May 24, 2025 • 23 mins
Damien shares the deeply personal story behind Coffee Foundation, a Swiss-based organization using coffee to spark meaningful conversations about mental health and fight against stigma, judgment, prejudice, shame, and isolation.
• First social brand of its kind in Switzerland, having donated 15,000 Swiss francs to three suicide prevention charities
• Created the first English telephone crisis line in Switzerland for English speakers
• Vision to develop into a youth social enterprise where young people drive their own mental health narrative
• Currently operates in virtual space at coffeefoundation.com with plans for physical and expanded virtual meeting spaces
• Aims to bring positive, uplifting approach to mental health conversations rather than "more violins and tears"
• Uses bold branding and a tuxedo-wearing spokesperson to challenge Switzerland's conservative culture
• Believes in active listening as a fundamental skill many have lost in our tech-focused world
Damien O'Brien
- Tel: +41 79 777 0489
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damien-o-596032b/
- Website: https://www.coffeefoundation.com/
- Email: hello@coffeefoundation.com
Visit coffeefoundation.com/donate to support their mission or find them on Instagram @coffeefoundation.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Voiceover (00:03):
Tales from the wild, stories from the heart.
A journey into the mind andsoul of fired-up business
professionals, where they sharetheir vision for the future and
hear from a different non-profitorganization every month as
they create awareness of theirgoals and their needs.
Dive into a world of untamedpassion.
(00:26):
As we join our host, ShireenBotha, for this month's episode
of Friends from Wild Places.
Shireen Botha (00:35):
I love that, yeah .
So thank you, damien, forsharing that.
I noticed that this is veryclose to your heart, because you
get quite emotional sharingyour story, and so Tanya and I
are very appreciative of youcoming here and being vulnerable
and talking about CoffeeFoundation and inviting people
(00:57):
to have a conversation over acup of coffee about that very
thing their mental health.
How are they feeling, what arethey going through.
And so, talking about CoffeeFoundation, we normally at
Friends from Wild Places, wesupport a non-profit every month
, and so this month will beCoffee Foundation.
(01:17):
And so, damien, if you don'tmind sharing with the listeners
where we can go to just help,how do we help you?
Um, in what ways can we assist,donate, um, and you know what,
what?
What does coffee foundation dofor the community as well?
(01:37):
Um, so, yeah, go ahead andshare with us a little bit more
about that.
Damien O'Brien (01:42):
Yeah, I listen.
Before, of course, my careercame to an end.
I spent a lot of my life andcareer in Switzerland in big
brands, you know, and they allbehind the scenes are all kind
of begging to kind of connect toyou on a level and manipulate
you with some type of meaning ofso forth.
They're all fighting formeaning, you know.
(02:03):
So when I came up with creatingmy own organisation, that's
where I started with the valuesof what we do and the meaning of
being a social brand isparamount to me and that's why
it's the first time it's beendone in Switzerland's history.
No one can understand thatbecause that's where I think
it's many times has missed issocial community, those
(02:24):
frontline workers that don't getthe bells and whistles, that
don't get the influences, andthat's kind of Coffee Foundation
where I wanted to start with.
So in the first kind of sixmonths here we've been able I've
reconnected with three suicideprevention charities.
One of them created the firstEnglish telephone line in
Switzerland for English speakersto call a crisis.
(02:47):
And again people feel that,mate, that's never me, I would
never call that number, or youknow what I mean.
It's always we've got this kindof perception that I'll never
need that, but you know whatwhen?
Sometimes, when you're at yourrock bottom, you never know what
you're going to need, and I sawthat that was a great service.
So we've donated so far 15,000Swiss francs to three
(03:10):
organizations.
What I did with that is not togive them money, because they
needed the money necessarily isI wanted to create our
organization that had somemeaning from day one.
You know, and that's what Ibelieve Coffee Foundation will
always have to be a communitybrand that's out in the public,
and that's where I kind of wantto take it.
(03:31):
My vision in the future, ofcourse, as I'm getting a little
bit older, is that CoffeeFoundation will become a youth
social enterprise that willactually have young people
coming and making cappuccinoslike at Starbucks and actually
going to public events wheremusic festivals, and it's
actually a brand that actuallytalks about youth mental health
(03:52):
but has a fun aspect of coffeeand makes young people feel, oh,
how cool is that?
That's a coffee shop thatactually is a social enterprise,
it's actually a non-profit andit's pretty cool.
So that's how I looked at it.
I thought you know what,sometimes we feel sorry for
charitable brands because we go,oh that's, it's charitable or
it's, and I kind of thought, no,why don't we bring great
(04:14):
branding to a great reason?
And that's kind of how Ienvision in the future to kind
of, of course, attract youngpeople because I want them to be
their own voice of mentalhealth.
