In Progress Podcast

Alex Baldock is a high school teacher, a gym owner and a dad, and this episode is a proper look at how all three fit together. Alex grew up in Latrobe, learned some of his biggest life lessons from the coaches who set him straight, and now tries to be that same kind of role model for his students. We get into the moment he and his partner Sam chose to go all in on a gym instead of playing it safe, what it takes to run two of them while still teaching and raising kids, why sticking to your guns matters more than chasing fads, and why strength training has become so important for older members. It's honest about the sacrifices, the chaos, the days he comes home not at his best, and the reason he keeps going.

Alex Ives is twenty years into a career in tech, and this episode is him properly stopping to ask whether it's actually been worth it. It's a wide ranging one, the toll the industry takes and why he's had to learn to say no, the glass jar analogy that changed how he thinks about time and priorities, what a night inside a major tech outage actually looks like from the ground, parenting in a world that's always online, and the family history that's got him entering one of Australia's biggest charity car rallies year after year. Burnout, gratitude, community, and the small habits that actually help him switch off once everything else is stripped away.

In this episode:

• Twenty years in tech, and whether it's actually been worth it
• The glass jar analogy that changed how he thinks about time
• What a night inside a major tech industry outage actually looks like
• Why he keeps doing one of Australia's biggest cancer fundraisers
• Parenting and keeping kids safe in a world that's always online
• The hobbies and small habits that actually help him switch off

Keenan had the choice to take over his dad's motorhome business, and he turned it down. What came next wasn't a straight line. He took a job he ended up hating, got offered a spot in a uni course while he was there, and ended up working that job full time and studying full time at once, on top of a lot going on at home. It came to a head one morning when he was loading the car for work and nearly threw up in the driveway. In this episode Keenan walks us through that breaking point, quitting the job he begun to hate, finishing his degree, landing a spot as lead designer on a military drone trailer contract in his first year out of uni, and building his own 3D printed surfboard brand almost by accident along the way. We also get into anxiety, therapy, being medicated for the first time in his life, and the honest advice he'd give anyone thinking about jumping ship on their career.

Kyle McGiveron built his own gym from nothing. Then it closed. In this episode he talks about the black cloud months that followed, and the rebirth that came after. We get into why he doesn't see it as failure, the high vibration people he credits for keeping him on track, why it takes a village to raise a village, getting married on Valentine's Day, and the one piece of advice he'd give his 18 year old self.

This one's about rebuilding an identity outside of a title, and working out who actually deserves your time.

In this episode:

• Losing a gym he built from scratch and why he doesn't call it a failure
• Getting married while juggling career chaos
• The high vibration people who show up when you need them
• Why he cut ties with certain people the day he left high school
• Six pages of self reflection notes and why journaling keeps coming up on this podcast
• His advice to his 18 year old self

Kale Adams left Tasmania at 18 on a US college running scholarship and spent nearly a decade competing and coaching in Colorado and Wisconsin, chasing the semi-professional running dream. In this episode, he joins us to talk about how that opportunity came about, what elite college athletics in America is really like, and the pivotal (and painful) moment he was forced to move back home.

We dig into the mental side of endurance sport — the self-talk technique he uses to get through tough moments, how he reframed his relationship with fear and failure, and why he actively tries not to compare his life stage to his peers. We also talk about his bright, colorful hair, and how he's used it as an unexpected way to make other people feel seen and accepted.

Whether you're an athlete, a coach, or just someone figuring out your next chapter, this conversation about identity, comparison, and starting over is worth your time.

🎧 New episodes of In Progress every fortnight.
👍 Like, subscribe, and drop a comment — what part of this episode hit you the hardest?

#InProgressPodcast #RunningPodcast #MentalHealth #TasmaniaRunning #AthleteMindset #CollegeRunning #Parkrun #PersonalGrowth

At 18, Taylor Forward drank for the first time, passed out, and fell face-first into a fire. He spent three months in hospital and was told he shouldn't have survived — and the fallout from that night ended up changing an actual law in Tasmania.

In this episode, Taylor takes us through the wild, full-circle story of how that accident led him into church, into faith, and eventually into drifting — the sport he's now stuck with for almost 20 years. We get into 3D-printed car parts, Tasmania's drift scene, and what it's really like racing in Japan — before going deep on how Taylor combined his two biggest passions into "Dare to Drift": a touring drift car and ministry that travels around Australia preaching to high schoolers using drifting as a metaphor for faith.

We also talk about the real cost of that mission — raising four kids on the road, his son Hunter's ultra-rare disability, and the leap of faith (literally) that landed them a $170,000 truck to make it all possible.

This one's got everything: cars, faith, family, and a story you won't see coming.

