dad you mention your relationship
00:31:00
with your mom um look me I love my mom
00:31:03
right um I'm a busy guy I think that bu
00:31:05
is BU busy is he I'm a busy guy um I
00:31:08
keep in touch with my family to the best
00:31:10
I can I could always do a better job but
00:31:12
it's a really respectful relationship in
00:31:14
and amongst my family they know that I'm
00:31:16
doing what I'm doing um and and whatnot
00:31:19
but um but at the end of the day it's
00:31:22
it's just one of those things I I had to
00:31:24
grow up really young right and that's
00:31:26
kind of thing so I became really
00:31:27
independent I wasn't necessarily someone
00:31:29
that was dependent on an emotional
00:31:32
attachment on on anything realistically
00:31:34
with too many people so it's just about
00:31:36
kind of pushing forward and getting on I
00:31:38
I go and see my mom when I'm home I'm
00:31:39
just hardly home I probably go home
00:31:41
twice a year so um but she's a lovely
00:31:43
lady bringing me up wouldn't have been
00:31:46
easy uh so uh do do you think by the
00:31:49
time you came along she was just bored
00:31:51
of parenting I I I I genuinely think
00:31:54
that my mom I probably came out into the
00:31:57
world and my mom thought ah this is kind
00:31:59
of my Swan Song and she says to me you
00:32:01
you were put your three older siblings
00:32:04
together she said you were worse she
00:32:06
said you didn't walk anywhere it was all
00:32:08
sprinting it was like always flat out so
00:32:11
there's probably no Mom all parents wish
00:32:14
that for their last yeah and also um do
00:32:18
you think like did your older siblings
00:32:20
sort of raise you in a way I suppose
00:32:21
takes takes the slack off the parents a
00:32:23
bit when and and that age Gap not that
00:32:25
I've experienced it with my I don't have
00:32:27
children but like I think that is a
00:32:29
common theme in in families when you've
00:32:30
got siblings that are 8 to 10 to 12
00:32:32
years older than you they do take on
00:32:34
some of that responsibility so my two
00:32:36
older siblings I've I've got quite a lot
00:32:38
to do and it's a different relationship
00:32:39
than I have with Rosie um Ros is the one
00:32:42
that's closest to me so it's me Rosies
00:32:44
is far more of a friendship um and bgie
00:32:47
and banjo is far more of kind of like a
00:32:50
let's just make sure this guys he's in
00:32:52
line and we check him when we need to
00:32:53
and stuff like that so in your
00:32:55
relationship with your dad um um we'll
00:32:57
get into this in um further detail in
00:33:00
the the next chapter chapter to the
00:33:01
adversity chapter but um uh very strict
00:33:05
y like militant militant was it was he
00:33:08
he was sced kaker right kaker did he did
00:33:11
he have a military background no it was
00:33:13
man it was interesting like like you
00:33:15
don't know what you don't know until you
00:33:18
leave home and and the way I was brought
00:33:20
up I thought it was normal you know and
00:33:22
and and you kind of some of the stories
00:33:25
was telling it you know when we're going
00:33:27
for a walk on the coffee it's like you
00:33:28
think some of those things it was it was
00:33:31
a constant the way I would describe my
00:33:33
upbringing in my relationship with there
00:33:35
it was constantly being
00:33:39
uncomfortable in a home environment
00:33:41
because I should always be doing more so
00:33:44
it was I never felt at ease or relaxed
00:33:46
at home I was never allowed to sleep in
00:33:48
past 7: a.m. because that was teaching
00:33:50
bad habits that was his words um he
00:33:54
would walk in um up the porch walk in
00:33:57
into the house I could hear him coming
00:33:58
cuz he' have the keys on his hip I was
00:34:00
never allowed to be sat down when he
00:34:01
walked in I always had to be doing
00:34:03
something so I'd Dart off to the kitchen
00:34:05
act like I was doing the dishes um and
00:34:07
doing something so at least when I when
00:34:09
like that would validate to him that I
00:34:11
wasn't lazy I was always about doing
00:34:13
more doing more doing more and and
00:34:16
that's ingrained to me today and
00:34:17
sometimes it's hard to see the woods
00:34:19
from the trees or trees from the woods
00:34:21
I'm kind of like more more more more
00:34:23
more and sometimes to this day I just
00:34:25
get so consumed at hard to pull yourself
00:34:27
out of that and see it different but
00:34:29
it's just making sure you've kind of got
00:34:30
some levers and flags to identify that
00:34:33
yeah there's one um particular story you
00:34:35
told me about do you want to share that
00:34:37
or yeah I um I like there was probably
00:34:40
about six months my dad would wake me up
00:34:43
come down the hallway he'd like put his
00:34:45
hand over my mouth and then block my
00:34:47
nose and I'd kind of basically being ins
00:34:50
suffocated right I'd wake up and I'd
00:34:51
panic and you'd kind of be like what are
00:34:53
you doing you can't be panicking you
00:34:55
need to learn to relax you're kind of
00:34:56
like
00:34:57
as we got to the point where over the
00:34:59
months and stuff I'd wake up before he'd
00:35:01
there and I'd act like I was like
00:35:03
unfaced
00:35:04
by and look at him and be like oh all
00:35:07
right you know beating him you away for
00:35:09
like hours ready ready to win ready to
00:35:12
win um it was interesting actually Rob
00:35:14
Rob Rob texted me this morning past on
00:35:17
my thoughts about the the nine-year
00:35:18
thing and he mentioned it he said I'm
00:35:20
sure you're suffocating dead would be
00:35:21
proud looking down at you yeah that's
00:35:24
that's um like that's that's troubling
00:35:27
it's it's it's it's troubling to look it
00:35:31
it was what it was it's not something I
00:35:32
have trauma about at today but you know
00:35:35
I I look back in it and and I say it
00:35:37
honestly if I had to change anything I
00:35:39
wouldn't because if it meant I could be
00:35:41
where I am today to have the work ethic
00:35:43
I have the drive and the ambition [ __ ]
00:35:46
I'd do it 10 times over if it meant it
00:35:48
you know so I wouldn't honestly I
00:35:49
wouldn't change the thing but he wasn't