I'd love to envision that oneday you have a young individual
here, 18, 19, talking about howthey communicate about mental
(04:34):
health for young people in thefuture, not just us old ducks
telling them we have a problem.
I'd love to see actually youngpeople drive their mental health
narrative and how that shouldbe communicated and let them
drive the ship.
Why not?
Tanya Scotece (04:50):
Damian, I have a question.
So, with understanding theCoffee Foundation, so do you do,
for example, like virtualpresentations where, like, let's
just say, for example,hypothetically, if I had you
come into one of my virtualclasses at Miami Dade College
and we're talking about deathand dying, we talk about suicide
(05:11):
, we talk about mental healthit's a whole curriculum.
Is that something that youcould do for us?
For example, you know timepermitting, but come in for 40
minutes or so and you know q&a.
Is that what you you do?
Or is it an actual shop, like,do you have shops all over
switzerland?
What is it?
Damien O'Brien (05:29):
no, we've actually, we just exist in the
virtual space.
So the coffeefoundationcom,you'll see, I've tried to create
, let's say, the willy wonkagateway to, if you were just
sitting at your desktop.
Um, the future ambition ofcourse it's in construction now
is to have a little meetingplace where, again, I'm trying
(05:50):
to balance what I can handle aswell.
You know what I mean, and soI'm trying to make a physical
meeting place that would kind ofbe like a clubhouse, that once
per week or month people cancome here in Switzerland and
meet.
To answer your first question,I'm always open to talk to any
(06:11):
students.
I have one condition kindnessnever hurts.
I speak to people that havevalues of humanity.
And again, I go out here in thepublic with my tuxedo on.
I usually walk into an audienceof a bit of a laughter and a
little bit of who's this guy?
But that's my whole purpose isthat I fight the stigma.
(06:33):
That's why we have fivefighting coffees, fighting
stigma, judgment, prejudice,shame and isolation, and that's
what I do.
Isolation, uh, and that's whatI do.
I try to find that sometimesthat one person, two or three
out of ten, ten percent, thatone person that's sitting there,
considering that I am actuallystruggling alone and I try to
(06:55):
radiate a message to them, toempower them to take that step,
to try and reach out and uh findsupport because, uh, I know
from personal that thecollateral damage, and sometimes
the ultimate damage, is a hugeprice to pay.
So, to answer your question,I'd be more than delighted to
speak to anyone in Miami.
(07:17):
I'll bring my Miami accent andit'd be my pleasure.
Tanya Scotece (07:22):
Thank you.
Thank you, and also I wouldlove to continue our
conversation, you know, in thefuture.
Just for I love marketingShereen knows it's like a
passion of mine and I don't knowI just have like all these like
visions of, you know, reallytaking your, your brand, to to
another level.
So I'd love to talk to youabout that.
Damien O'Brien (07:41):
I appreciate it.
Like I said in Switzerland,here it's no disrespect, but
this is very different to whatthe culture Switzerland is a
very conservative culture.
It's got four nationallanguages in one country,
believe it or not.
So French, German, Italian anda local dialect.
Doing is, let's say, very boldand very type in the marketing
(08:08):
strategy.
Uh, mental health.
Using the word crazy.
They see again withcommunication.
It's the way you deliver themessage with the intent and and
americans I've had so many greatamerican people instagram me.
Why is this not over?
you know so I know I know thatthe coffee foundation, uh, it
radiates and that's what my, my,my vision was.
(08:28):
It was not to keep it.
It lives here in Switzerlandbecause that's where I'm based
but and it's not necessarily toeven sell the coffee.
My whole perspective was toactually let you feel what the
brand means to you.
And, uh, my story today is mystory.
The coffee foundation in mydream is beyond me.
It's not, it's not about me,it's about all the tears and
(08:51):
heartbreak of everybody.
And how would we put a spin onthat that would actually bring
some light to it.
And just before I end with that, uh, many people, some type.
You know, you always have thepeople that are negative.
But you have to take that onboard.
You have to listen to that andI do.
My mother and my brother havealways been my benchmark to this
(09:13):
project.
I was always mum, you knowthree years of building the
project at night.
Mum, would you be disrespectedby this?
Would someone else that haddied of suicide?
Would you?
And my mum?
The message in me, I could feelit.
She was like no way you got it.
We don't want any more tears,we want some light.
(09:33):
And my brother, of course, he'slike Dave Chappelle comedian.
He's just loving me with thisjacket on, making a fool of
myself.
So I've always had thatbenchmark of making sure that I
respect mental health and mentalillness.
The spectrum is so complicated.