What does it look like to genuinely rebuild yourself?, not just say you're working on it, but actually do it?In this episode, we sit down with Nathan Whittle, breakfast radio announcer at SeaFM on Tasmania's Northwest Coast, musician, rally car driver, band manager, and one of the most self-aware humans we've had in the studio. Nathan returns for his most honest conversation yet, and this one goes deep.Nathan's path to breakfast radio wasn't linear. From six years on the phones at Apple Tech Support, to eight years crafting radio ads in the production booth, to now co-hosting a breakfast show heard across his community, every "random" job turned out to be training. His story is proof that the dots only connect looking backwards.But this episode isn't just a career retrospective. Nathan opens up about:🎙️ Why radio is the last traditional media standing and how its two-way relationship with community keeps it alive while print and TV fade🤘 Managing a young Tasmanian death metal band (Tranquility Unknown) picking them up at 16, stepping away at the right time, and watching them hit the mainland🚗 Rally driving as therapy, how buying a Mitsubishi Mirage and racing it up a hill became the most important mental health decision he made after losing a close friend📖 The "life as a book" framework?, Nathan's philosophy that the question isn't whether you're doing well, it's whether the page you're currently on is worth reading🧠 Choosing what to believe and why his life is divided into two chapters: before and after he realised belief is a choice💊 Psychedelics, complex PTSD, and waking up. Nathan speaks candidly about how a traumatic relationship in his youth left invisible wounds, and what finally helped him see them🔥 Internal vs external reality, and the uncomfortable truth about why people in chaos will often sabotage a good situation because familiar pain feels safer than unfamiliar peaceThis is one of those conversations that makes you pause and just sit with your thoughts for a minute. If you've ever felt like you're still carrying something you can't quite name, this episode is for you.⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00 — Welcome back Nathan01:00 — Music, tech, and the road to Apple03:45 — The pivot from Apple to radio production07:00 — Eight years of ads, then the mic09:20 — Breakfast radio: privilege, responsibility, and 4am starts11:00 — Managing death metal band Tranquility Unknown14:10 — Walls of death, moshing, and extreme music culture22:30 — Cancel culture, democracy, and growing into your opinions29:10 — Life as a book: Nathan's personal framework38:00 — The pivotal moments you don't see coming47:45 — Rally driving, grief, and doing something ridiculous for your soul56:30 — Complex PTSD, toxic relationships, and psychedelics59:15 — Internal vs external reality: why we sabotage good things🔔 Subscribe so you don't miss an episode👍 Like if this one hit different💬 Comment — what's the page you're on right now?#podcast #mentalhealth #selfawareness #radio #trauma #healing #CPTSD #Tasmania #music #rallysport #lifestory #psychedelics #motivation #authenticity #personaldevelopment

Three years after his last appearance, independent brewer Josh Roberts of Buttons Brewing returns to the podcast for a raw, honest conversation about the hidden pressures of running a business alone. After scaling his brewery "real big, real quick," Josh hit a breaking point driven by severe cash flow stress, isolation, and hiding his struggles from loved ones. A severe wake-up call forced him to completely reassess his relationship with alcohol, business management, and life itself. Now, Josh is back in his "sweet spot", running a downsized, community-focused cellar door, making time to be a playful dad, and embracing a more lighthearted approach to life. Tune in to hear his valuable insights on mental health, recognizing when you need a business coach, and the current state of independent brewing.

What happens when life turns up the volume all at once? In this episode, we sit down with Jack McCoy, a Tasmanian mechanical business owner, marathon runner and a new dad!, to talk about what it really looks like to juggle it all without dropping the ball.Jack opens up about the raw reality of becoming a first-time dad, the sleepless nights, the baby books that set unrealistic expectations, the relationship shifts that nobody warns you about, and how he found his new normal. He shares the honest truth about swallowing your pride as a self-confessed creature of habit when the house isn't perfect and the grass doesn't get mowed.We also dive deep into Jack's business journey, from rediscovering his lost passion for mechanics, to taking the leap into business ownership in 2021 and building a team of nine employees. Jack talks candidly about delegating, trusting your team, and the mental shift required to let go of control when a something major gets thrown into the mix... (having a baby) changes everything.And then there's the running. What started as signing up for the Burnie 10 with zero training has evolved into completing full marathons on the Gold Coast and beyond. Jack gets real about the mental toughness required, and shares a small story about his struggle at the 35km mark, and the power of a single text message which saved his race, and why he's set himself a goal to run one marathon every year for the next ten years.This episode is for the blokes grinding through the chaos of business, fatherhood, and chasing personal goals, and finding out who they really are along the way.

Joel Beveridge joins us for an honest conversation about life on and off the court, and what it took to finally ask for help.In this episode, Joel opens up about growing up on the Northwest Coast with very little, finding his path to university and teaching, and what it's really like to juggle 20 seasons of basketball, a young family, a side business, and a career in education, all while managing undiagnosed ADHD.Joel shares the pivotal moment a workplace blow-up forced him to confront his mental health, how therapy and an ADHD diagnosis completely changed his life at home and at school, and why he now champions open conversations about mental wellbeing with his students and those around him.