Max's Island

Danny Allen and his mates used getting together, over a few beers, as a way of keeping close and yakking over things that mattered to them. A chance meeting with a podcast producer and content creator … at a pub in the Perth northern suburbs … just as they were thinking about starting a podcast for themselves, was the moment of truth for them. They mused over a Podcast name … loosely formulated a...

Previously, we learnt how Brad’s passion and commitment was pivotal in starting a successful community radio station.   In this episode we continue to peel back the layers of person who has achieved so much…as an elite sportsman, talented media personality and a genuinely good bloke. Brad shares his involvement in the Nollamara Primary school basketball phenomena, the passion for surfing and the d...

The many faces of Brad Cecins…Sports star, media personality, school teacher and community radio entrepreneur. This is part 1 … of a two part series … of Brad’s visit to The Island. Whilst sharing his primary journey of starting a community radio station, Brad unearths a story that has a multi-faceted message of commitment, perseverance and self belief. Without this focused drive, the ability to c...

Simon Carabetta openly describes himself as a typical arrogant, egotistical 20 year old, back in the early 2000’s. He joined me on Max’s Island to speak about these times and his early introduction into the local ‘pro-wrestling” scene in WA. After a chance meeting with a group of guys of a similar age, he was drawn into being involved in an emerging organisation at the heart of this ‘pro-wrestling...

We all aim to set ourselves “Everest Events” … those personal quests that when completed, provide internal fulfilment and a sense of achievement. The impact we create for ourselves can be huge … or, it just may be the start of a series of smaller achievements that build momentum and meaning in our lives. But, they don’t need to be as grand as scaling the world’s largest mountain or crossing the la...

Paul Skewes admits that over his life he has regularly chosen the road less travelled and this has shaped him. From this, there have been experiences … some intuitively driven, some pragmatically driven and sometimes even driven by nothing other than a feeling for what is the right thing to do. Paul now realises the significance of taking this journey and how important this approach is toward lead...

Tara is passionate about bringing the beauty and power of Australian Sign Language (Auslan) into early childhood education. This passion is obvious in her emotionally powerful description of the venture she has created with her partner. Called Tiny Hands Signs, it has a purpose to introduce sign language as an additional method to aid the communication development of all children. Tiny Hands Signs...

Raff Di Bartolomeo has spent a career helping others and guiding them to find what’s important for them. Particularly, those with an interest in looking at how collaboration, connection and intentional action can address social need and elevate the voices of those most impacted. Ultimately, he has focused on others and embraced social innovation to make their lives better. When the effects of a se...

On Max’s Island, we’ve spent the holiday period reviewing our purpose and taking the time to really connect with our creative reason for being. It’s been exciting to re-discover that each story shared by guests to Max’s Island, can be aligned to one of the 5 values that guide our purpose. In the new series for 2025, we will be highlighting this connection and the meaningfulness of each story … the...

John Meacock has had an extensive business life in consulting and professional services. This has taken him to the boardrooms of many companies and organisations around the world and allowed him to interact with senior C-Suite executives and influential world leaders. Whilst John is well skilled, has extensive technical knowledge and is focused on achieving outcomes, his use of sound human princip...

Jamie Larson has always been one to travel afar from his native New Zealand, challenge himself and find new ways to connect with people. At one significant moment, with only a ‘basic’ high school level of Spanish, he made a decision to relocate from England and go to Argentina. With little expectation and not much of a plan, on arrival he set about using his instincts for meeting people as a way o...

Shannon Ziegelaar has had some grass roots experiences in the various levels of local and federal politics. This included supporting a close friend in the City of Perth Lord Mayoral elections and then being a volunteer for Kate Chaney as she entered federal parliament at the last federal election as a successful independent community candidate. The collective views and values of a group of like mi...