I don't not for one minuteclaim to be an expert, but I
just believe that the peoplethat have had so much heartache
(09:56):
and tears and sufferance don'tneed any more violins, and I
think we can communicate aboutmental health in a lot more
positive uptick.
Tanya Scotece (10:08):
Definitely definitely.
Damien O'Brien (10:10):
I talk a lot.
Shireen Botha (10:11):
No, no, no, no.
We welcome that.
We welcome that.
Yes, listeners, you heard ithere.
This is coffeefoundationcom.
Forward slash donate.
That's coffeefoundationcom.
Forward slash donate.
We're going to have that down inthe show notes.
Please take your time to go andhave a look at what coffee
(10:32):
foundation stands for and,really, if you feel led to do
more than just donate and helpspread the word of coffee
foundation worldwide, we'd loveto hear from you.
Um, so yes, damien, we can't.
We love your talkativeness, welove all the information that
(10:56):
you can give us regarding this,because we too, believe that
that's really necessary andthere is a need for that.
And yes, mental health iscomplex and it's very hard to
put it down to a simple sentenceto describe everything.
It's very, very, very complexand so the more we have of these
(11:21):
kind of associations, thebetter.
So we've come to the podcastpart of the podcast where we're
just going to do something funand lighthearted to end the
podcast.
The question it's just going tobe a fun question this time
around.
I know the listeners are readyfor a game.
(11:41):
They're just unexpected when itcomes to us, but right now
we're just going to do a funquestion.
And the question is if youcould have a superpower to help
your business, what would it be?
And why Should I say that again?
Damien O'Brien (12:03):
I just wish I had all the answers that's a
good one.
Shireen Botha (12:08):
There's your superpower, but yes, let me say
it again, if you could have anysuperpower to help your business
, what would it be?
And why, damien, since you'vestarted, go ahead um, superpower
for my business would be,probably.
Damien O'Brien (12:24):
I wish I had a state in school a lot longer and
I wish I was, let's say, alittle bit more.
I've got a very kind of mydesktop's got a thousand things
all over it.
I wish I was a lot morestructured and could actually
strategize.
Yeah, so I think I'd be, wouldlike to be a little bit more,
(12:44):
let's say, project buildingstrategy instead of reactive.
I'm a reactive person and yeah,so I think I would be
structured.
That's it structured.
I'd like to be betterstructured, right right?
Shireen Botha (12:59):
No, I like that.
Tanya what about yourself?
What would your superpower be?
Tanya Scotece (13:05):
Yes, I'll answer that in one second, but I just
wanted to touch up with Damien.
So, damien, my own and we cantalk again in the future.
But for me, academically, I didnot actually start my academics
until I was in my mid-30s,first off like so I was not an
academic.
I don't sit in an ivory towerby any stretch of the
imagination.
(13:25):
So I just wanted to share thatwith you, because the average
students at my program areusually between the ages of 40
and 55.
So you're little, you said,you're right in that age group
and you know it's never too oldto learn.
As far as like you know, anactual like career or academic,
you know if that's something youwant to, so keep that in the
(13:46):
you know, just add that to your,add that to the desktop.
As far as something you maywant to consider, yeah, yeah,
you can get your.
You get your degree.
You could actually mortuaryscience, funeral directing from
Miami Dade College.
So we can talk more, never know.
And they say never say, never so.
Never know they say never, saynever.
So, shereen, my superpower.
(14:06):
So it's funny because I do acombination of things.
I teach a full-time professor,I also do expert witness for
cemetery and funeral homewrongdoings, and then I'm also
in the senior placement spacewith my father, who I passed
away in 2022, of Lewy bodydementia.
(14:26):
So those three, for me,encompass listening.
So I've always admired thebionic woman I think that was
Lindsay Wagner back in the dayand I really the superpower is
to really be able to listen andI consider myself I speak for
the voiceless.
I speak for the voiceless forthe students, I speak for the
(14:46):
voiceless in the senior spaceand I speak for the voiceless of
anyone that has been wronged bypeople in the funeral or
cemetery profession.
So my superpower that I wouldreally like to hone in on is the
listening aspect.
Shireen Botha (15:03):
Nice.
I love that.
I think for me, being abookkeeper, finances is quite a
sensitive topic for mostbusiness owners to talk about.
So if I could have thesuperpower to make someone feel
so comfortable and safe in mypresence that they can share
(15:27):
what's really bothering them.
Because unfortunately in thereal world, especially in the
business world, finance isalways on the front part of our
minds as business owners.
Because we're always worryingabout it.
Right, business owners is notlinear.
It's being a business owner isup and down and up and down.
One month it's not as goodsales, people are worried about,
(15:48):
you know, the money and theprofit and the business, and
then the other month is betterand things are better.
