Between Two Beers Podcast

On this episode of Between Two Beers we talk to Luke Kemeys. Luke is a chartered accountant, a business advisor, and the driving force behind one of New Zealand’s most engaged Facebook Groups, Boys Get Paid.  BGP is New Zealand’s biggest punters club and while this episode does have some interesting chat about the horses, it also transcends racing, as Luke shares his experienced wisdom in building communities and business strategies that will work in the modern age.  In this episode Luke tells us how his Facebook Group which started with five people turned into a 21,000+ monster, how he helped turn his NextAdvisory accounting firm into a million-dollar business in five years, the power of Linkedin, relationship building and storytelling, the time he narrowly missed out on a $1million dollar collect at the races, all BGP’s most audacious bets and much much more.  Luke’s thirst to grow, improve and learn is inspiring. He’s a super sharp guy, doing big things in the community, with a million tales to tell. You’ll love this one.  Listen on iheart or wherever you get your podcasts from, and check your podcast app for show notes. You can watch the video of this one on Youtube. A huge thanks to those supporting the show on Patreon for the cost of a cup of coffee a month, to get involved head to BetweenTwoBeers.com.               This episode was brought to you from the Export Beer garden studio. Enjoy.  Show notes | Episode 110 | Luke Kemeys 1:39: An away game for Luke in the Export Beer Garden Studio 3:49: A business meeting over a couple of Fiji Gold’s in August 2017 8:26: Boys Get Paid: the beginning of the punters club journey 20:20: BGP and the power of community 28:15: Behind the scenes of building an app 34:20: BGP grandpa 37:19: Becoming more recognisable 39:46: Misconceptions of BGP and the race industry 46:13: The financial realities of BGP 51:39: Next Advisory: changing the accounting game 58:19: Using social media to connect with Rob Fyfe 1:03:31: Talking bets 1:16:34: Luke and his gambling habits 1:26:20: Luke on men’s health 1:28:40: Last words from Steve, Seamus and LukeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this 'best of entertainment 2022' compilation, we pick out a bunch of our favourite snippets from our favourite episodes with non-sporting guests across the year. Included are Jack Tame, Jason Hoyte, Hayley Sproull, Chris Parker, PJ Harding, Mikey Havoc, Dom Harvey, Brodie Kane, Mitch James, Petra Bagust, Lucy Blakiston and Jono and Ben. Show notes | Episode 109 | Best of Entertainment 0:28: Best of 2022 Entertainment 2:22: Jack Tame on the art of interviewing Winston Peters 7:09: Jason Hoyte on the absurdity of working with Leigh Hart and THAT scene with Nadia Lim 12:26: Lucy Blakiston on the Instagram growth from 1 million to 3 million followers 16:38: Jono and Ben open up on suicide 20:42: Hayley Sproull on the content of her DMs 26:15: Chris Parker’s goldfish story and auditioning for David Bain 33:05: The story behind the Gore gag with Mikey Havoc 41:58: Petra Bagust on being New Zealand’s most famous virgin 49:52: Mitch James’ early career as a busker 57:24: Brodie Kane on the transition from broadcast to podcast 1:07:30: The difficult act of working with your partner with Dom Harvey 1:14:22: PJ takes us on a tour of Seamus’ DMsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this 'Best of sport 2022' compilation, we pick out a bunch of our favourite snippets from our favourite sport episodes across the year. Included are Dion Nash, Kendra Cocksedge, Ryan Fox, Shane Cameron, Ric Salizzo, Brad Smeele, Eliza McCartney, Ross Taylor, Daniel Kereopa, Lance Cairns, Grant Fox and Ruth Croft. Show notes | Episode 108 | Best of Sport 0:29: Best of 2022 Sport, welcome to Between Two Beers 2:24: Dion Nash shares the real story of the weed scandal in South Africa from 1995 15:43: Ryan Fox shares his best Tiger Woods stories 27:53: Kendra Cocksedge reveals the origin of her eye-raising nickname 31:32: Shane Cameron takes us inside the fight of the century with David Tua 42:10: Ric Salizzo reveals the happy chaos of Sports Café 53:24: Former professional wakeboarder Brad Smeele shares the details of the tragic day when he suffered a horror injury attempting one of the hardest tricks in the world and ended with him waking up as a quadriplegic 1:02:13: At 19, Kiwi pole vaulter Eliza McCartney won Kiwi hearts and a bronze medal at the Rio Olympics. She takes us back to that special day 1:13:23: Ross Taylor gets candid about the Black Caps captaincy saga that cast a shadow over his career 1:20:39: Surfer Daniel Kereopa had the world at his feet, until it all fell apart 1:32:44: Lance Cairns talks about his son, Christopher 1:44:27: Grant Fox opens up on his friendship with the late, great Sir Martin Crowe 1:54:47: Trail-running world champion Ruth Croft shares her journey through meditationSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of Between Two Beers we talk to Butch Miller.  