August 10, 2025 • 41 mins
Blakey Johnston looks like a Viking, walks around barefoot, and once surfed for 40 hours straight to raise awareness for mental health.
A former pro surfer, dad of two, and the guy who surfed for 40 hours straight to raise awareness for mental health, Blakey opens up about the loss of his dad to suicide and what came after.
We get a glimpse into his world as a parent still figuring it out, juggling grief, school drop-offs, and the pressure to keep it together when life’s anything but.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Matt. We like to think that we're pretty committed dads.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Yeah, you're right, we are. Hang on a second. We
haven't broken any world records for endurance surfing, have we
not yet?
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Not that I know of. Unless you have behind my back,
I don't think I have help. The man committed to
the cause is Blakie Johnson, who was basically born in
the sea. He looks like a Viking and he walks
around barefoot because the man is always ready to serve.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
I had a look at his socials and what I
love most Ash is how much he loves the outdoors,
not just surfing, but hiking, running, and he includes his
family and kids especially on all of these adventures.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
He must have some serious patients. Ah, just a trigger
warning for everyone. A few years ago, Blakeie lost his
dad to suicide. He shares about that time and the
healing that came after is incredibly honest.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Which had about painting through grief, what it means to
be present with your kids, and how he took care
of himself as a dad when he was at his lowest.
And just a note, we will put in some information
into the show notes for anyone out there who is
experiencing issues with their mental health.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Now, Blakie is one of those men that I idolize
Matthew being an endurance surfer. Also he shreds, which is great,
but he is not perfect. He forgets to pack lunches.
Sometimes it's a bit chaotic with a couple of boys.
And he may have lost his kids a few times
at the shops. Haven't we all all right?
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Here? It is our conversation with a SALTI Dog Viking himself,
Blakie Johnston.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Let's get into it.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Welcome back to three doting dads.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
I'm Maddie Jay, I'm Ash and I'm Blakie Johnston.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
And this is a podcast all about parenting.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
It is the good, it.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Is the bad, and the relatable.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
And Blakie, we have to say this for legal reasons.
Ash and I don't give advice, but we would be
honored to hear your advice today on any subject.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Anything whatsoever. There's a loophole that guests are allowed to
They can preach whatever it is. Usually it's very good.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
So I'm actually a bit reluctant to speak to Blakey
because there's certain people that are a lot better than
the two of us.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
You were like, you're like a super dad. Yes, that's
where we put we were chatting this morning. We're like
where we put Blake on the Dad's whack right at
the top here for just frock level and just you're
always out and about your kids and you do it.
We all look at them and think, oh fuck, I'd
love to get out there.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
You've got and you've got like a presence you come
in and you just it's godlike not to pass your ego.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Nah, we were that man. I'm just I'm just like
everyone else, just trying to figure it out.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
You know, he's humble as well.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Exactly what super dad. Let's go back. We start these
episodes with finding out about the man, the version of
the man. Do you remember the worst trouble you got
in as a kid?
Speaker 4 (03:06):
I stayed out of trouble was in the ocean so much,
you know, like of my parents. I remembers calling my
brother the word an eight year old shouldn't stay. It's
like the only time my dad ever slapped me. Imagine
having five boys and just bickering over a TV remote
and one of them just wears off his head like
after work and his ass a full day like I mean,
(03:27):
I definitely deserved it.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Where were you in the five?
Speaker 4 (03:30):
Was in the middle? Yeah, like you man after my
own heart.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Matt's one of five. There is a there is a
sister in there who was the rat bag of the group.
But you've got four brothers and you're right in the middle.
I can imagine how crazy the house would have been.
Speaker 4 (03:46):
It was pretty hectic. Yeah, And look, dad was a builder.
He and they did their own renovations at home throughout
how much hold. We moved around a lot of houses,
and it was always hectic. My oldest brother's eight years older,
my youngest brother's six years younger, so there's like a
thirty your age gaps. So I was right in the
middle of my big brothers peeking on me, bashing me,
looking after me. And then my little brother's been as
(04:07):
tall as me when I was six or seven, And
there was always something going on.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
And you always lived in Cronola. Tell us what Cronola
means to you?
Speaker 4 (04:15):
Everything to me. I swear my grandparents moved to before
my dad was born, and he grew up and was,
you know, a real respected surfer and part of the
community when he was younger, and it's where I've grown up.
My wife grew up. She went to school in the city.
I didn't even meet her till I was like twenty
twenty one, but her and her family have grown up
in the area and I just absolutely love it, you know.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
So before I talk about your wife, I do want
to ask growing up with the little boys in the house,
I have vivid memories. There's one scenario where I was
wrestling my brother. I decided to wrestle him with a
bag over his head and he ran through the wall
and it was like, fuck, we got to try and
fix this before Dad comes home. We were just constantly
breaking things. Was it similar to you guys that were
(04:59):
you know, there's a lot of testosterone with things off
and breaking.
Speaker 4 (05:03):
Yeah, there was. But Dad would always be there to
fix it when he got home to work, and he
was mellow too, like we never my mum would say
wait till Dad gets home, and we'd be like sweet.
It was the crusiest gentle, you know. He's a big
sixty six two and solid and so not like me.
(05:24):
But he was a real placid soul, you know. It
was it was he was calm to my madness.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
He was quite a good surfer too. Is he your
biggest influence you think?
Speaker 4 (05:33):
I think him and my older brothers. I just wanted
to hang out with them, you know. I was hanging
out with the little brothers at home and going to
primary school, and they were all sponsored and surfing the dad.
When Dad got that spare time between his busy schedule,
and it got me time with dad. Because he works
so much, it was just an extra time. I just
wanted to be around him, and surfing was a way
to do that. And then as soon as I put
the ball on my head and went over the heill,
(05:54):
I was like freedom.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Yeah right.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
And you mentioned your wife before. Do you remember where
you were when the two of you first met?
Speaker 4 (06:02):
Yeah, I do. I saw her once at a party
about three weeks before I actually was introduced to her,
and she was dressed up. I don't know, she was
dressed up. She looked really cute. I remember saying, man,
she's she's gorgeous. And then we had a boxing day
bash we feel the mates had a little muck around
surfing camp and she came down with a bunch of
her friends and was there. She was again. I'm like,
(06:23):
she's cool, she's cute and from that day. Obviously, I
didn't make much of an impression because all I remember
learning was that she said, why that dude got a
tattoo of a girl in his back? Can't of get one?
I was like, eighteen, got my second tatoo, thought I
was pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Who was the girl in the back?
Speaker 4 (06:39):
It was just a pin up girl that I thought
was cool. I was like, eighteen, Yeah, it's just my shoulder.
I love this.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
It's funny when you're like age and you get the
worst tattoos. Oh my god.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
I wanted to say I love the tattoo.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
Like what happened after that? And then like a week
later on Newsay, we've had a friend's gathering for that,
and that happened to be a birthday, and I just,
like a seven year old, I don't. I never liked
the taste of beer. I've never That's probably why. Like
when I was younger, I got drunk early and went
(07:15):
home and you probably missed it on some sick nights.
But I'd never like the taste of beer, So I'd
scullet and be sending myself home at ten o'clock. Well
the mates to go out in the town or whatever.
But so I had like a six pack of Vo Cruises,
probably probably a watermelon flavor.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
And I said to my Guama.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
Said to my mate, take give that to Prayers. That's
her last name. Give that to present say tell her.
I said hi, and he did it, and then she
came over and it was her birthday and she wanted
to come over and chat and said, you know, she
saw me the other day and that was where we
first met and hung out for the next six months
before we officially went out.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Yeah, like a cruises there you go.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
It's that pretty easy at bringing people together.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
I mean, you've got an incredible journey in surfing, You've
based your whole life around it. You were you competing
when you met your wife.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
I was sort of at crossroads like I was. You know,
it wasn't close to qualifying for the World Tour. I
was still getting paid a little bit, and I was
starting to work at the surf shop and had an idea,
said on a surf school because it ran alongside the
surf shop I was working in, And I thought, I
just I don't want to be stuck on a building
site with dad and laboring and doing a trade. I
(08:28):
want to be with people out in nature, and I
love people, and I loved obviously love surfing. You know,
I wasn't sure who, you know, where my direction was
going to end up, because I'd been paid to surf
since I was fourteen, left school early and did quite well,
you know, but I was at that time was a
pretty I guess I was a bit of an identity
CRISI at that point, you know, just go, I'm not
(08:49):
a pro surfer anymore. That's what I've always been. Where
do I head now? You know? But then, yeah, the
surf school I came up.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
You purchased a whole lot.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
Yeah. And then the owner, Dog Marshall, was a pro
surf as well, a bit of a mentor of mine.
He moved to France with his wife. It was from there,
and then he later goes, I'm want to sell it,
and so I bought the other half of him. And
that was twenty years ago.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
I imagine with the surf school you would have dealt
with a lot of younger kids. Did that help or
hinder your appetite to have a family.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
No, I've always wanted to, always wanted a big family,
coming from a I had an epic childhood, like as
hard as it would have been for mum and dad
and as much you know, we didn't have a lot
of money at all. We never went on holidays, but
we always had nice clothes and the toys we wanted
was if we needed money for a surfboard, somehow to
come up and we'd all have our boards and stuff.