So I just want anyone to, Iwant that superpower where
people will automatically feelat peace and comfortable in my
presence and able to just feelsafe and speak to me about what
(16:13):
they're concerned about andallow me to absolutely help them
, especially in that area, andget them in in the right
direction.
So, yeah, I think that that wasgreat guys.
I really appreciate all youknow, damien for you being our
visitor on the show, and Tanyafor being an amazing co-host,
(16:36):
and our listeners.
We really appreciate you takingthe time to listen to these
episodes.
If we take a moment from eachof us just to, if one of the
listeners want to reach out toany of us, especially you,
damien, if they feel connectedto your story or they find that
(16:58):
Coffee Foundation might just betheir helpline they're looking
for, where can they find you?
Yeah, yeah.
Damien O'Brien (17:06):
Yeah, of course you can come on to Instagram
instagramcoffeefoundation You'llfind the pink.
You know there's all sorts ofcolours going on there.
Again, I don't have the answersto a lot of people's concerns
or struggles or so forth, but,yeah, you can always message me,
(17:26):
say hello and, again, I have avery clear policy that if people
have a human values and I canusually feel that, my monkey
usually picks that up prettyquickly, so I'm there for people
that I can that again, justwant to say hello.
I wish I could offer morethings in the future.
Tanya, coming back to yourother question, I envision one
(17:49):
day that there's a virtualcoffee foundation, kind of
breakout groups, that you comeonline and you can go into
different parts of the onlinecoffee shop and have different
speakers from around the worldand, you know, counselling or
support networks.
That actually can be somethingconnectable to people in other
(18:10):
parts of the world.
You know, I think mental healthis going to change rapidly in
the next five to ten years.
Ai is moving at such a speed.
Again, call us crazy.
You know where they're goingwith this.
They're probably going to bringartificial intelligence into
counselling and so forth.
So there's going to be a lot ofchanges in this space, which is
(18:34):
what I'm trying to keep open aswell.
I'm not fully sure where to gowith our association because you
know I could spend nowthousands of months building new
websites, but things arechanging such at a rapid speed.
I kind of want to see where thefuture goes when it comes to
mental health in certain kind ofaspects you know.
(18:56):
Lovely but again thank you somuch for having me.
And again today, people willsay well, what's all this about?
Again, it's just empowering allof us and what you just said,
that power of active listening.
A lot of people don't wanttheir problems solved, but we've
lost the ability to activelylisten to people and that's a
(19:18):
superpower.
I've got to work on that one.
I talk a lot, but you know,again, I want people also some
people just to think about this.
It's sad to say that mentalhealth is an industry as well.
You know what I mean.
You don't always have to payhundreds of dollars per hour to
(19:38):
actually speak to people like weused to.
You know what I mean.
We're supposed to be connected,but we're sometimes more
disconnected than we've everbeen.
You know, I don't know aboutyou guys.
Just a quick example.
You know the old-fashionedtelephone.
We use texting.
Now we lose the voicecommunication.
Look at how far we've come inan hour here by using our voices
(20:01):
.
Again, this is old-school stuffthat we know when we grew up
and these are notback-to-the-future solutions.
These are old-school humanconnections that we could
actually not back to the futuresolutions.
These are old school humanconnections that we could
actually go back to, you knowabsolutely.
Shireen Botha (20:17):
Thank you, damien .
What about yourself?
Tanya where can the listenersreach you?
Tanya Scotece (20:22):
so they can find me on linkedin.
Uh, gave up tv probably.
I think it's close to almost 30years now, um, so LinkedIn is
my hub.
You can find me there.
Reach out if I can be of anyassistance in whatever the areas
that I cover.
Would love to haveconversations and continuing
this conversation.
(20:42):
Specifically, but definitelyDamian, would love to talk about
having you come into theclasses in the virtual setting,
and I think our students herecan benefit.
And, damian, I wanted to sharewith you a story.
So during the pandemic, our, youknow, program went virtual,
just as many of the otherprograms did at that time, and I
(21:03):
remember, you know, you know, Ialways check in with the
students, ask you know what'sgoing on.
You know, that's kind of likemy intro and to see, and, and
you know, they actually said Iremember it was very, it was
distinct, it was actually thegrief counseling class, which is
literally talking about suicide, talking about death and dying,
and they said, professor, canwe just talk tonight?
We just want to talk.
(21:24):
And I said that's fine, let'sjust, you know.
So I mean, everyone had theircameras on and they were.
It was just like this.
And you know, a class of 25people and everyone was just
allowed to share what you know,what was going on.
No judgment, you know, I alwaysclassify.
You know, although I'm inacademia, I'm not a therapist, I
don't have, I'm not qualifiedto speak.
