Live From The Five Hole

Craig Argent was the knockabout son of a Tasmanian ship builder who ended up cutting and styling hair in a Beverly Hills salon and working on the sets of movies like Lord of the Rings and The Last Samurai. How did he do it? Who inspired him and how did a magazine cover shoot change his life?

There are around 7.7 billion people in the world today. Imagine an exclusive environment where only 20 people each year, compete in the highest level of a particular endeavour. Mark Webber was part of that environment for 12 years, and he topped the highest earning Australian sportsperson’s list in 2010, beating golfer Greg Norman who had been at the top of the list for 15 years. On his Instagram account, Mark describes himself as a country boy. We started the podcast talking about how he reflects on his journey from Queanbeyan NSW to standing on the top step of Formula One podiums all over the world, to what he’s doing today.

My next guest has been a journalist for many decades, many would remember him as a reporter on Seven Local News. He then took on a role as media advisor with controversial MP Peter Slipper, the former member for Fisher. Richard Bruinsma tells me that there were times when the avalanche of phone calls into Mr Slipper’s office was so great, that he was instructed not to answer the phones. We talk about Richard’s time with Mr Slipper in the podcast you’re about to hear as well as Richard’s own run at politics, where he ran as an independent for a state seat in 2017.

“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes!” They were artist Andy Warhol’s words back in 1968. Almost 40 years before social media platforms allowed everyday people like you and I to share content with the rest of the world. Long before the term ‘Instafame’ was coined and decades before we’d ever heard of the Kardashian surname. Elora Murger or Elora Tahiti as she calls herself on Instagram is a former contestant on the Australian version of The Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise and she’s my next guest on Conversations IN Noosa. In this pod we talk about growing up in Tahiti, what really goes on behind the scenes of a reality TV show, being Instafamous and can you really make a living from being a social media influencer?

“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes!” They were artist Andy Warhol’s words back in 1968. Almost 40 years before social media platforms allowed everyday people like you and I to share content with the rest of the world. Long before the term ‘Instafame’ was coined and decades before we’d ever heard of the Kardashian surname. Elora Murger or Elora Tahiti as she calls herself on Instagram is a former contestant on the Australian version of The Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise and she’s my next guest on Conversations IN Noosa. In this pod we talk about growing up in Tahiti, what really goes on behind the scenes of a reality TV show, being Instafamous and can you really make a living from being a social media influencer?

Unless you’ve served, or you’re part of a family that has members who have served in the military in an active war zone, then your everyday day life is very, very different to the life that my next guest has led. He was a commando in the Australian Army intercepting enemy communications, performing two tours of duty in Afghanistan, one in 2007 and again in 2009 when one of the vehicles he was in, ran over a roadside bomb. In this podcast Andy Fermo speaks openly and honestly about his military career, his PTSD and what life is like, living in Noosa these days with his wife Claire and two kids.

Katie Noonan has one of those voices that leaves an indelible mark on your soul once you’ve experienced it. In this podcast we talk about growing up in a home that was brimming with music, the band George that she formed with her brother, Tyrone, her role as Musical Director of the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and her role as Artistic Director of the Queensland Music Festival. Plus, what better gift to give kids, than the opportunity to make music with your friends. Katie’s project School of Rock now enters its third year.

A reoccurring topic on this podcast has been the subject of moving away or abandoning a corporate lifestyle, chasing the ‘money gods’, as today’s guest says, and living a more meaningful life doing the things that add value to you and your lifestyle. Anne Harris has done exactly that. Anne is from Tree Place and she has an exhibition currently underway at the Noosa Regional Gallery with a comprehensive guide now available in the summer 2018 edition of IN Noosa Magazine, which is out now. This podcast traces Anne’s childhood, from growing up alongside indigenous communities in Arnhem Land, discovering her passion for art, living the corporate life in Sydney and then relocating to Noosa.

I knew nothing of Renate Luca’s life however what unfolded in the podcast you’re about to hear is an open, honest, emotional journey that covers Renate’s childhood from when she was given up for adoption, meeting her biological mother, coming out and fighting for her rights to be gay and then changing her sexuality to marry her current partner Roberto, who also had lived an openly gay life. We discuss how she’s lost friends along the way who disagree with her belief that sexuality is a choice and we talk about raising kids.

Imagine leaving home at the age of 14 to pursue a dream of a life at sea. That’s exactly what my next guest did. In this podcast Andrew Leak and I talk about the exotic locations he visited while with the merchant navy, becoming a salesman for Sanyo, meeting his wife, and his current role as flotilla commander of the Coast Guard in Noosa. Meeting a yearly funding shortfall of around $270,000 is one part of his job and Andrew is thankful to his two major supporters, Tom Offermann Real Estate and Bendigo Bank.

