Tall Poppy Talk

Kerry is a speed & agility trainer, the head of speed & agility for the Waikato University Adams Centre for High Performance, a head coach, the technical lead on the national relay system where he utilizes his prime minister’s scholarship studies, and also serves as an advisory-consultant with the Rod Dixon kiD’s Marathon Foundation. Having competed in the Commonwealth Games in 1974, Kerry certain...

Ellesse Andrews is an Olympic medalist, a commonwealth triple gold medal champion, New Zealand racing cyclist with a remarkable career and even more inspiring personality. Ellesse earned a silver medal in the women’s keirin cycling at the Tokyo 2020 games, and captivated NZ Aotearoa with her display of pride for her country, her team, and herself. Last year she became a four-time Commonwealth Game...

Jay Geldard has dedicated his life to helping rangatahi thrive and getting hands-on in his community. From his first role as a 24 – 7 youth worker, then as the national director of 24-7, to his role now as founder & CEO/director of E Tū Tāngata – a movement. He has been fighting Tall Poppy Syndrome for many years, trying to shift the way kiwis see themselves and others – in an effort to reduce...

Grace is an Olympic & world rowing champion, and a masters graduate of the University of Cambridge London UK. With many titles to her name, including 5 x world champion, 15 National premier titles, 2 x world best times, & of course becoming both a gold & silver Olympic medalist at the Tokyo Games. She has created iconic moments alongside remarkable teammates, and certainly has made her country pro...

Actress, producer, writer; the term triple threat is too limited when describing Kimberley (Kim) Crossman’s skillset. As she is also a comedian, presenter, content creator, MC, host of the podcast Pretty Depressed, a world vision and SPCA ambassador, beekeeper, and a student of marine biology. While she may have initially captivated NZ from her series regular TV role, Kim Crossman became a househo...

"Worries are going to come up in life, but just being able to ask the question 'is this a worry thats helpful? is it bringing me to what's important?'" - Zane Winslade, Owner of mental skills and pressure training company Flowsport. Zane Winslade is a Mental Performance Coach with a wicked mix of experience as the professional rugby player, teaching, studying, and as a mental skills coach for athl...

"Women's sport is a protest. No one ever turned around and was like 'oh you're allowed to play now,' that was always a fight. People did it themselves." Alice Soper is a writer, a former rugby player and a life-long advocate for the game. During this interview we dive into the landscape and evolution of women's rugby, discuss the impact of good leadership, how we can strengthen one another, and, w...

“I think for me, high performance is around the pursuit of excellence… it’s trying to be the very best version of yourself” – Martin Toomey, Chief Executive of Winter Games NZ, director of High Performance NZ, Chef de Mission for NZ team 2022/2026 winter Olympic games & 30+ years in high performance sport. Martin works alongside elite high-performers every day, he knows better than most about the...

Mark Beal is a marketer, professor, author, keynote speaker, and is considered one of the leading experts on Generation Z (Gen Z) – authoring books, columns for major media outlets, delivering key notes at Fortune 100 corporations, nonprofits, associations and more. Today we dive into the role of Gen Z in society + work environments, how different generations work together and what each has to off...

Jay Reeve is one of NZ's most popular multi-media broadcasters. Perhaps you know him from The Rock drive show with Duncan Heyde, or have enjoyed a social occasion made better with Pals his co-owned business. It could be from any of his many other ventures including MTV VJ'ing to the Fight for Life boxing match in 2022. During our korero, Jay talks about being a father and what his kids teach him....

Josh Pugh is a business founding, digital marketing focused, charity driving, professional expat. Having moved from Australia to NYC, Josh has built a community for Aussies & the like who are relocating to America. We dive into what it is like culturally to shift from a humble, tall-poppy-minded social understanding to one of major self-advocation. He is involved in ALL things - from his two busin...

Kicking off season two of Tall Poppy Talk is Sam Smith!! Comedian, writer, author & more. Sam is an incredible writer, shaping many household favourites such as 7DaysNZ, TaskmasterNZ, theprojectNZ, Jono & Ben, Family fued, popstars, patriotbrains, wellingtonParanormal, hybpaNZ, dwtsNZ… to name a few. Moreover, he is seen in quite literally every corner of NZ's entertainment industry in man...

