Life's A Beach

This week in the beach shack Hoppo is joined be fellow lifeguard and ex-paramedic Quinn Darragh. They talk about Quinn's long term battle with liver disease after being diagnosed as a twelve year old resulting in him eventually needing a liver transplant. They discuss how Quinn has managed to triumph over adversity by maintaining a positive attitude and outlook on life as well as the amazing suppo...

***CONTENT WARNING: This episode deals with serious issues around mental health. If this conversation brings up anything please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit https://www.beyondblue.org.au/.    This week Hoppo is joined in the beach shack by former member of the North Bondi Surf Club and long time friend Doron Milner.  Doron talks candidly about his history of mental health issu...

Hoppo is joined in the beach shack by Makua Rothman. Makua talks about his time growing up in Hawaii, his journey to becoming a competitive big wave surfer and his music career.  He also discusses the challenges he's faced along the way and how has used these experiences to grow as a person. Makua has a new song out called Catch A Wave and is currently on tour with his band.  For all thi...

This week in the beach shack Hoppo is joined by Kiki Sjoberg.  Kiki is a photographer who lives in the Kosciuszko region and has been taking extraordinary photos of brumbies in the wild for nearly a decade. As such, Kiki is very much against the government's wild brumby culling program. She joins Hoppo to try and raise awareness of the reality of the salutation from the perspective of someone...

This week Hoppo is joined in the beach shack by Evan Batten. Evan talks about his journey from being a sound recording technician behind the scenes, to being a prominent camera facing journalist on broadcast TV. This extensive experience led Evan to start his own business where he helps enable everyone to show the world who they are through smartphone storytelling.  You can find Evan on Linke...

Hoppo is back in the beach shack with Firerose.  They talk about Firerose's new album Shining Armour and her journey to creating it. Firerose moved from Australia to the US as a 19-year old and has been writing music and acting for as long as she can remember.  For all things Life's a Beach, visit our site at https://www.lifesabeach.co/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifesabeachau/...

This week Hoppo is joined in the beach shack by Leanne Moss. They talk about her time growing up in South Africa, before moving to Australia and later Hong Kong.  Leanne left Hong Kong in 2019 as the riots were heating up, prompting her to move back to Australia. However, her life was upended in 2022 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Leanne talks about her incredible resilience and n...

Dave Winner joins Hoppo in the beach shack to talk about his incredible journey of resilience.  Dave has long been a respected figure in the Coalcliff SLSC and Surf Life Saving Illawarra.  On a seemingly normal day out in the water back in August 2021, he was doing what he's done countless times when he suddenly encountered a wave that knocked him unconscious and submerged him underwater...

Hoppo is joined by former NSW Police Minister Carl Scully and former NSW Assistant Police Commissioner Mark Goodwin to talk about their new book  The Cronulla Riots: The Inside Story.   Carl and Mark talk through how and why they put the book together as well as convey their pivotal roles during the incident.  "Through in-depth interviews and behind-the-scenes insights, the book pro...

This week Hoppo is joined in the beach shack by Joel Turner. Joel has released a remix of his 2004 Aria #1 hit These Kids  to celebrate the twenty year anniversary of it's release. Joel walks Hoppo through his journey from unknown kid to national celebrity at just 16 years old off the back of Australian Idol as well as his plans for the future and some of the struggles he's encountered along...

CONTENT WARNING: This episode deals with issues of sexual abuse. This week Hoppo is joined by old friend Michael Venis who shares his story after holding onto it for over forty years. Michael's message is for those who share a similar story that help is out there, you are not alone and there many avenues for support.  Support is out there: https://www.samsn.org.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Hoppo is joined by 3 x Olympic gold medalist Shane Gould. Shane talks through her Olympic experiences and fascinating childhood as well as her academic career, which includes a PhD from the University of Victoria that was among the first scholarly cultural studies of swimming in Australia. Hoppo and Shane also talk about their collaboration on Float to Survive and what they aim to achieve with the...

This week Hoppo is joined in the beach shack by Luke Horder. Luke is an icon of the fitness industry in Australia as well as the founder and head coach of the Sydney Harbour Surf Club Luke talks through his journey in creating the surf club, his passion for surf sea paddling, the challenges he faced during the pandemic and where he sees the business going in the future. For all things Life's a Bea...