00:35:52
like that with any of the older kids
00:35:53
right no so why are you man I'm a
00:35:55
splitting image of him like uh I'm I'm a
00:35:58
lot like him I've got a lot of
00:35:59
characteristics like him I'm a lot like
00:36:02
him in some areas but then I'm
00:36:03
completely opposite and in others but I
00:36:06
think he was just at the end of his time
00:36:09
yeah like should he had four I was the
00:36:11
fourth one right again I I wouldn't want
00:36:13
me to be the fourth kid if I had kids
00:36:16
jeez I'm like a Livewire right it's kind
00:36:18
of from the minute I'm up I'm on and
00:36:20
then uh and yeah just i' I'd learned how
00:36:23
to wind him up like he'd wind me up and
00:36:25
I was I was I was a chick bastard I was
00:36:27
I wasn't like you know I was always
00:36:29
pushing the boundaries just like he was
00:36:30
trying to push mine so do you think it
00:36:33
was an element of like tough love on his
00:36:34
part just put you in your place it was
00:36:36
always he would always say to me he'd
00:36:38
call me boy or buddy those are the two
00:36:40
names he'd call me I like why why are
00:36:41
you doing this why you so hard on me why
00:36:44
weren't you like this with the others
00:36:45
and stuff you but look boy I don't know
00:36:48
what we're working towards but but we're
00:36:49
working towards something and you'll
00:36:50
thank me one day one day you'll thank me
00:36:52
for this work e never got to thank him
00:36:55
that's probably the one regret I've got
00:36:56
in my life and uh and I look back at it
00:36:58
and I think gez you know I am thankful
00:37:01
for that work ethic and that stuff but
00:37:02
to be being told that from the time
00:37:04
you're 13 we just don't know what we're
00:37:06
working for but we're working towards
00:37:07
something it's like what he like World
00:37:10
War coming around yeah and he was a
00:37:12
school caraker so he would have had no
00:37:13
aspirations like you starting up a big
00:37:16
multi-million dollar company or anything
00:37:17
yeah no no he has always kind of had his
00:37:20
brain ticking to see what was next and
00:37:22
and where he could go but ultimately he
00:37:25
just didn't have and you know he he got
00:37:27
married young had kids young so his he's
00:37:30
in a different position right like I'm
00:37:32
29 I've kind of got none of those
00:37:33
responsibilities so I can solely focus
00:37:36
on on business and and and what I want
00:37:38
to achieve in my life where he from the
00:37:41
time he was 20 kids yeah did did you um
00:37:46
did you love him or were you scared of
00:37:47
him or both loved him scared shitless of
00:37:50
him
00:37:51
um respected him
00:37:54
but didn't wouldn't go have a coffee
00:37:57
with him if he was around today you know
00:37:58
and and that that's me being brutal with
00:38:00
all respect to my siblings um I just had
00:38:03
a really different relationship one that
00:38:05
I don't long for or miss you know I'm at
00:38:07
peace with with everything and it's I
00:38:10
think you go through phases in in life
00:38:12
and you actually just have to own and
00:38:15
take accountability what's happen's
00:38:16
happened and and you can move forward
00:38:18
and and every day is a new day and you
00:38:20
just got to take it like that so so
00:38:21
that's my philosophy how how do you not
00:38:24
have you had any therapy or anything oh
00:38:26
I wish to psychologist probably like
00:38:27
four or five times like within two years
00:38:30
of his passing um but I've kind of not
00:38:35
very good at self-regulating and I
00:38:36
probably still got a bit bit of work to
00:38:38
do on it but uh what but being being
00:38:41
able to kind of just pull myself out of
00:38:43
situations has always been a struggle
00:38:45
but that's more so with work than than I
00:38:47
would with the dad stuff and and I think
00:38:50
you know it's it's not a it's an
00:38:52
unpopular opinion but when dad passed
00:38:54
away there was that much tension and
00:38:56
stress put on my life from him and and a
00:38:58
controlling element that was like a
00:39:00
burden of relief you know like it was
00:39:02
kind of like [ __ ] I can be my own person
00:39:05
now so whilst there was a lot of
00:39:09
negativity and upset and in a tough time
00:39:11
I still sit there I think I wouldn't be
00:39:13
doing what I was doing today if you're
00:39:15
still alive and selfishly that works for
00:39:18
me so that gave me peace why wouldn't
00:39:20
you be doing what you're doing today I I
00:39:22
feel like you would I feel like you you
00:39:24
I've heard you in other podcast and you
00:39:25
talk about the influence that Rob 5 had
00:39:27
on your life and uh and your dad but I
00:39:29
feel like you you matched the beit of
00:39:31
Your Own Drum and it may have been a
00:39:32
different route to the one you've taken
00:39:35
rout be in the same place here or not
00:39:38
whether Rob was in your life or not yeah
00:39:39
look i' I'm confident in my ability that
00:39:42
I'd end up where I want to end up but at
00:39:44
a different timeline probably um but I
00:39:47
just like it's hard to explain you know
00:39:50
like my sister got married I think I
00:39:51
would have been
00:39:52
19 I couldn't be seen with with an
00:39:55
alcohol drink in my hand hand you know I
00:39:57
never forget when my dad saw me across
00:39:59
the wedding and I had a hinein in my
00:40:00
hand I shut myself and quickly chucked
00:40:02
it out do you know what I mean there's
00:40:04
this such an element of like like I'd be
00:40:08
fearful of what his response would be
00:40:11
sometimes yeah so we'll get to the
00:40:13
adversity chapter soon and this is where
00:40:15
it starts to unravel a bit more about
00:40:17
your dad but um with the benefit of
00:40:19
hindsight now from where you're sitting
00:40:20
as a 29y old man that's done very
00:40:22
[ __ ] well for yourself um how much do
00:40:25
you think of his like like anger or
00:40:27
discipline towards you was like mental
00:40:29
health
00:40:30
based um you know what I mean yeah like
00:40:33
Dad was an interesting operator like he
00:40:37
was almost a screw loose where it
00:40:40
was I don't know how I'd describe it if
