Get Off The Bench Podcast

This weekend I went away with my sister to Byron Bay Yoga Centre for a long weekend retreat. While there was some element of self care replenishment, we also hoped it would give us a great opportunity to get away from everyday life to connect on a deeper level. That certainly happened.  But what else happened was a realisation that two worlds can collide in the exact same space and the outcom...

Evie Wilson is a mindset coach, positivity rebel, dream chasing guide, group space enthusiast and podcast host of the podcast Wildly Positive. She is also a mother to two small girls, a marriage celebrant and feminist, always. As a mindset coach, Evie creates spaces for women to open their minds to lush, audacious dreams for their lives, pairing it with the essential mindset work required to fully...

Simon Alexander Ong is a personal development entrepreneur, coach and public speaker. His clients are from all walks of life but they share one trait; they all believe that the greatest investment you can make is in yourself. His work has seen him invited onto Sky News and BBC to be interviewed, while Barclays featured him in a nationwide campaign asking him questions on how families cou...

Tim Bye is The Gay Farmer, and also the proud creator of The Gay Farmer Candles. In 2016, Tim was working in the Northern Suburbs of Melbourne, and was bullied, harassed and discriminated against in the workplace, simply for being gay. He was then terminated after complaining about the treatment he was receiving from the manager.  Tim hoped WorkSafe Vic would help, but sadly they didn’t. This...

At the end of 2021, Laura set herself a a massive challenge…. Go for a walk everyday for a year! At the time she honestly thought she would last a week, or maybe a month tops. There were a few reasons for the challenge but one of the biggest ones was listening to someone who had lost a massive amount of weight, describe how they could finally be happy now they are living in a thinner body.  L...

Whilst working at a country bank in rural New South Wales in 1993, Graeme was witness to an armed robbery from behind the service counter.  On this day, police dramatically arrested the offenders as they exited the bank. This moment proved pivotal in his decision to apply for the Victoria Police, graduating from the police academy in 1994. Graeme worked the ‘beat’ across many suburbs of metro...

Prasiddhi Singh, Age 10, Prime Minister National Child Awardee (Highest Civilian Honor Under 18 years). She is the founder of the Prasiddhi Forest Foundation. She is the youngest Fruit Forest Creator of India-by-India book of Records. Prasiddhi is Brand Ambassador for the Nationwide Girl literacy campaign – “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” by Tamil Nadu Government. She has also been appointed as Child Am...

Sue Centra is an energetic optimist, passionate about bringing people together and creating a stronger community. Right before Covid started, Sue retired with big plans to caravan around Australia. Sue and her husband sold the family farm and headed north. Locked out of Victoria due to Covid, Sue and Mick took the long way home and found themselves at a Traveller Caravan Group get-together in Sout...

Lewis Swire is a 16-year-old social entrepreneur from Scotland, whose entrepreneurial journey started at the age of 10 when he founded Aurora Bath Bombs, and at 12 founded Cheeky Lemonade. He then founded The Curious Times (curioustimes.co.uk), an award-winning international online magazine ‘By Young People, For Young People’, dedicated to amplifying the voices of young people. He founded the non-...

This episode takes a look at some questions to ask yourself if your project or idea has made you wonder whether you should quit. Quitting is not failure, and actually takes enormous strength and courage. If you have lost your passion, are frustrated, have lost connection with other things you care about, or are gaining no traction, this episode will give you some things to reflect upon, if you hav...

Laurent is a French national who left France at 23, spent 20 years in South-East Asia, before relocating to Finland in the summer of 2019. His professional background is in market research and advertising, where  he ran 7-figure businesses across 3 countries.  Throughout the years, and as a result of his own burnout, Laurent has developed a passion for coaching, mentoring, advising and t...

Mick Harrington grew up amongst the picturesque farming communities of East Gippsland, Victoria where he has established himself as a successful small business owner and decorated musician. Having worked in a variety of roles in the  agricultural, retail, journalism and native timber industries, Mick is passionate about regional and remote Australia including the need for communities to acces...

