ShedLifeNZ Podcast

James Tucker played 13 years of professional rugby for Waikato, the Chiefs, Blues, Hurricanes and Brumbies, plus stints in Italy and Japan, and along the way racked up 22 surgeries, including two blown ACLs, a broken sacrum and rib cartilage snapped clean in half on both sides. He joins us on the ShedlifeNZ Podcast to take us through the whole ride. We get into the injuries that should have ended...

Leonardo Garcia Curtis joins the ShedLife NZ Podcast. Leonardo's the former CEO of Zyber, an award winning ecommerce agency, and now runs WABOOM AI helping Kiwi businesses actually use AI properly. In this one we got Claude to build a live website for Waikato Sheds while we sat there talking, start to finish, on camera. We get into how AI is already changing the call centre game with voice agents...

Part 2 of the ShedLifeNZ sports chat is here, from NZ sport to world sport, we cover it all this week. On the home front, Hautapu are through to the final after a big semi win and out to stop Marist's three peat, the All Blacks are building nicely after that win over Italy with Will Jordan now the all time leading try scorer, and the countdown to the Springbok series is on. Across the world it...

He was raised to be an Olympic ski jumper in France. Years later, on the other side of the world, he's a BMX rider, a commercial pilot, and a head chef, all at once. Lulu Bejot sits down with Jason and Mark on ShedLife NZ to tell the full story. He started ski jumping at 5 years old on tiny 5 metre jumps in a small village in eastern France, working his way up to 100 metre jumps before injurie...

New series kicking off in the shed. Quentin Hill, project manager at Waikato Sheds and a genuine weapon on the wing for Hautapu, sits down to talk rugby. Born in South Africa, he grew up chasing the All Black dream like every Kiwi kid. These days he's just loving life scoring tries for Hautapu, four years in with 50+ games with NZ Harlequins call up's along the way. We get into his own rug...

Jed Mildon and Nick Franklin join us on the ShedLife NZ Podcast, and this one's an absolute ride. Jed's the Taupo BMX rider who landed the world's first ever triple backflip, then went back a few years later and pulled off the world's first quad. Nick's spent his whole career in freestyle motocross, touring the globe with Red Bull X Fighters and Nitro Circus, including jumping...

At just 17 years old, Ollie Pringle packed his bags and headed to Bristol, England to play club cricket. What started as a sporting opportunity turned into four years of travel, lifelong friendships and lessons that shaped who he is today. Now a Business Development Manager at Tutill Carriers, Ollie joins Jason Davis in the shed for an honest conversation about travelling young, building meaningfu...

New Zealand ring announcer MC Mike sits down with Jason Davis on the ShedlifeNZ Podcast to talk about the journey from combat sports fan to one of the busiest MCs on the NZ fight scene. MC Mike wasn't always behind the mic. He grew up loving fighting, training in combat sports, and living the lifestyle from the inside. But somewhere along the way he realised his voice and his passion for the g...

Leon Holden joins the Shed Life Podcast for a proper rugby yarn about the journey from Hauraki North to coaching Waikato in the NPC. In this episode, Leon talks through his early days in club rugby, the people who shaped him, coaching in New Zealand, Japan and England, his time with London Wasps, the pressure of professional rugby, and why grassroots clubs still matter so much to the future of the...

In this special Shed Life episode, Jason sits down inside Kaihere School with Ngaire Harris, a local education legend whose story began on a dairy farm and led to a lifetime of teaching, leadership, and service. From helping her younger brother with maths to ending up with around 100 kids at her house each week, Nairi’s path into teaching was anything but ordinary. What followed was more than 30 y...

In this episode of ShedLife, Jason and KJ sit down with Shaun O'Neill, founder of Essential Talent, one of New Zealand’s leading keynote speaker agencies. Sean shares his journey from growing up in Timaru, sneaking away to listen to talkback radio in a tin shed, starting out in radio as a copywriter, and eventually building a business that works with some of New Zealand’s biggest names in spor...

In this episode of ShedLife, Jason sits down with Dr Amy Marfell, CEO of Waikato Rugby, to talk about leadership, women in sport, junior rugby, sideline behaviour, and the future of the game in the Waikato. Amy shares her journey from academia and Sport Waikato into becoming the first female CEO of Waikato Rugby, and what it means to lead an organisation that stretches from junior rugby and commun...