00:40:44
I went to war I'd want Dad next to me
00:40:46
right cuz I think he'd be the guy that
00:40:48
would clear a hall for you do you know
00:40:50
what I mean so he was always unhinged
00:40:52
and it was almost like that was just
00:40:54
part of him like he was just so so like
00:40:58
that um but the mental health stuff
00:41:00
there was definitely a a deterioration
00:41:03
of it um and and for me if I look back
00:41:05
at it it started from the time I was
00:41:07
probably 12 or 13 but I don't know you
00:41:10
ask my family they might say it was 5
00:41:12
years earlier so um yeah there's a lot
00:41:15
of the mental health stuff but it was
00:41:18
I've met a lot of people that encount
00:41:20
him into Heth but he was a unique breed
00:41:23
that guy like he was a different
00:41:24
different kid of fish that fell you
00:41:26
you've always been um so driven though
00:41:29
way uh like you you made the call to
00:41:31
leave gbon and finish your school in
00:41:32
Oakland so it wasn't your parents
00:41:34
sending you away no um that was that was
00:41:37
your decision which just seems just
00:41:39
seems like you had this um sort of
00:41:41
instinct all the way through your life
00:41:42
was part of that like to get to get away
00:41:44
from your dad so you could wake wake up
00:41:46
without being suffocated I had to get
00:41:48
away from my dad like well me and Dad
00:41:50
probably would have Bloody one of us
00:41:51
would have end up bloody doing something
00:41:53
silly you know like that's how much
00:41:56
tension there was in the relationship it
00:41:58
was it was getting to the point where
00:42:00
I'm off or one of us are going to end up
00:42:02
in hospital and it would have been me
00:42:04
cuz look snakes got bigger arms than me
00:42:06
right yeah you think would get to that
00:42:08
age where yeah I was from a like a a
00:42:10
spanking household um but it was it was
00:42:13
always Correctional and it was always
00:42:14
Dad would always say oh this is going to
00:42:15
hurt me more than what's going to hurt
00:42:16
you but it gets to the point where
00:42:17
you're 14 15 where it's like your dad
00:42:20
can't put you over the bed and give you
00:42:21
a whack belt anymore you you think had
00:42:24
start to treat you differently but that
00:42:25
wasn't the no probably started to level
00:42:27
up more so and um and yeah it was it was
00:42:32
one one of us had to do something and
00:42:34
and and for me it was it was moving away
00:42:36
and uh and like you know the drive and
00:42:38
the competitiveness I think if if I had
00:42:41
to describe myself to best help you or
00:42:45
people understand I hate I hate losing
00:42:48
more than a love winning that would be
00:42:50
my description so winning comes first
00:42:53
for me right and then I can have fun
00:42:55
after but losing for me is almost
00:42:59
traumatic right I frecking hate it so
00:43:02
there's such a drive to deliver a result
00:43:04
and in everything I do like I I whenever
00:43:08
me and my sister would go around the
00:43:09
corner to the DA I'd always race her
00:43:11
there race to the gate who's going to
00:43:13
win this or that it was always always to
00:43:16
that next point so there's a big
00:43:18
underlying drive and ambition and that
00:43:21
was breed through my dad like he would
00:43:24
he would say to me oh look you know your
00:43:26
sister's doing better than you here and
00:43:27
I'm like well she's 10 years older than
00:43:29
like of course she's a woman but it was
00:43:32
constantly it was constantly like that
00:43:34
and I'll never forget when I like first
00:43:36
beat my brother at a running race I was
00:43:38
like 14 and first time I I bat him CU
00:43:41
he'd come and helped me do my fitness
00:43:42
banjo's always been incredibly
00:43:44
supportive when it was football when it
00:43:46
was business um but I never forget the
00:43:48
first time I be him and I was like
00:43:49
that's great and then I remember Dad
00:43:51
saying well you should have been him by
00:43:53
more you know so it's kind of like even
00:43:55
when you got to that point there was
00:43:56
something else and and that
00:43:58
competitiveness still lives and breathes
00:44:01
inside of me every day is is that
00:44:02
something you need to work on like I
00:44:04
I've heard you say you avoid playing
00:44:06
board games where it's a chance like
00:44:07
yachy or something because it's like
00:44:10
come on yeah well yeah come on
00:44:13
absolutely but like I I think for me I'm
00:44:16
hopelessly me and and and I I love you
00:44:20
know as Rob said to me you know he
00:44:22
always said to me man as long as you can
00:44:24
get up every day and look at the fell in
00:44:25
the mirror and love them mhm worry less
00:44:28
you know and have a great day
00:44:30
so look yeah there's going to come a
00:44:33
time when that Competitive Edge slows
00:44:36
down naturally as humans do but I don't
00:44:39
want to I don't want to cube that I I
00:44:41
want I want a future family or something
00:44:44
to be that reason and I just want to go
00:44:46
all gas no braks until that time comes
00:44:48
so whilst I've kind of got the
00:44:50
testosterone and I've got the energy I
00:44:52
just don't want to stop the momentum
00:44:55
you're always going to the testosterone
00:44:57
and the energy I think I'm always going
00:44:58
to have that but there's going to come a
00:44:59
time where I'm I believe I could be
00:45:03
wrong probably everyone who knows me
00:45:05
well probably thinks I'm right there's
00:45:06
going to come a time where it's kind of
00:45:08
going to I believe there'll come a time
00:45:10
actually I don't need to fight that
00:45:12
fight I normally would have but I'm just
00:45:14
going to summer down and and and kind of
00:45:16
do D I've got a good friend guy called
00:45:18
Kurt um he's 10 years older than me um I
00:45:23
I love the relationship I have with him
00:45:25
he's done incredibly well he's a
00:45:26
successful guy and he's a really great
00:45:28
guy and I kind of almost compare where I
00:45:31
am now it's like on the young bull not
00:45:34
that he's the old bull but I kind of
00:45:36
think my energy towards a lot of things
