The Osher Günsberg Podcast

My guest today is my wife, Audrey Griffen. You can find her on instagram @audreygriffen. Long time listeners of the show will know her through the stories I tell about her, and if you've read the book you'll know all about her and how we met. You'll also know how she's played an enormous role in helping me heal and indeed come back from the edge of sanity. Last week on the show you heard me tell Todd Sampson about how Audrey saved my life, and today you'll hear her side of the story - and truth be told, I learned a thing or two about Audrey today that surprised me too - and I've been with her for four years by now! You might not all be my wife - but listening to her journey with her choice to have a child as a single mother in her early 20s, to how she managed to start and maintain a relationship with someone who was clearly quite sick - well it's one I'm grateful to help her tell, because I know we're not alone in our relationship dynamic. I know there's a lot of people listening who are the partner of someone who's going through some tricky times, or they themselves are going through tricky times and might not have considered their partner's perspective. Either way, I'm very grateful that Audrey found time to do this today. Come now to our kitchen table and enjoy a nice cuppa and a chat with me and my wife, Audrey Griffen.

My guest today, once again is me. A few weeks ago legendary human, documentary maker, story teller, adventurer and all-around super-human Todd Sampson came onto my show and when he did, Todd insisted that one day he interview me. Part one was last week, and if you've not listened to that, please go back and check it out, because it will make this conversation have much more context. In this second half of the conversation with Todd, we get into the darkest of the darkness. We discuss the stuff that I cover in the book - including alcoholism, psychosis, and suicidal ideation. If you or someone you know is struggling please call lifeline 13 11 14. It's of course an incredible honour to have Todd do this - he's a very smart, very busy man, and he took nearly three hours out of his day to come to our kitchen and interview me. It ended up with us both in tears and there's a point at the end when Audrey even joins in, and thanks to your requests, I'm going to get her on as a guest in coming weeks so we can talk about what she does to get through life living with a guy like me who's capable of incredible intensity from time to time. If you like what you hear - please reach out to @ToddSampsonOZ on twitter and let him know. If you like it a whole lot - come see the live show on August 30th which is basically this, but with a songs. osher.is/live the link is in the show notes on your podcast app. If you really like what you hear - buy the book. The link is live now at oshergunsberg.com or in my instagram bio. Ok are you ready? Come back to my kitchen table in Bronte for a nice shot of espresso and a chat with the wonderful man that is Todd Sampson.

My guest today, is me. A few weeks ago legendary human, documentary maker, storyteller, adventurer and all-around super-human Todd Sampson came onto my show and when he did, Todd insisted that one day he interview me. Well, today's the day. It's an incredible honour to have Todd do this - he's one of the smartest and busiest men on the planet, and he took nearly three hours out of his day to come to our kitchen and interview me. It's such a marathon that Andy and I are splitting this into two parts. Because it's too good to miss. If you like what you hear - please reach out to @ToddSampsonOZ on twitter and let him know. If you like it a whole lot - come to see the live show on August 30th which is basically this, but with songs. osher.is/live the link is in the show notes on your podcast app. If you really like what you hear - buy the book. The link is live in my Instagram bio. Come now to my kitchen table in Bronte for a nice shot of espresso and a chat with the wonderful man that is Todd Sampson.

Emilie Brabon Hames is author, Transformation coach and Nutrition coach, and one 1/2 of the team that helped me totally transform my body for the cover of men's health magazine. You can find her online @emiliebrabonhames . We heard from her husband Chief last week, and now it's Em's turn. Her story of how she went from a reclusive kid to one of the most powerful transformation coaches in the country, transforming literally thousands of lives every year with her Original Bootcamp work - well it's something that's completely inspiring. Em's journey covers some difficult territory, and hearing how she reclaimed her life from the darkness will move you as much as it moved me I'm sure.On that - if anything in this conversation brings up difficult feelings for you please call lifeline in 13 11 14. However, I assure you that this chat has a very happy ending. You can follow Em's adventures on Instagram at @emiliebrabonhames and there you'll find the link to buy the new book she's written with Chief - 8 Weeks to Wow. I hope you enjoy this chat with Emilie Brabon Hames.