(21:44):
But if you just want to chat,we can do that and that's what
they wanted.
And every now and then they'llsay, professor, can we do what
we did before, can we just chatlike so?
So people, not just people inacademia, people are looking to
chat, they're really lookingjust to talk and some, as you
said, Damien, you said it soeloquently they're not looking
for answers.
(22:05):
A lot of times, they're justlooking to share.
So, yes, they can call atherapist if they want to get
counseling.
They we have many resources atthe college, but sometimes
people just want to share andtalk and in a space.
So yes, so that's where theycan find me, shireen I love that
.
Shireen Botha (22:21):
Thanks, guys.
Uh, yes, so yeah, you same here.
Shireen you can find on thesocials instagram, facebook.
Shireen's bookkeeping servicesis found on linkedin, instagram.
But, more importantly, friendsfrom wild places dot
buzzsproutcom that is thewebsite friends from wild places
(22:44):
dot buzzsproutcom, as tanyamentioned in the beginning.
You can find us on all the livestreaming platforms to listen
to us.
Previously we had Lisa Zarconeon the channel, who is an
(23:05):
advocate for adult survivors andchild abuse, so if that
interests you, go and listen tothat.
But other than that, thank youso much for your support and for
listening and remember you gotthis and stay wild.
Bye, guys.
Voiceover (23:25):
You've been listening to Friends from Wild Places
with Shireen Botha.
Be sure to subscribe to thepodcast from the links to catch
every episode and unleash yourpassion.
Tales from the wild, stories from the heart.
A journey into the mind andsoul of fired-up business
professionals, where they sharetheir vision for the future and
hear from a different non-profitorganization every month as
they create awareness of theirgoals and their needs.
Dive into a world of untamedpassion.
(00:26):
As we join our host, ShireenBotha, for this month's episode
of Friends from Wild Places.
Shireen Botha (00:35):
I love that, yeah .
So thank you, damien, forsharing that.
I noticed that this is veryclose to your heart, because you
get quite emotional sharingyour story, and so Tanya and I
are very appreciative of youcoming here and being vulnerable
and talking about CoffeeFoundation and inviting people
(00:57):
to have a conversation over acup of coffee about that very
thing their mental health.
How are they feeling, what arethey going through.
And so, talking about CoffeeFoundation, we normally at
Friends from Wild Places, wesupport a non-profit every month
, and so this month will beCoffee Foundation.
(01:17):
And so, damien, if you don'tmind sharing with the listeners
where we can go to just help,how do we help you?
Um, in what ways can we assist,donate, um, and you know what,
what?
What does coffee foundation dofor the community as well?
(01:37):
Um, so, yeah, go ahead andshare with us a little bit more
about that.
Damien O'Brien (01:42):
Yeah, I listen.
Before, of course, my careercame to an end.
I spent a lot of my life andcareer in Switzerland in big
brands, you know, and they allbehind the scenes are all kind
of begging to kind of connect toyou on a level and manipulate
you with some type of meaning ofso forth.
They're all fighting formeaning, you know.
(02:03):
So when I came up with creatingmy own organisation, that's
where I started with the valuesof what we do and the meaning of
being a social brand isparamount to me and that's why
it's the first time it's beendone in Switzerland's history.
No one can understand thatbecause that's where I think
it's many times has missed issocial community, those
(02:24):
frontline workers that don't getthe bells and whistles, that
don't get the influences, andthat's kind of Coffee Foundation
where I wanted to start with.
So in the first kind of sixmonths here we've been able I've
reconnected with three suicideprevention charities.
One of them created the firstEnglish telephone line in
Switzerland for English speakersto call a crisis.
(02:47):
And again people feel that,mate, that's never me, I would
never call that number, or youknow what I mean.
It's always we've got this kindof perception that I'll never
need that, but you know whatwhen?
Sometimes, when you're at yourrock bottom, you never know what
you're going to need, and I sawthat that was a great service.
So we've donated so far 15,000Swiss francs to three
(03:10):
organizations.
What I did with that is not togive them money, because they
needed the money necessarily isI wanted to create our
organization that had somemeaning from day one.
You know, and that's what Ibelieve Coffee Foundation will
always have to be a communitybrand that's out in the public,
and that's where I kind of wantto take it.
(03:31):
My vision in the future, ofcourse, as I'm getting a little
bit older, is that CoffeeFoundation will become a youth
social enterprise that willactually have young people
coming and making cappuccinoslike at Starbucks and actually
going to public events wheremusic festivals, and it's
actually a brand that actuallytalks about youth mental health
(03:52):
but has a fun aspect of coffeeand makes young people feel, oh,
how cool is that?
That's a coffee shop thatactually is a social enterprise,
it's actually a non-profit andit's pretty cool.