00:45:38
I know that he would have been at this
00:45:40
age but he's not so much now he's got
00:45:41
three kids him and his wife and and
00:45:44
whatnot so I look at that and I think
00:45:46
there's going to be a time for that but
00:45:47
that time's not right now so I want to
00:45:49
want to go with the momentum yeah oh
00:45:52
that's cool so yes so you move to Orland
00:45:55
finish your school education here yep
00:45:57
off your own back yep where are you
00:45:59
staying you bulleted out who are I got
00:46:01
bulleted out with a with a family then
00:46:03
they bloody kicked me out after a couple
00:46:04
of months then I live went and live with
00:46:06
the um the corter family phenomenal
00:46:09
family um literally welcomed me in and
00:46:11
and treated me like their own I I shared
00:46:13
a room with my friend called chunky um
00:46:16
who we're still Incredibly Close with
00:46:17
today he comes and does our Wednesday
00:46:19
workouts at HQ with the team which is
00:46:21
cool so um I lived with them and then
00:46:23
then I went and did my building
00:46:24
apprenticeship started my building ship
00:46:26
apprenti after school and hooked into
00:46:28
that so yeah while you're play playing
00:46:30
soccer so soccer or SL football was uh
00:46:33
your main purp took a year off football
00:46:34
actually just so I could when I started
00:46:36
the apprenticeship was just too tough on
00:46:38
the body and uh you're doing long hours
00:46:40
you're lifting lots of stuff and and I
00:46:43
you I never really liked football I just
00:46:45
liked winning and uh and and I was kind
00:46:47
of you know so it was uh you why didn't
00:46:51
you play a solo sport where all the
00:46:54
variables I have a choice like I was I
00:46:56
was like I was kind of brought up to
00:46:59
play football right that was a kind of
00:47:01
thing but a team sport must have annoyed
00:47:03
you and mean I was the worst teammate I
00:47:05
was the worst
00:47:06
teammate I wouldn't want to be my
00:47:09
teammate you know and this me being
00:47:11
honest um I was it was all like it just
00:47:14
it actually like got got to the point
00:47:16
where I'd burn relationships cuz it was
00:47:19
just like that competitive it's kind of
00:47:21
like you know okay so so you're 20 years
00:47:24
20 years old um you're building a
00:47:27
Apprentice um you're playing a bit of
00:47:29
football and then you get a phone call
00:47:31
from your sister about your dad yeah um
00:47:34
so this would have been N9 years ago
00:47:35
today n years ago today yeah yeah it's
00:47:38
it's incredible to look back and and
00:47:39
think that it's been N9 years yeah what
00:47:41
are is it hard to go back there to that
00:47:43
day or no look it's it's it's not like I
00:47:47
I've gone over that day so many times I
00:47:49
like I think today today's more about my
00:47:52
family than it is for me they they the
00:47:54
family they still still have to live in
00:47:56
giz well don't have to but they live in
00:47:57
gbon that's where the memories are with
00:48:00
that that's where the memories are for
00:48:01
them they've got great memories with
00:48:03
that I don't have many memories up in
00:48:05
Oakland so my my next chapter was my own
00:48:09
chapter so I've been able to create my
00:48:12
own life and and merge into a family of
00:48:15
my own up here which which I I love care
00:48:18
and respect and and it's vice versa so
00:48:20
today's for me is more about my family I
00:48:23
know that I'm okay these days are going
00:48:25
to happen um and each year it gets
00:48:26
easier um but I think today I kind of
00:48:29
wake up and I I kind of feel for them
00:48:31
yeah so so we started with um chapter 3
00:48:34
which is um uh Izzy Whitley the
00:48:36
entrepreneur um then we went back to
00:48:38
chapter one which is like the childhood
00:48:40
which sort of set the foundations of the
00:48:42
man you are today which takes us now to
00:48:44
um the second chapter and the Final
00:48:46
Chapter uh I suppose the the adversity
00:48:49
chapter which um I mean all all these
00:48:51
things you look back and they they all
00:48:53
sort of have made you the the person and
00:48:56
the man you are today so um yeah take us
00:48:59
back to that that nine years ago today
00:49:01
so you get the phone call from what are
00:49:02
you doing what are you doing that day
00:49:03
you're on the on site I no no I it was a
00:49:05
Sunday I just done crate day with my uh
00:49:09
football team and uh I'd just gone and
00:49:11
had a pizza with my girlfriend at the
00:49:13
time and uh and that's where I got the
00:49:15
phone calls on Milford Beach I'll never
00:49:17
forget so like evening afternoon evening
00:49:19
yeah kind of 5 or 6:00 so for me whilst
00:49:22
today's the anniversary crate day for me
00:49:24
is probably theough a day um because
00:49:27
that Memories the memories like as awful
00:49:29
as it sounds I wake up and I think I was
00:49:32
hooking into my first beer this time N9
00:49:34
years ago and my dad was already dead
00:49:36
right and I just didn't find out until
00:49:38
that evening so that for me is it almost
00:49:41
it's like oh I'm getting up and going
00:49:43
about my day when I didn't even know for
00:49:45
for so long right so I was in Milford
00:49:47
Beach got the phone call went to the
00:49:49
cor's house um so you you didn't have a
00:49:53
hunch or anything some people say they
00:49:54
felt something and their gut was wrong I
00:49:56
didn't believe it you were just hammered
00:49:57
I steamed I could hardly like I was
00:50:00
absolutely rotten drunk so so your
00:50:02
sister calls him what does she say it's
00:50:04
interesting up until probably a month
00:50:05
ago we didn't like we' spoke about and
00:50:07
she said the phone call she had with me
00:50:09
seems completely different to what I
00:50:10
relay cuz I just remember her telling me
00:50:13
hey is uh dad's been found dead and I
00:50:15
was like oh and she tells me there's
00:50:17
eight sentences before but that's that's
00:50:19
what I remember um so well you did oh
00:50:23
great her yeah good point she's a more
00:50:26
reliable witness yeah so so that
00:50:28
happened and then I I went to the
