Between Two Beers Podcast

This conversation dives into the rollercoaster of personal and professional highs and lows, celebrating their podcast's rise to the top while grappling with loss. Humor surfaces through awkward gift exchanges and the hilarity of live show mishaps. They reflect on the chaos of event experiences and the emotional aftermath of live performances. The hosts also share their love for football, lighthearted betting banter, and the joy of community engagement, all while looking forward to exciting upcoming events and preserving family stories.

Zion Armstrong, the former President of Adidas North America, shares his incredible journey from a troubled West Auckland teen to a corporate leader managing 12,500 staff. He discusses his transformative teenage years, athletic career, and meteoric rise in the footwear industry. Zion reflects on balancing corporate life with family, his decision to leave the high-pressure world of Adidas, and embark on a new path as CEO of a children's wear company. His story is a powerful reminder of resilience, mentorship, and the importance of prioritizing family.

Paula George – or Georgie as she’s commonly known – has a story that will blow you away. She has lived the most remarkable life – with the most inspiring mindset – and she’s our favourite type of guest, a humble legend. Georgie is a very private person – and her story, till now, has largely gone untold. Her life started on the back foot in Wales. Georgie wasn’t just the only person of colour in her village, but also her family. She was abandoned by her mother, forced into foster care and experienced a childhood filled of prejudice and hurt. But she found safety in sport, where she became a star. She played netball and rugby for Wales, then switched to England and became the first black captain of the England Red Roses. She was one of the first professional women’s rugby players and eventually went to six World Cups in two sports. She then became the digital content creator for the All Blacks, married a Kiwi and became a Kiwi, had twins, and a cancer diagnosis. Five years ago she was given four to six months, with survival chances at 25% - but Georgie’s still here. And now, she’s doing incredible work with the Tania Dalton Foundation where she helps Kiwi kids build their own resilience and happiness. And most recently she’s become a part owner of The Northern Kahu: the first all-women owned franchise in New Zealand. Georgie doesn’t seek the limelight, she had a taste of fame during her rugby days and hated it. It took a lot for her to share her full story with us and we’re so grateful she did – it’s a story that will help, inspire and entertain. This episode is brought to you by TAB, download the new app today and get your bet on! We're also stoked to tell you about the business we've built. If you'd like to get one of our epic guests in to MC or Speak at your function or event, flick us a message by going to B2Bspeakers.co.nz. Listen on iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcasts from or watch the video on YouTube. Enjoy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steve and Seamus share exciting insights from their blockbuster interview with Matthew Ridge. They tease special guests for their upcoming live show and reflect on meaningful listener feedback. Emphasizing mental health awareness, they discuss community connection events and heartfelt reflections on Parkinson's disease. The duo brings playful sports banter while celebrating a milestone for listeners to win prizes. They also highlight the All Whites football match and hint at an inspiring upcoming story of resilience in sports.

As some of you will know – this year we created a second podcast channel called Business in Between. It’s a channel that documents our journey as business owners – and where we also host long-form interviews with NZ’s most interesting business leaders. And we’re sharing one of our favourite interviews on the Business in Between channel – with you here on Between Two Beers. It’s the story of how a Kiwi entrepreneur turned an idea for a fitness goal setting app into a global business with customers in over 150 countries and revenue exceeding $80 million a year. His name is Adam Al-Agez and his app is called The Conqueror. Adam started his fitness goal setting app in 2012 after 10 years of being an entrepreneur with limited success. The idea was relatively simple…instead of ‘just’ going for a run, walk, a ride or swim, you’re working towards a virtual fitness goal, immersed in community and with a tangible race medal delivered on completion. But after six years and hundreds of thousands of dollars, the app was floundering. All the signs were pointing to giving up all together and he even started getting his CV together and applying for jobs. Then in a bizarre series of events, in 2019 he ended up hiring a marketing wiz who lived in Romania, to run the digital marketing. Raul the Romanian immediately started growing sales and from an annual revenue of under $100k they grew to $2m in the first year. The next year they did $40m and $75m in the following two, having secured licensing agreements with the Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Star Wars and Harry Potter The business has now expanded globally with around 70 staff in 6 countries with customers in over 150 countries. Adam’s story – and the growth of his company – is insane and the story will blow your mind - and it’s the first time it’s been told. Come for the storytelling and stay for Adam’s brilliant business lessons at the end. This is an ep not to be missed. If you enjoy this pod – please go and follow and subscribe to our Business in Between channel, where there are plenty more like this. This episode is brought to you by TAB, download the new app today and get your bet on! Listen on iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcasts from or watch the video on YouTube. Enjoy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matthew Ridge, a Kiwi sporting legend, shares his extraordinary journey from rugby union to rugby league, including his time as a TV star and businessman. He opens up about his bromance with Marc Ellis and the magic they created on screen. The conversation dives deep into personal challenges like addiction, mental resilience, and pivotal life lessons shaped by adversity. Ridge also reflects on his struggles with fame, relationships, and the impact of his past decisions on his career and family life, offering a gripping insight into a remarkable life.

Steve and Seamus get excited for their fifth birthday celebration in Auckland, discuss all the best and worst small talk with former guests at the recent Auckland FC game, reflect on recent episodes with Andrew Mehrtens, Cassie Roma and Jackie Van Beek and reveal next week's guest.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jackie van Beek is one of New Zealand’s funniest and most creative minds. She has written, directed and starred in The Breaker Upperers, Nude Tuesday and The Educators and featured in everything from Funny Girls and What We Do in The Shadows, to Golden Boy – and most recently the Australian re-make of The Office – where she is one of the two creators. In this episode we talk about growing up with Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, how she got engaged to comedian Jesse Griffin after knowing him for a month, how she chose her merkin, the art of improvisation, falling into film making, directing TV, The Office Australia and partying with Leonardo di Caprio. Jackie is an absolute legend of NZ’s creative space and this was such a fun chat. We loved her company and outlook on life and there were a ton of laughs across this one. This episode is brought to you by TAB, download the new app today and get your bet on! Listen on iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcasts from or watch the video on YouTube. We're also stoked to tell you about the business we've built. If you'd like to get one of our epic guests in to MC or Speak at your function or event, flick us a message by going to B2Bspeakers.co.nz Enjoy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrew Mehrtens is a legend of NZ Rugby and the second highest All Blacks point scorer of all time. He’s also widely regarded as one of the most intelligent All Blacks and Sir Wayne Smith described him to us as a ‘genius’ on and off the field, who understood the game better than he did. Universally known as Mehrts, in this episode we talk about what he’s been doing with his life abroad for the last 20 years, his new-born twins and his fluent French, his best “Suzie” and Jonah Lomu stories from 1995, reflections on the recent loss of his father, the Crusaders and pulling the fingers in South Africa, punditry, family, and all the best yarns in between. Mehrts is a childhood hero of ours and the perfect guest; this was an epic chat, he’s got the stories, but he’s also got the depth and humour and we had a ton of laughs through this one. We're also super stoked to have Mehrts on the books of B2B Speakers, so if you like what you hear in this episode, and would love him to share his story at your function or event, flick us a message by going to B2Bspeakers.co.nz. This episode is brought to you by TAB, download the new app today and get your bet on! Listen on iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcasts from or watch the video on YouTube. Enjoy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Seamus and Steve take listeners behind the scenes of Bree Tomasel's book launch on K-Road, discuss their upcoming episode with All Blacks joker Andrew Mehrtens, we hear about Steve's four-day bender in Sydney, reflect on Seamus' 30 kg weight loss, and we tease their live event with Jason Gunn coming up in November.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.