Doing Epic Stuff

Welcome to the Doing Epic Stuff podcast with your host; Mike Drohan.
Together we’ll explore the stories and journeys of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

Seeking soul nourishment outside of her primary vocation as a gun Strategy and Operations exec, in 2019 Kerry Boys made the radical decision to #SwitchGrooves. Successfully applying for a government assisted program to assist Not-For-Profit leadership teams in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, she packed her bags and boarded a flight into the unknown...
#SomeWayfindingRequired #DoingMakesMeFeelGood

A year later, her Cambodia Quest unexpectedly scuttled by a pandemic, Kerry found herself back in Sydney, Australia. Armed with a re-affirmed fervour for being the change she wanted to see in the world and the knowledge that such great positive impact was possible with extremely limited resources - from this spark burst a flame…   #BeYourEpic

Kerry (with biz partner; Phil Cross)  is Co-Founder of Leaders For Good; a business (and podcast) which, in essence, exists to unlock the TREMENDOUS POWER of organisations as forces for good in the world, not just their own financial profit. A mission which, as we learn from Kerry, doesn’t just make sense from a social responsibility viewpoint but can ALSO make sense for their bottom line...

A proven system to turn these big business dogs into good business dogs? #LicenseToThrill

Join Kerry and I as we explore the keys to starting and continuing organisational change, the pivot that led to Leaders For Good finding its feet, and much more on this episode of the Doing Epic Stuff Podcast. 

Show notes

• The Leaders For Good website/podcast: https://leadersforgood.org/podcast/
• Australian Volunteers (the service Kerry worked with to get posted to Cambodia): https://www.australianvolunteers.com/
• The Japanese process of ‘Ikigai’ (note: A Western interpretation of the meaning): https://savvytokyo.com/ikigai-japanese-concept-finding-purpose-life
• ‘Alchemy One’: the media agency Kerry mentions who promote collective responsibility values: https://www.alchemyone.co/about-us/

#DoingEpicStuff
#LvlUp
#Startup
#Podcast
#LeadersForGood

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit doingepicstuff.substack.com

Welcome to the Doing Epic Stuff podcast with your host; Mike Drohan
Together we’ll explore the stories and journeys of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
 
 My next guest has needed to be somewhat of a cultural chameleon in order to survive and thrive away from her native homeland of Versailles, France.

Upon finishing her High School studies, at a crossroads of realising a childhood passion for produce or pursuing a profit-led pathway; Isabelle chose the latter. Business studies with a one-year overseas visa baked in. Travel, adventure and the unknown her only guarantee – a big call for a young French native for whom family and culture were everything...

#SomeWayfindingRequired

Fast forward to the current and we are speaking with the leadership level Digital Marketing Executive, wife and mother of two (based in Sydney Australia) who has recently launch PreppedFRESH: a start-up which, in-effect, champions the very French traditions of delicious healthy food, prepared at home with the family.

So where did Isabelle get the confidence and know-how to sever the imaginary umbilical cord between comfortable career and calling? Was this seemingly full-circle relationship with food and tradition a conscious path followed or a compelling case for serendipity?

Join Isabelle and I as we explore decision making, building and maintaining momentum for following your passions, Australian insensitivities, overworking and much more on this episode of the Doing Epic Stuff Podcast.  

 Show notes:

 Books Isabelle recommends:

• https://www.amazon.com.au/Becoming-Supernatural-Common-People-Uncommon-ebook/dp/B0746RN3G7
• https://www.kikki-k.com/au/shop-by/your-dream-life-starts-here-by-kristina-karlsson-11144001.html

PreppedFRESH
Check out the PreppedFRESH website , sign up to their newsletter for updates on their upcoming launch, and keep in touch on Instagram @preppedfresh_au and LinkedIn @preppedfresh

 
Footage of Fete de la musique celebrations, mentioned by Isabelle during the podcast

• Video 1 (Paris) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpWKBc8eCdg
• Video 2 (Paris) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMDPYelPQVA
• Video 3 (Versailles – Isabelle’s home town!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtHjMrg4kqw

#DoingEpicStuff
#LvlUp
#SwitchGrooves
#BeYourEpic
#Startup
#Podcast
#PreppedFresh

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit doingepicstuff.substack.com

Welcome to the Doing Epic Stuff podcast with your host; Mike Drohan.
Together we’ll explore the stories and journeys of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

Perspective.