Butch is best known for being one-half of the WWE Hall of Fame tag-team, the Bushwhackers.  Butch is 78-years old and lives a fairly simple life in Wellington these days. But he’s still firing on all cylinders – and some of the yarns shared across this one were quite breathtaking.  Like how he started wrestling with team-mate Luke in 1966, and trained for 10 years with Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage in a Californian gym, his behind-the-scenes stories of fighting Andre the Giant and traveling with him on the road in New Zealand, fighting in front of 96,000 people at Wembley, fighting Dwayne the Rock Johnson’s grandad, the origins of the Bushwhacker walk, negotiating with Vince McMahon, transitioning from the Sheepherders to the BabyFace Bushwackers, and so much more.  The BushWhackers were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015, to honour their 35-year journey through professional wrestling, the trials and tribulations along the way and their elevation to the top of the wrestling world. And Butch has recently released a book, Blood Sweat and Cheers which captures the journey with some unbelievable stories. Would make a great xmas prezzy for a few dads out there.  Butch is a hard case and a legend. But with a soft, caring, sensitive underbelly. And this one even got a bit emotional at the end when he was talking about how proud he was of his journey. And we were right there with him. Hopefully you enjoy this as much as we did. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of Between Two Beers we talk to Ruth Croft.  Ruth is New Zealand’s trail running queen. In 2021 she made headlines winning the 102km Tarawera Ultra outright – the top man or woman – and then finished second at Western States in her first attempt at running 100 miles. She returned this year, to win the race (referred to as one of the toughest races on the planet) conquering the 161km race in blistering California heat in 17 hours.  In this episode we talk about the mentality of navigating a 100 mile challenge, where the 'race really only starts after 100km', her journey through meditation to multi-day silent retreats - and why she has started doing them in the dark, why she walked away from running after college in the US, moving to Taiwan by herself when she knew no one and couldn’t speak their language, the most exotic locations she’s run in, coming back to NZ, media exposure and so much more.  This ep will blow your mind. Ruth might be the mentally strongest athlete we’ve talked to. She’s won 10 of the last 12 races she’s competed in, against the best ultra-athletes in the world. And after listening to this, you’ll understand why. Such a thoughtful, disciplined, inspiring Kiwi legend. You’re gonna love this.  Listen on iheart or wherever you get your podcasts from, and check your podcast app for show notes. A huge thanks to those supporting the show on Patreon for the cost of a cup of coffee a month, to get involved head to Between Two Beers.com.              This episode was brought to you from the Export Beer garden studio. Enjoy.  Show notes | Episode 106 | Ruth Croft 2:00: “Easing” back into running in Taiwan with a casual 20km run 5:50: Short runs: “Oh, no that’s a different curry story!” 8:47: Jumping off Brunner Bridge as an initiation 11:16: Meditation and silent retreats 16:28: Darkness retreats! 20:45: Mastering the mind 24:52: Ruth’s West Coast competitiveness 27:54: The origin story: Growing up on the West Coast 31:07: The US college experience 39:11: Walking away from running and the importance of Taiwan 43:17: The journey to professional running and the nuances of distance running 50:04: “The race starts at 100km”: The Western States 100 mile race 57:35: The support crew at a trail race 1:02:32: Coaches: Jono Wyatt and Eddie Gray 1:05:48: The support of a good partner (with a dinosaur suit) 1:08:55: Having fun in a 100 mile race 1:10:16: Thoughts on winning the Tarawera Ultra 1:12:35: Life as a professional runner 1:17:42: The lure of the Olympics? 1:19:38: Some of the exotic running locations on the circuit 1:23:10: Coming home to New Zealand and thoughts on the running community 1:28:03: Last words from Steven, Seamus and Ruth  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of Between Two Beers we talk to Marcus Daniell.  Marcus is one of New Zealand’s best tennis players. He’s an Olympic bronze medallist, who's won 5 ATP titles, made quarterfinal appearances at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open and has won over $1 million in prizemoney across his career.  This episode is kind of split into two parts. The first half tells the story of Marcus, the incredible man-child who cut his path to the top of the tennis world and all the trials and tribulations along the way. And the second half focuses on the incredible work he’s been doing off the court.  In January 2021, Marcus pledged to give at least 10% of his annual winnings to effective organisations for the rest of his life. Since then he’s recruited 130 athletes across 35 sports and 30 countries to follow his lead.  