He lost his dad to suicide, surfed for 40 hours straight and built one of Australia's most powerful mental health movements — one wave at a time.

Blake Johnston is a World Record holder, mental health advocate, Director of Cronulla Surfing Academy, and the man behind the world's largest paddle out. But before any of that, he was a kid from Cronulla who loved the ocean more than anything — and had no idea how much he'd one day need it.

In this episode, Blake shares the full story: growing up with ADHD in a house of many brothers, chasing a pro surfing career that didn't quite go the distance, meeting and marrying his partner Lauren, and then — in a single phone call on the way home from a surf retreat — having his world shattered when he lost his dad to suicide.

What followed was a decade of rebuilding. And then, in an act that defied what most people would consider humanly possible, he paddled out into five-to-six foot surf at 1 AM, and didn't come back in for 40 hours and 7 minutes. 707 waves. A world record.

This conversation covers grief, purpose, resilience, the ocean, community, parenthood, and mental health.

Please note: this episode talks about depression and suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling, free help is available through Lifeline, call 0508 TAUTOKO, that’s 0508 828 865.

To learn more:

Get a link to Blakey’s website: https://www.swellbeing.com.au/

A link to his book, Swellbeing: https://www.swellbeing.com.au/product/swellbeing/

And a link to the documentary (trailer and where to watch in Aus): https://inpiecestogetherfilm.com/

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Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere.

Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sarah Kessans came to New Zealand for a two-year postdoc. Thirteen years later she's still here - an Associate Professor at the University of Canterbury working across synthetic biology, space research, and agricultural climate science.

But before all of that, she was a 20-year-old from Indiana with $500, no ocean experience, and an idea she'd read about on a plane.

In this episode, Sarah tells the full story of how she and her college rowing rival entered the Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race — a 5,000 km crossing from the Canary Islands to Antigua. How they built their own boat, raised $150,000 from nothing, and arrived at the start line as one of the most prepared crews in a fleet of 26.

And what happened on Day 45 when a rogue wave flipped their boat upside down, 1,400 miles from land, in the middle of a hurricane.

In this episode:

• How a single book on a flight changed the entire direction of her life
• Building a racing boat in her dad's cabinet workshop in Indiana
• What it's actually like to row through the night, alone, in the middle of the Atlantic
• The capsize — and the 14 hours that followed
• Why she went back
• Breaking the women's world record by 17 days

Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience. It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere.

Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Few All Blacks have ever been as loved as Andrew Mehrtens. Ask him why, and he'll tell you he was just the kid next door who got a winner wish.

Growing up bilingual in the small North Canterbury community of Tuahiwi, Mehrts wasn't the biggest, the fastest, or the strongest. What he had was something harder to define - and harder to hold onto.

In this conversation, Mehrts opens up about the confronting feedback that forced him to rethink how he showed up as a teammate, the coach who believed in him three times when nobody else would, and what genuine team culture actually looks and feels like when you're inside it.

A conversation about humility, trust, and what happens when someone cares enough to tell you the truth.

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Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere.

Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do you do when Sir Edmund Hillary tells you your ambition isn't big enough?

For Jamie Fitzgerald, that question led to one of the most remarkable expeditions in New Zealand history - becoming the first Kiwis to reach the South Pole unsupported on foot.

But before Antarctica, there was the Atlantic. In 2003, Jamie set the world record for rowing 5,000 kilometres across the ocean - with three weeks' notice and a partner he'd never met.

In this conversation, Jamie shares what extreme adventure taught him about resilience, team culture, and what it actually takes to unlock peak performance - whether you're in a storm in the middle of the ocean or leading a team of 6,000 Rugby World Cup volunteers.

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A huge thanks to Celebrity Speakers for supporting this episode. If you want to book Jamie for a keynote and leave your audience hungry for more, visit celebrityspeakers.co.nz.

Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere.

Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, no new Hunger & Heart episode. We’ve paused for renovations and will be back next week, bigger, brighter, and bolder than ever. See you then!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rachel Taulelei became a Trade Commissioner for New Zealand at just 25. She's built companies, represented New Zealand at international trade forums, and co-owns the Tokomanawa Queens, a championship-winning team in the Tauihi Women's Basketball League.

In this conversation, Rachel opens up about:

• why she was thrilled when her D1 basketball-playing daughter transferred colleges, even though it meant far fewer minutes on the court
• why she now disagrees with her younger self's advice about showing up authentically
• the hire that raised eyebrows when the Tokomanawa Queens launched, and how they won everyone over

Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere.

Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wesley Clarke led the Manawatū Women's Sevens to back-to-back national finals, claiming the title in 2016.

He stepped onto the international stage as assistant coach of the Black Ferns from 2015 to 2022, delivering World Cup victories in 2017 and 2022.

He’s now head coach of the Manawatū Turbos in the National Provincial Championship — a team that once fired him.

In this conversation, Kaila and Wesley explore:

• how being fired turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him,
• what it means to be a good follower, and
• a specific technique he uses to help players take ownership and accountability.

A huge thanks to Celebrity Speakers for supporting this episode. If you want to book Wesley for a keynote and leave your audience hungry for more, visit celebrityspeakers.co.nz.

Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere.

Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Craig White has spent more than three decades coaching at the highest levels of professional sport, including international rugby, professional football, and elite club environments.

He's coached with the British and Irish Lions, worked in the English Premier League, and guided international rugby teams across five Rugby World Cups.

Over the last decade, he's worked as a leadership mentor, supporting men to develop greater self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and presence.

In this conversation, Kaila and Craig explore:

• how his thinking on masculinity has shifted from toughness and emotional control to compassion, regulation, and relational leadership,
• how he integrates vulnerability into high-performance environments, and
• a three-step regulation practice that can bring both calm and strength to tricky moments.

If you’re interested in Craig’s mentoring programmes, visit craigwhitementoring.com

Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  

The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere.

Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.