Chief Brabon is the Fitness Director at Men's Health Australia, the CEO of TransformationCoach.com and CEO of Original Bootcamp. It was with Chief Brabon and his wife Emilie Brabon-Hames that I worked out every day for ten weeks to achieve my cover shot of Men's Health Australia. When you spend an hour of your day with someone every day - you get to know them pretty well, and I got to know that both Chief and his wife Em have remarkable stories to tell. We'll hear Em's story next week, it's compelling and a transformation tale in itself - but this week it's all about Chief. Chief and Em are the team behind the biggest selling Men's Health Australia covers of the last few years - Larry Emdur, James Stewart and yes - Guy Sebastian. In fact, while I was doing my transformation I sat down with Guy and we talked all about the mental aspect of how doing this changed the way he works and lives. Check that episode out for more. Chief is a man who's driven by a desire for knowledge. He's traveled the world to train with and learn from the best in industry, and then passes that knowledge on to the people he works with - be in the parks and beaches every morning for his Original Boot Camp workouts, or during his 1-1 transformation coaching like he and I did. His story is one that takes some turns you might not expect. A former military man, he had a significant injury in his 20s which left him with chronic pain that he still lives with every single day. How he overcame that pain and transformed his own life is what this conversation is all about. We don't pull any punches and we do talk about suicide in this conversation - so if you or anyone you know needs support please call Lifeline on 13 11 14. You can find Chief on instagram where he's always posting workouts and the like - @chiefbrabon, and for more about the program that I went on - transformationcoach.com . I hope you enjoy this conversation with Chief Brabon.

Matt Griggs is a high performance coach, keynote speaker and meditation teacher from Sydney Australia, you can find him online at mattgriggs.com or on instagram @mattgriggs. For years Matt worked with some of the worlds most successful athletes in the surfing world, helping them focus in and out of the water for not only world-beating performances in competition - but with resilience out of the water too. Matt famously coached three-time world-champion surfer and shark-puncher Mick Fanning, and 6 time world-champion surfer Stephanie Gilmore, as well as numerous NRL players and other elite athletes. Matt is also a meditation teacher, and we delve right into the particular kind of mediation he teaches in this podcast, because while I'm still a novice - I do try to meditate every day and I do find it to be very beneficial in my life. I also know that not everyone will use the same kind of mediation - some may prefer mindfulness, some may prefer mantra meditations, or another way of finding that particular place in your thinking - whatever it takes, give it a go - because I don't know much, but I do know that every elite athlete, leader, broadcaster, performer and business person I admire - they all meditate. Every one of them. So there's something in it. Matt and I get technical when we start talking about focus and consciousness, but that's ok you can hit rewind and listen again to anything that might have slipped past you. I'm all about these kinds of conversations - because while our lives may be full of questions - thankfully whatever problem we've had that's hassling us - someone else has had it before and they figured out a way to deal with it - so all we have to do is find them, find what worked for them, and apply it to our lives. I'm so grateful that you get to hear this conversation with the fascinating Matt Griggs.

Sally Rugg is an LGBTIQ activist and Executive Director of Change.org - find her on twitter @sallyrugg or on Instagram @_campaign_papi. Sally is a smart, charming, powerful person whose leadership and drive to make our community as inclusive and excellent as it can be is something I found inspirational. If you've ever wondered about why someone might pursue a career in activism, or indeed what life is like for someone who stands up in public and fights for the human rights of those underrepresented in our community - Sally is here to tell you all about it. I for one feel we are lucky to have people like Sally in our community - people who tirelessly fight for the rights of others.She certainly got me thinking about the privilege I got born with, and what I choose to use that privilege for. Sally and I first connected over Twitter when we were trying to figure out a way to figure out a same-sex version of The Bachelorette happening, and after a few tweets back and forth I ended up asking her here to talk about that but also so many other things. So I'll say this part now. In this conversation, I'm probably going to make a lot of mistakes when discussing the important nuances of life outside my heteronormative bubble. I will probably mess up some pronouns, I'll probably accidentally minimise the impact of important distinctions and issues. I want to assure you - I'm keen to learn, I'm keen to get more aware of micro-aggressions in my language, so if I make some glaringly obvious out-of-my depth straight-white-guy mistakes, please be so kind and email me sendosheremail@gmail.com and perhaps help me not make those mistakes again. I know that the more I discover about lives that are so different to mine, the more I realise how little I know, and how much I am yet to learn. So I'm all ears and I look forward to hearing from you. One thing I did learn - is that Sally and I share an undying love and devotion for the band Hanson. You may think this conversation is going to be political and explore the tricky ways that we could try to get a same-sex reality TV dating show to work - it's all those things, with a lot of singing of Hanson songs. Sally is a fabulous person and I hope you do all you can to support her and the important work she does at change.org.She's young, she's full of energy, and she's just getting started. I'm grateful that we had the chance to talk now, because mark my words in a few years from now you'll be glad you caught a glimpse of the powerhouse this woman is, so you can say "yeah I always knew she'd go on to change the world" did you know she likes Hanson? If you like what you hear, please let her know on Twitter @sallyrugg or on Instagram @_campaign_papi. So enjoy this chat with the wonderful Sally Rugg.