Last year he won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award, formerly won by Nelson Mandela, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic as an acknowledgment of the incredible work he’s been doing in the charity space. Marcus is an exceptionally sharp operator. This chat goes into some super insightful areas and every answer is thoughtful and considered. He’s got a huge future off the court when he decides to hang up the raquet. You’ll enjoy this one.  Listen on iheart or wherevers you get your podcasts from, and check you podcast app for show notes. A huge thanks to those supporting the show on patreon for the cost of a cup of coffee a month, to get involved head to Between Two Beers.com.             This episode was brought to you from the Export Beer garden studio. Enjoy.  Show notes: 2:02: Marcus Daniell a two-day Hambassador, the Harvard of the South Pacific, and a humble wife brag 7:54: A Wikipedia check in and golf chat 12:19: Worshipping at the Chapel of Bullshit 22:56: Rubbing shoulders with the biggest names in tennis 27:06: Beating senior men at the age of 10 30:03: Super high-achieving siblings 32:31: Full engagement 36:05: Football v tennis 40:14: Moving to Slovakia at 17 45:22: Turning pro and moving into doubles 54:56: Life on the tennis tour 57:47: Bronze at the Tokyo Olympic Games 1:06:28: Effective Alturism and High Impact Athletes (HIA) 1:11:37: The growth of HIA 1:19:12 Winning the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award 1:21:28: Choosing the right charities 1:26:26: Cultivating the belief system 1:30:49: Balancing a pro tennis career and managing a charity 1:32:11: Considerations for retirement and post tennis career options 1:37:52: Last words from Steven, Seamus and MarcusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of Between Two Beers we talk to Lucy Blakiston.  Lucy’s story is quite incredible. In 2018, she was sitting in a uni lecture, getting increasingly frustrated with how disconnected she felt from the information she was being delivered. So, along with her two hometown best friends, she started a blog called Shit You Should Care About.  Four years later, it’s turned into a mini-media empire. Her daily newsletter reaches 60,000 subscribers every morning, she hosts two podcasts and runs an Instagram page which has 3.6 million followers.  In this episode we talk about Shit You Should Care About’s ginormous Instagram presence, and what it's like being followed by Billie Eilish, Joe Rogan and Ariana Grande, how they went from 200,000 followers to a million in one month – and why it made her too scared to post, learning to accept the tag ‘media genius’, the decision to go ‘full time’, how they make their money, Harry Styles, what the future holds and so much more.  This was such an enlightening, fun chat with someone who seems to understand social media better than anyone we’ve met. Lucy IS a media genius, her journey is only just starting and it's exciting to think where it might lead. You’ll love this one.  3.00: Two weeks in a campervan on a road show 8:35: “A media genius on a world level” 81015: The origin story of Shit You Should Care About 21310: Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Joe Rogan get on board 24:44: From 200,000 to 1 million followers in a month 28:54: Learning on the rise from 1 million to 3 million 34:06: A Harry Styles interlude 34:41: Going pro: the decision to fulltime 38:18: The Neon deal and setting up Culture Vulture 44:01: Diversifying the audience through newsletters 48:55: Connection fatigue, self-pressure and low stakes errors 54:09: The power of community 58:23: The importance of Ruby and Liv 61:35: Mundane Polls 1:04:57: Paying the bills (and turning down an approach from The White House) 1:09:29: Quick thoughts on TikTok 1:11:37: Does writing a daily newsletter feel like a job? 1:13:03: Future gazing 1:14:08: Keeping harmony within the Shit You Should Care About universe 1:16:31: Web3, NFTs, block chain, and the Discord experience 1:19:20: Educating the world about New Zealand and vice-versa 1:21:41: Some bits and pieces from a Shit You Should Care About insider 1:24:53 Last words from Steven, Seamus and LucySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of Between Two Beers we’re rewinding the clock back to August of 2021 when we talked to Sarah Hirini.   Sarah was one of the most impressive guests we’ve had on the podcast and after watching her epic display helping the Black Ferns win the World Cup final – figured it was a pretty good time to re-share her message.  Sarah is an Olympic Games gold and silver medalist, a commonwealth Games gold medallist, a six-time sevens world series winner, two-time RUGBY World Cup winner, and was New Zealand’s flagbearer at the Tokyo Olympics, the first Maori woman to ever have that honour.   