Brendan is a dad of two boys who prefers to lead by example rather than simply dictate. He recently completed 10 consecutive days, two kilometres offshore swimming more than 110 kilometres all for charity. Make yourself a cuppa, pour a glass of wine or crack a beer and enjoy being a ‘fly on the wall’ as we talk Buddhist minimalism, raising boys, growing up in Papua New Guinea and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone

Bodo has run small businesses in north Queensland and he’s the founding director of Yes Insurance Solutions based in Noosa. He was part of a six-man outrigger team that took part in the grueling Yukon River Quest back in 2012, surviving a flipped canoe and hypothermia, in the wild mountainous Yukon territory in northwest Canada. A 41-hour paddle over 715 kilometers from Whitehorse to Dawson City. We’ll hear all about that test of endurance and how his teamed fared up against an outrigger team from America in this podcast.

How does the daughter of Philippine migrants end up producing rosellas on a property in South East Queensland? Cecilia Diaz-Petersen, or CC as she’s known to her friends and fellow producers, was a hardworking daughter, along with her brother, in her family’s small business back in the Philippines. Moving to regional NSW was a culture shock for CC and it was only when she joined the NAB in Sydney did she start to feel comfortable with her new surroundings. I spoke to CC at a Slow Food Noosa breakfast where delegates had just returned from the big Slow Food Festival, Terra Madre, in Turin. They’d shared stories of their adventures in Italy and I started this podcast with Cecilia by getting a sense of just how big a year 2018 has been for her and her husband Greg

I’ve known Frank for over a decade. He’s an individual with many ‘strings to his bow’ and I’ve always admired his passion and commitment. He’s a councillor and deputy Mayor of Noosa Council, he’s a performer and playwright and he’s a devoted dad and fitness fanatic. In this podcast we cover a lot of ground. Frank grew up in the same Brisbane suburb and street as Keith Urban, and Frank could see a superstar of the future in the making. We discuss Frank’s local government career, his teaching and his work as a journalist

If you were discussing great early explorers you’d probably use words like, fearless, courageous and determine. They’re all words you can use to describe Heather Mills. Heather is a septuagenarian with an adventurous spirit who has recently returned from back packing in Jordan. In this podcast we talk about the international travellers she’s met during her hostel stays, accidentally deleting all of her photos at the top of a mountain she’d just conquered in India, an archaeological dig she was part of when she was 22 and her ancestral connections to some early Queensland pioneers.

It’s not every day that you sit opposite someone with remarkable stories of survival. As you’ll hear in this podcast, Suzie Smeed cheated death three times before she was six years old. Her parents fled Budapest during the second world war and her grandparents were killed in Auschwitz. Suzie’s family arrived in Australia in 1949 and Suzie says she was bullied at school because she was a refugee. These days she’s part of Courage to Care, where she speaks to school kids about her experiences. If you’ve had what you consider a tough day at work today, or maybe you’re worried or down about money, relationships or life in general. This podcast just might help put your life into perspective

Erin has travelled and worked in New Zealand, Wales and now Australia. She was a real estate agent who experienced earthquake scares with her family in Christchurch, she has an infrastructure background from when she was married to a Welshman in Wales. We’ll hear about a real estate investment in Bulgaria that turned sour, her new career path with Jam Social Media and we’ll get Erin’s top three social media tips for small businesses.

Jodie is a great example of someone who has had a lifelong connection to the place where she was born and despite its size and geographic location she’s managed to build a very successful business that now employs 20 staff. Jodie Williams from Black Ant Gourmet and Kin Kin General Store is now even considering a ‘tiny homes’ project in the area for a number of reasons and we talk about that in this podcast. You’ll also hear about Terra Madre in Turin Italy, Jodie’s involvement with Slow Food Noosa and we discuss her scientific approach to preparing food in her kitchen. Jodie is also one of these very rare people who can say that they were born and raised, IN Noosa.

The story behind the Fry Family Food business is remarkable. From modest beginnings in South Africa where Tammy Fry’s father worked as a goat and pig farmer, to an organisation, now based at Sunshine Beach Queensland, that supplies vegan food to outlets globally. In this podcast Tammy and I talk about diet, fasting and the effect it has on your body. There’s the husband who was a hunter who is now a vegetarian. We talk about the car-jacking that Tammy survived, teaching women all about self-defence and where to next for the family business.

Caroline recently celebrated two important milestones. She turned 50, and she marked her 20th anniversary as breakfast radio co-host on Mix FM, Sunshine Coast. You’ll hear Caroline Hutchinson explain, that there may only be one or two other female presenters in Australia that could match her 20-year record, we also talk about her brief foray into politics, when she ran as an independent candidate in the federal seat of Fisher against Peter Slipper and why she’d never do it again. We talk about her Sydney radio days when she was working multiple jobs while her husband John was recovering from a battle with cancer and we discuss why she has grave fears for the future of radio when she sees 10-year old kids.