00:50:30
conters to be around kind of my them and
00:50:32
and they were incredibly supportive and
00:50:34
helpful and and poorly drove me to um to
00:50:38
the Mount uh to then be picked up from
00:50:40
banjo um and then drove home and then it
00:50:43
was with the family and uh that must
00:50:45
must have been a weird day because it's
00:50:46
um obviously you're half cut for
00:50:48
starters but I suppose you're sober up
00:50:50
very quickly when you get a phone call
00:50:51
like that yeah um you try to but also
00:50:54
you you you have the complex the
00:50:55
complexities of your personal
00:50:57
relationship with your father yeah um I
00:50:59
had no idea it was suicide until I got
00:51:01
home I so what were you thinking I I
00:51:03
thought he'd got cheeky to the wrong
00:51:05
person and just got dusted up I honestly
00:51:08
thought someone had killed him that
00:51:11
that's what I thought I was like he's
00:51:12
got cheeky to the wrong guy or he's
00:51:15
thrown his temper at the wrong person
00:51:16
and they weren't having it
00:51:18
today banjo um told me that it was a
00:51:22
head injury as to what the cause of the
00:51:24
death was so that's why I was kind like
00:51:26
someone's you know donked him or
00:51:28
something like that so then um it wasn't
00:51:30
until I got home and I was like you know
00:51:32
banjo was quite Blas about telling me or
00:51:35
talking about it and he just keep saying
00:51:37
I just don't want to know I just don't
00:51:38
want to know I'm like I want to know
00:51:40
like you know what the what the hell's
00:51:42
going on I pulled my um sister aside I
00:51:44
said bie you've got to tell me what's
00:51:46
going
00:51:47
on and she pulled me into a room and uh
00:51:50
she said there's we found a note and um
00:51:54
and I was kind of like wow it was just
00:51:56
you know from that point I was like I
00:51:58
was actually really disappointed like in
00:52:01
him because I was kind of this guy has
00:52:03
in my opinion trained my mind trained my
00:52:06
psyche to be as strong strict
00:52:09
disciplined as I can be and to weather
00:52:12
any storm and the storm being dad I
00:52:14
weathered his storm for a long time but
00:52:17
he couldn't weather his and that's how I
00:52:19
thought at the time I didn't dive into
00:52:21
understand mental health but I was kind
00:52:23
of like what a dick like you you're not
00:52:25
practicing what you've preached into me
00:52:27
my whole life you've called it quits
00:52:29
when it got tough obviously that's now
00:52:31
not what I think but at the time that's
00:52:33
what I was kind of oh so yeah you're
00:52:34
very young at the time too so
00:52:36
understanding and and so now that I'm
00:52:38
aware of a lot more and and I've
00:52:40
educated myself on on what mental health
00:52:42
can can do I definitely don't feel like
00:52:44
that but at the time that's how I felt I
00:52:46
was like I just pissed off I remember I
00:52:49
remember all the family around and I we
00:52:51
kind of said oh what are we going to do
00:52:52
when's the funeral going to be is it
00:52:53
going to be I said
00:52:55
was a Sunday I said let's have it on the
00:52:57
Wednesday I've got surgery for my
00:52:58
shoulder on the Thursday I want to get
00:53:00
back to Oakland I want to keep living my
00:53:02
life and keep moving forward that's
00:53:03
generally the chat I remember having in
00:53:05
front of everyone so you um so did you
00:53:07
allow yourself to grieve or I I didn't
00:53:10
allow myself to grieve but then when
00:53:11
everything happened with my heart I was
00:53:13
in the hospital for a week and I just
00:53:14
bowled my eyes out for a week yeah this
00:53:16
is the next bit of the adversity chapter
00:53:18
yeah yeah we will get to that that's
00:53:20
it's a lot it was a lot over a very
00:53:22
concentrated period of time yeah okay so
00:53:24
um
00:53:26
what did the notes say was it much oh
00:53:28
look out of respect to the family I
00:53:30
won't relay it but um but it said enough
00:53:33
to to kind of reiterate what position he
00:53:36
was in and and how he was feeling and
00:53:38
and it was actually more of an apology
00:53:39
than anything yeah and um you yeah we
00:53:43
can't get into this um due to various
00:53:44
laws but you told me uh earlier um how
00:53:47
he went about it and it's a a
00:53:49
particularly violent and brutal way
00:53:51
you're not going to survive that yeah
00:53:53
it's not it's not a cry for help at all
00:53:55
no did he had he did your mom have any
00:53:57
idea did anyone in the family had any
00:53:59
IDE everyone knew that it was suicide as
00:54:00
soon as they found out about it no but
00:54:02
did anyone anyone know he was like
00:54:04
struggling mentally yeah well as soon as
00:54:06
yeah as soon as people found out or got
00:54:08
told that Dad had passed away they all
00:54:10
thought
00:54:11
suicide I was just the only one that
00:54:13
didn't think
00:54:17
that and so when when you found that out
00:54:20
did it give you more of sort of um
00:54:22
empathy or understanding of um like how
00:54:24
hard he was growing up like a lot of it
00:54:25
probably came from a place of anger
00:54:27
maybe bought on by mental health no cuz
00:54:29
I almost thought he bloody got me to the
00:54:31
brink of Heaven my own mental
00:54:33
health dead anded middle house so I I
00:54:37
just I just felt hard done by man like I
00:54:39
did I was kind of like what a dick like
00:54:42
you've you've pushed me to the point of
00:54:44
breaking point at least once a week for
00:54:48
for my life not my life probably my last
00:54:50
four years at home 5 years at home and
00:54:53
and and you tell me how tough you have
00:54:55
to be and and that's that's the way you
00:54:57
go about it so I just felt really ripped
00:54:59
off well mentally you're you're like a
00:55:02
white David Goggins like you you are
00:55:06
hardcore you like like d if David
00:55:09
Goggins and Cameron Haynes had a baby
00:55:11
you'd be the product um how are you with
00:55:14
like vulnerability and being like open
00:55:16
and honest with people you love about
00:55:18
your position like I suppose what I'm
00:55:20
asking in a in a roundabout sort of way