So that's how I looked at it.
I thought you know what,sometimes we feel sorry for
charitable brands because we go,oh that's, it's charitable or
it's, and I kind of thought, no,why don't we bring great
(04:14):
branding to a great reason?
And that's kind of how Ienvision in the future to kind
of, of course, attract youngpeople because I want them to be
their own voice of mentalhealth.
I'd love to envision that oneday you have a young individual
here, 18, 19, talking about howthey communicate about mental
(04:34):
health for young people in thefuture, not just us old ducks
telling them we have a problem.
I'd love to see actually youngpeople drive their mental health
narrative and how that shouldbe communicated and let them
drive the ship.
Why not?
Tanya Scotece (04:50):
Damian, I have a question.
So, with understanding theCoffee Foundation, so do you do,
for example, like virtualpresentations where, like, let's
just say, for example,hypothetically, if I had you
come into one of my virtualclasses at Miami Dade College
and we're talking about deathand dying, we talk about suicide
(05:11):
, we talk about mental healthit's a whole curriculum.
Is that something that youcould do for us?
For example, you know timepermitting, but come in for 40
minutes or so and you know q&a.
Is that what you you do?
Or is it an actual shop, like,do you have shops all over
switzerland?
What is it?
Damien O'Brien (05:29):
no, we've actually, we just exist in the
virtual space.
So the coffeefoundationcom,you'll see, I've tried to create
, let's say, the willy wonkagateway to, if you were just
sitting at your desktop.
Um, the future ambition ofcourse it's in construction now
is to have a little meetingplace where, again, I'm trying
(05:50):
to balance what I can handle aswell.
You know what I mean, and soI'm trying to make a physical
meeting place that would kind ofbe like a clubhouse, that once
per week or month people cancome here in Switzerland and
meet.
To answer your first question,I'm always open to talk to any
(06:11):
students.
I have one condition kindnessnever hurts.
I speak to people that havevalues of humanity.
And again, I go out here in thepublic with my tuxedo on.
I usually walk into an audienceof a bit of a laughter and a
little bit of who's this guy?
But that's my whole purpose isthat I fight the stigma.
(06:33):
That's why we have fivefighting coffees, fighting
stigma, judgment, prejudice,shame and isolation, and that's
what I do.
Isolation, uh, and that's whatI do.
I try to find that sometimesthat one person, two or three
out of ten, ten percent, thatone person that's sitting there,
considering that I am actuallystruggling alone and I try to
(06:55):
radiate a message to them, toempower them to take that step,
to try and reach out and uh findsupport because, uh, I know
from personal that thecollateral damage, and sometimes
the ultimate damage, is a hugeprice to pay.
So, to answer your question,I'd be more than delighted to
speak to anyone in Miami.
(07:17):
I'll bring my Miami accent andit'd be my pleasure.
Tanya Scotece (07:22):
Thank you.
Thank you, and also I wouldlove to continue our
conversation, you know, in thefuture.
Just for I love marketingShereen knows it's like a
passion of mine and I don't knowI just have like all these like
visions of, you know, reallytaking your, your brand, to to
another level.
So I'd love to talk to youabout that.
Damien O'Brien (07:41):
I appreciate it.
Like I said in Switzerland,here it's no disrespect, but
this is very different to whatthe culture Switzerland is a
very conservative culture.
It's got four nationallanguages in one country,
believe it or not.
So French, German, Italian anda local dialect.
Doing is, let's say, very boldand very type in the marketing
(08:08):
strategy.
Uh, mental health.
Using the word crazy.
They see again withcommunication.
It's the way you deliver themessage with the intent and and
americans I've had so many greatamerican people instagram me.
Why is this not over?
you know so I know I know thatthe coffee foundation, uh, it
radiates and that's what my, my,my vision was.
(08:28):
It was not to keep it.
It lives here in Switzerlandbecause that's where I'm based
but and it's not necessarily toeven sell the coffee.
My whole perspective was toactually let you feel what the
brand means to you.
And, uh, my story today is mystory.
The coffee foundation in mydream is beyond me.
It's not, it's not about me,it's about all the tears and
(08:51):
heartbreak of everybody.
And how would we put a spin onthat that would actually bring
some light to it.
And just before I end with that, uh, many people, some type.
You know, you always have thepeople that are negative.
But you have to take that onboard.
You have to listen to that andI do.
My mother and my brother havealways been my benchmark to this
(09:13):
project.
I was always mum, you knowthree years of building the
project at night.
Mum, would you be disrespectedby this?
Would someone else that haddied of suicide?
Would you?
And my mum?
The message in me, I could feelit.
She was like no way you got it.
We don't want any more tears,we want some light.