Some days it’s hard enough to get into first gear, let alone take conscious strides towards achieving big picture aims and goals.

Sometimes it can all just seem too hard...

Even with the best of intentions, we’re continually being given compelling reasons NOT to pursue our passions: work deadline, hangover, that complete series of Fargo on NetFlix to name but a few…

My next guest really puts the word ‘excuse’ into perspective.

With a growing résumé of successful music and sporting events to his name, Jamie Santilli developed a reputation as a self-made booking agent and events manager who delivered on his word and cared about his act’s wellbeing, first – rare qualities in a game often plagued by shady operators and slippery talent managers.

A routine health check-up in 2014, just a week out from a 6 week trip to the USA with his fiancé, changed Jamie’s entire world.

Join Jamie and I as we discuss the mental game to rehabilitation, overzealous Dads at freestyle scooter events, getting hustled by talent managers and more on this episode of The Doing Epic Stuff Podcast.   

Show notes:
Jamie’s Mountain 1000 initiative: https://mountainthousand.com.au/

#DoingEpicStuff
#LvlUp
#SomeWayfindingRequired
#SwitchGrooves
#BeYourEpic
#CoWorking
#Startup
#Bootstrap
#Podcast
#HodgkinsLymphoma

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit doingepicstuff.substack.com

“The future is bright and we can shape it – let’s try our best!”
– CoWork Surf co-founder, Pier Stein

Welcome to the Doing Epic Stuff podcast with your host; Mike Drohan.
Together we’ll explore the stories and journeys of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

Pier Stein is living his free life.

Currently based in Bali, Indonesia, Pier is part of a growing movement toward long-term remote work; people choosing to play, stay and work from paradise.
#BeYourEpic

Earning Dollars and spending Rupiah.
Surfing during the day and working late into the night with a tribe of likeminded Digital Nomads - as Pier himself puts it:  “Is not just a fun move, it’s a smart move.”

But it hasn’t all been fun in the sun...

Pier is effectively the last man standing from the original trio of founders behind the bootstrapped start-up; CoWork Surf - think a kind of fusion between aggregated Surf Hostel / Co-working spaces or a kind of AirBNB for digital-surf-nomads, if you will.

Join me as we delve into the story of this University Grad-come-Co-founder, with salt in his veins, chasing his epic in The Land of The Gods & heavy wave breaks.

Tasty topics include:

• The value in defining and knowing your audience niche when launching a start-up
• The most important ingredients needed to create great co-founder chemistry
• What it’s like to live and work in paradise and how Pier makes it financially viable

Show notes:

• CoWork Surf homepage: https://www.coworksurf.com/
• Bingin Beach, Indonesia on a 'good' day... (note this is where I personally scared the hell out of myself by paddling too deep into the break, because I was wave hungry, then getting caught on the inside by a set of rogue waves, with nowhere to run...) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAaiK5MeuQc
• The Uluwatu cave paddle out is not for the faint hearted... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9lYpxm4L64&t=11s

#DoingEpicStuff
#LvlUp
#SomeWayfindingRequired
#SwitchGrooves
#BeYourEpic
#CoWorking
#RemoteWork
#Startup
#Bootstrap
#Bali
#Indonesia
#DigitalNomad  
#Podcast

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit doingepicstuff.substack.com

Welcome to the Doing Epic Stuff podcast with your host; Mike Drohan
Together we’ll explore the stories and journeys of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

Life.

One day you’re making the OK bucks in the advertising agency grind, the next you’re shovelling chicken sh*t. 🐔🐔

This isn’t some sort of witticism but LITERALLY the path my next guest followed in order to realise HIS passion for helping those who help others, and ultimately; realising a vision of revolutionising the volunteering industry,

#LicenseToThrill

Matthew Boyd is the founder and CEO of Vollie; an online marketplace which connects the needs of non-profit organizations with the wants of the altruistic modern-day professional, potentially solving the advertiser’s paradox in the process: ‘Infinite potential awareness. Zero awareness’.

