Steve Gillis didn't start out as a player agent. He was a rugby league reporter at News Limited, and by his own account he knew everyone in the game: the players, the coaches, the CEOs, the referees, the touch judges and the tuck shop lady. He turned that into an NRL player management business in 1993, and had 30 NRL clients on the books by the time Super League arrived.

In this episode of Luke Who's Talking, Steve takes Luke inside a job most people misread. Why he recruits 25 blue chip juniors instead of 50 hopefuls. What he looks for scouting junior rugby league talent, and why the parents tell him as much as the player does. How the NRL salary cap really works from an agent's side of the negotiating table. Why the average NRL career is around 50 first grade games, and what separates the players who go past 300.

There's also the honest part. The calls at 2 and 3 in the morning that are never "how are you going". Player welfare, concussion, CTE and where the game's legal exposure sits. NRL expansion into Perth and PNG, State of Origin match payments, and the NRL's interest in buying the English Super League. And why, after 30 years, he told his own 25 year old son he wasn't allowed to do it.

A conversation about talent, timing, reputation and long careers, with plenty in it for anyone in real estate, recruitment or sales.

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NRL, rugby league, NRL player manager, player agent, sports agent, sports management, NRL contracts, NRL salary cap, State of Origin, junior rugby league, rugby league pathways, player welfare, concussion, CTE, NRL expansion, Perth Bears, PNG NRL, Super League, Steve Gillis, Gillis Schaikovsky, real estate podcast, Luke Who's Talking, sales, recruitment, leadership

Bill Malouf didn't grow up in real estate. He ran his family's hotel in Auburn, and got into the industry at 35 after seven agents wasted his time trying to buy a family home, while one, George Devine, showed him two houses and sold him one of them.

With no listings, no history and no credibility, he bought a painter's scrapbook and spent the next two years turning up to every auction in the eastern suburbs, recording his own opinion of value before the hammer fell. Ground floor or top floor. Lift or no lift. Views or no views. That book is what he still tells new agents to start today.

In this episode Bill takes Luke through the Coogee Bay Hotel sale that put him on the map, why he stopped taking $30m-plus properties to auction after a conversation with John Singleton, the sealed-contract method he runs instead, and why he'll write his price on his hand before he'll ask a vendor for theirs.

There's also a $43m deal that leaked from a 6am gym session, a 1:30am phone call from a stranger testing whether he really never turns his phone off, and a one-bedroom unit he refused to hand to anyone else.

No graphs. No market-share slides. No fluff.

Real estate is a high-performance, high-divorce, always-on industry. So what happens to your family when you're chasing every listing and answering every call at 8pm?

Luke sits down with Dr Justin Coulson, parenting expert, author of 10 books, and founder of Happy Families, for a conversation built for agents who run on an ABN and carry all the pressure that comes with it. Justin gets it: he's spent 16 years building his own business under exactly that kind of load.

Together they unpack the habits that quietly cost agents the thing they say matters most. Justin shares his three L's (love, limits, and laughter) and the "bucket" model of connection versus correction that applies as much to your team as it does to your kids. He challenges the scarcity mentality behind being 100% available, and makes the case that the client who wants to list at 5:45pm will still want to list at 8:15am tomorrow, once you've actually been present at home.

Luke and Justin also dig into the smartphone's grip on both work and family, the morning rituals that set up your whole day, co-parenting through separation in an industry where it's all too common, and the quarterly "planning getaway" Justin runs with his wife, borrowing the same discipline agents use for their business goals and applying it to the family.

Whether you're a new agent, a team leader, or a principal juggling a growing business and a growing family, this one's a reminder that the listings will still be there, and a practical guide to showing up better at home.

Find Justin at happyfamilies.com.au.

Shannan Whitney is the founder of Bresic Whitney, one of Sydney's most recognised boutique real estate brands. What started as two agents in 2002 has grown into a business with 95 agents, six offices and over 300 staff across Sydney's inner city markets.

Before starting Bresic Whitney, Shannan spent nearly a decade at McGrath after being headhunted at 19. That experience shaped his standards, his understanding of service and ultimately gave him the foundation to build something of his own.

