Influence Unlocked

  As the 2018 Dally M Coach of the Year and former head coach of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Anthony Seibold is accustomed to performing under pressure. However, even Anthony was unprepared for the ugly turn of events shortly after landing the high-profile role as Head Coach for the Brisbane Broncos, when, already under fierce criticism for a series of losses, he became the subject of a vitriolic...

Kicking off Season 3 of the Influence Unlocked is a guest with a truly uncanny knack for connecting with audiences. Currently the consumer correspondent for Australia’s no 1 breakfast television program, Sunrise, Shaun White is equally comfortable in front of a TV camera or hosting large events. His ability to build an authentic connection with people has also seen him score coveted interviews wit...

My guest for the final episode of season two has lived his whole life in the spotlight, and has recently been causing controversy with an ad campaign featuring bikini models in various scenarios including on a trampoline surrounded by goats. Tom Waterhouse was born in to racing royalty. On his mother’s side, horse trainers; on his father’s side, four generations of bookmakers. Despite an allergy t...

Talking to my guest for this episode was as thrilling as watching her race. Emily Dugan was just 22 years of age when she started racing in theSeries X3 NSW, after buying a race car on Gumtree, a suit on eBay and a helmet from Aldi. Self-taught and self-funded, she became the first female driver to race in the Super3 V8 Touring Cars Series in 2016. Since then, she has competed in events including...

Bec Brown is the founder and director of highly successful PR agency, The Comms Department, known for representing some of Australia’s and the world’s biggest and best-known media, entertainment travel and lifestyle brands. But before she built her name as the PR behind big names like the Australian Radio Network, Bras n Things and Amazon Prime Video, Bec started out by following her dreams to be...

Journalist Sam Squiers has always been passionate about women’s sport – however, the media outlets she has worked for have not always shared her enthusiasm. So in 2014, Sam decided to build her own. Sportette launched as a news platform to highlight the incredible stories of women in sport, but as it grew and those same media outlets started mining it for ideas, Sportette morphed into a think tank...

Welcome back to 2021! In the spirit of it being summer in Australia and cricket dominating the sporting headlines, I am delighted to be bringing you my chat with former Australian test cricketer, Ed Cowan. I’ve always been fascinated by how elite athletes manage the transition out of sport and into new careers, and my guest for this episode has a lot to say on that topic. Ed Cowan is a former Aust...

Honesty in sport and purity of competition are what drive my guest for this episode, and he practices what he preaches. Jaimie Fuller is the former executive chairman of global sportswear brand, SKINS, making waves last year when he released a heartfelt mea culpa announcing the Switzerland-based company’s bankruptcy. Through Jaimie’s leadership, SKINS became a prominent defender of ethics in sport...

She’s dressed Australian TV celebrities and even Meghan Markle, but my guest for this episode just wants every woman to feel confident and beautiful. Mother of five and Mrs Australia Globe titleholder Karen Gee launched her luxury fashion brand in 2013. Unlike many entrepreneurs who have a big vision from day one, Karen’s down to earth approach saw her taking things step by step until that moment...

When I asked my guest for this episode what his word of the day was, he said ‘sensational’ – and you could feel the positive energy flowing through the room! Ben Lucas started his career in the NRL playing for the Cronulla Sharks before moving into the fitness industry. He ran three of Australia’s most successful personal training studios, but sold them in 2012 to start a new venture with yoga tra...

Adam Jacobs is not your typical entrepreneur – in fact, the word makes him uncomfortable. A philosophical astrophysics boffin who once thought business was ‘gross’, Adam discovered the creative possibilities of commerce as a direct knife salesperson during university and switched degrees. At the age of 29, Adam gave up an international career and a prestigious MBA to launch The Iconic, then a new...

The early days of Phoebes Garland’s career were like something out of The Devil Wears Prada. A fashion industry stalwart with over 25 years’ experience, Phoebes started out working in fashion advertising and publishing before launching two highly successful and respected businesses with her husband, Rob – wholesale fashion agency and consultancy Garland & Garland, and lifestyle jewellery business...