Join me as I delve into the psyche of this self-made Software-as-a-service-soothsayer (try saying that ten times) who revolutionised the skilled giving game.

Tasty topics include:

• Finding the resilience to keep moving forward when nobody believes in your idea
• The next best step you can take when you realise your career is killing you
• The one thing any and EVERY successful start-up begins with.

Without further ado, this is the Doing Epic Stuff podcast featuring Matthew Boyd, founder and CEO of Vollie; the Skilled Online Volunteering platform.

You can check out Vollie here: https://www.vollie.com.au/

#DoingEpicStuff
#LvlUp
#SomeWayfindingRequired
#SwitchGrooves
#BeYourEpic  

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit doingepicstuff.substack.com

Welcome to the Doing Epic Stuff podcast with your host; Mike Drohan
Together we’ll explore the stories and journeys of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

“When people talk about fight or flight I’m definitely in the latter category. I don’t even like verbal confrontations.”
*Insert record screeching sound*
Wait, what?!

THAT wasn’t the narrative I expected from the sort of person who quit their day job to travel half-way across the world in order to engage in one of THE most brutal and dangerous combat sports in the world!

What could POSSIBLY make this seemingly mild mannered, intelligent and articulate design professional #SwitchGrooves, quit his job, fly to Thailand and step onto the hallowed canvas at Chiang Mai Boxing Stadium?

A stoppage in the third round, 13 stiches to his face later and Martin was ready to give me HIS account of this crazy, barn-burner of a fight with an opponent who appeared dead-set on giving him a lobotomy with slicing elbows and lightning fast head kicks…

Watch the full fight here!

Did I mention it was Martin's first ever full Muay Thai rules fight and he took it on 2 WEEKS NOTICE?!!!

#LicenseToThrill
#BeYourEpic

I first met Martin Bort whilst training at the Hong Thong Muay Thai gym in Chiang Mai, Thailand, during a 13-month international Digital Nomad Journey/Spirit Quest I was on at the time... During my time in Chiang Mai, it was my privilege to train, befriend and share firsthand the stunning victories and crushing defeats of the Hong Thong gym inhabitants. Men and women regularly stepping over the ropes and into the unknown for the epic of it.

#DoingEpicStuff
#LvlUp
#SomeWayfindingRequired
#BeYourEpic

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit doingepicstuff.substack.com

A long-term, regular practitioner of Judo and Brazilian Ju-jitsu (BJJ), Jason has extensive regarding the personal development pressure cooker that are combat sports. Insight only gleaned through hard work. 

Hour upon hour on the mat, pushing your limits against your peers. 

Jason launched the Inner Demons initiative during the COVID pandemic as a vehicle to highlight the link between BJJ and positive mental and physical health. A link which, when disrupted (as has been the case for many of us due to lockdowns) has the potential to open the door for our inner demons to escape. For some of us those little buggers are particularly eager to get out and particularly nasty when they do...

When I first noticed the concept being promoted on LinkedIn I was of two minds: 

1. I loved the concept. In a lot of ways, it is a manifestation of my personal beliefs and experiences having lived, loved and hurt myself pursuing innumerable physical adventure quests throughout my life.
2. I was admittedly a little bit envious. Jason is a full-time finance executive who has managed to launch a start-up concept which aligns with my conscious capitalism aspirations, is beautiful in its simplicity AND he has three teenagers to keep him busy!? 

So, what’s his secret sauce and just as importantly; how can I get onboard with such a kick-a** initiative?!

Show notes:
https://inner-demons.com/

#DoingEpicStuff
#LvlUp
#SomeWayfindingRequired
#LicenseToThrill
#SwitchGrooves
#BeYourEpic

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit doingepicstuff.substack.com

Maureen is The Pound for Pound Peoples Champion of doing things smarter, not harder.

A master of finding ways for herself and others to spend more time on doing the things they do best or want to do more of; she’s a little bit of an ‘Original Gangstar Lifehacker’; able to perceive and  leverage opportunities to increase productivity in all walks of life, even cleaning the house!

