Get Off The Bench Podcast

Known across the region as a little ball of joy and energy! Arianna Fox may come in a small package, but her ideas are as revolutionary as they are wide-reaching. For several years now, Arianna has devoted her life and much of her time to reaching out to others to spread messages of hope, inspiration, and self-confidence. Making a positive impact upon others and helping them rock their lives to maximum potential is part of this upcoming Kidpreneur’s goal for her interactions with kids, her fellow tweens, teens, adults, and all.

With her kid-tastic kapow speaking style and her ability to engage audiences of all ages, it’s easy to understand how Arianna has been able to raise her platform from her humble hometown in Delaware to a wide network online.

She is a National Award winner with the acclaimed NFPW (National Federation of Press Women), and Multi Award winner with the DPA (Delaware Press Association). She’s also a professional Voice-over actress & talent, performing for online commercial ads, web series and professional commercials.

In addition to this, Arianna has been interviewed and featured by many media outlets and is a regular contributor for award winning nationally published K.I.S.H. Magazine. An avid consumer of literature, Arianna first took pen to the page around the age of six and has been unstoppable ever since. Her first publication, a novel The Princess Chronicles: Not Your Average Princesses, was released in early 2017, teaching young children how to build their own character, confidence, and to create lasting friendships. Her new book, a young adult novel titled False Awakening, has been published and a hot item, including a knock-out book signing event at Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Newark, Delaware. Her latest book is ‘Sabre Black’.

A social media sensation, Arianna has consulted and taught professionals how to build their networks and platforms effectively. In her own family business, SPLASH DESIGNWORKS LLC, she proudly works as Jr. Marketing Director and has also taken on the title of ‘Social Samurai’. At her young age, she is instructing and teaching adults and professionals all about Social Media management. “I came to be taught, but didn’t expect to actually be learning so much from someone so young,” was one comment from an attendee from one of the Social Media Workshops that she and her parents conducted. Watch out world, because here she comes, spreading her wisdom of “You Rock, Dream Big & You Got This!”

She has been featured multiple times in and on News & Media outlets.

Socials:

Website: https://ariannafox.com/

LinkedIn: Arianna Fox

FB: Arianna Fox

Insta: Arianna Fox @afoxauthor

Youtube: Arianna Fox @AriannaFox

Mentions:

MX Publishing

Sherlock Holmes

The Box in the Basement (Movie)

Mia’s Bridge (Movie)

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Nikita Dhawan is a high school student at the American Embassy School in New Delhi. She has always been passionate about animal rights and environmental conservation and is the founder of an animal welfare initiative called "Youth for Animals.” 

Nikita is leading the organization’s flagship campaign #FreeShankarDelhiZoo to free Shankar, an African elephant languishing in the Delhi Zoo, from his life in solitary captivity. Nikita has filed a legal petition in the Delhi High Court for Shankar’s freedom and has received over 200,000 signatures for her online petition. The campaign has been covered extensively by Indian and International media, including BBC, ABC News, Newsweek, Financial Times, Hindustan Times, Times of India, Indian Express etc. 

Nikita is a recipient of the prestigious Diana Award and the Youth Award from the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organization (FIAPO). Nikita is also a Youth Ambassador for Born Free Foundation and Earthday org and a member of IUCN’s Commission on Education and Communication (CEC). Nikita is also a host for a UK based community radio station: All About Animals Radio.

Socials:

Website: Youth For Animals https://youthforanimals.org/

FB: Youth For Animals - YFA

Insta: Youth For Animals (YFA) @youth_for_animals

LinkedIn: Nikita Dhawan https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikita-dhawan/

Petition to free Shankar #FreeShankarDelhiZoo 

Mentions:

Animal Liberation - Peter Singer (Book)

Aspinall Foundation

Yellowstone eco system

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Growing up in a small rural town, Elle always had big city dreams. Her love of art, fashion and creating beautiful things lead her to a career as a makeup artist. Living in Gippsland and predominantly working in Melbourne may seem like a lot of unnecessary travel to many but to Elle it has given her the best of both worlds - fulfilled her love for all things hustle, bustle and great work opportunities in the city Vs empty beaches with her little loves and familiar happy faces around town. 