Davy Rowe was back at square one … his business was gone! So what next … especially when the advice from his brother was … "You know, realistically mate ... you've got to forgive the guys that cheated you" Was he really ready for that? The first step toward accepting any change, occurred when he went with his brother to a “men’s retreat” for a weekend in the USA. The realisation of who he was, and...

"Drive the van off the road Davy … and the pain will stop" These words came from a voice in the mind of Davy Rowe one morning, as he was travelling down the freeway in Perth. It took him many years to share this experience with anyone … but it formed a catalytic moment for drive and purpose in his life from the moment he ‘heard’ them. He had arrived in Perth from the UK in 1990 with a wife, two yo...

The inspired decision at a young age to study French in school, has lead Rachael West on a path of living and working in France on multiple occasions. These visits were experiences that have shaped her thinking, allowed her to take study opportunities that have fuelled her passions and ultimately allowed her to be immersed in the French culture. But, these are not the only interesting experiences...

Frank Scatchard has led an interesting and varied life. During his visit to The Island, Frank shared with us some really interesting details from his original career as an industrial “kiln operator”. Yep, it’s not every day you meet someone that has operated an industrial kiln at dangerous temp’s of over 1000 degrees…and has lived to talk about it. But whilst that was a significant part of his ear...

As a developing child, Larissa Muir’s son was being excluded from aspects of the community and faced challenges in his initial years of education. Through clinical support and a medical process of discovery, he was initially diagnosed with ADHD, and eventually this led to a recognition of autism. But, what do you do when you realise that the way he thinks … is the way you think and view the world....

When faced with the emotional pressure of a long term relationship break-up it would seem natural to find the security of a safe space, in the company of loved ones and looking for stability in your life. But for Alexis Naylor, when this happened she chose something quite different. She decided to embark on an adventurous life of living on the road and travelling around the country. With her re-fa...

After only 3 and half years knowing each other, Seb and Rhys chose to leave the professional comfort of Not for Profit organisations working in the disability sector, to create a business for themselves. They had a vision to create an entity that would continue to allow people with disability to exercise their independence through personal choice and control. And they did this in classic “bootstra...

Yvette Thomas and her husband had well established, long term careers. But they were forced to make a considered decision, during the worldwide pandemic, to seek a new life … and future. This involved a move to regional Western Australia to operate a tourist accomodation … a project that lasted for 2 years and 9 months. However the intensity of running a 24/7 operation created physical and mental...

Ali Horriyat established Compassiviste to unite individuals into collectives that can make real change to the world. Following a self described “ mindset experience “ with a homeless person who shared food with him when he was “on the streets”, … Ali embraced a clear understanding of compassion, and most importantly, the actions of compassion that help others to make real change…from these thought...

In 2016, businessman-turned-charity founder Ali Horriyat gave away his entire personal fortune of almost $100m. This was not just a meaningless distribution of cash to satisfy an ego charged desire for personal fulfilment, but it came from a real belief in a better way to shift the social impact dial. He went to the extremes of experiencing homelessness, connecting with people who’s human values m...

Ryan Honschooten has been on Max’s Island before … when he has shared stories about his world renowned blind sailing expertise and his “later in life” interest in playing blind cricket that has also seen him travel the world with his ‘baggy green’ cap… most importantly to India, the current heartbeat of world cricket. Ryan is the epitome of the uniqueness that exists in all humans … and that is no...

In Western Australia where Max’s Island is recorded, we are in the midst of another exciting Aussie Rules football season. At the highest level of AFL, the local scene has featured the strong “on-field” improvement of the Fremantle Dockers and “Harley Hype” is gripping the West Coast Eagles fan base. The local WA Football League also continues to generate incredible community support and be the im...

Following a casual comment at work a few years ago, Dott Dacey and Odette Jordan discovered they both had a hidden desire to not only walk the Kokoda Trail but also absorb the spiritual experiences of those who had gone before them … especially those soldiers who had defended the Australian heritage in WWII. They both challenged themselves to reach the physical and emotional heights of successfull...