Still I Rise Foundation

So this episode is a little different as I am publishing my speech from my recent Hall of Fame induction at my old University in the USA, along with Coach Tony Morocco's introduction.  SHU is a very special place for me, and it is truly an honour to be inducted into their Hall of Fame.  Just knowing that my grandkids can visit the campus one day and see my name on the wall is very cool. As you may hear though, whilst I was inducted for my work on the basketball court, the special bond I have with Coach and the school really has nothing to do with basketball at all. Apologies for the audio quality as it was taken from an iPad recording. If the school sends me the audio file from the night, I will upload a clearer version.  Thank you for listening. 

Jade North is an Australian professional soccer player who is currently preparing for another season in the A-League with the Brisbane Roar.   Jade was incredibly generous with his time today as he opened his home to me for us to do this interview.  Jade speaks about growing up in a broken home, his journey through school on his way to becoming a dual Olympian and Australia's first ever Indigenous captain of our national team, the Socceroos.  Jade also spoke about his battle with depression earlier in his career which came at a time when he seemingly had it all, as he captained an A-League champion, and welcomed his first child with his beautiful wife.   Also, be sure to check out Jade's Kickin' With A Cuz Facebook page. Enjoy!

These are the sort of conversations I have with my friend David Derwin when we get together, so I thought to actually record one of these discussions for the podcast. I love DD for many reasons, but at the top of the list is his straight up, no BS approach.   We hope you enjoy the conversation.

Susa Seipel was born with Arthrogryposis Multiplex.  That is a big word meaning the joints and muscles are absent from her legs.  Despite this, Susan has gone on to represent Australia in multiple sports, including becoming a canoe World Champion and Olympic bronze medal at the RIO games. She has a fantastic outlook on life and I really enjoyed our conversation with her on the show today, as she talks about overcoming adversity and chasing her dreams. Head to susanseipel.paralympian on Instagram or susanseipel.com to learn more about her!

It has been a few weeks since our last episode with Aja, but as mentioned previously my goal is to bring you interviews of elite quality, not just weekly content for the sake of it. Well, today's guest Pacharo Mzembe has quite a story to tell.  We spoke about the day he fled Malawi as a young 5 year old boy, his run from Perth to Sydney (yes he ran from Perth to Sydney), his acting career and Pach also talks about his passion to live an unafraid lifestyle.   Find me on Instagram @bigdangeorge, let me know what you think of the episode!

When I asked Aja to come on the podcast, I thought I was interviewing a former WNBA player and high level athletic trainer.  Whilst that was true, I did not know that our conversation would cover growing up without a Mum, living in relative isolation in Europe, training Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook, building a business and spirituality amongst other topics.   Aja runs the Sports Mindset.  If you need help with any aspect of your health and wellbeing, she would be a great place to start.

I first saw Cam Bairstow up close in 2012 when he was home in between college seasons and it was obvious then that he was good.  Good was an understatement.  An All-American his senior season at New Mexico, followed by 2 years in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls and onto the Rio Olympics has seen Cam experience just about everything that the hoops world has to offer.  He was also the marquee signing for the Brisbane Bullets upon their return to the National Basketball League here in Australia. It hasn't all been smooth sailing though, and I appreciate Cam taking the time out to speak so openly about the good and also the bad of his career to date. Fittingly, we did this interview on the weight room floor at his old high school and I apologise for the back ground noise of students in the neighbouring gym.  Thanks your persevering and listening in to what I think is a cool conversation.

I crossed paths recently with today's guest Veronica Farmer due to our shared status as having both been through the difficult cancer journey. Veronica experienced breast cancer 13 years ago although today's conversation covers a lot more than that. Veronica has published a book titled 'Made Beautiful by Scars' which is a collection of stories from women who have walked through various types of adversity from infertility to depression, cancer to paraplegia and grown stronger as a result. She collects stories from men and women from around the world to give hope to those who are struggling with life scars of their own. Human stories helping humans. I go into detail during my introduction about my own beliefs on cancer treatments but I also have an open mind to discussing how exploring alternate ideas may help find inner peace during a difficult time. Let me know what you think about this one.

Imagine a skinny kid in high school who gets bullied so badly that he decides he has to learn to defend himself. He walks into a gym and meets a superstar of a human being who turns this kid into an Olympian and a World Champion.   That is Jeff Horn's story.  The World Champion part is the next chapter. We recorded this interview in between sparring sessions as Jeff prepares for his fight in 3 months time against the legendary Manny Pacquiao.   You can find Jeff on Facebook @Jeffhorn88 and on Instagram @ Jeffhornboxer Hope you like the episode!

Please get your pen and notebook ready to take some notes as Glenn Rushton shares his wisdom on living a fulfilling life! I was very grateful to spend some time with Glenn in his mansion here in Brisbane, where we discussed his own personal journey from leaving home at 14 years of age with just $20 in his pocket to now coaching Olympic athletes and running a successful managed fund.  I could have spoken to Glenn for hours as his thoughts and approach to life are inspiring! I hope you enjoy the conversation, and if you do, please leave your review and rating on iTunes so that I can continue to improve the Podcast and deliver value to our listeners.

Welcome to the first episode of the Still I Rise Foundation podcast.  Your host and Foundation chairman Daniel George provides some background to Still I Rise and also the motivation behind starting this podcast.  We then sit down with Foundation ambassador, and professional triathlete Ellie Salthouse who Daniel first saw whilst Ellie was running 1km sprints on a Saturday night, in the middle of winter, in the dark and in the rain.  Needless to say, we have known she is mentally tough for a while.  Ellie shares with us how close she came to walking away from the sport 12 months ago, her successes of 2016 in her new distance of 70.3 half ironman, and the lessons she has learned along the way.  We are excited to bring you this podcast, and hope you enjoy our first episode.