What does it really take to build a life that feels rich, not just one that looks successful from the outside?

In this episode, I sit down with one of my very best friends, Maddie, for a very honest and very funny conversation about money, motherhood, property and creating a life on your own terms.

Maddie and her husband, Nick, have built homes, renovated properties, raised three children and made some bold decisions to create greater financial freedom for their family. But behind the property portfolio and midday surfing are years of hard work, careful planning, uncertainty, sacrifice, and, at one point, renovating while pregnant with three children and no bathroom. Glamorous.

We talk about making money work for the life you actually want, choosing where to put your energy and recognising when the dream you were chasing is no longer your dream.

We also discuss community, relationships, baked beans on toast, questionable gym pants and why success might simply mean waking up happy, having a calm morning and finding enough freedom to surf in the middle of the day.

This isn’t a conversation about having everything figured out. It’s about building, learning, changing your mind and defining wealth for yourself.

Important responsible-adult disclaimer: this episode reflects Maddie’s personal experiences and the choices she and Nick made for their family. Neither of us is a financial adviser, and nothing in this episode should be considered financial, property or investment advice. Please speak with a suitably qualified professional before making decisions about your own finances.

Also, this episode contains explicit language. If you can’t handle a little swearing, go and get yourself a fucking sandwich.

🎧 Building Wealth, Chasing Waves & Redefining the Dream, with Maddie

What happens when you build the business you dreamed about as a child, and then life forces you to stop?

In this episode, I sit down with Gemma Lee, founder and designer of Gemma Lee Wetsuits, a women’s oceanwear brand bringing colour, femininity and joy to a line-up that has looked like a rather dramatic colony of seals for far too long.

Gemma shares how she turned her university collection into an award-winning brand, navigated New Zealand Fashion Week chaos at just 22, learnt to stand up for her work and built a beautiful community of women who feel confident and seen in the water.

But this conversation goes much deeper than wetsuits.

Gemma opens up about the surfing accident that left her with post-concussion syndrome, the invisible reality of recovery and what it felt like to lose her independence, confidence and connection to the things that made her feel like herself. We talk honestly about slowing down, accepting help and rebuilding your life when everything has been stripped back.

We also get into women in surfing, finding your crew, sharks, surf-chat emergencies, moving a business from New Zealand to Australia, and my very official request for a five-millimetre Gemma Lee wetsuit for those of us freezing in Gisborne.

This episode is colourful, funny, tender and full of heart. It’s a beautiful reminder that healing cannot always be rushed, community matters, and sometimes finding your way back begins with being a little kinder to yourself.

Follow Gemma Lee Wetsuits and explore the collection at gemmaleewetsuits.com.

Follow Gemma Lee's on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gemmaleewetsuits/

If this episode makes you laugh, feel seen or want to get back in the water, please share it with someone who might need it too, and leave the me.vibes podcast a five-star rating for good karma.

FYI, small correction: the outro transcript says, “Brisbane is cold”, but I meant, “Gisborne is cold”. I blame the accent.

Also, did anyone catch the tiny detail that I competed at Nationals in the over-30s and came second? SECOND. Nationally. I demonstrated extraordinary journalistic restraint by barely mentioning it, so I’m correcting that oversight here.

My guest today told me, mid-interview, that he needed to go get his book. Then showed me a Lego hammer. Then revealed he is not actually a kid, he's a dragon kid, and apparently I should have noticed the glowing light when he was born.

After my episode with Urzila Carlson, my seven-year-old son Luca informed me that he is also famous (Nature Baby model, age three, thank you very much) and that I should interview him too. So I did. This is easily the most unpredictable, least structured, most precious conversation I've had on this show.

In this episode, Luca covers:

• Life as a famous model who can "model his voice, his face, anything"
• His strongest Lego invention yet (it's a hammer, and it's very bendy)
• Why he'd choose Hogwarts over Ninjago, and which spells he'd actually use
• The time he kissed a frog (it stayed a frog)
• Why grown-ups "lose the memory of being creative" and kids just know things
• What adults worry about too much, and what we forget: how to have fun and play

Here's what stayed with me:

Kids don't overthink creativity.

They don't wait for permission to be interesting. They just are. And maybe that's the real takeaway, that confidence doesn't always need evidence, and the best conversations happen when you let go of control.

I hope this one makes you smile, reminds you of your own childhood imagination, and gives you permission to be a little sillier this week.

If it made you laugh, share it with a friend and leave a five-star review. It's just good karma. Big love.

The Square Wheel Problem

There's a guy riding a bike with square wheels. Someone offers him round ones. He waves them off, "Too busy, can't stop." That's basically every workplace's relationship with AI right now, and it's the moment that stuck with me most from this conversation.