It was also the perfect place to be when covid hit and like many businesses - the makeup world came to a halt. It made Elle stop and re evaluate her career, and also lead to Elle creating Night Babe - her product based e-commerce business where she sells her mulberry silk pillowcases. 

She was able to use her beauty connections to help grow her name and get her product to the people. All Night Babe pillowcases are made from Elle’s family’s own soft furnishings studio in Seaspray, which she is extremely proud of.

Socials:

Website: https://nightbabe.com.au/

Insta: 100% Mulberry Silk Pillowcases @night__babe

FB: Night Babe @the.ultimate.beauty.sleep

Website: https://www.ellejames.com.au/

Insta: Elle James Makeup @ellejames_makeup

FB: Elle James Makeup Artist @ellejamesmakeupartist

Mentions:

Napoleon Purdis

Startup Gippsland

Jessica Mauboy

Kate Langbroek

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This episode is reflection that we need to extend much more love, and instead of focusing on how hard 2022 has been, let’s focus on the moments of joy that blessed us throughout the year. We all had those moments, but it’s so easy to override them with the things that have caused stress.

Together we can make a huge difference to the world if we just invest more love, care, hope and joy, and spend time celebrating the small moments that have brought a smile, not only to our face, but to the faces of others. And celebrating the moments that have brought joy into our hearts.

Life is not all about great big achievements and conquering massive mountains. There’s huge benefit in all the little moments that join together to create this things we call life.

Let’s get better at acknowledging and cheering on the positive.

Much love to all xx

Billie Groom is the creator of UPWARD Dogology, as well as being a social entrepreneur, innovator, expert in Canine Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CCBT), award winning author, podcast host, speaker, and animal welfare activist. Her work spans over three decades. She is featured in magazines, blogs, and on many podcasts and tv shows, including the LA Tribune, CTV, Roku TV, and Psychology Today Magazine. 

Billie has received awards and accolades for her success in rehabilitating thousands of street dogs, community dogs, and dogs with unknown, or disadvantaged pasts, from Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Panama, Thailand, Spain (Galgos), and China, as well as dogs rescued from the Yulin Festival, dog fighting rings, meat markets, backyard breeders, and death-row. She is currently working (pro-bono) with dogs rescued from the Ukraine war. She also works with dogs who have no history of abuse or neglect to keep them out of the system and in good homes, and works tirelessly to create change to help animals in need.

Billie is a member of the Dog Writers Association of America, Comparative Cognition Society, and the Animal Behavior Society, is a graduate of University of Western Ontario, and is enrolled in the Graduate School of Leadership and Change at Antioch University. She lives in Regina, Saskatchewan Canada with her rescued dogs and cat who came to live with them.

Her mission is to continue to spread awareness on CCBT to decrease surrenders and euthanasia, increase adoptions, end harmful methods, and increase our understanding of adolescent and adopted dogs.

Socials:

Website: https://www.upwarddogology.com/

LinkedIn: Billie Groom

FB: Upward Dogology - Dog Behavior, Dog Training, Animal Welfare 

Insta: UPWARD Dogology @upwarddogology

Twitter: UPWARD Dogology

Podcast: Dog Training DisrUPted

Book: The Art of Urban People With Adopted and Rescued Dogs Methodology: Rescued Dogs: The Misunderstood Breed 

YouTube: Dog Cognition and Canine Behavior 

LinkTree: Billie Groom - UPWARD Dogology

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James Clancy is the co-founder of Scarlet & Grace. Here’s the story…

The idea for Scarlet & Grace was born in 2016 on a Clancy family holiday on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia.

Recalling our childhood home and the wonderful scents that always filled the air, we started lamenting the fact so many home fragrance products today were made overseas and often contained harmful chemicals.

Mum then posed the big question. "If you don’t think the products are safe, why don’t you do something about it?"