We were well looked after. Our parents put us first
(09:35):
and I've ever written debt for them for that. You know,
I would change a thing about my childhood. Obviously, you
learn a lot as you go older, and and this
is not the plug it, but you know, I've got
a book coming out and that that process has really
made me go back and evaluate. And the biggest lesson
in self discovery was actually analyzing my childhood and my
relationships and everything and who I am who I am
(09:56):
And yeah, there's a lot to take.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Away from I imagine though, when you value what you do,
being outdoors, being so active, did the thought of it
end of your mind of like, well, if I have
a family that can take away from being able to
do all the things that I love.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
No, never, No, I wanted to give them the life
that I had, you know, I wanted to make sure
that they if I was bringing someone in the well
that they got to experience in a special life. And
because I've always been grateful for it, you know, like
I've always been super appreciative of the opportunities I've got,
maybe because I've come from a big family and had
a fight for a lot when I was a grown
but I was always kept in check because of my
(10:37):
two older brothers. Yeah, keeping my head from getting too big.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
And I see that when I got to surf with
you and Bobby, your elders, and you could see that
you were just like mates and you were enjoying the
moment together. I sat there with you for five hours,
and that whole five hour time, you were just feeding
off each other.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
Yeah. But that's something that I sort of learned over
the years, you know what I mean, through my own
I had it, on the use cliche turmable, my own journey,
a sort of self discovery, where like you become more
empathetic with yourself and you learn that you know, everyone's
just trying to figure it out. So the kids, you know,
we instruct them, we coach them, we teach them, and
(11:18):
we tell them to do everything, but we don't experience
life with them and it's different how it is now
than it was ten, fifteen, twenty thirty years ago, you know.
So I think it's important about embracing what they're going
through and being empathetic to their journey to yours as well.
And that seems to what helps me with my relationship
with my kids.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
And yeah, so when you first had Bobby and did
he just come along with you immediately on all the
you know, you have surf camps and surf sessions and yeah.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
Like, I'm definitely far from a millionaire, but I've got
I feel like I'm the luckiest, richest personal life. I've
got to be down the beach for a job, even
though that can be really training with the weather and
running a small business, but doing serve retreats overseas, and
the purpose of that is so my wife can tag
into a week at the end, you know, you know
what I mean, and Bobby can come along. And it's
(12:05):
it's just that lifestyle and experience that I think we remember,
and I think that that's what it's all about, right,
What we feel, our emotions and stuff are based on
the experiences that we have. That's what we left over with.
Once we do something cool or fun are exciting.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
It's for sure.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
It's not the shiny gift or the car or the house.
It's like what the feeling it gives us. And yeah,
we look in the wrong places a lot of the
time for where we get that.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
I remember trying to introduce Marley, who's my eldest daughter.
She's now six, but I think she must have been
about four, and I was kind of like, she's ready
now to like, you know, push her on a little
wave on the phone, and I was like, yeah, this
is like this is going to be special core memory stuff,
and I like pushed her and she kind of too
close to those the bard has flipped up in the
(12:49):
she's got a mouthful of water up the nose. She's
come up screaming, and I'm like, maybe it was a
bit too key.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
We've all done that. I did that with Oscar too,
even when he was like yeah, five or something like
last summer, and I was like, all right, it's time.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
You're gonna love this.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
Love it. It's like your father and the forefathers before
you all did this. And it was like my old
man's kind of like blaky super froth. He was like
his oscol surfing yet like, and I pushed him on
tiny little same thing. Man. I think it it's a
right of passage really to get to those dives at
that age.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
But I was thinking, am I doing it wrong?
Speaker 1 (13:30):
Exactly the right thing?
Speaker 4 (13:31):
I think that's all I've been super aware of. Bobby's
only really started loving and frothing surfing in the last
eight months. He has gone to high school and he's
in that environment. All his mates are surfing, and who
he's been hanging out with has really influenced that. And
he's I put him on his first wave on the
Phoney when he was eight months old. He's been down
the beach more more days than he hasn't. So it's
(13:52):
just like I've learned that it's it's my passion and
my love. And if he's got the opportunity, you know,
I've exposed him the ocean he's comfortable down, then if
he ever felt that, you know, that urge to pick
up the board and put some time into it and
really enjoy it and be a passion of his, then
it's up to him.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (14:09):
And I learned that through being a coach, right through
being coached as a junior, seeing relationships how they plan
out after twenty thirty years have been around surf evans
and surfing in the beach, So it's become really something
that I was really conscious of, just you know, making
sure that I was staying in my lane. Like I'm
a parent, and I know even at an elite level,
how important that role is. But it just gets blurred
(14:31):
a lot, you know, And I think that's really critical
to it. You want what you want your kids to
like what you want.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Yeah, and they're going, who wants to play cricket? My
girls have sixty j He serves so well, like for
only really, like you said, like being that into it
for the last eight months shredding.
Speaker 4 (14:50):
And I think that's just the exposure of him being
around the ocean, you know, and no expectations. When we
go down the beach, he wants to body He can
body board a body surf for his mates build castles.
But I guess sooner later they figure out it's pretty
fun out there. Man. I might grab a ball and
come up with dad.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
When I think about my two girls, they are very different.
Like one is like Laura, one is like me.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
I even look one looks like yeah different.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
What's it like with your two boys. Are they cut
from the same cloth or are they opposites? They are
complete opposites.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
Yeah, Bobby's like me, wears his heart on his sleeve,
pretty emotional.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
So I didn't see that. The other day.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
Yeah, in the pool he did something so cool. He
I'm like, mate, I don't want to get angry at him.
It's not my place. He's one of the experience. I'm like, mate,
you're carrying on like this is not Surfain's about. I
had that conversation with about ten times. And one day
I was surfing one morning and he missed a few
ways and he's splashed the water and he disappeared, and
(15:46):
I'm like, okay, where's he going. Hopefully he's not injured
his head, but the wall or whatever. And he pat
it back out at fifteen minutes, and I guess see, Dad,
I went in and I took some breaths, and I
took some time, and I came back out smart. And
You're like, yes, yes, mate, Like that's so proud of
him for doing that. You know, to be aware of
how he's behaving and do that.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
So your other's son, Duke Duke, does he share the
same passion for surfing.
Speaker 4 (16:12):
Jukey. He's always been exposed to it like Bobby, but
he's he loves his art. He's right into his drawing
and and gets we have to turn the lights off
at nights. They go to bed mate and go jump
into bed. He's still trying to draw in the dark,
like he's innately drawn to it. It's really really cool
and we encourage that, you know, like whatever he wants
to do. He served in the pool with us once
in the month and he had fun. He got pretty
(16:34):
freaking cold, but he was happy sitting in the room
drawing his things. But he's very different. He's he's his
own boss. Like he's always been the little boss baby,
that's what we call him when he was young. He's
his own little person. And if it's his way or
no way, and and and he's too he's slowly becoming
aware of things that affect him with his behavior and stuff.
(16:54):
Like he's very it's a bit more serious than Bobby.
Bobby's a little bit more emotional and hard on his sleeve.
And Duke, can you know who tell you how it is?
And you know, he's taught me a lot, Jikey like
just Bobby's a lot like me. I can kind of
know how he's feeling, but Jik's a bit more like Lauren,
a bit more, a bit more in tune with his
emotions and knows how he's behaving. But yeah, it's it's,
(17:17):
it's it's it's an interesting come away. It's just you
think he raised it the same, but it's a different
experience for them too. Write like, sure at a different
point in our lives by the time our second or
the kid comes along, so they're going to get a
different version of us as well.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Do you have to make a conscious effort because I
imagine it'd be so easy to have quality time whilst
you're surfing doing the things that you love. Do you
have to kind of pay attention to do things that
might not be the first on your list on your
spare time and things too, like drawing, having that one
on one time with Duke.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
Yeah, that's that's super important. Hey, like to make sure
that there's not a one sided affair with the kids
or just giving him because I want to, you know
what I mean, I actually want to and interested in
it as well, and I love that it's something different
almost as well that I'm so surf beach, ocean, nature, outdoors,
that it's something different like sort of which is interesting
(18:10):
to me, you know what I mean as art what
classes he can do and what he's interested in drawing,
and where does he get his creativity from, and like
all this stuff that I don't think I'm very creative
at all. And he's drawing these cool heads with half
the brain and drawing what's in their mind and the
things they like to do. And I'm like, where did
you think of this stuff from buddy? This is beautiful,
you know, like they just embracing what they're good at.
(18:32):
You know.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
So not long after talking about Bobby, not long after
he was born, you received some pretty devastating news. Do
you mind taking us back to the moment that you
found out about your dad?
Speaker 4 (18:45):
Yeah, I was Bobby was about eighteen months old, and
I was doing a surf retreat down the South Coast
and we're on the way back in the car and
it was epic weekend. I take a lot of intermediate
surfers down there and do like a swell being thing.
We did breathwork and surfing and so it's always a
really good environment. And I'm coming home on the Sunday afternoon,
(19:05):
and the sception was pretty bad, and my sister in
lawa range who didn't really ring me that often, said
a blake, I'm sorry and just cut out and then
got to the top of Mountains Well and gong and
she said, I'm so sorry in tears me, your Dad's gone.
And I kind of just felt completely sick in that moment,
and I kind of what's happened. Dad's gone. He's passed away,
(19:28):
still about an hour away from Mum and Dad's place,
like clients from the circle in the car, Lauren in
the car with me, and I've just you know, it
was a pretty much a blur, an instant, just sick feeling.
