Uncommon

Edward Bourke is a political campaigner, consultant, investor and entrepreneur - a mouthful of titles for someone only 16 years of age. As Ed says himself, age is merely a number, proving his stance as an incredibly articulate and rational mind when it comes to all things business and politics. Ed makes it quite clear that he is unabashedly right-wing - something in which has caused some outrage and will for some of our own listeners - particularly with his support of Donald Trump in the presidential election.

Over the last few months there have been numerous discussions around ‘why Trump/why do people support Trump/and what is bad about Trump?’. People will know that I enjoy the content of both Sam Harris (an avowed Trump critic) and Scott Adams (a proponent of Trump’s persuasion ability). My own opinion is that we need to break down these partisan walls and understand the human across the aisle. It’s absolutely bizarre to me that in this modern Western world, there is now a razor’s edge between the alt-right and regressive left. To agree with one on a topic, firmly puts you in that camp and draws mock outrage from the other side. And so it’s in this conversation that you realise that it’s not the label that matters, but the contents.

Some may disagree with his views, but you’ll probably find that some, seem quite rational (depending on your politics). I hope you are able to appreciate the conversation as much as I did, and admire the level headedness of this young man.

Paul Dimattina’s family has been part of the coffee industry for over 50 years. The founding of Mocopan by Paul’s uncles & father paved the way for many well-known brands in the industry including Coffex, Crivelli, Grinders, and Genovese. The heritage of Mocopan, and a necessity to fend for his family led Paul to start Dimattina Coffee in 1998.

Paul has a strong emphasis on family, heritage and the importance of the simple things in life. This episode is more of a personal one; I’ve known Paul my entire life with him being a close family friend and godfather to my sister - he can just about make anyone laugh. And for that, he personifies the fact that hospitality can bring people closer together.

Rita Erlich is a food writer, former co-editor of the The Age Good Food Guide, and author of multiple books including: Melbourne by Menu; Scott Pickett: A Cook’s Story ; and The Makers: A Story of Food, Family and Foreigners.

Holding a brilliant reputation for over thirty years in journalism, Rita is also a passionate cook in her own right, reflecting on her early childhood as the reason for where she is today - where not eating her vegetables managed to blossom into a love of all things culinary. That, and her experience with The Age Good Food Guide, has given her the chance to not only assess, but work alongside great chefs such as Philippe Mouchel and Scott Pickett.

Steve Sammartino is an author, futurist and business technologist, who has incredible insights on technology and how it will shape our lives in the future.

His belief in diversification in ways of making money (he prefers not to use the word ‘job’) is multi-faceted across writing, speaking and investing. With a background in startups, sales, and marketing, Steve has managed to utilise those abilities and bring them into tech-minded projects.

From garnering 9 million views on his viral video of a Lego car, to his successful app Sneaky Surf, the man certainly knows how to practice what he preaches.

Paul Creasey is a body composition specialist and personal trainer. In an earlier life, Paul was by day a school teacher (music and P.E), and by night a bodybuilder/personal trainer. But he soon realised that his true passion was for personal training, and therefore completely pivoted his life to create bioDefined.

Paul is widely renowned for his expert knowledge in strength training, biomechanics and exercise execution having been trained by the likes of Charles Poliquin, Eugene Teo and Luke Leaman. An avid self-improver he has by far one of the best fitness and strength podcasts specific to local Australian talent, on bioDefined Radio, and a building library of content across multiple social platforms.

Jordy Kay is an organic winemaker growing his own grapes with his vineyard Chevre Wines, located in the beautiful Otway Ranges.

We were lucky enough to visit him down at Barongarook and get a tour of his set up which includes his cabin, cellar and vines. Jordy has an emphasis on not taking life too seriously, which I think would give a lot of us perspective by seeing how he’s pursued his lifelong passion of making wine. I think the greatest lesson learnt in this podcast, is that giving your all is what’s required in making a great product. For Jordy, this means creating a beautiful bottle of wine to open and accompany with good stories.

From his extensive travel, to his brief stint in modelling (of which he now laughs at), at the end of the day Jordy is a humble grape-grower from the Mornington Peninsula - personified by his motto “Don’t be a dick”.

Matt Allen is a prominent developer, former entrepreneur, investor and advisor within the Australian startup community, who also works as a startup BD at Amazon Web Services.

Matt is a great example, and proof of, learning from mistakes and observation, knowing - much like Amazon’s founder - the importance of being a great leader as opposed to a manager. He is one of the most balanced individuals I’ve met in the startup community, always willing to give truthful advice, particularly to the multitude of founders and startups he meets along the way.

Chevy Long is one half of electronic duo Indian Summer, and creator of apparel line Classy Duds. It’s always fascinating to get into the heads of creative minds, and particularly with Chevy, there is an emphasis on valuing your time to focus on what you truly enjoy in life.

A great episode for anyone willing to pursue their creative passions and think laterally, irrespective of how long the journey is to get there. Over the course of this episode you’ll learn that Chevy is actually a man of many hats, and has skills to apply over a multitude of areas.

Dr Stephen Bright is a clinically-trained psychologist with an immense amount of knowledge in the practices and application of psychedelics.

Having dealt with generalised anxiety disorder for over 5 years, I’m intrigued by the significance that psychedelic medicine could play in the treatment of mental disorders.

For anyone who’s ever had issues with anxiety, PTSD or other mental health conditions, this is a fascinating discussion that could open your mind up to a new area of study.

Asher Tan is a bitcoin entrepreneur in the Australian startup scene, and notably Co-Founder & CEO of CoinJar.

Bitcoin is a fairly nascent area when it comes to the finance world, but is quite established in the technology world.

Every man and his dog in finance is talking about blockchain and bitcoin, so this is a brilliant primer on what bitcoin is, and its potential utility for the future.