In this episode, we chat with Jacob Hohua, the Plant-based Gorilla from Queensland Australia! They say that you should never judge a book by its cover and Jacob is the epitome of that saying. Whilst immensely strong he is also a gentle giant!

Husband and recent father, Jacob has been a personal trainer for almost a decade but that’s only part of the story… He’s also played and competed in multiple sports including rugby league/union, bodybuilding, strongman/powerlifting and CrossFit.

In fact, Jacob won the Musclemania Australia Championship and placed 4th with ANB Australia. He believes the human body is capable of achieving whatever we put our minds to and, as you’ll hear in part Two of this chat, he more recently competed in Australian Ninja Warrior - legend!

If you want to hear what goes into excelling in every aspect of your life as an Everyday Athlete then plug in your earbuds and listen to a very humble, relatable journey of this plant-based gorilla!

As always, be brave, have fun and lead by example.

Resources:

Follow Jacob Hohua on Instagram

Follow Jacob Hohua on Facebook

Check Out Jacob Hohua’s Website

We referenced supporters of Jacob which include the following:

The Garden of Vegan Website

The Garden of Vegan Instagram

The Garden of Vegan Facebook

In this episode, we chat with two of the founders of Timebirds; creators of the wall-mounted gym timer that fits in your pocket.

This innovative team from Melbourne, Australia launched their portable, durable and sexy timer on Kickstarter. What happened next was simply extraordinary!!

They met their initial target within 3-minutes! And then went on to crush a series of stretch goals that saw the campaign that has reached over $1,000,000 AUD so far!

‘The Bird’ is designed for everyday athletes in a huge range of training disciplines. With functional training its main purpose many campaign backers are already growing the uses that they intend for theirs. From chefs to students, from swimmers to office workers…

If you want to hear the backstory that led to the creation of this pocket-sized ‘must-have’ then plug in your earbuds and listen up!

As always, be brave, have fun and lead by example.

Resources:

Follow Timebirds on Instagram

Follow Timebirds on Facebook

Follow Timebirds on LinkedIn

Check Out Timebirds Now Website

We referenced supporters of the Timebirds which include the following:

The Professor Project Website

The Professor Project Instagram

Brent Fikowski, founder of The Professor Project Instagram on Instagram

Renaissance Periodization Website

Renaissance Periodization Instagram

Andrew Pap Instagram

Andrew Pap Website

In this episode, we chat with the founder of Unbroken, Nathan Hart. He shares the candid and inspiring backstory that has led to the creation of one of Australia's fastest-growing specialists in activewear.

Nathan founded Unbroken in 2014 with an active passion for self-care. Having battled with anxiety and depression for many years the Unbroken brand supports and promotes a holistic approach to health, encouraging the pursuit of personal greatness through the promotion of mental and physical fitness.

It will become clear how closely aligned Unbroken's values are with The Bay Games as you listen to this insightful peek behind the curtains.

Get ready to ‘feel’ this Aussie brand as Nathan shares the intimate details of its creation.

As always, be brave, have fun, and lead by example.

Resources:

Follow Unbroken on Facebook

Follow Unbroken on Instagram

Check Out Unbroken Now Website

This is the first part of a monthly Bay Games Get Together that focussed on what could be described as being 'for the ladies' but if you're a guy, it's actually for you too.

And if you're a Personal Trainer or Coach, you too need to know this stuff. Whilst what Mat Lock and Ed Morrison talked about with Courtenay Polock and Will Henke had a bias toward physiological considerations for that of female athletes much of it is important regardless of sporting endeavours.

Because the continuum of a person’s life can be divided into several stages, each characterised by certain features. Accompanied by considerable hormonal changes, the physiological life stages for female athletes matter greatly and those are what was talked about. This was a great conversation and paves the way for future educational pieces around these traditionally taboo subjects that impact the lives of over half of the global population.

Enjoy the show and, as always, be kind to yourselves, be brave, have fun and lead by example.

Resources:

Contact Will Henke on Instagram

Check out The Program by WanderFit at their website

Contact Courtenay Polock on Instagram

Check out Health Exercise Rehab (HER) at their website

Contact Health Exercise Rehab (HER) on Instagram

In this episode we once again hear from Stuart Walter, Professional Clinical Hypnotherapist and NLP Practitioner who helps elite athletes, ambitious entrepreneurs and individuals to recognise their potential.