00:55:22
is like um are you scared that one day
00:55:25
you could end up in the same sort of I'd
00:55:27
be I'd be lying if I said that I didn't
00:55:30
or haven't thought that and I probably
00:55:31
only think that when people um bring
00:55:35
that up because they're like oh you're
00:55:36
worried that that's going to be your
00:55:37
path but I look at the infrastructure I
00:55:40
put around myself every day and and I've
00:55:43
I give myself I think if I was going to
00:55:45
have mental health issues I would have
00:55:46
had it by now and I'm not trying to jinx
00:55:48
myself or whatever and I know it's not a
00:55:50
choice but I do everything I can to
00:55:53
counteract mental health issues right
00:55:55
right I I I look after myself I exercise
00:55:58
I I do the best I can and whilst I'd
00:56:01
consider myself not a selfish person I'm
00:56:04
incredibly selfish on my time and what I
00:56:06
need to to be the best version of myself
00:56:10
so I'm not worried I I just need I just
00:56:12
want to keep looking after myself and
00:56:14
being positive but being vulnerable um
00:56:17
I'm always open and happy to be
00:56:19
vulnerable when I need to be but but
00:56:21
it's kind of you know if if someone
00:56:24
grazes knee you can make it out to be
00:56:27
something that's not or or you can kind
00:56:29
of address it for a Graz and and and
00:56:32
look after it and go from there people
00:56:34
like to make some things worse 100% I
00:56:36
think there's a lot of people that
00:56:37
thrive on the victim mentality I hate
00:56:40
victim yeah likewise what what do you
00:56:42
think you'll be like if you're lucky
00:56:43
enough to be a dead one day like you
00:56:44
think um because you you you're you're
00:56:47
very hard on yourself um you have high
00:56:49
expectations for your staff and your
00:56:51
team around you y um you think you'll
00:56:53
definitely be a more comp passionate
00:56:55
dead than what your dad was you can't
00:56:57
get away with suffocating your kid no I
00:56:58
won't be doing that look man I like and
00:57:00
I think I think it's about probably for
00:57:03
me getting some of that competitiveness
00:57:06
out getting that stuff out before that
00:57:07
time comes right I'm 29 like to have a
00:57:10
kid or two by the time I'm 35 and I
00:57:13
can't wait I like I I've got nephews and
00:57:15
nieces they're the light to a to any day
00:57:19
right and they're phenomenal and it's it
00:57:21
actually really gives me a great energy
00:57:23
left seeing them so I can't wait to be a
00:57:25
dad when whenever that time comes I'm
00:57:26
not in a rush um but and and I think
00:57:29
it's I I I know what I don't want to be
00:57:32
and I know what I want to be and and
00:57:33
look I've got no no doubt it's going to
00:57:36
be a lot more challenging than than than
00:57:38
what people make it out well you know
00:57:39
it's going to be harder than people say
00:57:41
it is but I'm aware of that and I'm
00:57:43
ready for it I think being being honest
00:57:45
with myself and and knowing the dead I I
00:57:47
ultimately want to be when the time
00:57:49
comes but that's just not not now yeah
00:57:51
so yes so your dead passes you um get
00:57:54
out of gizy straight back to your life
00:57:55
Inland bury yourself and your and your
00:57:58
your soccer um just train hard work hard
00:58:01
part of that I I suppose a psychologist
00:58:03
might say was like a coping mechanism
00:58:05
massively was a coping mechanism yeah
00:58:07
and and then what what happened with
00:58:08
your heart so so today I've got
00:58:11
hypertrophic copath right so I had the
00:58:13
the whole ECGs got rushed in the
00:58:15
hospital said you've had several heart
00:58:17
attacks then I'm in hospital you get
00:58:20
diagnos I didn't actually get diagnosed
00:58:21
on the spot because they just didn't
00:58:23
know what was going on they thought had
00:58:25
some elements of cardiopathy but they
00:58:26
also thought I had some elements of
00:58:27
athletes heart um which is kind of like
00:58:31
triathletes and and whatever to that as
00:58:34
well like an enlarged heart which you
00:58:35
think is a good thing it's like a muscle
00:58:37
you train bigger so but what then we
00:58:40
ended up uncovering is that I actually
00:58:41
have deficiencies in in my heart
00:58:44
functionality and that that what does
00:58:45
the Tans copy which is just the heart
00:58:47
Des we not just it's a heart disease um
00:58:50
and hypertrophic is from overtraining so
00:58:53
I live with that every day got a heart
00:58:55
disease I I like I was explaining to you
00:58:57
it's a bit more than a rolled ankle but
00:59:00
I I that's how I'd describe it right you
00:59:01
know you've got it if some days if you
00:59:04
walking it too much next day it's going
00:59:05
to be a bit sore if I push the boundary
00:59:07
too much I I I'm not very good at
00:59:10
regulating when I should push and pull
00:59:13
oh no
00:59:14
[ __ ] and and and I kind of think [ __ ]
00:59:17
I've I've push a boat here I need to
00:59:19
have a bit of a slower slower week or or
00:59:21
or or a holiday it can be a bit in
00:59:24
between I get we had a sauna this
00:59:26
morning and saas are fabulous but
00:59:28
everything to the heart but I I do under
00:59:30
about 3 minutes in an ice yeah but this
00:59:34
you know I'm just not going to I'm not
00:59:35
going to let it I'm not going to be
00:59:37
beholding to it like never I'm not going
00:59:40
to use as an excuses to why I can't do
00:59:42
something but I need to I do I'm I need
00:59:44
to I'd be as sensible as I can with it
00:59:47
um I could always be better with it but
00:59:50
I my life's fastpaced and I need to be
00:59:53
moving at PACE and and that requires
00:59:55
exercise and I think that's the thing
00:59:56
it's a catch 22 if I do too much then my
00:59:59
heart spells up again then I'll go to my
01:00:01
next appointment so I have to get kind
01:00:03
of six to 12 month checkups and they go
01:00:05
and put me on this um Tri Mill and and I
01:00:08
do a MRI scan and in a ultrasound and
01:00:12
they tell me if my heart's swollen and
01:00:13
stuff like that so if it's swollen they
01:00:15
have to slow down so it's quite a scary