Michael Bartura has well over 30 years of experience in a variety of fields including education, international aid, manufacturing, training & development, business development and innovation. Over the years, he  in as many as a dozen countries in Asia, Australia, North America, and Europe. Michael has worked as a director, manager, business developer and consultant with organisa...

Dr. Jen Pratt is a pediatric physician that is caring for children in the very same hospital where she was treated. Her story has come full circle, back to where her life was transformed. Dr. Pratt is now able to help improve the lives of other children battling critical illnesses with the gift of a wish referral and personally share in the transformation that comes with her patients’ wish experie...

Mike Fox | Multi award-winning Filmmaker, Director, Producer, Writer, Designer, Creative Professional, Actor, Voiceover, CEO & Entrepreneur. Featured on front page newspapers, Mike Fox's ultimate goal is impacting lives to empower, inspire and encourage and give direction in some way. Along the journey, are many curvy and cool paths from comedy, to suspense and scary, to sci-fi, to emotional,...

Former Metropolitan Police Officer , Danni Brooke AKA  Undercover Mother  is highly regarded as an investigation and intelligence expert across The Globe. Having worked on some of the most dangerous and high-profile cases, Danni has seen herself face to face with crimes involving guns, drugs and prostitution rings. 'My life was full of danger every day and I couldn’t tell my friends or f...

Mat Bowtell is the founder and CEO of Free 3D Hands, an Australian charity who designs and 3D prints hands and assistive devices. The hands are provided for free, to children and adults all around the world and they even pay the postage! Mat freely shares his designs under an open-source licence so others can make and repair their own devices and to encourage further innovation.  Mat's goal i...

Ben Tunks is a Youth Worker and Musician, and founder of the Little Village Project (LVP).  After working in the community service sector for many years, Ben made a change to the Department of Education & Training in 2017. There he came to see school staff as the real workers at the coal face of Youth Work, particularly when it came to children who have experienced trauma and those who li...

Kristi Maggio is dedicated to creating access to equal education and employment opportunities worldwide. For over 20 years, she watched many children fail and feel inadequate merely because they didn’t fit into the traditional way of learning. As a result, she chose to take action and founded a school that gives students the tools to create success in their life no matter who they are or where the...

Jordan Wylie is an international bestselling author, award winning adventurer and one of the stars of Channel 4’s BAFTA-nominated shows Hunted  and Celebrity Hunted. He is also currently the United Kingdom’s national ambassador for the Army Cadet Force. Jordan grew up on one of the largest council estates in the country in Blackpool, Lancashire. After a few brushes with the law at an ear...

Known across the region as a little ball of joy and energy! Arianna Fox may come in a small package, but her ideas are as revolutionary as they are wide-reaching. For several years now, Arianna has devoted her life and much of her time to reaching out to others to spread messages of hope, inspiration, and self-confidence. Making a positive impact upon others and helping them rock their lives to ma...

Nikita Dhawan is a high school student at the American Embassy School in New Delhi. She has always been passionate about animal rights and environmental conservation and is the founder of an animal welfare initiative called "Youth for Animals.”  Nikita is leading the organization’s flagship campaign #FreeShankarDelhiZoo to free Shankar, an African elephant languishing in the Delhi Zoo, from h...

Growing up in a small rural town, Elle always had big city dreams. Her love of art, fashion and creating beautiful things lead her to a career as a makeup artist. Living in Gippsland and predominantly working in Melbourne may seem like a lot of unnecessary travel to many but to Elle it has given her the best of both worlds - fulfilled her love for all things hustle, bustle and great work opportuni...

This episode is reflection that we need to extend much more love, and instead of focusing on how hard 2022 has been, let’s focus on the moments of joy that blessed us throughout the year. We all had those moments, but it’s so easy to override them with the things that have caused stress. Together we can make a huge difference to the world if we just invest more love, care, hope and joy, and spend...

Billie Groom is the creator of UPWARD Dogology, as well as being a social entrepreneur, innovator, expert in Canine Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CCBT), award winning author, podcast host, speaker, and animal welfare activist. Her work spans over three decades. She is featured in magazines, blogs, and on many podcasts and tv shows, including the LA Tribune, CTV , Roku TV, and Psychology Today Maga...