I don't remember much of that next hour. I don't
remember what happened to the clients I was driving. And
(19:49):
then I remember getting back to yeah, Mum and Dad's
place and just being a crime scene. I read ambulance
and police car scattered in the street and Mum andm
hysterical being being you know, looked after by the paramedics
and stuff on the front. My brother's in tears and
(20:09):
just gone. I knew exactly what had happened, you know,
Dad's that's obviously taking his own life, and then rushed through,
tried to rush through the doors. Just it's just a
total survival mode, just trying to figure out what to
make some sense at all. I was held back by
the police and my brother's already been there for an
hour or whatever. I'm not sure exactly what time happened,
(20:30):
and then just punched the brick walls as hard as
hell as I could and just, yeah, it was, it was,
it was. It was pretty hectic, and it was. Yeah,
it was. It still feels like a dream talking about it,
you know, and I can vividly remember it, almost feel it.
And just after settling down after a few moments, the
(20:51):
police obviously do you want to you want to see
your dad? And I said, I want to see it,
and yeah, just walked through the house with the light's
flu and through it was quiet. Normally they had thirteen
grandkids at that stage, you know what I mean, There's
always someone there when we went to visit him, so
it was eerially quiet and just yeah, just the lights
flashing through the windows as I walked around through the
(21:12):
house and around to the back of the garage and
saw him on the gurney, and yeah, it was definitely
a really a really weird feeling because it was it
was he was not just my dad, he was my mate.
It was mates to all my brothers. It was humble,
he was he was just the sikest. It was the
(21:33):
best dad. And we hung out with him because we
wanted to, not because he was you know, we all
pop in and see him. We all had our own
relationship with him. And he just worked so much, you
know what I mean, he was in a position and
he just for me. It was like, this is the
saddest thing I've ever seen. At the time, he was
at rest. Someone who's worked his ass off so light,
(21:55):
so hard for so many decades that never got quite
hit one fucking holiday his whole life. When I turned
thirty one holiday that was It was wild of what
he did, you know, after raising five boys that are
all awesome husbands and awesome, awesome dads the children, and
(22:15):
he couldn't see couldn't see the best in himself.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
And I'm so sorry you had to go through that.
I'm trying to imagine what it must be like in
those moments where it's such an emotional rollercoaster, because one
second you're punching the brick wall.
Speaker 4 (22:27):
You're so angry.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
But then a split second, lady, you're face to face
with your father who's just passed away. What emotions are
you feeling when you get to have that final moment
with him?
Speaker 4 (22:36):
Yeah, that's there was a part of me that was
that felt like a sigh of relief. You know, he
was at rest. Paul Baker had finally you know, had
some horass. You look peaceful, and that was that was
something that It's a weird feeling. You know, that's someone
you love, that you would give anything for, that's done
(22:57):
everything for you and him just couldn't see the best,
but just could feel like he was stuck and couldn't
break through. And I think for him to have that
rest and be at peace just there was a part
of it that was really peaceful. I guess I don't
know if that makes sense. Yeah, it was just like
you get the rest you deserve, you know, like you just.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Were there any signs were there any? Was it a
complete surprise to you?
Speaker 4 (23:24):
He suffered from pretty bad sleep hap here you had
for years as well. He was a six year old
man that didn't have a super secure financial situation as well.
You know, he'd helped us out a lot and taken
risk on houses. Throughout his life. He had a cool crack.
He was the hardest working man. And I'm not just
saying that because it was my dad. They gave it
(23:45):
a good nudge. And I think that being a dad
now been through what I've been through and the judgment
I've put on myself, imagine what he would have felt like,
you know. And he wasn't over extra herd like me
and had to talk. He was stoic, He was quiet, humble,
you know. And I think this because he was so
tired to what he did. He was so tired with
his job. He was a great builder, and all my
(24:07):
mates that he'd give work to loved him. All his
work people loved him. His family obviously adored him. And
he just didn't have anything outside that as well, you
know what I mean. He didn't have a group of mates,
He didn't have that other way the conversations could happen.
Like he was so admired by us that even if
he could, I don't think he could have articulated it
(24:28):
the way that he needed to. You know that in
that space that he's embarrassed about taking and he depressed
a medication because obviously the sleep affects his mental health.
And then the stress of everyday life. You know, I
think it's a combination. It's not just one thing, you know.
But he was so useful, you know what I mean.
And the whole point of it is that he didn't
realize how valued he was, you know, how I valued.
(24:51):
And that's the massive thing.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
You know.
Speaker 4 (24:52):
It was two hundred and fifty people at his funeral
and the guy and never went to the pub to
have a beer. He have a beer at home with
the grandkids and do his thing. Felt you know, on
that holiday he went, Yeah, he felt guilty having a day.
N I'm like, man, I have a day, nap. Man,
you haven't had a holiday in your life. You deserve
everything you get, you know.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
It's wild how you can have someone who does so
much for so many other people around him, and his
network and his family, and that you're you're missing out
and helping the most important person, which.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
Is yourself, showing up for yourself first, sure for everyone
else before him. Like similar to my mum. Did you
know she was selfless as well? But dad was obviously
and my mom's like, man, she talks a bit more
and she's a bit more always hard on a sleeve.
So it's different with the dad. He's like a couple
of my other brothers are a bit more quiet and
more reserved in that sense. And I think that's that's
(25:46):
something that I've learned, so that vulnerability doesn't just have
to be about talking like like I do and an
expressing your feeling. He can be through action too, like
actually wanting to make change and whatever that may look like,
you know, thank you, diet, starting to exercise, you know,
changing jobs and doing something for yourself that's looking to
fulfill you and you're putting yourself first, because I think
(26:06):
that's what drives me too. Just thinking about Dad, I'm like,
You've got to be able to look after yourself first
and have a good relationship with yourself in order to
show up for your wife and then that la from
flourish for your kids and everyone you care about.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
You know, prior to this happening, had you always focused
on mental health or was that the starting point do
you think for you and your journey towards advocating for it.
Speaker 4 (26:32):
Nah, Look this must sound strange, but like I've always
been a sensitive human, like always sensitive and empathetic towards others,
Like when I was young, and it's you don't know
where that sits. Man, I'm a rap and a family
full of boys in the shire, pursuing a career in
elite surfing on a wallaware high and going, you know,
(26:53):
and you don't know where what that is, whether it's
is it a curse, what is it like? But you know,
I've learned through the life that through experience that like
it's actually a strength, you know, and him to have that,
to have that sensitivity in my experience, I feel, I feel,
I feel everything I feel and then luck at that
(27:15):
word sensitive might not be the right way to do it.
But I feel people's pain and I feel my own
pain deeply, you know, the good and the bad, and
I'm just very aware of it. And so I think
that's where like I've always had a relationship with the kids.
I emphathize with them. I work with them at the
cur school. And You've always been a bit of a feelers.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
You know, Yeah, And it is a strength for sure.
You've been able to, you know, relate to how people
are feeling in the moment is a gift, like so
many people don't don't they avoid it? You know? And
I think if you can lend some experience or lend
an ear to someone, it's it's so fucking powerful.
Speaker 4 (27:55):
Yeah, And there's not one there's not one magic peal
for it. Mental health and your life and your happiness
and your experience is accommodation of so many things and relationships,
your hobbies and all these things that add up to
you enjoying your existence. So it's yeah, I think that
(28:17):
we think so much, we get so caught up in
our heads and our thoughts that we forget what our
bodies and our experiences has gone outside. I think life's
meant to be should be gaged off how we feel,
not what we think about it.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
Yeah, when you talk about the healing process with your
your dad passing away, was there anything that helped you?
Speaker 4 (28:36):
I think you've got to You've got to go through it.
You've got to feel the range of every emotion. I'm
sure did you know, anger, guilt, frustration, disappointment, everything that
you kind of go to the depths of with it.
You know, you're in that survival mode for a lot
of it.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
But then going through those emotions, you've got an eighteen
month old as well, Yeah, you're in the trenches.
Speaker 4 (28:57):
Eighteen month old. We had we opened a surf shop
that closed down, and you know, life was still good,
like I like, for me, I was I was still
serfing a bit. I wasn't as healthy as I am now,
that's for sure. You know, I had a beautiful wife,
you know, another kid that was coming on the way.
And it's not until now that where I've made you
become more self aware. I made these simple changes in
(29:17):
my day to day life that I go back in
morem manut to. Health wasn't good. It wasn't like I
was there going I'm depressed, I'm anxious. I'm sure I
went to the doctors say oh I'm not feeling good.
I could feel better. There's a history of mental mental
illness in my family, but it's near. It's not until
like now I'm like, well, hey, that wasn't good mental health.
Ruminating on the circol bank balance and checking it ten
(29:38):
times a day is not healthy habits. It's not normal
even for someone that's got you know that there is
feeling anxiety.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
I can't imagine it's the financial stress.
Speaker 4 (29:47):
And I just like I've always had a bit of
like a chip on my shoulder about Lauren just being
this beautiful thing, and I wanted to give her a
castle on the hill and we sold some units invested
in the shop and so school gets quiet. It could
be stressful. It's just just a combination of things that
really led to as well. And I just think that
knowing what I do now, how accessible these things, these
(30:09):
these things to look after ourselves are that everyone, even
if they feel like they've got a pretty good life,
they can take it to another level. You know. It's
the whole spectrum of mental health where it's not these
big events that I do, all these big moments, it's
the day to day stuff that that create that shapes you.
And I think that's that's the message, you know. I mean,
I'm always say but I'm definitely no one special, but
(30:30):
we can all do special.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
That's a lie, not at all.
Speaker 4 (30:35):
Maybe I'm not articulating it right.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
I mean, obviously you have to stay humble when you
say you're not special. It's like that's a fucking lie.
Speaker 4 (30:42):
Like you, I believe in other people more than they
do in themselves, man, And that's what drives me to
even you know, I'm write a book that's pretty cool man.