From finding the balance between raising two children (as a single parent!) and being a successful entrepreneur coach, to launching a global Virtual Assistant agency with her business partner Carmen Williams (which has grown to a team of over 50 virtual staff) - Maureen's life is a testament to the power of thinking smarter, not harder.

Aside from all the epic stuff she's up to, it's Maureen’s positive outlook and ‘jump first’ approach to life that I've always been most impressed by - you've got to respect anyone who, when asked the question: "what would you have done differently?"
responds with “Taken even more risks.”
 #LicenseToThrill

Show notes:
https://businessblueprint.com.au/
https://globalteams.com.au/
https://asrc.org.au/
https://www.facebook.com/maureenpoundbusinesscoach/

#DoingEpicStuff
#BeYourEpic
#LvlUp
#SomeWayfindingRequired
#LicenseToThrill
#SwitchGrooves 

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit doingepicstuff.substack.com

Welcome to the Doing Epic Stuff podcast with your host Mike Drohan. 
Together we’ll explore the stories and journeys of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

Jake Waters and Ebony Campese are your typical modern day teenagers albeit with one significant difference; they both train in the ancient art of 8 limbs or 'Muay Thai' - a full-contact martial art born on the battlefields of South East Asia.

Muay Thai is as well known for its beautiful pre-fight warm up routines or ‘Wai Kru’, as its strange and exotic soundtrack of traditional horn music, which builds and slows in concert with the action in the ring.
Wicked spinning elbows, spear knees and savage clinch techniques are the order of the day which, more often than not, can result in loss of consciousness to the losing combatant or ‘Nak Muay’.

In an era where direct human interaction is in decline, and the value of traditional educational institutions under question, the practice of an ancient martial art is providing the answers for these two young guns, actively pursuing their EPIC journeys in the brave new world.

I'm fascinated by both Eb and Jake’s poise under scary conditions. Having only discovered Muay Thai later in life (myself) and subsequently; the roller coaster of fear, elation and injuries that its pursuit demands, I had to find out what went on in their minds when they donned the Thai leather, bit down on their mouth pieces and (effectively) prepared themselves to go to war each day after school.

Disclaimer: there’s mention of being ‘kicked in the head’ during this podcast which sounds (and is) disturbing but please note: that this sport is practiced under in a tightly controlled and regulated environment at Dominance MMA, Melbourne. Practitioners wear pads and are specifically trained to prevent serious injuries to each other.

In the ring? Well, that’s a whole other story…

Show Notes:
Watch The Emperor in action

#DoingEpicStuff
 #LvlUp
 #SomeWayfindingRequired
 #LicenseToThrill
 #SwitchGrooves
 #LiveYourEpic

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit doingepicstuff.substack.com

We’ve all heard that age old adage ‘never mix business with pleasure’ – my next guest found out the hard way what can happen when business partnerships go sour in South East Asia…

Riding high with a number of successful hospitality start-ups in Vietnam to his name, Western Australian ex-pat; Andrew Lambie, found his burgeoning empire scuttled over night when a business agreement was dishonoured by a trusted frenemy.

Ironically; it’s ultimately Andrew’s faith in humanity and altruistic nature which helps to re-rail his business prospects.

I bumped into Andrew one sunny morning in Hoi An whilst admiring his bright orange vintage Vespa out the front of 9 Grains Bakery which, as it turned out, was part of the Streets International initiative; a comprehensive and fully-supported 15-month culinary and hospitality training program for disadvantaged and vulnerable youth living in poverty.
Oh, and  Andrew also owned the bakery...

Aside from sharing a love of all things two-wheeled and petrol powered, Andrews passion for developing business concepts that embrace social enterprise values; maximising positive social impact alongside profits for the owner, was an epic reason for us to catch up on a rainy, sweaty afternoon in Hoi An - my last day in this stunning, mysterious city before I headed South to The Delta...

#DoingEpicStuff #LvlUp #SomeWayfindingRequired #LicenseToThrill #SwitchGrooves #LiveYourEpic

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit doingepicstuff.substack.com