Kia ora! Welcome back for the final highlights episode for Season One of Tall Poppy Talk! In this podcast, we will be reflecting on the conversations with Rachel Maeng Brown (CEO GEN Agency), Alex Stewart (CEO of WombatNET), Jacqui Mackley (Isagenix Executive), and Deadria Farmer-Paellmann (Human Rights Lawyer). All four of these people have been paving their own way and pursuing their passions. W...

Kia ora! Welcome back for another highlights episode for Season One of Tall Poppy Talk! In this podcast, we will be reflecting on the conversations with Tūranga Morgan-Edmonds (Alien Weaponry bassist) and James Warrender (artist). These two embody what it means to be a go-getter, and are seriously motivating! The final podcasts will be all about innovators who paved their own way in their unique s...

Kia ora! Welcome back for another highlights episode for Season One of Tall Poppy Talk! In this podcast, we will be reflecting on the four conversations with Jade Coates (Fijiana Drua Rugby Lock), Anna Taylor (Paralympian Cyclist), Nikita Howarth (Paralympic Swimmer), and Dylan Schmidt (Olympic Trampolonist). These four all represent different sporting disciplines and demonstrate remarkable qualit...

Kia ora! This episode, and the next three thereafter, are going to be a little different. After having 14 brilliant guests - it is time to formally wrap up season one of Tall Poppy Talk and prepare for season 2! In this podcast, we will be reflecting on the four conversations with Rod Corban (High Performance Psychologist), Ken Lynch (Talent Developer), Ashley Stanley (Athlete Advocate), and Marg...

“The reason why we have platforms like lockerroom is cause we're not the norm... it’s important to have platforms such as them, because you get to dedicate specifically and get to hone in on topics and people that would not necessarily be covered in mainstream media" - Ashley Stanley, is an advocate for all athletes and an enthusiast of all sport. Currently her role is with the NZ Rugby Players As...

“The people around us are really amazing, and capable of doing really great things. It makes you feel less alone." - Anna Taylor, Paralympian #225 - Anna made her paralympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games in 2021, a mere two years after her initial debut in the international cycling platform in just 2019; last year, at the 2022 UCI Para Cycling Track World Championships she earned herself the title...

“Part of the role in high performance pathways is understanding what its going to take to win in 2028, for me 2028 now 2032, and somehow quantifiying that and running a regression model back." - Ken Lynch, national performance pathways manager. Ken leads the high-performance pathway programs and intiiatives across the Australian Sailing High Performance system, he is a leader in the High Performan...

“Understanding that you can't compete at this level, or work at this level, without taking care of yourself .... if you love what you do then you would do it forever, like I would, but, understanding where your constraints are" - Rachel Maeng Brown, CEO and Founder of GEN Agency, based out of Los Angeles, USA. Rachel manages influencers and athletes, with a reach of over 66 million+ followers, thr...

“I have struggled really, really badly at times, and I'm not someone to say you can't get upset. But in my scenario I have to have two sides two myself - I have to have the internal side I have at home where I might cry once in a while at something thats happened or something someone's said to me, but on the outside you have to remain strong in certain roles and in certain aspects” - Alex Stewart,...

“Anything worth doing, you put your life at risk to a certain degree... ultimately I think, I will be successful and I'm driven by that ” - Deadria Farmer-Paellmann. With a long list of victories under her belt, Deadria is credited with popularizing the slavery reparations movement through her groundbreaking research exposing corporate complicity in slavery. Her work linked blue-chip corporations...

“You've got the choice of the word - choose or have; you know, choose to go to work or have to go to work” - Marg Foster. Netball legend, coach, mentor, advocate, businesswoman, director, & ambassador. Within the sporting realm she has dominated - representing NZ in Netball, touch rugby, and athletics; she's been named Māori sportsperson twice; coached internationally and continued to work wit...

“The healthier and the stronger I become, the more comfortable I am talking about those experiences. Because people recognize themselves in you” - Jacqui Mackley, Isagenix Executive. Jacqui's journey to embrace health and wellness began with a simple decision to priortize her health, over the past five years this lifestyle has evolved and now shes dedicated to sharing the wealth. She emphasizes ho...

“Tall Poppy Syndrome. Like keeping you humble, and it holds you back” - James Warrender, Artist and entrepreneur. His creative portfolio features work such as large paintings, to pattern-making, to his recent collaborative theatrical fashion show - Newlife. Based out of Wellington NZ, James is surrounded by like-minded people pursuing their passions. He anticipated and experienced doubts both inte...