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In this episode of Our Byron Community, Chris sits down with Mel McPherson for a deeply personal conversation about adventure, reinvention, creativity, and finding belonging.

Growing up on Sydney’s Northern Beaches before moving through Avoca and eventually Byron Bay, Mel reflects on the chapters that shaped her life — from boarding school and film school to working alongside legendary surf filmmaker Jack McCoy on Blue Horizon, and building a career behind the camera across television, surf films, adventure productions and international events.

Mel also shares stories from her years competing in surf boat rowing, winning four Australian titles, and explains how surf club culture gave her a lifelong sense of community and connection.

The conversation explores much deeper themes too — leaving behind the life she thought she was “supposed” to want, navigating heartbreak and major life changes, choosing a different path, and ultimately finding a place in Byron where individuality, creativity and intuition could thrive.

Chris and Mel also dive into her passion for restoring old homes, including the remarkable transformation of a century-old abandoned farmhouse "Longfield" in the Byron hinterland that many locals knew as the “haunted house on the hill.”

An honest, thoughtful and inspiring conversation about trusting intuition, embracing change, and creating a life that feels truly authentic.