Abdullah Zeinab is a plant-based ultra-endurance cyclist, a man with a crystal clear outlook on life and the capacity for incredible self-awareness. You can find him on YouTube by searching The Glucose Network, or follow him on Instagram @abdullahzeinab Abdullah is a prominent figure in both the plant-based and cycling community, his videos online and live streams are the stuff of legend. However - recently Abdullah completed the Indian Pacific Wheel Race, an ultra-endurance, unsupported bike race from the Indian Ocean in Western Australia, across the bottom of the continent all the way to the Sydney Opera House and the Pacific Ocean. The 2018 edition of the race was officially cancelled just hours before the event began, however with riders from all over the world already gathered in Fremantle, the GPS trackers already fitted to the bikes, many riders chose to ride the route at their own risk. Abdullah averaged more than 500km a day as he rode his bike across the Nullarbor Plain (literally the Latin name for No Tree) and ended up over 5000km later finishing the course in incredible time. Abdullah's story of what he has not only discovered about himself through his life but most definitely what he discovered about himself on that bike ride - is truly inspirational. I was so impressed with Abdullah as a human. He came here to the flat with his lovely girlfriend, and we sat across from each other while he gratefully opened up to my questions, fearlessly exploring the areas I asked him about. He talks fast, so this one might need a second listen in case you miss something. I'm so grateful Abdullah came around, and I'm so grateful he was so open as this conversation took some turns, and went into some pretty deep concepts that might challenge you, and might even open your eyes to a way of seeing the world you hadn't thought about before. It certainly did for me. Enjoy this conversation with Abdullah Zeinab.

Kath Koschel is an incredibly inspiring human. She's the founder of kindnessfactory.com and has a story that will break your heart three times before it lifts you up into the glowing warmth of the collective love of humanity. This conversation deals with suicide and the effects of road trauma, so if you do need to talk to anyone please seek help from your doctor or call Lifeline on 13 11 14. Kath's story is one of the incredible power of human resilience and the overwhelming kindness of our community at large.We're so polarised to believe it's Left vs Right, Liberal vs Labour, Sustainability vs Environmental pillage, but there's actually a vast and overwhelming feeling of joy and compassion in our country and Kath's story proves it. A world-class athlete struck down by crippling injury at the height of her career, Kath has learned to walk three times in her life. Once as a toddler, and twice as an adult. She's also had to face the devastation of losing the love of her life to suicide just as the rays of sunshine were starting to warm things up again. Yet Kath's outlook on the world, her attitude to kindness, forgiveness and trust in the goodness of the community at large will make you feel a lot better about the world as a whole. Because Kath's out to show you, me and everyone else that kindness is indeed what we naturally have in our hearts and it's something that on a self-centred level - actually feels good. Help her get to 1,000,000 acts of kindness over at kindnessfactory.com, and enjoy this conversation with Kath Koschel.