01:00:17
concept my heart basically is pumps up
01:00:20
pumps down it it swells up and and
01:00:22
unwell and the the challenge have is
01:00:25
once it starts to go to swell if I can't
01:00:29
reduce it then it will just keep growing
01:00:31
and that's when there there starts to be
01:00:34
bit more so are you on meds you on like
01:00:35
beta blockers or you got a pacemaker or
01:00:39
look I'm meant to be but I'm a nightmare
01:00:40
with remembering to take them so I and
01:00:43
and I look why why don't you you I feel
01:00:46
like you s of almost said this as a
01:00:47
badge of honor like you know that's
01:00:48
definitely not a badge of honor gez no
01:00:50
it's it's not that because I like I take
01:00:52
blood thinners and it does make it it
01:00:54
actually does interrupt my day like if I
01:00:57
was on them now uh I'd get out of here
01:00:59
and I'd have to get up slowly and like
01:01:01
my next five steps I'd have to be
01:01:03
careful because I'd probably end up on
01:01:04
the couch so it is quite light here it's
01:01:06
definitely not a badge and and I get it
01:01:08
but I kind of think because the last
01:01:11
time I went it was the first time I'd
01:01:13
had functional Improvement um in my
01:01:15
heart for seven years and I put that
01:01:17
down to saering some people roll their
01:01:19
eyes but I'm like that's the only change
01:01:21
I made so for me sort of feels good and
01:01:23
the scientific benefits are there yeah
01:01:25
so for me that that that's kind of it
01:01:27
yeah so so take us back to that
01:01:29
diagnosis so you're in a hospital you're
01:01:31
you're a young guy your dad passed away
01:01:33
a couple of years earlier I'm I'm in
01:01:35
hospital cuz they they I'm in the cardio
01:01:37
Ward right I'm the only guy without
01:01:38
white here right is awful awful so I got
01:01:42
all these if Rob P's listening to this
01:01:45
there is nothing wrong with white hair
01:01:47
Silver Fox the uh you know I'm in this
01:01:49
I'm in this I'm in this Ward there bunch
01:01:52
of old people and I'm sitting here
01:01:53
thinking what am I doing in here you
01:01:55
know and because there was so much
01:01:57
ambiguity and uncertainty on on what
01:01:59
actually was the
01:02:01
case I actually checked myself out of
01:02:03
hospital without being told I my my mom
01:02:06
came up and my brother came up and I
01:02:07
just said guys I'm getting out of here I
01:02:09
don't know is he don't check yourself
01:02:11
out I
01:02:12
thought we're not going to find the
01:02:14
answer out tomorrow we're not going to
01:02:16
find out next week I'm checking myself
01:02:18
out of hospital no don't do it so I end
01:02:21
up checking myself out of hospital and
01:02:23
kind of just going back over time and
01:02:24
and un and kind of working back up to
01:02:27
actually what the what the issue was and
01:02:29
stuff like that so it was um yeah kind
01:02:33
of I I I knew there was a problem and it
01:02:35
was just about making sure I I tried to
01:02:37
go I was sick of crying I was just just
01:02:39
in the hospital crying about dead and I
01:02:41
was kind of like so you managed to sort
01:02:44
of park it or bury it until that point
01:02:45
and then it all sort of so it a
01:02:47
combination of you for your own product
01:02:49
maintain for your dad yeah yeah it it
01:02:50
was a bit of that but I didn't get out
01:02:52
of there because I was probably answer
01:02:55
that wrong I didn't get out of there
01:02:56
because I was sick of crying about that
01:02:58
I got out of there because I just felt
01:02:59
like we weren't making any progress and
01:03:01
I thought what's sitting in here with
01:03:03
tubes and things stuck to me feeling
01:03:06
like I'm about to die going to do when
01:03:08
we I can go and live my life and go to a
01:03:10
specialist appointment in 3 months and
01:03:12
I'll know more then than when I will now
01:03:14
and that was my mentality which is
01:03:17
unorthodox yeah well I mean you don't
01:03:19
want to live your life in Cotton wall
01:03:20
though don't you what's is that but then
01:03:23
you do okay so you sort of take the
01:03:25
expert advice yeah and then pick and
01:03:27
choose bits of it yeah I'm getting
01:03:29
better at at not picking and choosing
01:03:32
are you getting better I am I am I am um
01:03:35
and and you know I'm still young I guess
01:03:38
in the grand scheme but but you know
01:03:40
your body you know you've only got one
01:03:42
body so it's kind of just learning and
01:03:44
treating it a bit better than than I did
01:03:45
the year before yeah and um you've
01:03:48
you've recently just um had a
01:03:50
relationship breakup you're engaged and
01:03:51
you've just bro broken up how I mean
01:03:54
you've been through so much in your life
01:03:56
and I suppose with the business skills
01:03:58
you've developed over the last nine
01:03:59
years you've become very good at having
01:04:01
tough conversations which I suppose is a
01:04:03
professional skill which he carries over
01:04:04
to your private oh dude I wouldn't I
01:04:06
wouldn't consider my my communication
01:04:09
approach the best way um but look
01:04:13
breakups are breakups man they happen
01:04:15
she was a cool chick um it you just got
01:04:17
different stages and at different
01:04:19
frequencies and at different RI counts
01:04:20
right and and and whatever happens in
01:04:23
life every day is a new day just got to
01:04:24
get one foot after the other and and and
01:04:26
keep pushing and and I think do do you
01:04:28
allow yourself to mop for a bit so this
01:04:30
is a big thing like a relationship I was
01:04:32
I was sick for a week so I was kind of
01:04:34
stuck in bed so it was actually really
01:04:35
good kind of had a breather had to think
01:04:37
about things and just thought actually
01:04:40
where where where do I need to be better
01:04:42
next next time round and and I'm all I
01:04:45
love self-reflection I love love being
01:04:47
accountable for myself and and knowing
01:04:49
what couldn't and could have been
01:04:51
different um and it's just about going
01:04:53
forward from there in in the most
01:04:54
respectful way possible Right but and
01:04:57
