Max's Island

Tara Ulrich went on a years travel following high school. This gave her a chance to reflect on the career expectations she had to be an Auslan interpreter … and those encouraged by close friends and family. Whilst this expected career direction was something she new well, was emotionally close to and was something she could easily do … she had doubts. Did she really want to do this. On her return...

Stefan West is a solo artist from Melbourne Australia. Pulling from his own life experiences he uses music as a canvas to paint the experiences of his own life. His previous project, The Velvet Addiction, saw many successes with the likes of national airplay on Triple M, Rebel Fm and MTV. During his visit to Max’s Island, Stefan continues to openly share his past experiences with drug addition, me...

Shaun Williams was well entrenched and purposefully building on the foundations he had already laid in his corporate life. Then, following a chat with a friend at a party, he became aware of a “nature quest on Noongar Boodja”, run by Claire Vanderplank from Partnering with Nature. He researched, prepared and finally made the decision to do it. So, not long after the suggestion was made to him, Sha...

James Hoare was born with a brain injury called hydrocephalus and had 4 brain surgeries before he was 7 years old. However, that didn’t hold back his inherent competitive nature to try challenging and exciting past times during his life. He started mountain climbing in 2011 with Mt Kosciusko then Mt Kilimanjaro in 2013. After Mt Kosciusko he created the goal of being the first person with hydrocep...

Clare Allen has been a successful C-Suite executive for many years. Her intensity to performing at the highest CEO level comes from self-confessed personality traits … but also has been complimented by strong philosophies toward life and work balance. The heavy spiritual influence in her life was highly influential when she chose to re-assess her approach to work following a series of serious, rel...

Dylan Lamb had a recent experience that he finds difficult to explain. This mentally challenging episode may have been influenced by drugs … it may have been influenced by his state of mind at the time … or it might have been influenced by deep mental health characteristics. No-one really knows. This event lasted for just over a week, but it saw him become paranoid around his business and social n...

Sally Grandy and her family’s relocation to Perth Western Australia came from a promise of a job, a new opportunity and the thought that “their stars were aligning”. But, it didn’t happen the way it was meant to. Literally 1 week before leaving the UK … the job offer was withdrawn. Nonetheless, they still qualified for a visa to travel, so they decided to take the risk and within 3 days of landing...

Shane Landers is an educator … a leader in his community. He is passionate about leading young people to become educated and to use this to become meaningful contributors in society. So, when he had the opportunity to be a relief Principal at a remote community in northern Western Australia, he jumped at it. This was the chance for him to push himself, contribute to his education network and most...

Michala McMahon came to Australia from Manchester on a working holiday …and has stayed. Whilst Manchester is a big cosmopolitan city, it cannot compete with the weather and unique lifestyle of Australia. On her initial arrival in Bundaberg QLD, a chance exchange in the street with an engaging couple captivated her attention and was the start of a new life … down-under.

Bec Bowman is someone who is always on an adventure and looking for new challenges. This has seen her travel the world and follow dreams that have created memorable, life enriching experiences. But for the past few years she has been deeply ensconced in Perth WA, and has become totally immersed in the creative arts scene. By working casual “night shifts” as a nurse - her initial working profession...

As a 24 year old, Ryan Miller took the opportunity to follow his dream of becoming a TV broadcaster and journalist at Sky News in Sydney. He immediately hit the ground running and was soon thrust into a management role looking after a news team. As a traditional journalist, he was passionate about reporting the truth but it didn’t take long before editorial direction began to occur from above. Thi...

Chris Singleton has extensive experience in starting and operating many businesses. This long and successful career has been built on a real inclusive approach, with the adoption of some clear, effective principles. This is a great episode for budding entrepreneurs and business owners to learn how these principles can be adopted for success … even in challenging times … similar to those faced by C...

Eve continues to tell the story of caring for Rickie’s great aunt, Tatiana, and the challenges that this has posed in their lives. Recently, as Tatiana approaches 99 years of age, a traumatic visit to an emergency department at a London hospital has again influenced the plans and aspirations of Eve and Rickie. Their dreams of moving to France to live and begin a new stage in their professional car...

7 years ago, Eve Lameks and her husband Rickie, moved across the world on an adventure that was to see them based in London, growing their professional careers in the hustle and bustle of the construction industry and enjoying the convenience of taking frequent holiday jaunts to continental Europe. They were really planning to “live the life”. Soon after their arrival in London they were excited t...

Stuart Thomason left uni and jumped straight into being a social entrepreneur in the music business. The first few years were very successful, with the Sheffield based (UK) business employing a growing team and engaging with a wide range of contractors. But cashflow pressures and, in his words, the inevitable, desperate measures of throwing good money after bad forced him to close the business. Th...

Clare Goodridge spent two years locked-down in Perth WA during the pandemic whilst still coaching, teaching and consulting with individuals and corporations all around the world. This lonely life in the most isolated city in the southern hemisphere, generally meant all night work and sleeping during the day. There was little social life and she went weeks on end without "‘touching’ another human....

This episode is titled, “For a short time” – and we reflect on two stories from 2022 where a person entered the lives of each of our guests for just a short period yet made a momentous impact.

Every year on Max’s Island, we like to begin the year by reflecting on some of our interesting guests from 2022 and combine their stories into a mixed episode that has added meaning. These extended episodes are a great way for you to allow yourself the time to refresh your energy for the new year and be inspired by the experiences of others. In this first episode of two in the 2023 Starter Series,...

in economics. It has taken him to the policy and financial capitals of the world … including Canberra, London, New York and Sydney. In Canberra, he had a front row seat to the significant developments of the Australian financial markets in the 1980’s … especially during his time working with the then Australian Govt Treasurer, Paul Keating. He eventually left the safe confines of the Canberra bubb...

For SJC, 2016 was the year when she started a new job, went on a holiday to Bali and then faced the trauma of caring for her mother, as her health began to dramatically fail. Having worked away from her family in the US, for 22 years in Australia, SJC had to deal with her mental challenges after her mother’s passing in a new way. The mental scaring from being raised in a domestically violent envir...

USA Today Bestselling author Nicole Flockton writes contemporary romances that sparkle and seduce you one kiss at a time. Nicole likes nothing better than taking characters and creating unique situations where they fight for their true love. In this episode we learn about Nicole’s passionate approach to her craft and how over a long period of time … and with a great amount of hard work … she has e...

Emily Silva Hockstra believes everyone has the power to create the lives they dream of. During a holiday to Costa Rica she saw a handwritten flyer in a coffee shop for an “intuitive painting course” and immediately was taken on a process that changed her life. The woman teaching her ended the course by interpreting her paining and telling Emily that she needed to be Brave … and to go after what sh...

Craig founded a charity called Short Back and Sidewalks (SBSW) in early 2015. It’s a free hair-cutting and grooming service for members of the community who are experiencing homelessness and is currently governed and operated entirely by volunteers. The service goes beyond just giving free haircuts; they create meaningful connections through conversations with clients, and create visibility for so...

Previously, we learnt that Ryan took up “blind cricket” in his mid forties … after a successful career as a national Goalballer and a world champion sailor. On this episode, we’ll discover how he made his way to Queensland and into an international series against New Zealand … BUT, it wasn’t all plain sailing for Ryan. Illness nearly prevented him achieving the ultimate goal. Also, Ryan tells us w...

Returning to Max’s Island in this episode is the inspiring Ryan Honschooten. Well known and world regarded blind sailer, adventurer, mentor, motivator and general great guy. For someone who has achieved so much, then why would he choose to take up a new sport in his mid forties? Because that is just what he does … and it was no surprise that this new sporting endeavour has seen Ryan reach the pinn...