In this episode of Shed Life, Jason sits down with Sheila Yama, the Papua New Guinea-born, Hamilton-based unbeaten boxer who is quickly rising through the professional ranks. Sheila shares her journey from growing up in a village in Papua New Guinea, training as a nurse, moving through the Cook Islands and New Zealand, and eventually finding her way into boxing. Now 7-0 as a professional and fresh...

Billy Brown does not hold back. In this episode, Jason sits down with Billy for one of the most direct conversations we’ve had on ShedLifeNZ. They get into the New Zealand political landscape, Māori leadership, the elite of NZ, culture, identity, cost of living, and how they believe this country could do better. It is an honest chat that a lot of Kiwis will relate to. Some parts are uncomfortable,...

In this episode of Shedlife NZ, we sit down with Brigitta Warren from RecruitNet to discuss the rapidly changing landscape of the job market. With AI changing how companies hire and how candidates search, navigating your career path requires a new set of rules. Brigitta shares her professional insights on what recruiters are actually looking for today, the common mistakes that get applications rej...

KJ joins the podcast to share some of his most unforgettable moments from Seddon Park Cricket Stadium, including one of the most memorable matches ever played there. From New Zealand’s massive chase against Australia, Matthew Hayden’s incredible 185 not out, Brendan McCullum’s last-over heroics, and behind-the-scenes celebrations, KJ gives us a rare look at the stories most cricket fans never get...

In this episode of ShedLifeNZ, we sit down with Hiroshi to hear a deeply personal story shaped by one of history’s most devastating events. Hiroshi’s mother survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, but the impact did not end there. We explore how that experience has carried through generations, shaping identity, perspective, and the way he sees the world today. Jason also reflects on his time in...

What does it take to go from being a builder on the tools… to building and leading a nationwide construction business? In this episode of ShedlifeNZ, Jason Davis sits down with Reon Paterson — Master Franchisee of Smith & Sons New Zealand, who has spent over 30 years in the building industry, starting as an apprentice and working his way into leadership across a national network of builders. R...

Concrete looks simple… until you’re the one doing it. Early starts. Tight deadlines. No room for error. Ken Pumpi from Prestige Concreting sits down with Jason to talk about what it’s really like working in the NZ construction game — the pressure behind the scenes, the standards you have to meet, and what it takes to build a name in the industry. From getting started to running jobs, this is a rea...

Everyone talks about high performance — but how many people understand what it actually takes to build it? In this episode, we sit down with Andrew from Roar Coaching, a high performance mindset coach who takes us back to where it all began — starting out as a banker before completely shifting direction into coaching. Andrew shares how he made that transition, what drives him, and the lessons he’s...

Everyone knows Beach Hop, but not everyone knows the man who founded it. In this episode, we sit down with Noddy Watts, founder of Beach Hop, to unpack the story behind New Zealand's biggest classic car event. From his early days at the NZ Post Office to building Hot Rods and running tours Route 66, Noddy has lived a life connected to the classic car culture and community. We dive into how Bea...

In this episode, we sit down with master shed builder Paul Alderton to talk through his journey. From playing on cruise ships in the 90s with the band The Politicians, to farming in Australia and eventually building sheds in New Zealand, Paul’s had a diverse and eventful path. He takes us back to where it all started—how he learned his trade, where his passion for drumming came from, and the exper...

Ramin shares an incredible life story that spans revolutions, war, immigration, and building success from the ground up. Born in Iran shortly before the Islamic Revolution, Ramin grew up during a time of political upheaval, war with Iraq, and strict government control. He describes what life was like during those years, including the cultural changes, protests, and challenges faced by everyday peo...

Why do men live four years less than women on average? In this episode of Shedlife we talk to mental health charity founder Craig Bulloch about mens mental health in New Zealand. His story and how it led to him starting this movement, how he got the black dog off his back and more... There's also plenty of fun chat about Craig playing international sports and competing in IronMan Challenges. S...

From writing a masters thesis on the rock concert experience to founding the Waikato's most popular business networking event. Daniel Hopper talks us through his journey and how he got to where he is today, how his love for music and community has shaped the way he approaches business and lessons it's taught him along the way.