I just never thought that would have happened without a thing,
and I just it's just hard to be in my
position not want to sound cliche or try and you know,
avoid that impossib you know. But just like we're so
much more capable than what we're told. The way that
(31:04):
the world structured that it limits us as well, you know.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
So I think, like what Matt's coming from is your
self awareness about who you are and who you think
everyone can be around you is what makes you.
Speaker 4 (31:18):
It's a gift. It's a gift.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
You're probably sitting there going the boy's got to stop trying.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
But it's it's it's it's crazy because like I've only really,
i've only known you. I've known of you for a
long long time, but I've only known you since I've
been able to get in the water with you. And
just that moment that you're so self aware in yourself
and so level hump everyone else up around you, it's
fucking amazing. I mean, that moment when you know you
(31:45):
had to experience such great loss, it's spurred you again
and then on this path that people watch you go
whole ship.
Speaker 4 (31:53):
Like I always sort of did believe in myself a
little bit. I thought there was I was here for
a reason to help other people. I didn't know what
that looked like at all, and I didn't know that
I'd have to go through the loss of my dad
and friends and that to realize my purpose was to
help people see the best in themselves, and just finding
my own language and be able to speak to people
(32:13):
where they're at, you know. And I say that I
mean everything I say. I think anyone can go out
there and say that they're authentic and do all this
sort of stuff, but I mean I like to think
I live it, you know what I mean that I
said an example, and I've learned to like all the
bits about me, even even the ship bits. And I
think that's when it comes to being empathetic towards yourself.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
And you just mentioned before that there's not there isn't
one thing that fixes mental health, and there isn't There
absolutely isn't. But is there something that you think personally
that really really helps you that could help out it.
Speaker 4 (32:48):
I think it's so simple. I think it's changing your environment,
you know, Like I said before, like what you feel
and your emotions at are based on the experience that
you're having. If you're sitting there laying in bed, you're
ruminating your thinking and getting out and connecting with nature
and embodying the experience that we haven't not just caught
up in our head. And that's where you know, the
brains is doing what it's designed to do, keep us alive,
(33:09):
warn us. It's amazing, incredible, but it's also going to
be so detrimental in a bad pattern and things aren't
going our way, you know, so, and then being with
the people, you know what I mean, Like, you can't
underestimate that it can seem so vague the way people
talk about community and everything, but it's really as meaningful connections.
Having them is vital. You know, where you don't recognize
(33:30):
if someone's not feeling good if you only see them
once a month. You know what you say you care
about someone, those relationships that you that you can have
the effort, you make the effort from you know, I
think that I think we don't take on that personal
responsibility enough, you know, for ourselves and for the people
that we care about.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
Do you have any chaotic stories from being a dad?
You've got this calm aura about you, but there's got
to be something where you look back and go, okay, well,
no one warned me about this.
Speaker 4 (33:58):
It's just like the every day little thing like you know,
like how does your heart feel when your kid walks
around the corner at Westfield and you can't find it?
For there's things like that, like I'm I'm as much
as you're talking about. I'm I'm pretty not so irresponsible,
but I'm unorganized a bit. Like that's good, So like
(34:18):
just forgetting to take you pack your kids, just just
it's more more of that stuff, you know that day
to day like a little bit of being a little
bit responsible at times and being so caught up and
frothing around and let's go to the beach to this,
let's go to the playpark, let's and then you just
end up forgetting the kids clothes and nappy. Is just
(34:41):
just I guess that was, you know, what everyone else
experienced as well, but probably more than I put myself
through more torture just by being such a froth and
always wanting to be on the moon.
Speaker 2 (34:51):
We're talking about torture. You've just been torturing yourself for
the last month. When did you come up with the
idea to break your recent record.
Speaker 4 (35:01):
Urban approached us with the idea about two and a
half weeks before actually paddled out on the first of July.
Speaker 2 (35:07):
Talk about preparations and for those who don't know, Urban
Surf is a wave pool here in Sydney man made,
but two and a half weeks not a lot of
prep time.
Speaker 4 (35:17):
Well, I think it's the lesson versus here is because
I live healthy every single day, right, Like I'm open,
I can be walking around and open oppertunes because I'm fit,
I'm healthy, and I'm optimistic because of good mental health. Right,
So to be able to see this huge challenge thrown
at me and go yes, is I think I'm proud
of that too, you know what I mean? Like if
I was unfit and wasn't in a good state, or
(35:38):
I was just you know, I wouldn't be able to
take opportunity like that up. So I think, yeah, it
was have an epic wife obviously, you know I'm going
to be in a pool for a month, you know
what I mean. We were in our prior commitments. We'll
go to the snow to watch Bobby in his first
inner school snowboarding thing. Juke had soccer on the weekends
(35:59):
and then I run a business. It's quiet, it is winter. Yeah,
you give our staff a lot of the work. So
that was manageable for.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
Anyone who who's not familiar. The official world record is
it most hours surfed at a wavepool in a month.
Speaker 4 (36:13):
It's anything you want to say that I did that month.
You know, it's really for me. It was about setting
a record. There wasn't an official Guinness before that one,
but there was just a guy's done one hundred and
eight sessions. Do you want to do it? You're a
world record holder, let's call it a world record and
see what you can do. And it was never about
beating the other guys record, but records was about what
(36:33):
could I do. It's just curiosity. It's not ego driven
need to get this. It's like I wonder what I
could put my body in my mind through and actually
just your crews to what Because I've done a few
big adventures before, I know what the body and the
mind's capable of, and I like testing it and I
thought this would be another great way to do it.
There was a few question marks with the cold water
(36:55):
and just how many waves I could ride and in
total over the month two and fifty three sessions.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
There is absolutely smashed it and it's it was four
thousand and you actually upped your wave count on the
date the last day on purpose because you will four seven.
Four thousand and seventy seven was the goal, was it?
Speaker 4 (37:16):
Yeah, four thousand and seven was the goal. And I
needed to do a minimum of one hundred and sixty
three waves and ten hours a day to do that.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
Trying to understand the core of where this crazy appetite
comes for these endurance events, like it, is it the
memory of your dad? Is it trying to prove to
your kids that anything's possible? Is it trying to prove
to yourself.
Speaker 4 (37:38):
No, it's genuinely comes from a place of curiosity, Like
it generally comes from a place of you know, what
what can I do? And what can other people do?
And I guess I just noticed that I could have
an impact, you know what I mean? Just my dad
didn't recognize he did and was valued like he was.
And I feel like we need more of that in
the world. You know, there's enough viding cynicism, and I
(38:01):
think there's more positivity in the world. Life's going to
happen to us, right, It's going to happen no matter
how good your life is, for sure. And if we
don't need to focus on that, if we can focus
on being curious to what we can do, and you can,
you can make things come up, you can make shit happen.
You can really bring things to life. And I'm proof
of that.
Speaker 1 (38:20):
Man, totally, for sure.
Speaker 2 (38:22):
Your boys are so incredibly lucky to have such a
great role model as a dad. When they grow up
and they're no longer living at home, is there anything
that you would want them to remember about the house
they grew up in, just.
Speaker 4 (38:34):
That they had the freedom to chase whatever they wanted to.
My identity is pretty much seen as a surfer, you
know what I mean, like not to me, but to
being around the beach, butund the surf. I don't want
them to feel like that to surf. That's why there
was never that pressure from it. You know, they didn't
have to enjoy the beach, but is what it was
that was our lost style and being around as well.
And it's a safe place, man, It's a safe place
(38:55):
to be themselves and we encourage them to Like.
Speaker 1 (38:57):
I just want to thank you so much for spending
some time with us today and the last month, been
able to spend some time with you in the water,
and yeah, it's given me a different perspective on something
that I feel like I'd taken for granted my whole life,
which is the ability to be able to serve, the
ability to be able to be out there and there's
so much that you get lost. And yeah, so thank you.
Speaker 2 (39:21):
He is a god Blakie Johnson, Thank you so much, mate.
Speaker 4 (39:28):
Really good. I appreciate it. Thanks brace.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
Your eyes Ash and I was absolutely frog of.
Speaker 3 (39:36):
That whole time.
Speaker 2 (39:37):
It was nice to see. I'm a huge shout out
to Blakie for a chat that had it all from
very vulnerable moments. But also want to give a nod
to the amazing charity work that he does throughout the year.
Speaker 1 (39:49):
Yeah, he did the world's biggest paddle out raise a
lot of money for mental health awareness, which is something
that's super important and step by step we are closer
to helping a lot of people, Matt, which is really great.
He also has a book coming out, Yes, it's wellbeat.
Speaker 2 (40:01):
When is that? It's in October, So that's coming out soon.
Speaker 1 (40:04):
Keep an eye on it. We'll leave some links in
the show notes. Also to any charities that he supports, or,
like Bat said, any useful information. If you're struggling with
you metealth, please reach out and.
Speaker 2 (40:14):
If you've enjoyed this episode, we would love it if
you would give us a little review. A couple of words,
you know, the drill just ten we'll reduce that week
on week and a month's time was five words, just
one word, one word, a couple of stars. That's all
it takes to keep Ash and myself happy. Little young
men very easy.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
Young, I doubt it. But also you can join us
on social speaking of young Instagram, TikTok Two Doting Dads.
Also the Facebook group is thriving that I've been let
back in. Thank you, Yes, so we.
Speaker 2 (40:44):
Kicked you out because it was your birthday.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
Happy birthday, You're out.
Speaker 2 (40:49):
And if there's any other parents my more dads that
you'd love us to interview, please reach out and send
us through your suggestions and we'll see you guys next week.
