Coffee Chats with Matt Collins

Say what you like about our political leaders, but if we are going to have opinions it's important they are informed ones. At least that's what Dion McCurdy believes. Dion is a practising solicitor of the supreme court and the founder of a new app called NewVote. NewVote is a digital platform to allow users to peruse political issues and vote on what should be done about them.

Raphael McGowan was having the time of his life cycling through America when his father phoned him to advised his sister, Tess had Melanoma and not long to live.

He immediately returned to Australia, moved to Sydney to be there for his sister for her final months. These days, Raphael is an ambassador for Melanoma Institute, Australia He has cycled from Adelaide to Sydney to raise awareness and he is about to launch his innovative product, the 'Bakslap'.

On the Rugby League field, Joel Thompson stands out. He is close to 2 metres tall and weighs over 100kgs. He is a tough, hard working player who is always close to the action. When he has the ball he knows how to succeed. But sadly, as a child growing up he didn't have the same vision of success. If it wasn't for his sporting abilities, Joel is not sure where he would be now. These days, thanks to his work with 'The Mindset Project' Joel assists others who need guidance.

In February 2018, Paul Morris Segal was advised he had bone marrow cancer and he had a life expectancy of less than twelve months.

Contrary to how someone may deal with such news, Paul has embraced his diagnosis and he feels very lucky to have been given the opportunity to really live his life.

Paul shares with Matt some of his bucket list items and why he is excited for his future.

Denise Dielwart and her husband Martin left Johanessburg, South Africa to escape the tragedy, threats and fear they were experiencing on a daily basis. But sadly for Denise, the really tragedy occured in Australia when Martin collapsed on the side of the road and later died.

Being far away from family support, Denise looked desperately for support and guidance but to no avail. This lead Denise to create her widow support group which now offers support to thousands and thousands of widows all over the world.

Matt invited Shirley Ann Joy to share a Coffee Chat and discuss the 'Free Hugs' movement, but what unveiled was so much more.

Shirley Ann shares her work as the self confessed 'Love Warrior', but she opens up about her wonderful life where she was the eldest of 11 children, her abusive father, the tragic loss of two of her brothers and (just like an episode of your favorite soap opera) Shirley Ann discusses come of her unique relationships.

Ever since Tracey Mathers was six years old she knew she wanted to be a part of the family business. Tracey's grandfather started the Mathers shoes brand after first coming to Australia from Scotland and gaining work as a shoe shiner. Nowadays, there are more than 40 Mathers stores across Australia.

Tracey shares with Matt her business journey including why she almost quit the business and walked away, her advice for young business owners and the time she sold nearly 5000 pairs of shoes in four weeks!

If you follow horse racing or if you've ever made an online bet then you probably know who Tom Waterhouse is.

The son of the famous Waterhouse horse racing family, Tom Waterhouse shares with Matt the ups and downs of his childhood, what got him into online betting, why he hated horse racing and what is his moter (Gai Waterhouse) really like!

Russell Manser spent 23 years of his life in prisons.

After a life of stealing cars and robbing banks, jail time was inevitable. However, what wasn't so obvious was the man Russell would become after his time behind bars.

Now a free man, Russell uses his time helping young men to make better choices in life so they don't make the same mistakes he did.

As a teenager, Russell was exposed to horrific verbal, physical and sexual abuse at the Daruk Boys Home which he has since received a formal government apology for.

One night in 2004, Shona Muckert thought would be her last.

On her way home after dropping off a friend the vehicle flipped multiple times. She was unable to move and Shona spent the longest night of her life pinned in the vehicle.

She thought she would die.

Shona survived the accident but it came at the expense of her legs.

Shona shares with Matt her thoughts from that night, her life as a double amputee and her big 'mummy failure'.