You Motherfunner

Jensen is Funlab's Country Manager for our US Operations — but his story doesn't start in the United States. It starts with glitter at job trial in the middle of the Christmas peak,  and a moment that made him think: yeah, this is the place for me. From that first Holey Moley experience, Jensen has spent years taking Funlab somewhere new — New Zealand, Singapore, and now the USA. Each time...

What do a mousetrap, an E.T. bicycle and six hundred VHS tapes have in common? They're all part of how Funlab's Creative Director Keith thinks about building experiences people remember. In this episode he pulls back the curtain on what it actually takes to build brands people fall in love with, from five hundred name options to a beach shoot at sunrise with Australian circus performers. W...

This episode we sat down with Funlab's Partnership Manager, BK — Brett Kubi k and the conversation spanned the importance of building relationships to have greater impact, partnering with values aligned organisations and the timeless truths that feedback is a gift (even though it may not feel that way in the moment). It's a great listen while reflecting on how you bring your own talents to your ro...

The You Motherfunner Podcast sat down with Stephanie one of our venue Motherfunners based in Western Australia. Tune in to hear about what it was like coming from the restaurant hospitality world and joining the funlab family. Stepping in as a Venue Manager in Karrinyup, she has some great tales to share about the growth and learnings that made her the leader she is today.  Steph is bubbly and pas...

It's not just a yap on the phone, there are hundreds even thousands of points of contact with our guests each week. The Guest Services team act as an extension of our venues even though they're not physically in our venues.  In our newest episode we talk with Claire and Chavez about the inception of the concierge team, that journey and more recently the transition to guest services.    We...

Core to our business is people. This episode has us sitting down with our Talent Manager, Emilly. We talk through what hiring for attitude looks like, checking your bias, and from 10+ years with Funlab, how that's influenced her and led to the experiences that add unexpected value to her role today.

If you’ve worked in a funlab kitchen in the past 5 years you’ve likely come into contact with Chia.  We talk about how a new menu comes together, the lessons of opening a new venue from the kitchen perspective.  What goes into training a team, why you need to dry the sauce cups and his approach to hustling. 

In our first 3 guest episode, we’re celebrating the journey to our success in achieving B Corp certification . What is a B Corp? How does it work? What’s involved in it all? Tune in as we’re talking to three of our B-keepers , from the people, procurement and food and beverage teams about the impact of the B Corp journey and the way this shows up in each of their areas in our business.  For more,...

This episode we sat down with our resident glitter queen Amy.  We talk lessons from fine dining and her passion for creating memorable experiences. The challenges of being a people please in reform and learning how to have hard conversations moments. What self reflection looks like for her, how you show up in moments of opportunity,

Tune in for the full chat about Niall’s journey in Funlab (and some of the world). You’ll hear how his famous last words as a backpacker “I’m not looking for a career here” got him into a role that’s resulted in a 16+ year career. 

Sitting down with Wayne, with over 10 years of Motherfunner experience in our venues. He has a real passion for guest experience and cultivating that in his team.  He is the pioneer of dressing up (in costume) in our interview process. We talk about the shift adding costumes to interviews created, how conversations cultivate a culture of creating memorable experiences, his championing of sustainab...

Our guests John and Saia have worked together for so long they’re basically brothers.  Starting out working on the door, taking opportunities and becoming some of the most knowledgeable arcade and amusement gurus. Listen in to hear about some of the behind the scenes in a games venue and of course have a few laughs along the way. 

With over 20 years in the business, Blaise holds so much passion for bringing fun to the world.  We talk about how the guest journey mapping happens, where the passion comes from and how she sustains it plus so much more! Trigger warning towards the end of the episode around some conversations related to domestic violence. If this brings up anything for you please reach out to your local domestic...

We sat down with Oonagh and Carlos to talk about the journey of transitioning our parent company Funlab to a consumer facing brand.

Funlab has been around for over 20 years, we sat down in 2023 with Chelsea Mannix - Funlab's Chief People Officer (aka. our Hunter Gatherer) whose been around for almost all of those years. There's the inspirational right place at the right time way she came to be part of Funlab. We talk about some of the first venues before we were officially Funlab, some of the best interview costumes sh...

This episode we are speaking with Kat, she has an awesome passion for making communication accessible for all. We talk all about her idea of making a communication board. What it is, how it came to be and who it can be used for.  This is something that has worked for us at Funlab - if you’re inspired or interested you can jump over to https://www.scopeaust.org.au/business-solutions for more inform...

Ahead of our annual Day of Fun we sat down with Michael Schreiber, Founder and CEO of Funlab alongside Simon Dodd, National Clinical Advisor at headspace Australia's Youth Mental Health Foundation.  We talk about how this partnership started, some lessons in fundraising and the impact a day like this has across both Funlab and headspace.  For more information on our Day of Fun partners. AUS:  ...

This time we’re talking with Sarah or Smac as she’s know around the office. She’s lead a bit of a revolution in the way we tackle the first day as a Motherfunner with her idea of  Funcademy. 

Our Motherfunner this episode is Josh, he is the mind that thought up and pitched the idea that eventuated into Hijinx Hotel. He has been with Funlab for a few years now,  how he started wasn’t the most traditional route, but it it makes sense when you know now, that he is the Innovations manager at Funlab.  If you’ve heard about Hijinx Hotel, played there or even worked there, this is a must list...

Recorded at the end of 2022, the first year of the You Motherfunner Podcast. Your host Saj is on the other side of the microphone, diving a little deeper into his background, passion for creating a podcast and how it all began.

Talking with Natasha ‘Tash’ Ciconte about dealing with and managing stress, learning how to ask for help and not feeling guilty for practicing self care.

If you do not know much about Fibromyalgia, this is an episode for you to listen to. When Rachel was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, her entire life changed. In this episode our Funlab fangirl speaks so openly about her condition, what it is like to live with it, and what she does to stay positive.  

Athena loves an escape room, and currently works in our Castle Towers venue in Sydney. In this episode, we get to unpack with Athena what it's like to walk in the shoes of a Trans woman. There is a lot in this episode for a lot of us to learn from. We may have friends who are currently transitioning, or workmates who are Trans - but do we know what is the right support we need to provide them? Spe...

Today we speak to Frances Palu, who along with being an Assistant Venue Manager is a absolute superstar Kids Party host. But beyond her work persona, Fran shares her story of what it's like growing up in New Zealand, moving to Melbourne, and being half Samoan, and half Tongan. Fran is warm, friendly, and gives us a great insight into this culture.  At Funlab, Encouraging our Uniqueness is one of o...

She's the glitter queen with bright pink hair. But that's not the only thing that makes her sparkle; she's Funlab's model for inclusivity and diversity. No one gets left behind, or left out in her venue.  Alex Guy is the Venue Manager at Crown in Melbourne operating Holey Moley, Jukes, and Red Herring. She's been at Funlab for 5 years, operating one of the busiest venues throughout the compan...