BA Two Doting Dads podcast acknowledges the traditional custodians of
country throughout Australia and their connections to land, see and community.
Speaker 1 (41:09):
We pay our respects to their elders past and present
and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and torrestrate Islander
peoples today,
Matt. We like to think that we're pretty committed dads.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Yeah, you're right, we are. Hang on a second. We
haven't broken any world records for endurance surfing, have we
not yet?
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Not that I know of. Unless you have behind my back,
I don't think I have help. The man committed to
the cause is Blakie Johnson, who was basically born in
the sea. He looks like a Viking and he walks
around barefoot because the man is always ready to serve.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
I had a look at his socials and what I
love most Ash is how much he loves the outdoors,
not just surfing, but hiking, running, and he includes his
family and kids especially on all of these adventures.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
He must have some serious patients. Ah, just a trigger
warning for everyone. A few years ago, Blakeie lost his
dad to suicide. He shares about that time and the
healing that came after is incredibly honest.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Which had about painting through grief, what it means to
be present with your kids, and how he took care
of himself as a dad when he was at his lowest.
And just a note, we will put in some information
into the show notes for anyone out there who is
experiencing issues with their mental health.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Now, Blakie is one of those men that I idolize
Matthew being an endurance surfer. Also he shreds, which is great,
but he is not perfect. He forgets to pack lunches.
Sometimes it's a bit chaotic with a couple of boys.
And he may have lost his kids a few times
at the shops. Haven't we all all right?
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Here? It is our conversation with a SALTI Dog Viking himself,
Blakie Johnston.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Let's get into it.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Welcome back to three doting dads.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
I'm Maddie Jay, I'm Ash and I'm Blakie Johnston.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
And this is a podcast all about parenting.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
It is the good, it.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Is the bad, and the relatable.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
And Blakie, we have to say this for legal reasons.
Ash and I don't give advice, but we would be
honored to hear your advice today on any subject.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Anything whatsoever. There's a loophole that guests are allowed to
They can preach whatever it is. Usually it's very good.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
So I'm actually a bit reluctant to speak to Blakey
because there's certain people that are a lot better than
the two of us.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
You were like, you're like a super dad. Yes, that's
where we put we were chatting this morning. We're like
where we put Blake on the Dad's whack right at
the top here for just frock level and just you're
always out and about your kids and you do it.
We all look at them and think, oh fuck, I'd
love to get out there.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
You've got and you've got like a presence you come
in and you just it's godlike not to pass your ego.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Nah, we were that man. I'm just I'm just like
everyone else, just trying to figure it out.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
You know, he's humble as well.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Exactly what super dad. Let's go back. We start these
episodes with finding out about the man, the version of
the man. Do you remember the worst trouble you got
in as a kid?
Speaker 4 (03:06):
I stayed out of trouble was in the ocean so much,
you know, like of my parents. I remembers calling my
brother the word an eight year old shouldn't stay. It's
like the only time my dad ever slapped me. Imagine
having five boys and just bickering over a TV remote
and one of them just wears off his head like
after work and his ass a full day like I mean,
(03:27):
I definitely deserved it.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Where were you in the five?
Speaker 4 (03:30):
Was in the middle? Yeah, like you man after my
own heart.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Matt's one of five. There is a there is a
sister in there who was the rat bag of the group.
But you've got four brothers and you're right in the middle.
I can imagine how crazy the house would have been.
Speaker 4 (03:46):
It was pretty hectic. Yeah, And look, dad was a builder.
He and they did their own renovations at home throughout
how much hold. We moved around a lot of houses,
and it was always hectic. My oldest brother's eight years older,
my youngest brother's six years younger, so there's like a
thirty your age gaps. So I was right in the
middle of my big brothers peeking on me, bashing me,
looking after me. And then my little brother's been as
(04:07):
tall as me when I was six or seven, And
there was always something going on.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
And you always lived in Cronola. Tell us what Cronola
means to you?
Speaker 4 (04:15):
Everything to me. I swear my grandparents moved to before
my dad was born, and he grew up and was,
you know, a real respected surfer and part of the
community when he was younger, and it's where I've grown up.
My wife grew up. She went to school in the city.
I didn't even meet her till I was like twenty
twenty one, but her and her family have grown up
in the area and I just absolutely love it, you know.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
So before I talk about your wife, I do want
to ask growing up with the little boys in the house,
I have vivid memories. There's one scenario where I was
wrestling my brother. I decided to wrestle him with a
bag over his head and he ran through the wall
and it was like, fuck, we got to try and
fix this before Dad comes home. We were just constantly
breaking things. Was it similar to you guys that were
(04:59):
you know, there's a lot of testosterone with things off
and breaking.
Speaker 4 (05:03):
Yeah, there was. But Dad would always be there to
fix it when he got home to work, and he
was mellow too, like we never my mum would say
wait till Dad gets home, and we'd be like sweet.
It was the crusiest gentle, you know. He's a big
sixty six two and solid and so not like me.
(05:24):
But he was a real placid soul, you know. It
was it was he was calm to my madness.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
He was quite a good surfer too. Is he your
biggest influence you think?
Speaker 4 (05:33):
I think him and my older brothers. I just wanted
to hang out with them, you know. I was hanging
out with the little brothers at home and going to
primary school, and they were all sponsored and surfing the dad.
When Dad got that spare time between his busy schedule,
and it got me time with dad. Because he works
so much, it was just an extra time. I just
wanted to be around him, and surfing was a way
to do that. And then as soon as I put
the ball on my head and went over the heill,
(05:54):
I was like freedom.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Yeah right.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
And you mentioned your wife before. Do you remember where
you were when the two of you first met?
Speaker 4 (06:02):
Yeah, I do. I saw her once at a party
about three weeks before I actually was introduced to her,
and she was dressed up. I don't know, she was
dressed up. She looked really cute. I remember saying, man,
she's she's gorgeous. And then we had a boxing day
bash we feel the mates had a little muck around
surfing camp and she came down with a bunch of
her friends and was there. She was again. I'm like,
(06:23):
she's cool, she's cute and from that day. Obviously, I
didn't make much of an impression because all I remember
learning was that she said, why that dude got a
tattoo of a girl in his back? Can't of get one?
I was like, eighteen, got my second tatoo, thought I
was pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Who was the girl in the back?
Speaker 4 (06:39):
It was just a pin up girl that I thought
was cool. I was like, eighteen, Yeah, it's just my shoulder.
I love this.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
It's funny when you're like age and you get the
worst tattoos. Oh my god.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
I wanted to say I love the tattoo.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
Like what happened after that? And then like a week
later on Newsay, we've had a friend's gathering for that,
and that happened to be a birthday, and I just,
like a seven year old, I don't. I never liked
the taste of beer. I've never That's probably why. Like
when I was younger, I got drunk early and went
(07:15):
home and you probably missed it on some sick nights.
But I'd never like the taste of beer, So I'd
scullet and be sending myself home at ten o'clock. Well
the mates to go out in the town or whatever.
But so I had like a six pack of Vo Cruises,
probably probably a watermelon flavor.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
And I said to my Guama.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
Said to my mate, take give that to Prayers. That's
her last name. Give that to present say tell her.
I said hi, and he did it, and then she
came over and it was her birthday and she wanted
to come over and chat and said, you know, she
saw me the other day and that was where we
first met and hung out for the next six months
before we officially went out.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Yeah, like a cruises there you go.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
It's that pretty easy at bringing people together.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
I mean, you've got an incredible journey in surfing, You've
based your whole life around it. You were you competing
when you met your wife.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
I was sort of at crossroads like I was. You know,
it wasn't close to qualifying for the World Tour. I
was still getting paid a little bit, and I was
starting to work at the surf shop and had an idea,
said on a surf school because it ran alongside the
surf shop I was working in, And I thought, I
just I don't want to be stuck on a building
site with dad and laboring and doing a trade. I
(08:28):
want to be with people out in nature, and I
love people, and I loved obviously love surfing. You know,
I wasn't sure who, you know, where my direction was
going to end up, because I'd been paid to surf
since I was fourteen, left school early and did quite well,
you know, but I was at that time was a
pretty I guess I was a bit of an identity
CRISI at that point, you know, just go, I'm not
(08:49):
a pro surfer anymore. That's what I've always been. Where
do I head now? You know? But then, yeah, the
surf school I came up.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
You purchased a whole lot.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
Yeah. And then the owner, Dog Marshall, was a pro
surf as well, a bit of a mentor of mine.
He moved to France with his wife. It was from there,
and then he later goes, I'm want to sell it,
and so I bought the other half of him. And
that was twenty years ago.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
I imagine with the surf school you would have dealt
with a lot of younger kids. Did that help or
hinder your appetite to have a family.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
No, I've always wanted to, always wanted a big family,
coming from a I had an epic childhood, like as
hard as it would have been for mum and dad
and as much you know, we didn't have a lot
of money at all. We never went on holidays, but
we always had nice clothes and the toys we wanted
was if we needed money for a surfboard, somehow to
come up and we'd all have our boards and stuff.