I sat down with Theresa Wells, digital transformation and AI leader at GHD, for a conversation about AI in leadership that actually has nothing to do with productivity hacks. We get into:

• Why "AI is coming for your job" is the wrong message for leaders to send their teams
• The hidden cost of AI efficiency gains: organisations quietly skipping a whole generation of workers
• What managers should actually be doing right now to build AI confidence in their people
• Cold water swimming, daily discipline, and why Theresa treats fitness as leadership fuel
• Redefining success in leadership as purpose and contribution, not job titles

If you lead a team, work in AI or digital transformation, or you've ever been the one waving off the round wheels because you're "too busy," this one's for you.

Find Theresa on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/theresawells11

Follow me.vibes and leave a review if this got you thinking, it helps more people find the show.

Earlier this year, I was knitting in the dark. Literally. Chronic migraines meant no screens, no music, no reading, just me, two needles, and trying to finish something small enough to feel like a win. So when Shanti looked me in the eyes at a local event and said, "I see you", I knew I had to have her on.

Because she's been in her own version of that darkness, too. Severe anxiety so bad she couldn't grocery shop in daylight. A body that stopped working with no explanation. A life that looked completely fine from the outside, and felt anything but. Two women, two different rock bottoms, one really honest conversation.

In this episode, we talk about:

• What severe anxiety actually feels like from the inside
• How Shanti went from housebound in Auckland to co-creating Tatapouri, one of NZ's most loved coastal spaces
• The tiny wins that actually pull you through
• How community and place can become part of your healing
• Why your world sometimes has to get very small before it opens back up

If you're in a hard season right now, this one is for you.

🤍 Follow Shanti on Instagram and go visit her at Tatapouri - trust me, it feels like walking into a friend's beach house.

https://www.instagram.com/shanti.bayleys.gisborne/

https://www.instagram.com/tatapouri/

https://tatapouri.co.nz/

🎧 If this episode resonated, share it with someone who needs it and leave a five star review, it means everything.

This is one of the most special conversations I have had on me.vibes, so special, in fact, that I quietly kept it to myself for a little while before sharing it.

In this episode, I sit down with the incredible Urzila Carlson for a conversation that is funny, honest, deep, and beautifully human.

We talk about comedy, trauma, success, privacy, motherhood, immigration, building a career from the ground up, and why being funny should never mean punching down. Urzila shares how humour has helped her survive, connect, and make sense of the world - while also protecting her private life and staying grounded as a mum.

We also get into the very real business of laundry, why women need to stop apologising for the state of their house, and the life-changing power of not folding your children’s clothes.

This episode made me laugh, think, and feel deeply grateful for conversations that go somewhere unexpected. It is funny, wise, slightly unhinged in the best way, and full of the kind of truth that stays with you.

And Urzila, I am still waiting for your mum to come and help me with the laundry. Please. My washing pile is now a legal entity.

Follow Urzula:

https://www.urzilacarlson.com/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urzilacarlson/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UrzilaCarlsonComedian
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsx8teTghBzXpu_6xrLuUtA
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1q44ROcDkioKfgpd7AZKpt
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@urzilacarlson?lang=en
• Get Her Book (it's epic): Rolling with the Punchlines

This episode is a little bit glitchy , and I promise, this time it was not me over-editing it within an inch of its life. Kate from Oria Skin would be proud. I genuinely think it was the tool I used, so please give me grace and pretend we are all just sitting in a slightly chaotic wellness lounge with matcha and good intentions.

In this episode of the me.vibes podcast, I chat with the beautiful Renee from ByRae Wellness, nutritionist, mum, founder, and the woman behind High Vibe Matcha.

We talk about motherhood, postpartum, wellness, nervous system support, food, rituals, social media, business, body image, comparison, and the reality of trying to look after yourself when the laundry is winning and everyone needs something from you.

Renee shares how her own postpartum journey led her to adaptogens, daily rituals, and creating products that help women feel nourished without adding another impossible standard to their lives. We also talk about the pressure to “do wellness properly”, why sleep matters more than forcing a 5 am routine, and how small rituals can bring you back to yourself.

This conversation is honest, practical, funny, and full of permission slips - especially for the mums, business owners, and women trying to hold many things at once.

Grab your matcha, coffee, cacao, or whatever is keeping you upright today, and enjoy this beautiful conversation with Renee.

You can find Renee on Instagram at @byreneewellness and @byrewellness.