This ignited a conversation about creating a range of personal care products unlike anything else on the market. Products that were designed to delight the senses, that take you on a real sensory experience, and were made from 100% Australian ingredients.

The next two-years were spent developing fragrances and building an exclusive supply chain of pure, natural, and Australian produced materials.

We were relentless in our search and refused to compromise on quality. We had a clear vision. We wanted to create the safest, purest, and highest quality products available on the market.

We knew there was a lot of competitors in the market, but we believed strongly that people deserved access to products that were made using natural Australian ingredients at the core, that offered a superior fragrance throw, and greater value for money.

Refusing to compromise on the quality or source of our products we released our first products just in time for Christmas 2018.

Beginning with a modest range of candles and diffusers, the Scarlet & Grace range has rapidly grown to a diverse product offering including room sprays, hand-creams, body-lotions, washes, and accessories.

While sales weren’t huge that first Christmas, we got something a lot more valuable than sales. We got feedback. Now for the first time we had the chance to hear from the most important person. The customer. The feedback we received from our retail partners instantly told us we were on a winner.

Customers returned to the stores wanting to order more. They told the retailer they loved the scents, the fragrance throws and routinely reported it was the best product they had used.

This feedback validated everything we had been working so hard to create and soon the sales volumes would follow. 

Since launching we have opened a new manufacturing and distribution centre in Sale, grown a network of hundreds of retail partners across Australia and New Zealand and in 2022 launched Scarlet & Grace across the UK and parts of Europe.

Our brand promise remains the same today as it did the day we conceived Scarlet and Grace. Anytime you buy a Scarlet and Grace product you can be confident it’s using the most natural, 100% Australian Made ingredients available.

As one of the only brands to have every ingredient scientifically tested and certified, we can guarantee the quality of everything we produce.

Driven by passion, the Clancy family continue to explore cutting-edge technology, new ingredient blends and fragrances, with the goal to further enhance the customer experience, elevate the sensory impact, and deliver unrivalled value and quality in every product we produce.

Socials:

Website: https://scarletandgrace.com.au/

FB: Scarlet and Grace Aromas

Insta: Scarlet and Grace @scarletandgracearomas

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Erika McInerney is a highly qualified marketer with over 25 years experience in the industry - seven of those in her own business Mac&Ernie. She founded Mac&Ernie to provide qualified and locally relevant training and development to individuals and businesses looking to increase their skills and confidence in marketing and social media.

After moving to Gippsland in 2011, Erika started working with small businesses and realised quickly that people in small towns and regional areas simply did not have access to relevant marketing or social media advice. They were 'winging it' or they were spending a lot of money on general tips from overseas 'gurus' for advice that just couldn't fit with an Australian audience, let alone a hyper-local one. Knowing that small businesses contribute hugely to the local economy, to tourism and to local pride, Erika has made it her business to help others shine online through her own training, and through mentoring within a number of national and state-funded programs.

Erika is passionate about authenticity and building genuine community, in what can be an unethical space. She seeks out opportunities to foster this through what she calls 'better social'. She has won awards for her contribution to her community and to business and she regularly hands out free advice via her social media and, more recently, via her new podcast 'small town business’.

Socials:

Website: www.macandernie.com.au

LinkedIn: Erika McInerney

FB: Mac&Ernie Social Media Training

Insta: Erika McInerney @mac_ernie

Small Town Business Podcast

Website: www.smalltownbusinesspodcast.au

FB: Small Town Business Podcast @smalltownbusinesspodcast 

Insta: Small Town Business with Erika McInerney @smalltownbusiness_podcast

Podcast: Small Town Business Podcast

Mentions:

Roar Success Awards

State of Social (Digital Marketing Conference)

Australian Small Business Champion Awards

Gippsland Business Awards

Jetstreamer (podcast services)

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Kate Parker is one the founder members of Daughters of the Deep and is Head of Operations for Oceania.