We were well looked after. Our parents put us first
(09:35):
and I've ever written debt for them for that. You know,
I would change a thing about my childhood. Obviously, you
learn a lot as you go older, and and this
is not the plug it, but you know, I've got
a book coming out and that that process has really
made me go back and evaluate. And the biggest lesson
in self discovery was actually analyzing my childhood and my
relationships and everything and who I am who I am
(09:56):
And yeah, there's a lot to take.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Away from I imagine though, when you value what you do,
being outdoors, being so active, did the thought of it
end of your mind of like, well, if I have
a family that can take away from being able to
do all the things that I love.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
No, never, No, I wanted to give them the life
that I had, you know, I wanted to make sure
that they if I was bringing someone in the well
that they got to experience in a special life. And
because I've always been grateful for it, you know, like
I've always been super appreciative of the opportunities I've got,
maybe because I've come from a big family and had
a fight for a lot when I was a grown
but I was always kept in check because of my
(10:37):
two older brothers. Yeah, keeping my head from getting too big.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
And I see that when I got to surf with
you and Bobby, your elders, and you could see that
you were just like mates and you were enjoying the
moment together. I sat there with you for five hours,
and that whole five hour time, you were just feeding
off each other.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
Yeah. But that's something that I sort of learned over
the years, you know what I mean, through my own
I had it, on the use cliche turmable, my own journey,
a sort of self discovery, where like you become more
empathetic with yourself and you learn that you know, everyone's
just trying to figure it out. So the kids, you know,
we instruct them, we coach them, we teach them, and
(11:18):
we tell them to do everything, but we don't experience
life with them and it's different how it is now
than it was ten, fifteen, twenty thirty years ago, you know.
So I think it's important about embracing what they're going
through and being empathetic to their journey to yours as well.
And that seems to what helps me with my relationship
with my kids.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
And yeah, so when you first had Bobby and did
he just come along with you immediately on all the
you know, you have surf camps and surf sessions and yeah.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
Like, I'm definitely far from a millionaire, but I've got
I feel like I'm the luckiest, richest personal life. I've
got to be down the beach for a job, even
though that can be really training with the weather and
running a small business, but doing serve retreats overseas, and
the purpose of that is so my wife can tag
into a week at the end, you know, you know
what I mean, and Bobby can come along. And it's
(12:05):
it's just that lifestyle and experience that I think we remember,
and I think that that's what it's all about, right,
What we feel, our emotions and stuff are based on
the experiences that we have. That's what we left over with.
Once we do something cool or fun are exciting.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
It's for sure.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
It's not the shiny gift or the car or the house.
It's like what the feeling it gives us. And yeah,
we look in the wrong places a lot of the
time for where we get that.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
I remember trying to introduce Marley, who's my eldest daughter.
She's now six, but I think she must have been
about four, and I was kind of like, she's ready
now to like, you know, push her on a little
wave on the phone, and I was like, yeah, this
is like this is going to be special core memory stuff,
and I like pushed her and she kind of too
close to those the bard has flipped up in the
(12:49):
she's got a mouthful of water up the nose. She's
come up screaming, and I'm like, maybe it was a
bit too key.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
We've all done that. I did that with Oscar too,
even when he was like yeah, five or something like
last summer, and I was like, all right, it's time.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
You're gonna love this.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
Love it. It's like your father and the forefathers before
you all did this. And it was like my old
man's kind of like blaky super froth. He was like
his oscol surfing yet like, and I pushed him on
tiny little same thing. Man. I think it it's a
right of passage really to get to those dives at
that age.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
But I was thinking, am I doing it wrong?
Speaker 1 (13:30):
Exactly the right thing?
Speaker 4 (13:31):
I think that's all I've been super aware of. Bobby's
only really started loving and frothing surfing in the last
eight months. He has gone to high school and he's
in that environment. All his mates are surfing, and who
he's been hanging out with has really influenced that. And
he's I put him on his first wave on the
Phoney when he was eight months old. He's been down
the beach more more days than he hasn't. So it's
(13:52):
just like I've learned that it's it's my passion and
my love. And if he's got the opportunity, you know,
I've exposed him the ocean he's comfortable down, then if
he ever felt that, you know, that urge to pick
up the board and put some time into it and
really enjoy it and be a passion of his, then
it's up to him.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (14:09):
And I learned that through being a coach, right through
being coached as a junior, seeing relationships how they plan
out after twenty thirty years have been around surf evans
and surfing in the beach, So it's become really something
that I was really conscious of, just you know, making
sure that I was staying in my lane. Like I'm
a parent, and I know even at an elite level,
how important that role is. But it just gets blurred
(14:31):
a lot, you know, And I think that's really critical
to it. You want what you want your kids to
like what you want.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Yeah, and they're going, who wants to play cricket? My
girls have sixty j He serves so well, like for
only really, like you said, like being that into it
for the last eight months shredding.
Speaker 4 (14:50):
And I think that's just the exposure of him being
around the ocean, you know, and no expectations. When we
go down the beach, he wants to body He can
body board a body surf for his mates build castles.
But I guess sooner later they figure out it's pretty
fun out there. Man. I might grab a ball and
come up with dad.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
When I think about my two girls, they are very different.
Like one is like Laura, one is like me.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
I even look one looks like yeah different.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
What's it like with your two boys. Are they cut
from the same cloth or are they opposites? They are
complete opposites.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
Yeah, Bobby's like me, wears his heart on his sleeve,
pretty emotional.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
So I didn't see that. The other day.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
Yeah, in the pool he did something so cool. He
I'm like, mate, I don't want to get angry at him.
It's not my place. He's one of the experience. I'm like, mate,
you're carrying on like this is not Surfain's about. I
had that conversation with about ten times. And one day
I was surfing one morning and he missed a few
ways and he's splashed the water and he disappeared, and
(15:46):
I'm like, okay, where's he going. Hopefully he's not injured
his head, but the wall or whatever. And he pat
it back out at fifteen minutes, and I guess see, Dad,
I went in and I took some breaths, and I
took some time, and I came back out smart. And
You're like, yes, yes, mate, Like that's so proud of
him for doing that. You know, to be aware of
how he's behaving and do that.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
So your other's son, Duke Duke, does he share the
same passion for surfing.
Speaker 4 (16:12):
Jukey. He's always been exposed to it like Bobby, but
he's he loves his art. He's right into his drawing
and and gets we have to turn the lights off
at nights. They go to bed mate and go jump
into bed. He's still trying to draw in the dark,
like he's innately drawn to it. It's really really cool
and we encourage that, you know, like whatever he wants
to do. He served in the pool with us once
in the month and he had fun. He got pretty
(16:34):
freaking cold, but he was happy sitting in the room
drawing his things. But he's very different. He's he's his
own boss. Like he's always been the little boss baby,
that's what we call him when he was young. He's
his own little person. And if it's his way or
no way, and and and he's too he's slowly becoming
aware of things that affect him with his behavior and stuff.
(16:54):
Like he's very it's a bit more serious than Bobby.
Bobby's a little bit more emotional and hard on his sleeve.
And Duke, can you know who tell you how it is?
And you know, he's taught me a lot, Jikey like
just Bobby's a lot like me. I can kind of
know how he's feeling, but Jik's a bit more like Lauren,
a bit more, a bit more in tune with his
emotions and knows how he's behaving. But yeah, it's it's,
(17:17):
it's it's it's an interesting come away. It's just you
think he raised it the same, but it's a different
experience for them too. Write like, sure at a different
point in our lives by the time our second or
the kid comes along, so they're going to get a
different version of us as well.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Do you have to make a conscious effort because I
imagine it'd be so easy to have quality time whilst
you're surfing doing the things that you love. Do you
have to kind of pay attention to do things that
might not be the first on your list on your
spare time and things too, like drawing, having that one
on one time with Duke.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
Yeah, that's that's super important. Hey, like to make sure
that there's not a one sided affair with the kids
or just giving him because I want to, you know
what I mean, I actually want to and interested in
it as well, and I love that it's something different
almost as well that I'm so surf beach, ocean, nature, outdoors,
that it's something different like sort of which is interesting
(18:10):
to me, you know what I mean as art what
classes he can do and what he's interested in drawing,
and where does he get his creativity from, and like
all this stuff that I don't think I'm very creative
at all. And he's drawing these cool heads with half
the brain and drawing what's in their mind and the
things they like to do. And I'm like, where did
you think of this stuff from buddy? This is beautiful,
you know, like they just embracing what they're good at.
(18:32):
You know.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
So not long after talking about Bobby, not long after
he was born, you received some pretty devastating news. Do
you mind taking us back to the moment that you
found out about your dad?
Speaker 4 (18:45):
Yeah, I was Bobby was about eighteen months old, and
I was doing a surf retreat down the South Coast
and we're on the way back in the car and
it was epic weekend. I take a lot of intermediate
surfers down there and do like a swell being thing.
We did breathwork and surfing and so it's always a
really good environment. And I'm coming home on the Sunday afternoon,
(19:05):
and the sception was pretty bad, and my sister in
lawa range who didn't really ring me that often, said
a blake, I'm sorry and just cut out and then
got to the top of Mountains Well and gong and
she said, I'm so sorry in tears me, your Dad's gone.
And I kind of just felt completely sick in that moment,
and I kind of what's happened. Dad's gone. He's passed away,
(19:28):
still about an hour away from Mum and Dad's place,
like clients from the circle in the car, Lauren in
the car with me, and I've just you know, it
was a pretty much a blur, an instant, just sick feeling.
I don't remember much of that next hour. I don't
remember what happened to the clients I was driving. And
(19:49):
then I remember getting back to yeah, Mum and Dad's
place and just being a crime scene. I read ambulance
and police car scattered in the street and Mum andm
hysterical being being you know, looked after by the paramedics
and stuff on the front. My brother's in tears and
(20:09):
just gone. I knew exactly what had happened, you know,
Dad's that's obviously taking his own life, and then rushed through,
tried to rush through the doors. Just it's just a
total survival mode, just trying to figure out what to
make some sense at all. I was held back by
the police and my brother's already been there for an
hour or whatever. I'm not sure exactly what time happened,
(20:30):
and then just punched the brick walls as hard as
hell as I could and just, yeah, it was, it was,
it was. It was pretty hectic, and it was. Yeah,
it was. It still feels like a dream talking about it,
you know, and I can vividly remember it, almost feel it.