In this episode we talked about her rugged Fielding farm-girl upbringing, why Honey Hireme-Smiler considers her the greatest leader she’s ever played with, the emotional rollercoaster of the six months before the Tokyo Olympics after tragically losing her mum, how the eccentric Ruby Tui won the world’s heart and much,much more.  Sarah's CV is impressive, but her personality is better. It’s easy to see why she is held in such high regard by everyone she plays with. She oozes class and control, while also being so open and honest. A special thanks to Sarah for being so open about the loss of her mum, there were parts in this episode when we were all in tears.   The audio on this one is a little niggly in patches, it was recorded when Sarah was in MIQ, but stick with it, you’ll find its worth it. Also, we’ve cut out the first 10 mins from the original recording – as it was all MIQ chat – and no one wants to hear that in 2022.  Listen on iheart or wherevers you get your podcasts from, and check you podcast app for show notes. A huge thanks to those supporting the show on patreon for the cost of a cup of coffee a month, to get involved head to Between Two Beers.com.            This episode was brought to you from the Export Beer garden studio. Enjoy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of Between Two Beers we talk to Mitch James.  Mitch is one of New Zealand’s most popular artists and has attracted over 200 million global streams of his music, over six million TikTok views and over three million video views. He’s toured the world alongside Six60, supported Ed Sheeran and just returned home after touring with Calum Scott, to release his second album, Patience.  In this episode we talk about his difficult teenage years and how he found a path out of darkness, the seven weeks he spent living on the street in the UK busking, the time he witnessed a brutal stabbing, getting discovered by Sony and the acoustic video that went viral, becoming a star and the female interest that comes with it, the horrific four years leading to the release of his new album and the joy of releasing new music.  This was a pretty special chat. It was really raw in places and incredibly uplifting in others. we talk about suicide and hitting rock bottom, and harnessing the drive and discipline to be succesful. Mitch James has an incredible story to tell - and we’re really grateful he shared it in such an open and vulnerable way.  Listen on iheart or wherevers you get your podcasts from, and check you podcast app for show notes. A huge thanks to those supporting the show on patreon for the cost of a cup of coffee a month, to get involved head to BetweenTwoBeers.com.     Show notes: Mitch James 1:31: Gearing up for the launch of the new album ‘patience’ 5:39: 100 songs over four years 7:46: Touring with Calum Scott 13:43: Levels of fame 16:25: The challenge of high school 28:48: Mitch buys a one-way ticket to the UK to follow the Ed Sheeran blueprint 35:14: Busking on the streets of Europe 39:54: Open mic nights and YouTube mash ups 48:48: The first album 52:03: Supporting act for Ed Sheeran 55:53: Dealing with the attention that fame brings 1:03:41: Fitness, discipline, and the similarities between performing and fight sports 1:07:35: The time between albums 1:14:20: Drawing from real life experience to create music 1:19:43 Mending relationships with family 1:22:31: A history of streaking 1:28:13 Last words from Steven, Seamus and MitchSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of Between Two Beers we talk to Chris Parker.  Chris is an award-winning comedian, actor and writer who's been on shows like Golden Boy, Funny Girls, Jono and Ben, 7 Days and the hit stage show Hudson and Halls. He’s also got one of NZ’s most entertaining Instagram pages and won the 2021 edition of Celebrity Treasure Island.  In this episode we talk about his new book and his recent wedding, writing for Jono and Ben and auditioning for David Bain, using tears as a weapon, the landscape of pornography in New Zealand, the process of creating viral clips and much, much more.  Chris is a world-class storyteller and has an infectious personality. He’s really fun company and there were so many laughs in this one.  A huge thanks to those supporting the show on patreon for the cost of a cup of coffee a month, to get involved head to www.Betweentwobeers.com. This episode was brought to you from the Export Beer garden studio.  Show notes | Episode 102 | Chris Parker 2:00: The end of book launch week 6:27: Writing the book 8:18: Getting married and deconstructing the wedding process 13:11: Viral content 16:42: The importance of Snort comedy 23:18: Hudson and Halls and campness 33:26: Becoming head writer at Jono and Ben 38:34: The goldfish story and David Bain 45:10: Musings on birds and other topics from Hayley Sproull 49:01: Making good content 57:00: Winning Celebrity Treasure Island 1:09:32: Going back to high school 1:16:01: Using tears as a weapon 1:21:18: Eat, pray, love, shit 1:26:34: The landscape of pornography in New Zealand 1:30:07: Last words from Steven, Seamus and ChrisSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.