In this episode we cover the brutal reality of the first five years in real estate, why Shannan still prospects and still shows up on Saturdays in his fourth decade, how he thinks about recruiting and developing agents versus just selecting them, the skill of having direct conversations without being destructive, why the auction method is fundamentally about price and nothing else, and the surprisingly simple advice he gives to agents trying to balance parenthood with a career that never switches off.

🎧 New episodes fortnightly📲 Follow @lukewhostalking_ on Instagram and TikTok

Sponsored by The Agency

What happens when one of Sydney's top real estate agents starts questioning her relationship with alcohol, in an industry where drinking is practically written into the culture?

Stephanie Farah is an award-winning real estate agent with over a decade of experience specialising in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs and a third-generation member of one of the area's most respected real estate families. She is also one of the more honest voices in the industry when it comes to the conversation nobody in real estate really wants to have: Discussing stress, alcohol, mental health and what it actually takes to perform at a high level without using a drink to take the edge off.

In this bonus snippet from Luke Who's Talking, Stephanie and Luke get into a conversation that goes well beyond property. Alcohol is still part of Stephanie's life, but rarely, and intentionally. What changed, why it changed, and how she manages the pressure and stress of a demanding career without defaulting to it is what this six minutes is really about.

In this episode we cover:

• How Stephanie's relationship with alcohol has shifted over time
• The effect that change has had on her mental health and overall wellbeing
• How she manages stress and pressure in one of Sydney's most competitive real estate markets without relying on alcohol
• What the sober-curious movement means for high performers in intense industries
• The honest conversation about drinking culture in real estate that most people avoid

This is a bonus clip taken from the full Stephanie Farah episode of Luke Who's Talking, available now in the feed.

Whether you work in real estate, run your own business or simply want to perform better and feel better without alcohol being the answer - this conversation is worth six minutes of your time.

Follow Luke Who's Talking on Instagram @lukewhostalking_ | Sponsored by The Agency

Andrew Liddell is a BresicWhitney Director with more than 15 years of experience, one of Balmain's highest-performing property professionals and consistently ranked in the Top 50 agents nationwide. But if you looked at where he started, you would never have predicted it.

Andrew left school with no clear direction, moved to London at 19 and spent years working in hospitality across Europe and Canada before finding his way into real estate in 2010. What hospitality gave him... the ability to read people, adapt to any situation and make every interaction feel personal, which became the foundation everything else was built on.

Dedicated to transforming the contemporary real estate experience, Andrew leads an exceptional sales team alongside long-time business partner Adrian Oddi. Operating under BresicWhitney's unique network model, the opposite of a franchise, his team regularly taps into buyers across multiple offices, consistently delivering bigger results for their clients. Last year alone, 37 out of 115 sales across Andrew's team never hit the open market.

A family man with four young children, Andrew is committed to repeat clientele, long-term relationships and the unparalleled BresicWhitney reputation. He's also one of the more honest voices in the industry when it comes to what a sustainable, high-performance career actually looks like, and what it costs if you're not careful.

In this episode of Luke Who's Talking, we cover:

• How Andrew got his start in real estate and what the early years really looked like
• The advice he received starting out that shaped everything - be a good person and look after your buyers
• The power of off-market sales and how to build the buyer network that makes 37 out of 115 possible
• Why every listing is an opportunity to generate three or four more, not just close the one in front of you
• How Andrew structures his days around a 5am gym session so he's home before his family wakes up
• What it means to stop making real estate about yourself, and why that shift changes everything

"I've been to the gym and back home before my family wakes up."

Whether you are a new agent building your foundations or an experienced professional wanting to build something more sustainable and more human - Andrew's story is proof that the long game always wins.

Follow Luke Who's Talking on Instagram @lukewhostalking_ | Sponsored by The Agency

This is not a career highlight reel. This is a 10-minute conversation about what actually goes on at home when you're a Top 50 agent with four kids and a partner who holds everything together.

Andrew Liddell: BresicWhitney Director, consistently ranked in the Top 50 agents in Australia. Andrew sat down with Luke and talked about the parts of the job that don't make it into award nominations. The chaos of four kids aged four to twelve. Making school lunches at 10pm because it's one less thing for his partner. The phone that goes straight in the tie drawer the moment he walks through the door. Booking the family holidays at the start of the year so there's always something to look forward to. And the raw honesty in explaining how he will come to his kids to say sorry for the way he handled something.

