Better Bloke

Most people know Jacob “Barnos” Barnfield from the Bondi terrorist attack and the footage that made headlines around the world. But that’s only part of his story. This week, Rob and Matty sit down with Barnos to talk about the life behind the headlines. He shares his battles with mental health, multiple suicide attempts, what helped him rebuild his life, and why he’s still here today. The conversa...

What is it about certain songs that can instantly transport you back to a moment in your life? In this episode of The Better Bloke Project Podcast, Rob and Matty dive into Spotify’s viral “Divorced Aussie Dad Tunes” playlist, featuring iconic artists like Creed, Nickelback, 3 Doors Down, Switchfoot, Shannon Noll and Incubus. More than just a music discussion, this episode explores how songs become...

At first glance, Mel Tolone is exactly what you’d expect from a bloke who’s built his life around strength sports and bare-knuckle fighting. He’s competed around the world, stepped onto strongman and powerlifting platforms, and built a career coaching others through his own gyms. But spend five minutes with Mel and you’ll quickly realise there’s far more to him than what you see on the surface. Kn...

This week we sat down with Brando Peričić, better known as The Balkan Bear, the #14 ranked UFC Heavyweight. On the outside, fighters are often seen as tough, fearless and unbreakable. But this conversation goes far beyond what happens inside the cage. Brando opens up about growing up without his father around, the sacrifices he continues to make in pursuit of becoming a UFC champion, and the role...

We are now accredited to deliver Mental Health First Aid training in-house, we discuss what this means for the future of the program and why we believe mental health doesn’t have an awareness problem, it has a communication problem. We unpack how The Better Bloke Project aims to bridge that gap by delivering training and conversations in a way that actually resonates with everyday blokes. It's not...

After years working as a plumber, Sammy found himself chasing something different. Like many blokes, he was sold the dream of e-commerce and online business, but quickly learned that building something from the ground up isn’t as simple as the ads make it look. We discuss the highs and lows of starting a business, the mistakes that come from trying to learn everything yourself, the importance of f...

This week we sat down with Aiden, better known online as Logan Kicks. We unpack his upbringing, the wrong paths he went down as a young bloke, and how he eventually found purpose through selling shoes, building a business and giving back to the community along the way. We also get into fatherhood, balancing work and family life, and the pressure that comes with running a business. The reality of b...

This week, we sit down with Andrew Carpenter for one of the most confronting, heavy, and important conversations we’ve had on the podcast. Known by many as “the man most hated by child sex offenders”, Andrew opens up about what led him into this line of work, the reality of what’s happening behind closed doors, and the alarming statistics surrounding both victims and the lack of meaningful punishm...

This week, we sit down with Nathan Marks, better known as The Curly Show, a bloke who packed up his life, moved into a van, and hit the road chasing something more meaningful than the standard 9 to 5. While most people know him from social media, this conversation goes a lot deeper than the funny reels, calling things "gay" and fighting. Curls opens up about the solo trip through South America tha...

No one really tells you what becoming a man actually looks like. You just figure it out as you go… and most of the time, you’re winging it. In this episode, we unpack the pressure, the mixed messages, and the expectations that come with it. From the idea that no one is coming to save you, to the influence young blokes are facing online, and the confusion around what it even means to “step up.” We...

In this episode of The Point, we take a look back at our conversation with Haze The Huntsman and unpack one of the most uncomfortable topics in modern society: the role of violence, and whether good men should still be capable of it. Violence is usually spoken about as something purely destructive, and for good reason — in the wrong hands, it can do serious damage. But Haze, a professional bare-kn...

Nathan's a member of our community who caught our attention while taking on a challenge: a walk to raise awareness and funds for prostate cancer. What stood out wasn’t just the cause, but the reason behind it. Nathan is doing it to set an example for his nine-year-old son, showing through action the kind of man he hopes his boy grows up to be. With prostate cancer taking his grandfather and affect...

This week is one of those conversations that goes in a few different directions, but all of it matters. On the serious side, we unpack the development of the First Responder Program and what it looks like as more men come into the fold to be trained, equipped, and better prepared to have meaningful conversations in their own communities. That leads us into one of the heavier and more confronting p...