Kate is a qualified Dive Master and passionate diver, having been lucky enough to have dived in many locations around the world. This experience has opened her eyes to both the beauty in the oceans but also the extent to which human life has damaged our planet and the necessity to fight for the protection of our seas. 

This inspired Kate to join Sea Shepherd and she regularly crews offshore defending marine environments. Kate also runs the Sea Shepherd Dive program in Australia/NZ with a goal to drive industry standards up to a more environmentally focused level.

Having seen first hand the under representation of women in many popular dive locations globally, Kate is honoured and excited to be part of a movement that combines both her core values regarding equal rights for women, and her passion in conservation diving.

In her spare time, Kate is also a member of the Coast Guard, as well as a full time speech pathologist.

Socials:

Daughters of the Deep

Website: https://daughtersofthedeep.org/

FB: Daughters of the Deep

Insta: Daughters of the Deep  @daughersofthedeepofficial 

Sea Shepherd

Website: https://www.seashepherd.org.au/

FB: Sea Shepherd Australia

Insta: Sea Shepherd @seahshepherd

Mentions:

Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute

Sea Women of Melanesia

Girls With Hammers 

Hero Round Table

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In 2012, the Coffee Rescue journey started for Jamie Brock from an old ambulance converted into a food truck in Kalamazoo (Michigan), and has since grown into a brick-and-mortar coffee shop and coffee catering business in Portage, Michigan. 

Coffee Rescue began operating as a way to provide income for a family member after going through a financial crisis, then slowly started building a stable customer base. Though the business no longer operates out of the original ambulance, it has expanded into a number of coffee food trucks, a mobile coffee catering company, a coffee shop and a drive-thru.

Alongside Jamie’s love for coffee, is her love for animals. In 2019, after attending a Get Off The Bench workshop in Michigan, Jamie realised she could combine the two.

In 2022, Coffee Rescue teamed up with Joe Gatto (known best from the hit television show "Impractical Jokers"), to create Gatto Pups Rescue Roast which is a Fair-Trade Organic, Ethically-Sourced light roast coffee blend from Ethiopia, Peru, Honduras and El Salvador. $1.00 from every bag of coffee sold is donated to The LovePup Foundation!

The LovePup Foundation is a non-profit animal rescue organization in Arizona that was founded by
104.7 Kiss FM's Johnjay Van Es in 2014. This foundation has rescued, placed, rehabilitated and reunited over 1000 dogs.

Jamie is now also partnering with a number of other charities, creating their own unique blend, and helping create a better world at the same time.

Socials:

Website: coffeerescue.net

FB: Coffee Rescue

Insta: Coffee Rescue @coffee_rescue1

Mentions:

Gatto Pups

Hero Round Table

Captain Encouragement

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Doug Moczynski started Gippsland Adventure Therapy because he has a burning passion for helping people access the outdoors and nature for increased mental health and wellbeing. He loves sharing experiences with others, and is at his personal best when he's engaged in something outdoors and can see the joy in peoples faces when they feel safe to try something new and challenging.

Doug has been working in the outdoor industry since 2003 where he’s had many roles spanning everything from camp counsellor in the USA to English teaching in China to snow skiing instructor and commercial outdoor adventure guide.

Over the past decade Doug has committed himself to working with youth in the out of home care sector where he has and continues to, work with children dealing with the challenges of developmental trauma.

Having completed a Graduate Certificate in developmental trauma, as well as a Diploma in Community Service work and outdoor recreation, Doug plans to round things off with a Diploma of Counselling. 

No adventure is too small, and Doug’s priority is making it accessible to the participant’s level of comfort, but is very happy to make things more challenging for those who wish to push things further.

When Doug’s not running his business, he's out with his family connecting with the beauty of the outdoors in and around Gippsland.

Socials:

Website: https://www.gippslandadventuretherapy.com.au/

LinkedIn: Doug Moczynski

FB: Gippsland Adventure Therapy

Insta: Doug Moczynski @gippslandadventuretherapy 

Mentions:

Dr Scott Miller PhD

Dr Will Dobud PhD

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