In this episode I sat down with Ryan Dunstan of Ignite Sunshine Coast.

Ryan has been building his team the Dunstan Death Squad for a while and it was great to be able to it and chat with him to learn about his background and the influences that inspire his coaching and approach to it.

From being in a metal band to the 51 Elite system, we talk about a range of topics that include fighting, cricket, coaching and more.

One of the things I really like about Ryan's approach is the focus on depth in his training room. With fighters competing all around the country at different shows, Ryan made a point of ensuring that his senior team members were capable of cornering and assisting the junior members of the team to ensure that when he was unavailable the show could always go on and opportunities were not missed.

 Links:

https://www.instagram.com/dunstandeathsquad/

https://www.discogs.com/release/26378597-Astroboi-Astroboi

https://www.instagram.com/ignite.sunshinecoast/

https://www.instagram.com/gamebredacademy/

In this episode I sit down with the Head Coach of Freestyle MMA, Joe Lopez to chat about a bunch of different topics from the Freestyle MMA origin story, to Fr. Maurie Crocker a former Pro Boxer, soldier and priest who fought to expose abuse in the church.

Joe was kind enough to share his time to talk about his experiences starting a security company through to his experiences coaching MMA GOAT Alex Volkanosvki, building up the team at Freestyle and their relationship with the worlds second best grappler - Craig Jones

One of the things that really stands out for me, is that despite all the achievements and accolades that his students have had, Joe is so down to earth and focused on wanting the best for his students.

I know Joe doesn't often do these kinds of podcasts so it's my honour to be able to share this conversation with you all, enjoy!

Make sure you tune into Wollongong Wars 11 this Friday 7th June 2024!

PS. if anyone speaks Spanish, you will probably appreciate Joe's massive grin at the end

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/freestyle_mma/

https://www.instagram.com/wollongong_wars/

https://www.facebook.com/crockersgym/

https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/1813760/wollongong-whistleblower-priest-treated-poorly/

In this episode Kaine Wilken joins me to chat about life, arborism, jiu jitsu and more!

Kaine has recently started his own Jiu Jitsu Academy - Reign Grappling Club in the Sutherland Shire so it was a good opportunity to see his space and chat to him about his own experiences with martial arts, life and more!

From growing up in a small town and experiencing bullying to bodyboarding, dealing with anger, history and more, we chat about a whole range of topics in true podcast fashion!

Enjoy!

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/reigngrapplingclub/

https://www.instagram.com/wilkojiujitsu/

I first met Perry a couple of years ago at his second MMA fight. It's amazing to see how much people can grow in a short period of time. I actually did a little interview with him backstage and he was such a quiet kid that Josh Culibao (as his corner) was there poking fun at him.

From living in Japan & starting his own little backyard fight promotion to deciding to come back to Australia by himself to find his own way, Perry is a committed guy chasing his goals.

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/perry.jamesprivate/

I recently caught up with Jake O'Driscoll when he was in Sydney for Subversion.

It was great to be able to sit down with him and chat about life, from family to his experience leaving AFL to pursue Jiu Jitsu, starting his own academy, picking a fight with Sonny Bill Williams and much more

I'm really blessed to have conversations like this, I apologise for the technical issue with the video, the most important thing is that the audio is all there, so I hope you enjoy this conversation and listening to the insights that Jake shared.

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/jakeod_essencebjj/

https://essencebjj.com.au/

https://linktr.ee/essencebjj

Hi Everyone!

In this episode I sat down with Coopar 'Rush' Royal.  A talented mixed martial artist who is fighting this weekend at One Championship!

People often think that Coopar has a traditional martial arts background, however his 'style' is actually from him incorporating the movements of his favourite fighters into his own game.

Growing up in Rockhampton and not having the best influences around him as he was going through school and it's the realisation that he was always chasing the 'rush' that led him to find martial arts.

Anyway, make sure you tune in and watch Coopar in action again this Friday!

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/rushthefighter/

https://www.onefc.com/athletes/coopar-royal/

In this episode I sat down with Josh O'brien, a young hungry MMA athlete who is not afraid to chase his dreams.

I enjoy chatting with people at all different stages of the journey as anyone who has chased something would know that feeling of dreaming big and trying to find a way to put it together.

I actually commentated Josh's first fight alongside  @SonnyBrown  at Wollongong Wars and it's interesting to reflect on Josh being so active despite being early in his career in the sport.

If anything, I also found that this conversation made me even more interested to follow his journey. There are plenty of people who would dismiss other people for having big aspirations, however I think one of the exciting things in life is that there are no guarantees of how it all pans out.

Shout out to Rival Gym Castle Hill for letting us use their space to record - apologies if there is a bit of background noise!

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/joshobrien11/

https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/386163-joshua-o-brien

In this episode I sat down with James O'Leary of Undisputed Performance & Rehab, a qualified physio, PT and strength and conditioning coach who also runs these 'project' style challenges that allow people to build strength / skill, get fit among likeminded individuals.

The other guest in this episode was Cameron Scott, a registered Nurse who is a Bobsled (bobsleigh) pilot who is looking to compete at the olympics in this crazy sport.

I think for most people our introduction to the sport is the movie 'Cool Runnings' and it was really cool (pun intended) to chat with the boys to talk about the sport, how the strength & conditioning / training impacts their performance in the sport and also to just see 2 guys who have been friends for a long time interact with each other.

Enjoy!

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/cameronscott333/

https://www.instagram.com/jamesolearyphysio/

https://www.instagram.com/undisputedpr/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/670687475206765/?ref=share&mibextid=K35XfP

https://undisputedpr.com/

In this episode I sat down with Janice 'Ling Ling', a training partner and friend who I've had plenty of great conversations with.

It's always interesting to find out more about people so aside from knowing her skills in the training room it was fun to chat with her about a broad range of topics, from her experiences with skydiving to motorbikes, Janice is the kind of person to go deep when she gets into something.

She's also full of great stories from punching her skydiving instructor in the face to having a motorbike getting set on fire to writing articles for a men's magazine.

Janice also creates some ridiculous (yet informative) jiu jitsu content and is available for jiu jitsu coaching!

Enjoy!

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/cutiep1e666/

In this episode I sat down with Rebecca Fitzgerald, an engineer, potter, mother of twins, time traveler (jokes!) & more.

I know Bec through Jiu Jitsu as she's a serial competitor who just loves the sport. It's great to see people getting bitten by the combat sports bug at any stage in life. That said, life isn't always easy. From experiencing difficulties with fertility to going through rounds of IVF to a pleasant shock of ending up with twins, it's nice that Bec was willing to share her experience on such a difficult topic.

Bec also started her working life as an accountant, before walking away from a career with a 'big 4' accounting firm to pursue engineering.

We also chat about sustainability, her pottery ventures and a whole bunch more!

Enjoy!

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/becfitzjitz/

https://www.instagram.com/hi_there_chuchu/