This bonus snippet is taken from the full Andrew Liddell episode, coming soon on Luke Who's Talking.

"I don't want to turn around one day and realise it wasn't about the deal. It was about being present."

If you are building a career in real estate and trying to figure out how to not lose everything else in the process - this one is for you.

Follow Luke Who's Talking on Instagram @lukewhostalking_ | Sponsored by The Agency

Known as the gentleman of real estate Elite Agent, Michael Pallier has spent nearly three decades operating at the very top of the Australian property market. Managing Director of Sydney Sotheby's International Realty and based in Double Bay Sotheby's International Realty, his sales include some of the most expensive homes sold in Australia.

Michael spent the first 14 years of his career with Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Mercedes-Benz in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, consistently ranking as the top salesperson for each luxury brand in Australia before transitioning into prestige property in 1997. Since then he has personally negotiated over 1,000 Eastern Suburbs luxury home sale - most of them through repeat clients and referrals.

In this episode of Luke Who's Talking, we explore:

• How a career selling Rolls-Royce and Bentley shaped Michael's approach to prestige property
• Why discretion, trust and patience are the foundation of every ultra-high-end sale
• How to market and sell properties that can never go to open inspection
• Building a referral network so strong that the market comes to you
• What it actually takes to negotiate Australia's most significant residential transactions
• The mindset behind staying low-key in an industry that rewards noise

Whether you are an agent building your career in prestige property or simply want to understand how the very top end of the Australian market works - this conversation is essential listening.

Follow Luke Who's Talking on Instagram @lukewhostalking_ | Sponsored by The Agency

Cristian Cignarella has sold over 120 properties and written more than $100 million in sales in the past 12 months alone. He is one of the Illawarra's most in-demand real estate agents... and he's only getting started.

Based in Wollongong, Cristian has built a reputation in the Illawarra and broader South Coast market through relentless work ethic, contagious energy and a mindset laser-focused on continuous improvement. In just four years, he has become a go-to agent for buyers and sellers across the region, consistently outperforming his own benchmarks.

In this episode of Luke Who's Talking, we unpack:

- How Cristian built momentum fast in a regional market

- The daily habits and disciplines driving his $100M+ output

- How he learns from mentors while developing his own style

- What it takes to become the agent everyone wants in your market

- Mindset, consistency and how to perform under pressure

"Wherever you are in your life, its a direct correlation of your actions"

Whether you are a new agent looking to fast-track your growth or an experienced professional wanting to sharpen your edge, this conversation will push you to think bigger and work smarter.

Follow Luke Who's Talking on Instagram @lukewhostalking_ | Sponsored by The Agency

** Real Estate Agent Illawarra, Wollongong Real Estate, Real Estate Sales Training, High Performance Habits, Real Estate, Mindset Australia, Real Estate Podcast **

What happens when two real estate professionals combine their strengths, trust each other completely and go all in on their market together? You get Eva Frketic and Ben Marovic and one of South West Sydney's most respected partnerships.

Eva brings over a decade of experience in the Liverpool property market, a reputation built on professionalism and genuine client care, and a track record of consistent results across one of Sydney's most active corridors. Ben grew up in the area he now serves, giving him an on-the-ground understanding of buyer behaviour, local streets and community trust that simply cannot be manufactured.

In this episode of Luke Who's Talking, we cover:

- How Eva and Ben built a high-trust real estate partnership from the ground up

- What collaboration really looks like in a competitive market

- How deep local knowledge creates a long-term competitive advantage

- Building client relationships that generate repeat and referral business

- Lessons for any agent thinking about teaming up with a partner

"We both have high expectations of ourselves, but collaboratively as a team, we're not going to let each other down"

If you are an agent, thinking about co-listing partnerships, or building a career in one of Sydney's most competitive markets, this episode is packed with practical insight.

Follow Luke Who's Talking on Instagram @lukewhostalking_ | Sponsored by The Agency

** South West Sydney Real Estate, Liverpool Property Market, Real Estate Partnership, Real Estate Agent Career, Property Sales Australia, Real Estate Podcast **