Welcome to The Point, a quick hit from the full conversation - beyond the bullshit & the banter… straight to the stuff that matters. Addiction is more than just bad luck & bad decisions, but it requires a person to become aware of all the different aspects that lead them down that path. Jock opens up about his experience, and what was enough to make him make change. See the full chat with...

Bradly isn’t pretending the prognosis doesn’t exist... he’s just refusing to let it dictate how he lives. On this week’s ep, we sit down with Bradly Gillis, a young bloke many will know as Train4Survival. Bradly is now facing round three against brain cancer, after first being diagnosed at just 16 years old and given a prognosis that suggested he wouldn’t make it to where he is today. 10 years on,...

Rowan, a South African who moved to Australia in search of a better life, joins us on the couches. We get into the real story behind immigration: the visas, the cost, the setbacks, the uncertainty, and what it takes to back yourself and start again in a new country. It’s a conversation about risk, failure, gratitude, relationships, and the lessons Rowan has learnt through a very different life pat...

Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere has exploded online, hit Netflix with major attention, and sparked a heated argument about masculinity, role models, and what young men are actually being fed in 2026. In this episode of the Better Bloke podcast, we break down the documentary, where it lands, where it completely misses, and whether it’s a necessary exposé or just another shallow hit piece dress...

Kristen Sorrenson is the kind of person you notice straight away... loud, funny, ultra-positive, creative, and fully herself, but that version of her didn’t come easy. In this episode, the Gold Coast tattoo artist and Australian Tattoo Expo host opens up about the trauma, heartbreak, toxic environments, family struggles, and self-development that shaped who she is today. We talk about what happens...

For years, blokes have been told to check their skin, their heart, their blood pressure and their prostate... but almost no one talks about checking testosterone . In this episode, we are joined by one of the country's most accomplished doctors, Professor André van Zundert from Hormn, to unpack what testosterone actually does in the body, what TRT really is, and why so many men ignore the signs wh...

Episode 100 of the Better Bloke Podcast had to be this one. For over two and a half years, Dave Holcomb has become a true icon inside Blokes Advice. Every Friday, without fail, he’s raised a VB tallie, called the first beer, and helped thousands of blokes punch into the weekend. To many, he’s the timekeeper, the face of knockoff drinks, and a symbol of consistency, humour, and community. But behin...

Croc Turnbull joins us on the couch! The man many Aussies know from his viral Australiana content, and no-BS love for this country... but there’s a lot more to Croc than what you see online. He shares the full story of how he went from a trapeze artist to working in the crocodile industry, and years spent as a tour guide showing locals and international visitors the best of Australia. We also get...

In this episode of the Better Bloke Project Podcast, we sit down with Cooper Chapman - ex-pro surfer turned motivational speaker - who’s become one of the most relatable voices in youth mental health, resilience, and personal values. Cooper doesn’t preach fluff or psychological jargon. He breaks down a science-backed, real-world approach to feeling better: 1% changes, focusing on what’s going righ...

This one’s a little different... it’s just Rob and Matty on the mics, no guest, no script… just the kind of yarn we normally have off-air, shared with the world. It’s fast-moving, opinionated, and honest, bouncing between big-picture stuff and the everyday realities blokes are dealing with right now. We dig into what AI is doing to the way we consume content... how hard it’s getting to know what’s...

Jeremy Van Akerlaken, better known as Clown Repellent, has gone from relatively unknown to impossible to ignore in a matter of months. In this episode, we sit down with the man behind the name to unpack the rise to “infamy,” the heat that comes with having loud opinions, and why he believes woke culture has been used to justify or protect some genuinely ugly behaviour in recent years. It’s not a h...

Another Australia Day has just passed, and as a topic that affects us all politically, mentally, and as a community, it's time to talk about it. We unpack our experience at the pro-Australia march in Brisbane & chat about the other side of the fence... We discuss why the whole thing keeps turning into a cultural tug-of-war every single year. From flag burning and the stuff that feels like an a...