And just after settling down after a few moments, the
(20:51):
police obviously do you want to you want to see
your dad? And I said, I want to see it,
and yeah, just walked through the house with the light's
flu and through it was quiet. Normally they had thirteen
grandkids at that stage, you know what I mean, There's
always someone there when we went to visit him, so
it was eerially quiet and just yeah, just the lights
flashing through the windows as I walked around through the
(21:12):
house and around to the back of the garage and
saw him on the gurney, and yeah, it was definitely
a really a really weird feeling because it was it
was he was not just my dad, he was my mate.
It was mates to all my brothers. It was humble,
he was he was just the sikest. It was the
(21:33):
best dad. And we hung out with him because we
wanted to, not because he was you know, we all
pop in and see him. We all had our own
relationship with him. And he just worked so much, you
know what I mean, he was in a position and
he just for me. It was like, this is the
saddest thing I've ever seen. At the time, he was
at rest. Someone who's worked his ass off so light,
(21:55):
so hard for so many decades that never got quite
hit one fucking holiday his whole life. When I turned
thirty one holiday that was It was wild of what
he did, you know, after raising five boys that are
all awesome husbands and awesome, awesome dads the children, and
(22:15):
he couldn't see couldn't see the best in himself.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
And I'm so sorry you had to go through that.
I'm trying to imagine what it must be like in
those moments where it's such an emotional rollercoaster, because one
second you're punching the brick wall.
Speaker 4 (22:27):
You're so angry.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
But then a split second, lady, you're face to face
with your father who's just passed away. What emotions are
you feeling when you get to have that final moment
with him?
Speaker 4 (22:36):
Yeah, that's there was a part of me that was
that felt like a sigh of relief. You know, he
was at rest. Paul Baker had finally you know, had
some horass. You look peaceful, and that was that was
something that It's a weird feeling. You know, that's someone
you love, that you would give anything for, that's done
(22:57):
everything for you and him just couldn't see the best,
but just could feel like he was stuck and couldn't
break through. And I think for him to have that
rest and be at peace just there was a part
of it that was really peaceful. I guess I don't
know if that makes sense. Yeah, it was just like
you get the rest you deserve, you know, like you just.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Were there any signs were there any? Was it a
complete surprise to you?
Speaker 4 (23:24):
He suffered from pretty bad sleep hap here you had
for years as well. He was a six year old
man that didn't have a super secure financial situation as well.
You know, he'd helped us out a lot and taken
risk on houses. Throughout his life. He had a cool crack.
He was the hardest working man. And I'm not just
saying that because it was my dad. They gave it
(23:45):
a good nudge. And I think that being a dad
now been through what I've been through and the judgment
I've put on myself, imagine what he would have felt like,
you know. And he wasn't over extra herd like me
and had to talk. He was stoic, He was quiet, humble,
you know. And I think this because he was so
tired to what he did. He was so tired with
his job. He was a great builder, and all my
(24:07):
mates that he'd give work to loved him. All his
work people loved him. His family obviously adored him. And
he just didn't have anything outside that as well, you
know what I mean. He didn't have a group of mates,
He didn't have that other way the conversations could happen.
Like he was so admired by us that even if
he could, I don't think he could have articulated it
(24:28):
the way that he needed to. You know that in
that space that he's embarrassed about taking and he depressed
a medication because obviously the sleep affects his mental health.
And then the stress of everyday life. You know, I
think it's a combination. It's not just one thing, you know.
But he was so useful, you know what I mean.
And the whole point of it is that he didn't
realize how valued he was, you know, how I valued.
(24:51):
And that's the massive thing.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
You know.
Speaker 4 (24:52):
It was two hundred and fifty people at his funeral
and the guy and never went to the pub to
have a beer. He have a beer at home with
the grandkids and do his thing. Felt you know, on
that holiday he went, Yeah, he felt guilty having a day.
N I'm like, man, I have a day, nap. Man,
you haven't had a holiday in your life. You deserve
everything you get, you know.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
It's wild how you can have someone who does so
much for so many other people around him, and his
network and his family, and that you're you're missing out
and helping the most important person, which.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
Is yourself, showing up for yourself first, sure for everyone
else before him. Like similar to my mum. Did you
know she was selfless as well? But dad was obviously
and my mom's like, man, she talks a bit more
and she's a bit more always hard on a sleeve.
So it's different with the dad. He's like a couple
of my other brothers are a bit more quiet and
more reserved in that sense. And I think that's that's
(25:46):
something that I've learned, so that vulnerability doesn't just have
to be about talking like like I do and an
expressing your feeling. He can be through action too, like
actually wanting to make change and whatever that may look like,
you know, thank you, diet, starting to exercise, you know,
changing jobs and doing something for yourself that's looking to
fulfill you and you're putting yourself first, because I think
(26:06):
that's what drives me too. Just thinking about Dad, I'm like,
You've got to be able to look after yourself first
and have a good relationship with yourself in order to
show up for your wife and then that la from
flourish for your kids and everyone you care about.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
You know, prior to this happening, had you always focused
on mental health or was that the starting point do
you think for you and your journey towards advocating for it.
Speaker 4 (26:32):
Nah, Look this must sound strange, but like I've always
been a sensitive human, like always sensitive and empathetic towards others,
Like when I was young, and it's you don't know
where that sits. Man, I'm a rap and a family
full of boys in the shire, pursuing a career in
elite surfing on a wallaware high and going, you know,
(26:53):
and you don't know where what that is, whether it's
is it a curse, what is it like? But you know,
I've learned through the life that through experience that like
it's actually a strength, you know, and him to have that,
to have that sensitivity in my experience, I feel, I feel,
I feel everything I feel and then luck at that
(27:15):
word sensitive might not be the right way to do it.
But I feel people's pain and I feel my own
pain deeply, you know, the good and the bad, and
I'm just very aware of it. And so I think
that's where like I've always had a relationship with the kids.
I emphathize with them. I work with them at the
cur school. And You've always been a bit of a feelers.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
You know, Yeah, And it is a strength for sure.
You've been able to, you know, relate to how people
are feeling in the moment is a gift, like so
many people don't don't they avoid it? You know? And
I think if you can lend some experience or lend
an ear to someone, it's it's so fucking powerful.
Speaker 4 (27:55):
Yeah, And there's not one there's not one magic peal
for it. Mental health and your life and your happiness
and your experience is accommodation of so many things and relationships,
your hobbies and all these things that add up to
you enjoying your existence. So it's yeah, I think that
(28:17):
we think so much, we get so caught up in
our heads and our thoughts that we forget what our
bodies and our experiences has gone outside. I think life's
meant to be should be gaged off how we feel,
not what we think about it.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
Yeah, when you talk about the healing process with your
your dad passing away, was there anything that helped you?
Speaker 4 (28:36):
I think you've got to You've got to go through it.
You've got to feel the range of every emotion. I'm
sure did you know, anger, guilt, frustration, disappointment, everything that
you kind of go to the depths of with it.
You know, you're in that survival mode for a lot
of it.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
But then going through those emotions, you've got an eighteen
month old as well, Yeah, you're in the trenches.
Speaker 4 (28:57):
Eighteen month old. We had we opened a surf shop
that closed down, and you know, life was still good,
like I like, for me, I was I was still
serfing a bit. I wasn't as healthy as I am now,
that's for sure. You know, I had a beautiful wife,
you know, another kid that was coming on the way.
And it's not until now that where I've made you
become more self aware. I made these simple changes in
(29:17):
my day to day life that I go back in
morem manut to. Health wasn't good. It wasn't like I
was there going I'm depressed, I'm anxious. I'm sure I
went to the doctors say oh I'm not feeling good.
I could feel better. There's a history of mental mental
illness in my family, but it's near. It's not until
like now I'm like, well, hey, that wasn't good mental health.
Ruminating on the circol bank balance and checking it ten
(29:38):
times a day is not healthy habits. It's not normal
even for someone that's got you know that there is
feeling anxiety.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
I can't imagine it's the financial stress.
Speaker 4 (29:47):
And I just like I've always had a bit of
like a chip on my shoulder about Lauren just being
this beautiful thing, and I wanted to give her a
castle on the hill and we sold some units invested
in the shop and so school gets quiet. It could
be stressful. It's just just a combination of things that
really led to as well. And I just think that
knowing what I do now, how accessible these things, these
(30:09):
these things to look after ourselves are that everyone, even
if they feel like they've got a pretty good life,
they can take it to another level. You know. It's
the whole spectrum of mental health where it's not these
big events that I do, all these big moments, it's
the day to day stuff that that create that shapes you.
And I think that's that's the message, you know. I mean,
I'm always say but I'm definitely no one special, but
(30:30):
we can all do special.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
That's a lie, not at all.
Speaker 4 (30:35):
Maybe I'm not articulating it right.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
I mean, obviously you have to stay humble when you
say you're not special. It's like that's a fucking lie.
Speaker 4 (30:42):
Like you, I believe in other people more than they
do in themselves, man, And that's what drives me to
even you know, I'm write a book that's pretty cool man.
I just never thought that would have happened without a thing,
and I just it's just hard to be in my
position not want to sound cliche or try and you know,
avoid that impossib you know. But just like we're so
much more capable than what we're told. The way that
(31:04):
the world structured that it limits us as well, you know.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
So I think, like what Matt's coming from is your
self awareness about who you are and who you think
everyone can be around you is what makes you.