(09:33):
And my brother, of course, he'slike Dave Chappelle comedian.
He's just loving me with thisjacket on, making a fool of
myself.
So I've always had thatbenchmark of making sure that I
respect mental health and mentalillness.
The spectrum is so complicated.
I don't not for one minuteclaim to be an expert, but I
just believe that the peoplethat have had so much heartache
(09:56):
and tears and sufferance don'tneed any more violins, and I
think we can communicate aboutmental health in a lot more
positive uptick.
Tanya Scotece (10:08):
Definitely definitely.
Damien O'Brien (10:10):
I talk a lot.
Shireen Botha (10:11):
No, no, no, no.
We welcome that.
We welcome that.
Yes, listeners, you heard ithere.
This is coffeefoundationcom.
Forward slash donate.
That's coffeefoundationcom.
Forward slash donate.
We're going to have that down inthe show notes.
Please take your time to go andhave a look at what coffee
(10:32):
foundation stands for and,really, if you feel led to do
more than just donate and helpspread the word of coffee
foundation worldwide, we'd loveto hear from you.
Um, so yes, damien, we can't.
We love your talkativeness, welove all the information that
(10:56):
you can give us regarding this,because we too, believe that
that's really necessary andthere is a need for that.
And yes, mental health iscomplex and it's very hard to
put it down to a simple sentenceto describe everything.
It's very, very, very complexand so the more we have of these
(11:21):
kind of associations, thebetter.
So we've come to the podcastpart of the podcast where we're
just going to do something funand lighthearted to end the
podcast.
The question it's just going tobe a fun question this time
around.
I know the listeners are readyfor a game.
(11:41):
They're just unexpected when itcomes to us, but right now
we're just going to do a funquestion.
And the question is if youcould have a superpower to help
your business, what would it be?
And why Should I say that again?
Damien O'Brien (12:03):
I just wish I had all the answers that's a
good one.
Shireen Botha (12:08):
There's your superpower, but yes, let me say
it again, if you could have anysuperpower to help your business
, what would it be?
And why, damien, since you'vestarted, go ahead um, superpower
for my business would be,probably.
Damien O'Brien (12:24):
I wish I had a state in school a lot longer and
I wish I was, let's say, alittle bit more.
I've got a very kind of mydesktop's got a thousand things
all over it.
I wish I was a lot morestructured and could actually
strategize.
Yeah, so I think I'd be, wouldlike to be a little bit more,
(12:44):
let's say, project buildingstrategy instead of reactive.
I'm a reactive person and yeah,so I think I would be
structured.
That's it structured.
I'd like to be betterstructured, right right?
Shireen Botha (12:59):
No, I like that.
Tanya what about yourself?
What would your superpower be?
Tanya Scotece (13:05):
Yes, I'll answer that in one second, but I just
wanted to touch up with Damien.
So, damien, my own and we cantalk again in the future.
But for me, academically, I didnot actually start my academics
until I was in my mid-30s,first off like so I was not an
academic.
I don't sit in an ivory towerby any stretch of the
imagination.
(13:25):
So I just wanted to share thatwith you, because the average
students at my program areusually between the ages of 40
and 55.
So you're little, you said,you're right in that age group
and you know it's never too oldto learn.
As far as like you know, anactual like career or academic,
you know if that's something youwant to, so keep that in the
(13:46):
you know, just add that to your,add that to the desktop.
As far as something you maywant to consider, yeah, yeah,
you can get your.
You get your degree.
You could actually mortuaryscience, funeral directing from
Miami Dade College.
So we can talk more, never know.
And they say never say, never so.
Never know they say never, saynever.
So, shereen, my superpower.
(14:06):
So it's funny because I do acombination of things.
I teach a full-time professor,I also do expert witness for
cemetery and funeral homewrongdoings, and then I'm also
in the senior placement spacewith my father, who I passed
away in 2022, of Lewy bodydementia.
(14:26):
So those three, for me,encompass listening.
So I've always admired thebionic woman I think that was
Lindsay Wagner back in the dayand I really the superpower is
to really be able to listen andI consider myself I speak for
the voiceless.
I speak for the voiceless forthe students, I speak for the
(14:46):
voiceless in the senior spaceand I speak for the voiceless of
anyone that has been wronged bypeople in the funeral or
cemetery profession.
So my superpower that I wouldreally like to hone in on is the
listening aspect.
Shireen Botha (15:03):
Nice.
I love that.
I think for me, being abookkeeper, finances is quite a
sensitive topic for mostbusiness owners to talk about.
So if I could have thesuperpower to make someone feel
so comfortable and safe in mypresence that they can share
(15:27):
what's really bothering them.
Because unfortunately in thereal world, especially in the
business world, finance isalways on the front part of our
minds as business owners.
