Pulling Threads

A random German backyard ultra just put on the best livestream in the game and it hurt to watch, because every idea we'd documented after King of the Hill they pulled off one by one. The event is never how you make the money. It's the vehicle to advertise how you make the money, and if you can't get that right you're selling your house before the event dies. Plus why whinging about your missus makes you a bitch, and the set-in-stone rules for the workshop ox.

In this episode:
- Why Last Soul Ultra's livestream blew the whole scene up with 100k concurrent viewers
- The $48k tracker that would put a GPS on every King of the Hill runner
- The real reason we're stressed and a bit fucked heading into King of the Hill
- Why elite athletes who won't make content are hindering themselves and the whole sport
- Alex on trying for a baby and why a goal changes everything
- What makes you a bitch: talking shit about your partner when they're not there
- The complete rules for controlling the stereo in the workshop
- Page Parliament book club kicks off with To The Limit by Amber and Blaine Burke

Timestamps:
(00:16) Back in the studio, 6k on Facebook and the rage followers
(05:11) Why we do a podcast that takes the least effort possible
(07:38) Last Soul Ultra and the livestream that blew the scene up
(09:39) The event is not how you make money, it's the vehicle
(17:26) The $48k tracker we'd need for King of the Hill
(23:15) Why we're genuinely a bit fucked coming into King of the Hill
(28:13) Mark Doudel, Elo and characters making the sport more professional
(30:43) American exceptionalism and the mindset that fuels it
(41:24) Why elite athletes should suck up the pride and make content
(45:16) Alex on trying for a baby and treating it like a workout
(53:30) What makes you a bitch: talking shit about your partner
(01:06:48) The rules for controlling the stereo in the workshop
(01:24:32) Page Parliament book club and To The Limit

Full episode out now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Follow the pod on Instagram: @pullingthreads

A 10K open water swim, 420 kilometres on the bike and an 84K double marathon across three days — and Simon Cochrane did the lot on Coke, Red Bull and Tailwind. That run set the Ultraman world record. This week he sits down with Alex and Troy and goes through 39 Ironmans, a Tarawera 100 miler won on a torn calf, and the sinking kayak that left him swimming six Ks on his own in the middle of a lake. The bloke has done more damage to himself than most people can imagine, and he still won't call himself a professional.

In this episode:

- The world record run fuelled entirely on Coke, Red Bull and Tailwind for three straight days

- Why UTMB charges Kiwis an extra 400 euro in carbon credits for travelling the furthest

- The kayak guy who forgot the bung and sank three Ks into a 10K lake swim

- Pushing through the last 6K of a 2 hour 29 marathon looking like dog shit

- The 32 hours versus 19 hours gap between an average punter and a world record holder

- Whether finishing in 6 hours is actually harder than scraping the cutoff

- Buying a runner like a racehorse and the wild event idea it sparked

- Doping in ultra running and what drug would actually get you further in a backyard

Full episode out now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Follow the pod on Instagram: @pullingthreads

Follow the Simon on Instagram: @Cochranesimon

We just ran Harry's Longest Mile and the livestream shit the bed in the first two hours. Two cameras dead, roaming cam audio clapped out, and Alex sitting up in the commentary box on one hour's sleep watching the whole thing fall apart. Then he cracked a Red Bull, stopped fighting it, and it turned into the best event we've ever run.

In this episode:
- The three major livestream failures and the moment Alex just accepted it was cooked
- Why the Longest Mile format is like a beep test that turns into a sprint to the death
- Ross McPhee, 52, coming seventh and running a lap he was never going to make anyway
- Kate Mason hanging with the blokes on legs half their length
- The Blaine Burke comment that stopped us being tight arses and put real prize money on the table
- Getting the truck bogged in the Kilmore infield and needing a tractor to drag it out
- The DIY race clock Alex sank 40 hours into and the $30k livestream plan Ethan killed three times
- Why we made zero dollars and reinvested every cent into gear

Timestamps:
(00:16) Coming off the back of Harry's Longest Mile
(02:16) Dad going zero to a hundred and running an event on eggshells
(03:12) The three livestream failures explained
(04:48) The moment Alex accepted it was cooked and started enjoying it
(08:35) Ross McPhee, 52, coming seventh and refusing to quit
(10:31) The Longest Mile format explained
(14:51) What the livestream does for the athletes' families
(23:23) Celebrating the person who buries themselves, not just the elites
(31:32) Kate Mason hanging with the blokes
(37:14) Bogging the truck in the Kilmore infield
(41:11) The wrapped and the Strava overlays for every athlete
(53:56) Prize money for the fastest mile and chasing middle distance runners
(01:22:13) The Blaine Burke comment that changed everything
(01:23:19) Being broke makes you creative, the DIY race clock
(01:28:44) What we sucked at and what went off

Full episode out now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Follow the pod on Instagram: @pullingthreads

Alex climbs into his roof cavity for the first time and finds out exactly what eight grand of domestic rewiring actually bought him. Spaghetti cables, insulation ripped up and left in a pile, and a condensation tube shoved together by some dodgy cunt that slowly rotted a hole through the heater. Then Troy gets into the thing eating him alive at the new mine: a leaderboard on every wall that turns machine maintenance into a game you can never actually win.