Speaker 4 (31:18):
It's a gift. It's a gift.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
You're probably sitting there going the boy's got to stop trying.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
But it's it's it's it's crazy because like I've only really,
i've only known you. I've known of you for a
long long time, but I've only known you since I've
been able to get in the water with you. And
just that moment that you're so self aware in yourself
and so level hump everyone else up around you, it's
fucking amazing. I mean, that moment when you know you
(31:45):
had to experience such great loss, it's spurred you again
and then on this path that people watch you go
whole ship.
Speaker 4 (31:53):
Like I always sort of did believe in myself a
little bit. I thought there was I was here for
a reason to help other people. I didn't know what
that looked like at all, and I didn't know that
I'd have to go through the loss of my dad
and friends and that to realize my purpose was to
help people see the best in themselves, and just finding
my own language and be able to speak to people
(32:13):
where they're at, you know. And I say that I
mean everything I say. I think anyone can go out
there and say that they're authentic and do all this
sort of stuff, but I mean I like to think
I live it, you know what I mean that I
said an example, and I've learned to like all the
bits about me, even even the ship bits. And I
think that's when it comes to being empathetic towards yourself.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
And you just mentioned before that there's not there isn't
one thing that fixes mental health, and there isn't There
absolutely isn't. But is there something that you think personally
that really really helps you that could help out it.
Speaker 4 (32:48):
I think it's so simple. I think it's changing your environment,
you know, Like I said before, like what you feel
and your emotions at are based on the experience that
you're having. If you're sitting there laying in bed, you're
ruminating your thinking and getting out and connecting with nature
and embodying the experience that we haven't not just caught
up in our head. And that's where you know, the
brains is doing what it's designed to do, keep us alive,
(33:09):
warn us. It's amazing, incredible, but it's also going to
be so detrimental in a bad pattern and things aren't
going our way, you know, so, and then being with
the people, you know what I mean, Like, you can't
underestimate that it can seem so vague the way people
talk about community and everything, but it's really as meaningful connections.
Having them is vital. You know, where you don't recognize
(33:30):
if someone's not feeling good if you only see them
once a month. You know what you say you care
about someone, those relationships that you that you can have
the effort, you make the effort from you know, I
think that I think we don't take on that personal
responsibility enough, you know, for ourselves and for the people
that we care about.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
Do you have any chaotic stories from being a dad?
You've got this calm aura about you, but there's got
to be something where you look back and go, okay, well,
no one warned me about this.
Speaker 4 (33:58):
It's just like the every day little thing like you know,
like how does your heart feel when your kid walks
around the corner at Westfield and you can't find it?
For there's things like that, like I'm I'm as much
as you're talking about. I'm I'm pretty not so irresponsible,
but I'm unorganized a bit. Like that's good, So like
(34:18):
just forgetting to take you pack your kids, just just
it's more more of that stuff, you know that day
to day like a little bit of being a little
bit responsible at times and being so caught up and
frothing around and let's go to the beach to this,
let's go to the playpark, let's and then you just
end up forgetting the kids clothes and nappy. Is just
(34:41):
just I guess that was, you know, what everyone else
experienced as well, but probably more than I put myself
through more torture just by being such a froth and
always wanting to be on the moon.
Speaker 2 (34:51):
We're talking about torture. You've just been torturing yourself for
the last month. When did you come up with the
idea to break your recent record.
Speaker 4 (35:01):
Urban approached us with the idea about two and a
half weeks before actually paddled out on the first of July.
Speaker 2 (35:07):
Talk about preparations and for those who don't know, Urban
Surf is a wave pool here in Sydney man made,
but two and a half weeks not a lot of
prep time.
Speaker 4 (35:17):
Well, I think it's the lesson versus here is because
I live healthy every single day, right, Like I'm open,
I can be walking around and open oppertunes because I'm fit,
I'm healthy, and I'm optimistic because of good mental health. Right,
So to be able to see this huge challenge thrown
at me and go yes, is I think I'm proud
of that too, you know what I mean? Like if
I was unfit and wasn't in a good state, or
(35:38):
I was just you know, I wouldn't be able to
take opportunity like that up. So I think, yeah, it
was have an epic wife obviously, you know I'm going
to be in a pool for a month, you know
what I mean. We were in our prior commitments. We'll
go to the snow to watch Bobby in his first
inner school snowboarding thing. Juke had soccer on the weekends
(35:59):
and then I run a business. It's quiet, it is winter. Yeah,
you give our staff a lot of the work. So
that was manageable for.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
Anyone who who's not familiar. The official world record is
it most hours surfed at a wavepool in a month.
Speaker 4 (36:13):
It's anything you want to say that I did that month.
You know, it's really for me. It was about setting
a record. There wasn't an official Guinness before that one,
but there was just a guy's done one hundred and
eight sessions. Do you want to do it? You're a
world record holder, let's call it a world record and
see what you can do. And it was never about
beating the other guys record, but records was about what
(36:33):
could I do. It's just curiosity. It's not ego driven
need to get this. It's like I wonder what I
could put my body in my mind through and actually
just your crews to what Because I've done a few
big adventures before, I know what the body and the
mind's capable of, and I like testing it and I
thought this would be another great way to do it.
There was a few question marks with the cold water
(36:55):
and just how many waves I could ride and in
total over the month two and fifty three sessions.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
There is absolutely smashed it and it's it was four
thousand and you actually upped your wave count on the
date the last day on purpose because you will four seven.
Four thousand and seventy seven was the goal, was it?
Speaker 4 (37:16):
Yeah, four thousand and seven was the goal. And I
needed to do a minimum of one hundred and sixty
three waves and ten hours a day to do that.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
Trying to understand the core of where this crazy appetite
comes for these endurance events, like it, is it the
memory of your dad? Is it trying to prove to
your kids that anything's possible? Is it trying to prove
to yourself.
Speaker 4 (37:38):
No, it's genuinely comes from a place of curiosity, Like
it generally comes from a place of you know, what
what can I do? And what can other people do?
And I guess I just noticed that I could have
an impact, you know what I mean? Just my dad
didn't recognize he did and was valued like he was.
And I feel like we need more of that in
the world. You know, there's enough viding cynicism, and I
(38:01):
think there's more positivity in the world. Life's going to
happen to us, right, It's going to happen no matter
how good your life is, for sure. And if we
don't need to focus on that, if we can focus
on being curious to what we can do, and you can,
you can make things come up, you can make shit happen.
You can really bring things to life. And I'm proof
of that.
Speaker 1 (38:20):
Man, totally, for sure.
Speaker 2 (38:22):
Your boys are so incredibly lucky to have such a
great role model as a dad. When they grow up
and they're no longer living at home, is there anything
that you would want them to remember about the house
they grew up in, just.
Speaker 4 (38:34):
That they had the freedom to chase whatever they wanted to.
My identity is pretty much seen as a surfer, you
know what I mean, like not to me, but to
being around the beach, butund the surf. I don't want
them to feel like that to surf. That's why there
was never that pressure from it. You know, they didn't
have to enjoy the beach, but is what it was
that was our lost style and being around as well.
And it's a safe place, man, It's a safe place
(38:55):
to be themselves and we encourage them to Like.
Speaker 1 (38:57):
I just want to thank you so much for spending
some time with us today and the last month, been
able to spend some time with you in the water,
and yeah, it's given me a different perspective on something
that I feel like I'd taken for granted my whole life,
which is the ability to be able to serve, the
ability to be able to be out there and there's
so much that you get lost. And yeah, so thank you.
Speaker 2 (39:21):
He is a god Blakie Johnson, Thank you so much, mate.
Speaker 4 (39:28):
Really good. I appreciate it. Thanks brace.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
Your eyes Ash and I was absolutely frog of.
Speaker 3 (39:36):
That whole time.
Speaker 2 (39:37):
It was nice to see. I'm a huge shout out
to Blakie for a chat that had it all from
very vulnerable moments. But also want to give a nod
to the amazing charity work that he does throughout the year.
Speaker 1 (39:49):
Yeah, he did the world's biggest paddle out raise a
lot of money for mental health awareness, which is something
that's super important and step by step we are closer
to helping a lot of people, Matt, which is really great.
He also has a book coming out, Yes, it's wellbeat.
Speaker 2 (40:01):
When is that? It's in October, So that's coming out soon.
Speaker 1 (40:04):
Keep an eye on it. We'll leave some links in
the show notes. Also to any charities that he supports, or,
like Bat said, any useful information. If you're struggling with
you metealth, please reach out and.
Speaker 2 (40:14):
If you've enjoyed this episode, we would love it if
you would give us a little review. A couple of words,
you know, the drill just ten we'll reduce that week
on week and a month's time was five words, just
one word, one word, a couple of stars. That's all
it takes to keep Ash and myself happy. Little young
men very easy.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
Young, I doubt it. But also you can join us
on social speaking of young Instagram, TikTok Two Doting Dads.
Also the Facebook group is thriving that I've been let
back in. Thank you, Yes, so we.
Speaker 2 (40:44):
Kicked you out because it was your birthday.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
Happy birthday, You're out.
Speaker 2 (40:49):
And if there's any other parents my more dads that
you'd love us to interview, please reach out and send
us through your suggestions and we'll see you guys next week.
BA Two Doting Dads podcast acknowledges the traditional custodians of
country throughout Australia and their connections to land, see and community.
Speaker 1 (41:09):
We pay our respects to their elders past and present
and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and torrestrate Islander
peoples today,
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