Paul Field is the Managing Director of international children's entertainment mega-brand The Wiggles. He's also an ambassador for Red Nose Day, which funds research and support around the incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS. Nine babies and children in Australia will die today as a result of SIDS, but that number is down 85% of what it once was due largely to the incredible research and awareness that Red Nose Day raises money to support. After listening to this, I'm sure you'll want to throw some help their way - you can donate year-round RedNoseDay.com.au Paul Field is now the MD of The Wiggles but as you'll hear he was once the front man for incredibly successful Aussie pub rock band The Cockroaches - along with his brother Anthony, and a sleepy keyboard player named Jeff. However, as you'll hear, The Cockroaches eventually wound down and The Wiggles wound up, all while Paul dealt with an incredible tragedy in his life - the sudden death of his infant daughter Bernadette when she was just 8 months old. This is a heavy tale, and if you or anyone you know has been through something similar this podcast might bring up some intense emotions for you - perhaps there's some unprocessed grief still lingering - we talk about that a lot - if so please reach out for help if you need it or if you're in Australia call Lifeline on 13 11 14. I can't thank Paul enough for coming around and sharing his story so authentically- and I hope you resonate with his message about how he loves his life now even after going through such incredible loss and grief. I'm grateful you're here and grateful that together we can have this conversation with Paul Field.

Rob Mills is an actor, singer, and musical theatre superstar from Melbourne Australia. You can find him on Instagram @robmillsymills.Rob first rose to prominence during the debut season of Australian Idol back in 2003, and as you'll hear had a rollercoaster ride from there to where he is now. One that involved the highest of highs, and the very lowest of lows. In this conversation we do talk about the subject of suicide, so if you or if anyone you know needs help - in Australia please call Lifeline on 13 11 14, if you're outside Australia please reach out to a health professional asap.Rob is the pure story of someone that looked at their life and said "I've got more to offer than this", found his "why" and then put in the work, a day at a time. That work lead him to someone who's now cast in the lead role in massive musical productions that have a cast and crew of hundreds and a LOT riding on his ability to deliver.Rob found his 'Why', Rob put in the work, and Rob's life is now the life he created for himself.We spoke as he as preparing for a massive George Michael tribute gig which is happening at the Sydney Opera House on July 8th, you can get tickets at https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/george-michael.I couldn't be more happy to have had this chat, I hope you enjoy understanding the 'why' that drives Rob Mills.

Ditch Davey is an incredibly successful Australian actor and producer who first rose to prominence on the TV show "Blue Heelers" but has since gone on to appear in countless films and TV shows - notably Spartacus and Black Box, and most recently the TV show Harrow which you can see on ABC iView.  Ditch is a remarkable man with a brilliant outlook on life.  He's a man who's pursued a career in a seasonal industry, one that subjects you to the terrifying and constant judgment of who you are as a human - but that's what being an actor is sometimes.  Ditch has incredible coping strategies in place to help him deal with the ups and downs of what it is to be a working actor and I can't thank him enough for taking the time to share so deeply not only why he does what he does, but indeed how he deals with the cycles of work in his career.  You might never step on stage, you might never step in front of the camera, but I guarantee you'll listen to this and hear a few ways that Ditch deals life that you will be able to incorporate into your own way of living.  He's a wonderful and warm-hearted man, and we caught up on Skype from his home in Melbourne a few weeks back - so I'm grateful that he had the time to do this because it's such an inspirational conversation.  If this chat ticks some boxes for you - don't hesitate to let him know @iamditchdavey on Instagram.

My guest today is Danielle Prince. On Instagram she's @danniprince, follow her there and let her know that you heard her here.  Danielle is a Commonwealth Games and Olympic Rhythmic Gymnast. In her words - rhythmic gymnastics is the absolute fusion between athleticism and art. It is the sport that is designed to make the impossible look easy.  And Danielle's story is one of how much time, effort, focus, and dedication it takes to do just that, to make the impossible look easy.  Spoiler alert - relentless focus, practice and repetition.  But I'll let her describe it.  Because there are no shortcuts to mastery.  Danielle has an incredible athletic career, she's made history as the first female gymnast to represent Australia at 3 consecutive Commonwealth Games, and has represented the country as the only Rhythmic gymnast selected to get to the Olympics in Rio.  Danielle not only works with the Layne Beachley foundation, but Danni has developed her own scholarship to nurture young athletes to continue to strive to be their best.  And in this conversation, you can hear how she not only deals with the incredible successes that she's had in her career, but also the times she missed the podium - which, let's be honest will happen more to an athlete than not.  This is an emotional conversation. Twice while Danni was telling me her story I started to cry. Her grace and dignity in describing how even though she missed out on the athletic goal she'd set for her self, she emerged as a victor from a competition that she didn't succeed at - it's one that moved me and I'm certain will move you.  It's the first time I"ve met someone who's retiring at 25 from the thing they've done their entire life. And so I was fascinated to hear how someone who's done nothing but dedicates their every waking second to a particular outcome now changes course and pursues something else.  You may never twirl a ribbon while doing a reverse scissor leap, however, what Danni's been through and the lessons she has to tell you today will change the way you look at what you stand to win even when you look at the scoreboard it says that you have lost.   She's a remarkable young woman, find her on Instagram @danniprince and wish her a happy birthday on Tuesday - and enjoy this conversation with Danielle Prince.