In this episode:
- The roof cavity horror show and what industrial standards look like next to domestic work
- Why the building inspector sees ten times what a sparky can
- An investing conference full of true blue Aussies and the first humanoid robot Alex has seen in the flesh
- The card surcharge ban that doesn't remove the fees, just makes them invisible
- What makes you a bitch at work: the sad cunt who whinges about his cross shift for five years
- The brutal mining hierarchy from nipper to jumbo operator and who gets leapfrogged
- Goodhart's Law on a mine site: when the board goes green, the actual work stops mattering
- KPIs, bean counters, and getting chased up 15 seconds after fixing a machine

Timestamps:
(00:13) 3K on Instagram and the substation reel blowing up
(02:22) The rewire job Alex found in his roof cavity
(05:10) Eight grand, backpacking on a shoestring, and the rewire that ate the trip
(09:59) Insulation ripped up and left in a pile, HVAC rubbish never removed
(12:10) Why a leaking roof isn't the worst thing that can happen
(16:40) The investing conference and the safest room in Melbourne
(21:28) Seeing a humanoid robot for the first time
(24:56) King of the Hill anxiety and the hay fever injection waiting list
(33:52) What makes you a bitch: whinging about your cross shift
(38:44) The mining hierarchy from nipper to jumbo and who gets leapfrogged
(51:34) Card surcharges banned October 1st and where the fees actually go
(59:53) The mine leaderboard and Goodhart's Law
(01:08:11) KPIs, ticking boxes, and maintenance that only exists on paper
(01:14:43) Bean counters, chat GPT quotes, and getting undercut by your own supplier

Full episode out now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Follow the pod on Instagram: @pullingthreads

South Australia reckons it can fix the housing crisis by cutting apprenticeships short. Excavator operators in 18 months, road tunnel work halved, painting officially a trade you can knock out in three years. Alex and Troy pull it apart from the inside, because both of them came out of their own trades still dog shit and scared, and no shorter block was going to change that.

Plus the AI watermark trick that lets you steal photos off real estate agents and event photographers, Troy's exploded knee that turned out to be nothing, and the Tradie Olympics they'd actually pay to watch.

In this episode:
- Troy's knee blows up mid-run and the physio plugs him into a machine that feels like the electric chair
- The AI move to strip watermarks off photos, and when it's smart versus a genuine dog act
- Real estate agents AI-ing the dream backyard when it's really rock and rubbish
- Fast-tracked trades pulled apart, trade by trade, with the real numbers
- Why 43 percent of construction apprentices drop out and what a shorter block actually fixes
- Supertrowel, Japanese master planers, and the trade Olympics the boys invented
- The 1000 metre cable run in a single shift that nobody even noticed
- Kids online, AI deepfakes, and why there'll be no emoji on Alex's kid's face

Timestamps:
(00:17) Back in the promised land, lager talk and Troy's first injury
(02:03) Patellar insertion inflammation and the snake oil physio machines
(05:51) Alex's migraines and the Spec Savers upsell
(10:59) Stingy or Smart, AI watermark removal on stolen photos
(15:37) The Gold Coast marathon photo heist, dog act or fair game
(21:14) Real estate agents AI-ing the backyard to sell you the dream
(23:46) Fast-tracked trades, every trade and the new timeframes
(26:13) Still dog shit as a fourth year, why the time doesn't fix you
(32:43) The horrible diesel fitting trade upgrade at TAFE
(35:25) The real reasons apprentices drop out and whether this fixes any of it
(41:41) Supertrowel and the trade Olympics the boys would run
(50:46) Cable joins, the sparky pride nobody else understands
(56:13) The 1000 metre cable run in one shift
(01:02:04) Kids online, AI deepfakes and no emoji on the kid's face
(01:17:30) The Pulling Threads book mob, and picking a name that isn't sissy

Full episode out now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Follow the pod on Instagram: @pullingthreads

Alex nearly got flogged with a crowbar outside a mine Christmas party, Troy front-kicked his bedroom door ready to fight an intruder that turned out to be a Korean-speaking robot vacuum, and both of them reckon backyard ultra is being held back by one bloke and a Facebook group. This one goes everywhere.