For the best matcha: https://byrewellness.com/

In this episode of the me.vibes podcast, Maria sits down with her husband, Nigel Abercrombie, surfer, dad, landscaper, broken-ankled legend, and the heart behind Sustainable Scapes.

Recorded while Nigel was lying in the office with a pink glitter cast after a surfing injury, this conversation is honest, funny and full of the real stuff that comes with building a business from the ground up.

Maria and Nigel talk about moving to Gisborne, starting Sustainable Scapes, what people often misunderstand about landscaping, why gardens matter, and what it really takes to run a business when life, clients, staff, weather and cash flow all decide to have opinions.

They also get into the messy, beautiful side of working together as husband and wife, the support, the stress, the laughs, the “are we broke or are we manifesting?” moments, and what their kids might learn from watching them build something with heart.

This episode is about business, family, sustainability, resilience, trades, gardens, and the magic that happens when you keep going, even when life knocks you off your feet.

Warning: contains swear words, business honesty, glitter cast commentary and one very passionate takedown of agapanthus.

In this episode, we cover:

• How Nigel broke his ankle surfing and what it forced the business to rethink
• The real story behind starting Sustainable Scapes
• Why landscaping is so much more than “just putting plants in the ground”
• The hidden work behind gardens, paving, drainage, soil and structure
• What sustainability means in landscaping
• The reality of running a business with your partner
• Why people are both the best and hardest part of business
• What success looks like now: bills paid, family happy, surf included
• What Nigel hopes their kids learn from watching the business grow

A funny, grounded and heartfelt conversation about building a business, creating beautiful spaces, and surviving the chaos with love, grit and a decent sense of humour.

In this episode of the me.vibes podcast, Maria sits down with Courtney Henderson, founder of Think Folk, a boutique marketing and communications business based in Hawke’s Bay.

Courtney shares her journey from working in marketing roles across New Zealand, the UK and Australia, to starting her own business after becoming a mum of three. We talk about ambition, motherhood, identity, marketing, confidence, and what it means to build a business that actually fits your life.

This conversation is such a beautiful reminder that you do not need to be everywhere, do everything, or follow every trend to build something meaningful. Courtney brings such a grounded and thoughtful perspective on marketing — one that is less about noise, and more about clarity, strategy and connection.

We also talk about AI, creativity and the future of business. Courtney shares her honest thoughts on using AI for the busy work, while protecting the human thinking, taste and creativity that make a brand feel real.

This episode is for anyone building a business, growing a brand, navigating motherhood and ambition, or trying to do things in a way that feels more intentional.

In this episode, we chat about:

• Courtney’s career journey and the stepping stones that led to Think Folk
• Starting a business after having three young children
• Why marketing does not need to mean being everywhere at once
• The pressure of social media and vanity metrics
• Building a business with intention and commercial ambition
• The difference between personal brand and professional presence
• AI, creativity and keeping business human
• Finding joy, creativity and space outside of work

You can connect with Courtney and learn more about Think Folk here:
Instagram: @thinkfolkLinkedIn: Courtney HendersonWebsite: thinkfolk.co.nz

Email: [email protected]

A warm, honest and thoughtful conversation about building something slowly, strategically and in a way that still feels like you.

In this episode of the me.vibes podcast, Maria sits down with Francesca Alexander for a bold, funny and deeply energising conversation about social media, AI, visibility and what it really means to build a personal brand as a woman in business.

Francesca shares her journey from Los Angeles to New Zealand, from corporate skincare and social media strategy to building Social Global Grind, Hustle & Glow, and a platform that helps women use content, confidence and technology to create the life and business they want.

Together, Maria and Francesca talk about why so many business owners are still holding back online, how AI can make work feel more human, why visibility is no longer optional, and how women, especially women of colour and immigrant women, can stop waiting for permission and start taking up space.

This episode covers:

How social media has changed since the early days
Why AI should be seen as leverage, not a threat
How small businesses can use AI for research, content and strategy
Why visibility feels so uncomfortable, and why it matters
The role of personal brand in your future opportunities
How to stop overthinking content and start showing up
Why “perfect” content is often less powerful than honest content

It is part strategy, part pep talk, part Latina auntie reality check, and full of practical reminders for anyone who wants to be seen, heard and taken seriously online.

As Francesca says: “Girl, they don’t know you if they can’t see you.”

Connect with Francesca:
Francesca’s LinkedIn profile

linkedin.com/in/francescaalexander

Website

socialglobalgrind.com (Company)

facebook.com (Personal)

hustleandglow.com (Blog)

Email

[email protected]

Listen to more episodes of the me.vibes podcast for honest conversations about business, technology, AI, motherhood, visibility and doing things before you feel fully ready.