Award winning singer and songwriter Emily Barker joins Hoppo to tell her story. She grew up in a country town in Western Australia and speaks about her eventual move to the United Kingdom where she had two decades in song writing and performing. Emily also shares her struggles with IVF and her unfortunate miscarriage. For all things Life's a Beach, visit our site at https://www.lifesabeach.co/ Ins...

Will Bigelow comes into the beach shack this week to chat about his recent 48 hour marathon for charity. He takes us along the journey and breaks down his experience as the run went on. Following this, Will talks about the birth of his son and how it left his wife and new born child in critical condition. For all things Life's a Beach, visit our site at https://www.lifesabeach.co/ Instagram: https...

Rosie Edwards joins Hoppo this week as a young Surf Life Saver from England to talk about the beginning of her career as an ocean paddler. She aspires to be someone that inspires young girls and brings popularity to the sport within the UK. For all things Life's a Beach, visit our site at https://www.lifesabeach.co/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifesabeachau/?hl=en See omnystudio.com/liste...

Hello everyone and welcome back to Life's a Beach! To kick off 2024, Hoppo has ocean paddling legend Oscar Chalupsky in the beach shack to talk about his childhood and career. He goes on to tell us about his interesting experiences, including competing in the Olympics and meeting Nelson Mandela.  For all things Life's a Beach, visit our site at https://www.lifesabeach.co/ Instagram: https://www.in...

Australian RNB Soul Artist Prinnie Stevens joins Hoppo this week to chat about her early career in performing arts. From singing, dancing and acting, she speaks about her upbringing in the northern beaches and her performance in The Voice Australia. Jackson Doolan joins us once again for beach banter For all things Life's a Beach, visit our site at https://www.lifesabeach.co/ Instagram: https://ww...

Professor of Human and Applied Physiology Mike Tipton joins Hoppo to teach his lessons this week. He worked closely with Hoppo in Float to Survive and continues to share his knowledge regarding the human body and it's reaction to cold and deep water. Jackson Doolan joins us for beach banter this week For all things Life's a Beach, visit our site at https://www.lifesabeach.co/ Instagram: https://ww...

Olympian Jim Walker comes in to talk about how he grew up together with Hoppo, finding their passion for paddling. He talks about the sport's growth into ocean paddling, how he moved into kayaking to compete in the Olympic games in 1996 as well as his eventual move to Race 1, giving back to the rowing athletes. For all things Life's a Beach, visit our site at https://www.lifesabeach.co/ Instagram:...

Marathon swimmer Andrew Donaldson joins Hoppo this week to speak about his upbringing in Scotland and how he made his move to Perth to pursue his swimming career. He talks about his travels across the world as he attempted the Ocean Seven challenge. For all things Life's a Beach, visit our site at https://www.lifesabeach.co/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifesabeachau/?hl=en See omnystudio....

You may know this person from the "Married at First Sight" 2019 series, Cyrell Paule, better known as Cyclone Cyrell. She talks about the challenges she faced with becoming a public personality through reality TV and her family life with her partner Eden and their son, Boston. Eddy joins us for beach banter this week For all things Life's a Beach, visit our site at https://www.lifesabeach.co/ Inst...

Rhiannon Iffland grew up in Newcastle where she started diving as a young kid. She joins Hoppo today to tell us how she went on to become the six-time Redbull World Champion. Rhiannon shares her experiences travelling to many places around the world and her present engagement in competitive cliff diving. Jackson Doolan joins Hoppo for beach banter this week For all things Life's a Beach, visit our...

Hoppo is joined by Alexis and Jo this week to talk about the ongoing warfare between Israel and Palestine. Jo discusses as a first-hand witness, the state of the victims of this conflict and the horrifying scenes that she and the community endures. Alexis tells us of her emotional dealings, having her husband, family and friends in Israel. For all things Life's a Beach, visit our site at https://w...

Hoppo brings into the beach shack Hannah Hampton, professional footballer and goalkeeper for the FA Women's Super League club Chelsea and England's national team. She talks about her experience in the recent FIFA World Cup held in Australia and the struggles she faced with an eye condition in her earlier years Eddy joins us for beach banter this week For all things Life's a Beach, visit our site a...