In this episode:
- Troy's 3am home intruder that turned out to be his robot vacuum Chun-Hee doing laps of the house
- The real home defence conversation: guns, pepper spray, knives, baseball bats, and why none of them are great options in Australia
- Alex's crowbar fight outside a mine Christmas party and the bloke who started it by pulling the finger at a car
- The Biotropica backyard ultra controversy: four world records broken, entire event disqualified via Facebook post
- Why backyard ultra needs a proper governing body and not one person making calls from a Facebook group
- Alex's custom flat-pack kitchen install and the moment he became his father screaming at family to hold things steady
- Reverse PTSD: when you realise you're doing the exact same thing your old man did to you as a kid
- The greatest mine site names in Australia and beyond: Cock-Eyed Bob, Frog's Legs, Revenge, and Peculiar Knob
- Phil Gore commented on their reel and it wasn't exactly a compliment
- Troy shaved his armpits and Hannah stuck her nose fully inside one

Timestamps:
(00:13) Phil Gore commented on our reel
(09:34) Year of the house update and custom flat-pack cabinets
(12:57) Reverse PTSD and dad's ceiling sheet nightmare
(19:32) Troy admits Alex was right about shaving armpits
(24:36) Someone broke into Troy's house at 3am
(32:51) Home defence strategy and the gun debate in Australia
(36:34) Alex's crowbar fight at the mine Christmas party
(53:45) Biotropica backyard ultra controversy and the full event DQ
(65:06) Why backyard ultra needs to professionalise now
(77:10) The rules holding the sport back
(82:30) List of the week: best mine site names in Australia and the world

Full episode out now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Follow the pod on Instagram: @pullingthreads

Two brothers swap the wildest mine site theft stories they've ever heard, from copper cathodes snapping rear axles to the greatest amnesty backfire of all time. Plus, there's actual science behind why you mutter to yourself while looking for your keys. And Troy's Garmin watch saga reaches a new low.

In this episode:
- The legendary 44 gallon drum amnesty heist that nobody saw coming
- A bloke who stripped a whole cable drum underground and got busted by the mess
- Copper cathodes, broken axles, and a goat that ruined everything
- The study that proves talking to yourself makes you better at finding shit
- Troy's elevation tracking disaster during the Last One Climbing challenge
- Leatherman multi-tools and why Troy thinks they're the worst tool for every job
- Dog ownership as the ultimate conversation starter with hard blokes
- Stingy or smart: washing and reusing Ziploc bags for 14 months
- What makes you a bitch: texting "I'm out the front" instead of knocking on the door
- The substation that got blown to pieces by a "small pop"

Timestamps:
(00:18) Troy fending for himself while his wife's away
(04:39) Life's little pleasures: running with your dog
(08:27) Stingy or smart: reusing Ziploc bags
(11:39) Grinds your gears: Leatherman multi-tools and EDC culture
(18:17) Swiss Army knives and the old man's knife obsession
(22:17) Tell me you're working on a breakdown
(23:58) Study: talking to yourself improves problem solving
(26:56) What makes you a bitch: not knocking on the door for a date
(29:58) Troy's Last One Climbing watch disaster
(38:00) Crib time stories: mine site theft legends
(42:42) The 44 gallon drum amnesty heist
(48:01) The underground cable drum copper operation
(53:43) The trail camera conspiracy
(57:01) The substation that got blown up by a "small pop"

Full episode out now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Follow the pod on Instagram: @pullingthreads

Alex went deep on how Australia's container deposit scheme actually works and the numbers are wild. Cleanaway and Tomra are making hundreds of millions, Coca-Cola benefits when you don't recycle, and you're earning $8.50 an hour feeding cans into a machine. Plus Troy finally admits Alex was right about the knees over toes guy, we get into whether Australia should legalise drugs after Alex saw the zombie wasteland in Vancouver, and a tradie brings his own three-ply toilet paper to site in a sealed bag.