and you know I don't say this in a in a
01:04:59
in a spiteful way but for me no day is
01:05:03
tougher than putting your dad in the
01:05:04
ground in a coffin so I guess my
01:05:07
emotional capacity has been stretched
01:05:10
far beyond where I'd wish that to be
01:05:12
anyone so you kind of have you have
01:05:14
tougher days and and and you do have
01:05:16
tough days and and there's always a
01:05:18
reference point to thing actually if I
01:05:20
can come back from that and and that
01:05:22
that's actually often an anchor point
01:05:23
for me in a lot things if you can't
01:05:25
actually I've had that day just keep
01:05:27
going you know tomorrow's new day get up
01:05:29
get after it only Ford One Direction
01:05:32
that's way I look at it I think that's
01:05:34
probably a good place to end yeah um
01:05:37
yeah it's been an accelerat you're
01:05:39
you're a busy guy I'm a bu I'm not a
01:05:41
busy guy you're a very busy guy um busy
01:05:45
is he from gizy um but these are all
01:05:47
chapters that would be worthy of being
01:05:49
their own podcast maybe we um dive
01:05:51
deeper another time but man you're
01:05:52
inspiring you're an inspiring go to be
01:05:54
around um just by being around you you
01:05:56
want to do better and do more and push
01:05:58
yourself further cool I appreciate it
01:06:00
man it's it's been awesome to catch up
01:06:02
and and I hope you enjoyed the morning
01:06:03
yeah H you're off to Vegas tonight for a
01:06:05
friend's birthday my advice you don't
01:06:07
don't gamble over there cuz the house
01:06:09
usually wins I'm I'm I'm quite impulsive
01:06:11
nature so I try and stay away from that
01:06:13
all right hey I you're a great New
01:06:14
Zealander can't wait to see what you do
01:06:16
next with alh and whatever other
01:06:17
business VES you're involved with cool
01:06:19
cheers mate thanks he
01:06:23
d
01:06:25
[Music]
01:06:34
w

Podspun Insights

In this episode, Izzy Whitley invites listeners into a morning filled with ice baths, workouts, and candid conversations about life, ambition, and the challenges of entrepreneurship. The episode kicks off with a glimpse into Izzy's daily routine, showcasing his commitment to health and discipline. As the conversation unfolds, Izzy shares his journey from starting a business with just $500 to navigating the complexities of personal loss and mental health. He reflects on his father's strict upbringing and how it shaped his relentless drive to succeed. The emotional weight of his father's passing looms large, revealing a mix of admiration and frustration towards a man who instilled resilience yet succumbed to his own struggles. The episode is a rollercoaster of insights, laughter, and heartfelt moments, as Izzy emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and the pursuit of personal growth. With a blend of humor and seriousness, listeners are left inspired by Izzy's journey and his unwavering determination to push forward, no matter the obstacles.

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 95
    Most inspiring
  • 90
    Most emotional
  • 90
    Best overall
  • 90
    Best concept / idea

Episode Highlights

  • Morning Routine Insights
    Izzy shares his average morning routine, emphasizing the importance of control and routine.
    “Routine is important for me right.”
    @ 01m 27s
    February 25, 2024
  • First Marathon Advice
    Izzy recalls reaching out to Dom for marathon tips just before his first race.
    “You only run your first marathon once!”
    @ 02m 28s
    February 25, 2024
  • Starting a Business
    Izzy reflects on starting his business with just $500 at age 21, emphasizing the challenges and growth.
    “I was living better than I was when I was 20.”
    @ 07m 57s
    February 25, 2024
  • The Importance of Mentorship
    Izzy discusses his relationship with Rob F, highlighting how mentorship has fueled his ambition.
    “It’s a real blessing to have someone like Rob in my life.”
    @ 15m 03s
    February 25, 2024
  • The Challenge of Growth
    The speaker discusses the excitement of pursuing ambitious revenue goals, emphasizing the challenge over the money itself.
    “I'm signing up for the challenge underneath and that's what excites me the most.”
    @ 29m 44s
    February 25, 2024
  • A Unique Upbringing
    Reflecting on a strict upbringing, the speaker shares how it instilled a relentless drive for achievement.
    “I was never allowed to sleep in past 7 a.m. because that was teaching bad habits.”
    @ 33m 50s
    February 25, 2024
  • The Influence of a Father
    Reflecting on the complex relationship with his father, he acknowledges both love and fear.
    “Loved him, scared shitless of him.”
    @ 37m 47s
    February 25, 2024
  • A Burden of Relief
    After his father's passing, he felt a strange sense of freedom amidst the grief.
    “It was kind of like [ __ ] I can be my own person now.”
    @ 39m 00s
    February 25, 2024
  • The Day of the Call
    Recalling the day he received the news of his father's death, he reflects on the shock and disbelief.
    “I thought he’d got cheeky to the wrong person and just got dusted up.”
    @ 51m 05s
    February 25, 2024
  • Facing Heart Disease
    After a series of heart attacks, he learns to manage his heart condition while maintaining an active lifestyle.
    “I live with that every day, got a heart disease.”
    @ 58m 55s
    February 25, 2024
  • The Importance of Self-Reflection
    He emphasizes the value of self-reflection after a breakup, using it as a tool for personal growth.
    “I love self-reflection, I love being accountable for myself.”
    @ 01h 04m 47s
    February 25, 2024
  • Coping with Loss
    He shares his journey of grief after losing his father and how it shaped his emotional resilience.
    “I guess my emotional capacity has been stretched far beyond where I’d wish that to be.”
    @ 01h 05m 12s
    February 25, 2024

Episode Quotes

Key Moments

  • Morning Routine01:27
  • Marathon Tips02:28
  • Strict Upbringing33:05
  • Work Ethic35:41
  • Tough Love36:34
  • Regret36:55
  • Competitive Drive42:41
  • Father's Passing47:31

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown

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