Guy Sebastian is a singer, songwriter and producer from Sydney, Australia.  He's on instagram and twitter @guysebastian  The first winner of Australian Idol back in 2003, he and I have known each other for most of our careers.  We've had interviews along the way, at Channel [v] or on radio - but he and I have never spoken like we speak today.  Guy Sebastian has an incredible voice, and is a very, very successful recording artist in Australia because he works harder than almost anyone.  However along the way Guy has had his struggles, and in this conversation he and I unlock a massive catalyst for change that happened with Guy, and it only happened in the last 18 months.  To put it simply, daily physical exercise changed his life. I'll let him take you through it, however the way he describes how hitting the gym every day has changed the way he works, thinks and feels, changed so many things outside of the gym - well, I related to it so much because that has been my experience too.  Guy is a very deep soul, a kind man, and a man who feels great empathy and love for his life and also those who enjoy his music.  He spent a few hours in my apartment and we could have chatted all afternoon, however I think in this one we really unlocked a few keys to what makes Guy Sebastian one of the greatest performers our country has ever seen.  He's a complete inspiration to me, and I hope you get the same feeling when this conversation is over that I did. One of elation, and a desire to go and move my body.  Guy's touring around the country in the next few weeks, tickets are available at guysebastian.com  Even if you've never seen him live, after hearing this I'm sure you'll want to go just so you can spend time being in the same room as him, because hs'e a very special human.  Please enjoy this long-overdue conversation with Guy Sebastian.  You can book tickets for his upcoming tour http://www.guysebastian.com - if you liked the chat, please let him know on twitter or instagram.

Todd Sampson is an adventurer, award-winning documentary-maker, television presenter and businessman. Originally from Canada, he's made a home for himself in Australia where he rose to become one of the most influential business executives in the country.   Known to Australians as the guy in the t-shirt on one of Australia's most successful and longest-running panel shows "Gruen", Todd's TV career took on a life of it's own.   Aside from his TV work, Todd's business resume is formidable. He's the former CEO of the Leo Burnett ad agency, he currently sits on the board of Qantas and Fairfax, plus he's an active investor and advisor in Australia's start-up scene.   However first and foremost - Todd is an adventurer. As you'll hear, his quest for adventure and finding what lies beyond where his is comfortable has lead him to every corner of the globe, putting himself in places and situations that push the limits of human endurance in an effort to see what is on the other side of where most other people would turn back.  Somewhere along the way, Todd began to film his adventures and that has lead him to an incredibly successful career as a documentary maker, writing and producing "Redesign My Brain", "Life on the Line" and most recently "Body Hack".   I'm fascinated by Todd. His constant quest to discover what else he and in a way all of us are capable of when we take ourselves outside of the climate-controlled, low danger, low energy output, constant caloric intake world we have built around ourselves - is so inspiring to me. In the last few months I'm discovering what can happen for me when I go beyond what I thought I was capable of, and it has been transformational.   With Todd, he's doing it on another level altogether and you can see the results as he pushes himself into the limits of human endurance not just for great footage - but to see what else he will then be capable of with the knowledge that he can do such extreme things and come out the other side.   I could have talked to Todd for hours - but I think you'll get a real kick out of this one. You might even need to listen twice.   The new season of Body Hack starts on Thursday night here in Australia, 8:30pm on Network Ten. Don't miss it, it's a life-changer.   If you enjoy this conversation please let Todd know, he's on twitter @toddsampsonOz (https://twitter.com/toddsampsonOz).   Enjoy this adventurous conversation with Todd Sampson.