In this episode:
- The full breakdown of where your 13 cents per can actually goes
- Why Germany's 40 cent deposit scheme makes Australia's look embarrassing
- Troy admits defeat on Ben Patrick and the knees over toes method
- Alex's weed experience in Canada that changed his mind on legalisation
- The study that says having daughters makes men safer but having sons changes nothing
- Sex worker references and what the fuck that actually means
- Stinge or smart: the tradie with premium toilet paper in his tool bag
- Book club update for Blaine and Amber Burke's book

Timestamps:
(00:00) Welcome back and the recording light disaster
(01:00) What actually is a stitch and why do they just disappear
(03:30) Troy admits Alex was right about knees over toes guy Ben Patrick
(08:50) Mum's retirement fitness glow up and her new job medical
(12:03) Container deposit scheme deep dive. How the money actually flows
(15:25) Running the numbers. What you actually earn per hour returning cans
(27:00) Germany's 98% recycling rate vs Australia's 68%
(34:47) Sex worker references. Who the fuck is giving you a reference
(42:01) The wild story from scrolling at work
(49:50) Legalising drugs. Alex's experience in Vancouver changed everything
(55:05) Portugal's model and why education beats prohibition
(01:01:15) The study on fathers, risk aversion and why daughters change everything
(01:10:46) Stinge or smart. The tradie with Quilton three-ply in his tool bag
(01:16:36) Book club reminder. Go buy the book now

Full episode out now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Follow the pod on Instagram: @pullingthreads

Alex spent an entire week off work trying to build a deck. What he found underground nearly sent him over the edge. Buried rocks the size of a coffin, mystery pipes, failed inspections, and a $1,200 hole-digging bill with almost nothing to show for it. This is the most honest renovation meltdown you'll ever hear.

In this episode:
- The full deck disaster saga, from Kanga loaders to jackhammers to total surrender
- Troy's post-race comedown and what it feels like when the cheering stops
- Why running in the rain alone after a big race is where the real work begins
- The official launch of the Pulling Threads Book Club and the first book pick
- Top 3 best smells of all time, including one that will divide every listener
- The evolutionary reason your armpits stink and whether clipping them actually helps
- Why one night camping fixed more stress than a week of grinding ever could

Timestamps:
(00:14) Welcome back and Troy's post-race comedown
(01:01) The emotional low after finishing your first ultra
(03:18) Ultra runner status and run inflation
(05:06) Alex's week of severe unhappiness begins
(06:46) The deck project prep, pallets of concrete and $6K of composite decking
(10:39) First hole hits a massive buried rock
(17:09) Digging out a mystery rock the size of a 12-year-old's burial plot
(21:06) Second row of holes hits a steel pipe underground
(25:25) $1,200 in Kanga hire and almost no holes to show for it
(28:49) Calling off the deck and reverse logistics nightmare
(33:27) Launching the Pulling Threads Book Club
(38:10) What makes a book worth reading on the pod
(42:59) Top 3 best smells, KFC outside the building
(47:37) The smell of rain and the science of petrichor
(50:00) Petrol at the go-kart track
(51:31) Troy's final pick and the evolutionary purpose of armpit hair

Full episode out now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Follow the pod on Instagram: @pullingthreads

Pick up Blaine & Amber's book

Alex and Troy take an online toxic masculinity test live and compare their results. It goes exactly how you'd expect. One brother scores more toxic than average, the other less, and Troy's wife somehow outscores them both on deceitful arrogance. Before that, the boys rip through their signs of getting old, from war history podcasts to Crocs and socks to refusing to flush the toilet. Plus a tradie from Townsville who invoices builders for premium toilet paper and a deep dive into how tech companies have been lying to your face for years.

In this episode:
- Wild Ball race predictions and Troy's secret Strava rival named Jared
- Signs you're getting old including being obsessed with war history and refusing to go to 9pm movies
- Damo from Townsville's genius toilet paper invoicing scheme
- How phone companies swap glass types every year to fake progress
- The toxic masculinity test results and the questions that had them stumped
- Troy's wife scoring 47% on deceitful arrogance and what that says about board game night
- The leading question about homosexuals as role models and why the test methodology is cooked
- Park run recap and why negative splits made Troy feel like a king

Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro and Wild Ball race predictions
(04:17) Troy's first park run and battling kids on scooters
(08:37) Alex's prediction for Troy and the secret competitor Jared
(11:30) Signs you're getting old list
(17:49) Becoming your dad about lights, water, and heating
(23:34) Crocs and socks conversion story
(28:52) Stingy or smart: Damo's toilet paper invoice hustle
(35:47) How they get you: tech companies faking progress
(42:05) The toxic masculinity test begins
(48:18) Deceitful arrogance and trait anger results
(55:04) Heteronormativity and homophobia scores
(58:14) Final toxic masculinity scores and Troy's wife's results

Full episode out now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Follow the pod on Instagram: @pullingthreads

Do your Toxic Masculinity test here