Sam Wood shot to fame in 2015 as the Australian Bachelor, where he famously met his now-wife Snezana. Now, though, he is best known for his phenomenally successful online health and fitness program, 28 by Sam Wood. Sam got his start in the fitness industry as a skinny kid working at his uni gym before landing a spot at the biggest fitness studio in Melbourne, where he picked the brains of his succ...

My guest for this episode is someone I’ve looked up to for many years. Raelene Castle is one of Australia’s leading sports executives, having spent the past decade and a bit as CEO of three major organisations – Netball New Zealand, NRL team the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, and most recently Rugby Australia. Prior to that she climbed the corporate ladder at major NZ companies, and in 2015 she wa...

Parents and teachers around the world have had to grapple with remote learning this year. But imagine if your students didn’t have access to the internet or a computer at home. That’s the challenge Annabelle Chauncy had to meet – and fast – earlier this year for over 1,000 students at schools in Uganda built by her charity, the School for Life Foundation. A six-month study break teaching English i...

My guest for this episode is a household name for Australian foodies. A school dropout at 15, Luke Mangan discovered a love of cooking through an apprenticeship with Herman Schneider at Melbourne restaurant Two Faces. In the three decades since then, Luke has made his culinary influence felt through dozens of restaurants as well as on P&O cruise ships, Virgin Australia Business Class and on the Ea...

Welcome to season two of the Influence Unlocked podcast! To kick things off I’m chatting with a rising star of Australian sport. Amy Parmenter rose to prominence in the professional netball world in 2019 after joining the Giants and rounding out a stellar debut season by winning the Rising Star Award along with the Giants’ Player of the Year. Amy is also dedicated to using her profile to support a...

My guest for the final episode of season one of the podcast has been a huge influence on my life and career, and I’m thrilled to have her on the show. Kerry Chikarovski, or Chika as she’s widely known, rose to prominence as one of the first women to hold a leadership role in Australian politics and the first woman to lead a major political party in New South Wales. Despite a lack of female role mo...

As a teenage girl in the ‘90s, reading Dolly magazine every month was a special thrill – one that my guest for this episode knows well. As a teenager Marino Go set her sights on becoming the editor of Dolly magazine, a goal she achieved at the age of 23. Of course, achieving your ultimate goal so early in your career prompts the question, what’s next? Marina went on launch Australian Good Taste ma...

My guest for this episode is the dictionary definition of determination, defying the odds and believing you can achieve anything if you just put your mind to it. Nathan Charles was three months old when he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) and his parents were told that he might not even make it to his 10th birthday. A rugby fan from the time he could speak, Nathan’s dream was to become a Wa...

At the age of 12, Justin Dry saw his entrepreneur father lose everything. Now, Justin is the co-founder and CEO of one of Australia’s fastest growing companies, Vinomofo. He joins us for our second COVID-19 ‘lockdown’ episode, chatting to us from his home office at the dining room table, with handy access to the wine fridge and his 4-month-old daughter Matisse in the next room. Justin and his brot...

Welcome to episode 10 of the Influence Unlocked podcast – the first episode to be produced under social distancing restrictions! Our guest is a former child model who enjoys go karting and bouldering, but most of you would know Tim Fung as the CEO and cofounder of Airtasker, an online gig economy platform that helps users outsource their chores, errands and odd jobs. And Airtasker itself has raise...

Ever wanted to jump on a plane and completely reinvent your life somewhere else? That’s exactly what our guest for episode 9 of Influence Unlocked did. Kyla Kirkpatrick was on a fast track to a big career in finance when she quit her job and bought a one-way ticket to Paris to study her passion, champagne. Since then she has built a huge following as ‘The Champagne Dame’ and is recognised as one o...

Our guest for this episode says he’d probably be a full time ‘ski bum’ if he wasn’t doing what he’s doing today. Aaron Smith was the typical 20 something traveller – holidaying and working -  in London when he came across the idea he would eventually turn into a multi-million dollar franchise. Dynamic Pilates was a growing trend in London, and when Aaron returned to Australia he knew that was what...

My guest for this episode of Influence Unlocked learned to bake from YouTube videos and is now a media personality in her own right and the owner of a custom design cake shop with a long list of clients including cruise companies, sporting organisations, celebrity chefs and major corporate companies. Daniella Boutros left school at 16 after struggling with severe dyslexia. She presented her parent...