Talk Hard

Many people know Bakesy as a coach, player, business entrepreneur and most recently as the self proclaimed 'lead guitarist' of the highly popular Better off Dad podcast. We talk about his journey including many parts of his story only those close to him would know.

From humble beginnings living in a relatives shed for a time while also getting by as a family after his father was injured in a workplace accident confining him to a wheelchair. We speak about success in sport, premierships, business success and fatherhood as well as the tough times he endured through failed businesses and relationships leading to a bout of depression. Bakesy speaks about what it meant to bring success to his beloved Wynyard and how this also helped him get through the tough times. He also throws in a few stories from times on the drink and in the UK which are a great yarn. Anyone who knows Bakesy knows how engaging he is to chat to, a great character who loves a red wine and is an open book on life.

On this edition of the pod, the inspirational story of Brett Christie.Breaking his ankle during a seemingly harmless staff vs students game of basketball, Brett tells of his journey to regain his mobility and how after exploring every option he and his family made the decision for him to become an amputee. Brett talks about how this ‘enabled’ rather than ‘disabled’ him. His outlook on life now, what he and his family have endured and what he has achieved since will touch and inspire many. We speak about his journey through breaking down stereotypes early in life, living in Japan, his accident and numerous operations, the toll this took on him and those close to him, his beautiful relationship with his wife and kids and where he is in life now. He also throws in a few funny stories about his life and being an amputee. I Enjoyed this one so much

This week, a lady who has been through more in the last few years than some may go through in a lifetime, Bree Littlejohn. Bree joins the pod to go through her journey of being a young rebel in Tasmania, her early years including dealing with her parents separation, finding herself through self expression and sexuality, being married and divorce young herself through to her challenges in recent years. This includes losing one of her best friends to suicide and the toll this took, being in a toxic relationship and the effects this had, motherhood and almost losing her life bringing one of her children into this world. Just a heads up this one speaks about many issues which may trigger including self harm, mental health, verbal and physical abuse among other things so just be mindful of if, when and where to listen.

Devonport Football Club Premiership winning coach Kurt Byard joins the pod this week to talk about his journey through footy. We touch on coaching and his coaching style, the good side and challenges, injuries and coming back from this. We also have a great chat about the clubs drought breaking premiership, the day and things behind the scenes including what it meant to the club, community and what it means to be a premiership winning coach. However if you’re looking for driving tips and how to light a bonfire this is not the pod for you so choose wisely.

This week former Australian Army soldier turned Australian Representative athlete and motivator Jarrod Kent. Jarrod speaks about his journey including his tough early life and we speak about enlisting in the Australian army and the lessons he learned from this. He speaks about how injury led into some very dark places, he gives an honest view of this and another hard time, what he was going through and more importantly how he came out of it. He speaks about his ‘Broken, Never Beaten’ motto and how this along with his determination to remain positive, fit and healthy led him to representing his country in the Invictus Games. So many positives messages and learnings to take from this chat *Just a heads up this chat touches on some tough subjects like violence, mental health, suicide, drug and alcohol abuse so be mindful of if, when and where to listen

A real treat this week to sit down with Latrobe Football club legend Wayne Jaffray.  Wayne joins us to chat about his journey touching on his early years, why he got into footy at a young age and why he believes sport plays such a big part in helping our youth. We speak about the highs and lows of his footy career, awards, triumphs and disappointments, his forays into coaching and his brief time at the Devonport footy club resulting in some great achievements and one of the hardest times in his footy career. Wayne gives his opinions on the best he’s seen and played with and anyone who knows Wayne and his football family knows this chat would not be complete with out a discussion on who is the best footballer in the Jaffray family. We touch on private hard times in his life and Wayne tells us how he got through this. Wayne is known as a great community person, always up for a chat, laugh and a story and he doesn’t disappoint.

Some may know Jason Sallese some might not but I can guarantee most people in this area will know the Sallese name and that’s through Jason and his family’s tireless work and promotion in their search for their missing father, Nicola. Nicola Sallese went for a drive in 2008 hasn't been seen again. Since that day the family have never given up hope of finding him and providing closure they so desperately want. Jason joins the pod to talk about his fathers life, migrating to Tasmania from Italy and starting a family, Jason’s own childhood, the memories he has of his dad at this time, what type of father and person Nicola was and his knowledge of the time he went missing. We talk about his family’s grief and strength in searching not just in the initial days and weeks of Nicola’s disappearance but the efforts they have gone to over the past 14 years. Jason also talks about the emotional toll this situation and the family's efforts take on a person and gives some strategies for anyone who may be dealing with something similar.

This week I’m stoked to have on fellow podcaster Nathan Hunt from the 'Better off Dad' Podcast. We chat about all things podcasting, including the massive power of work podcasters do, teething problems, things we’ve stuffed up and learnt along the way, the initial stages of our podcasts and why we do it. We also have a great chat about parenting and being a dad in this strange world which is dear to our hearts and obviously the big focus of Nathan and his fellow podcasters. Nathan also takes the opportunity to talk about his co-hosts strengths and weaknesses (putting it nicely) and we chat about the great interviews we've done so far. Enjoy

This week, back by popular demand Clint ‘Dinga’ Viney. Dinga was one of our first Podcasts and we chat about the massive reaction to that pod and the feedback we've recieved from it including many who it has assisted. Dinga is now 12 months sober so we chat about how this has been and how has it impacted his life, what is and isn’t important in life, parenting, mental health and again his own battles and how he deals with this. We talk tattoos and using social media to spread positive messages and try to help others. As always Dinga is straight down the line and says what he feels, you may or may not agree with him but one thing I can tell you is he doesn’t give a shit, he gonna be himself. Enjoy