After working with over 36 world champions across a range of sports, he has learned the power of focussing everyday athletes on their weaknesses. Human tendency is to shy away from the things that we either fear or feel we are not good at. Stuart shares how he shifts paradigms and helps athletes unleash their true potential.

Resources:

Follow Stuart Walters on Facebook

Check Out the Elite Mindset Institute Now website

In this episode we once again hear from Jenn Ryan, founder of Lifeline Performance Coaching.

Jenn shares her story of trial and error and a personal history of battles with fad diets and quick fixes. This motivated Jenn to develop a revolutionary nutrition coaching method that's proven a hit with Elite and Everyday Athletes who want to improve their performance and body composition.

So throw on your headphones and get ready to learn lots from this legend!

Follow Jenn Ryan on Instagram

Visit Lifeline Performance Nutrition at Jenn’s website

The latest Everyday Athletes Podcast episode is up!

And in it we see the return of Melissa Paige Wu who, this time shares a very candid account of a family tragedy. 

As the youngest Australian ever to win an Olympic medal in diving, aged just 16, Melissa was prepared for many things; but not a loss of this magnitude. 

Mat and Melissa talked about the toll this took on her family and herself. They talked about the stages of grief and how Melissa was able to once again return to peak performance at the poolside.

It's time to dive in as we appreciate Melissa having the courage and generosity to share her story.

Resources:

Contact Melissa on Instagram

Visit the hrdKAW Strength Instagram page

Visit the hrdKAW Strength website

Visit the Havok Athletic Instagram page

In this episode we hear from a superstar Everyday Athlete called Jenn Ryan from San Diego in Southern California.

Mat chatted with Jenn to uncover how this Emergency Room professional turned sports performance nutritionist had competed in the Crossfit Games 3 years in a row. Jenn qualified for the 2020 CrossFit Games too but, at the time of going live with this episode, the outcome for that event is still unknown (C-19).

Jenn is also a hormone specialist, gut health expert, and digs deep into the mindset piece that goes along with coaching people to improve their lifestyle. Through trial and error, personal history of battles with fad diets and quick fixes, Jenn developed a revolutionary coaching method that's been proven with Elite and Everyday Athletes who want to improve their performance and body composition.

So plug in your earbuds and get ready to learn from an absolute legend. This is the first of a two-part chat - enjoy!

Follow Jenn Ryan on Instagram

Visit Lifeline Performance Nutrition at Jenn’s website

In this episode you'll hear the incredible journey of Melissa Paige Wu, the youngest Australian ever to win an Olympic medal in diving, aged just 16. 

Melissa was already no stranger to winning, having secured silver medals at the 2007 World Aquatics Championships and the 2006 Commonwealth Games before achieving the same at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Mat and Melissa chatted about the journey of such a young Olympian and how life has changed since then.

Melissa, along with her brother Joshua Wu own hrdKAW Strength. Together they offer an Olympic weightlifting and gymnastics training at the very highest levels.

But now, it's time to dive in... (pun intended!)

Resources:

Contact Melissa on Instagram

Visit the hrdKAW Strength Instagram page

Visit the hrdKAW Strength website

Visit the Havok Athletic Instagram page

In this episode we hear the journey of an incredible lady called Rachel Kerrigan from NSW in Australia.

Rachel is a veteran who lost her struggle with PTSD and suffered with mental health challenges and a stress related stroke.

With the support of her incredible young daughter, Rachel pushed back against these  challenges and found salvation in sport (and the community that surrounds it). From PTSD to powerlifting and beyond…

Rachel has the ability to share some incredible insights into the world of mental health and offers her advice for how to interact with someone who could be suffering with depression.

So sit back, get ready to be inspired and learn some lessons from an incredible lady.

Note: Rachel asked us to add this after listening to the replay of the episode. 

Disclaimer: "I may sound crazy when I say PTSD is a blessing. My perspective - I can’t run from it. It will always be a part of who I am now - so I had a choice. Let my emotions drive me or learn how to use those emotions to drive me towards my goals. I wouldn’t know how far I could push if I didn’t have all that pain for fuel. So to me that is a blessing as it’s made me who I am today." 

Follow Rachel Kerrigan on Facebook

Follow Veteran Sports Australia on Facebook

Check out Veteran Sports Australia on their website

To get advice or support for suicide prevention or depression go to R U OK?