Because we're always worryingabout it.
Right, business owners is notlinear.
It's being a business owner isup and down and up and down.
One month it's not as goodsales, people are worried about,
(15:48):
you know, the money and theprofit and the business, and
then the other month is betterand things are better.
So I just want anyone to, Iwant that superpower where
people will automatically feelat peace and comfortable in my
presence and able to just feelsafe and speak to me about what
(16:13):
they're concerned about andallow me to absolutely help them
, especially in that area, andget them in in the right
direction.
So, yeah, I think that that wasgreat guys.
I really appreciate all youknow, damien for you being our
visitor on the show, and Tanyafor being an amazing co-host,
(16:36):
and our listeners.
We really appreciate you takingthe time to listen to these
episodes.
If we take a moment from eachof us just to, if one of the
listeners want to reach out toany of us, especially you,
damien, if they feel connectedto your story or they find that
(16:58):
Coffee Foundation might just betheir helpline they're looking
for, where can they find you?
Yeah, yeah.
Damien O'Brien (17:06):
Yeah, of course you can come on to Instagram
instagramcoffeefoundation You'llfind the pink.
You know there's all sorts ofcolours going on there.
Again, I don't have the answersto a lot of people's concerns
or struggles or so forth, but,yeah, you can always message me,
(17:26):
say hello and, again, I have avery clear policy that if people
have a human values and I canusually feel that, my monkey
usually picks that up prettyquickly, so I'm there for people
that I can that again, justwant to say hello.
I wish I could offer morethings in the future.
Tanya, coming back to yourother question, I envision one
(17:49):
day that there's a virtualcoffee foundation, kind of
breakout groups, that you comeonline and you can go into
different parts of the onlinecoffee shop and have different
speakers from around the worldand, you know, counselling or
support networks.
That actually can be somethingconnectable to people in other
(18:10):
parts of the world.
You know, I think mental healthis going to change rapidly in
the next five to ten years.
Ai is moving at such a speed.
Again, call us crazy.
You know where they're goingwith this.
They're probably going to bringartificial intelligence into
counselling and so forth.
So there's going to be a lot ofchanges in this space, which is
(18:34):
what I'm trying to keep open aswell.
I'm not fully sure where to gowith our association because you
know I could spend nowthousands of months building new
websites, but things arechanging such at a rapid speed.
I kind of want to see where thefuture goes when it comes to
mental health in certain kind ofaspects you know.
(18:56):
Lovely but again thank you somuch for having me.
And again today, people willsay well, what's all this about?
Again, it's just empowering allof us and what you just said,
that power of active listening.
A lot of people don't wanttheir problems solved, but we've
lost the ability to activelylisten to people and that's a
(19:18):
superpower.
I've got to work on that one.
I talk a lot, but you know,again, I want people also some
people just to think about this.
It's sad to say that mentalhealth is an industry as well.
You know what I mean.
You don't always have to payhundreds of dollars per hour to
(19:38):
actually speak to people like weused to.
You know what I mean.
We're supposed to be connected,but we're sometimes more
disconnected than we've everbeen.
You know, I don't know aboutyou guys.
Just a quick example.
You know the old-fashionedtelephone.
We use texting.
Now we lose the voicecommunication.
Look at how far we've come inan hour here by using our voices
(20:01):
.
Again, this is old-school stuffthat we know when we grew up
and these are notback-to-the-future solutions.
These are old-school humanconnections that we could
actually not back to the futuresolutions.
These are old school humanconnections that we could
actually go back to, you knowabsolutely.
Shireen Botha (20:17):
Thank you, damien .
What about yourself?
Tanya where can the listenersreach you?
Tanya Scotece (20:22):
so they can find me on linkedin.
Uh, gave up tv probably.
I think it's close to almost 30years now, um, so LinkedIn is
my hub.
You can find me there.
Reach out if I can be of anyassistance in whatever the areas
that I cover.
Would love to haveconversations and continuing
this conversation.
(20:42):
Specifically, but definitelyDamian, would love to talk about
having you come into theclasses in the virtual setting,
and I think our students herecan benefit.
And, damian, I wanted to sharewith you a story.
So during the pandemic, our, youknow, program went virtual,
just as many of the otherprograms did at that time, and I
(21:03):
remember, you know, you know, Ialways check in with the
students, ask you know what'sgoing on.
You know, that's kind of likemy intro and to see, and, and
you know, they actually said Iremember it was very, it was
distinct, it was actually thegrief counseling class, which is
literally talking about suicide, talking about death and dying,
and they said, professor, canwe just talk tonight?
We just want to talk.
(21:24):
And I said that's fine, let'sjust, you know.
So I mean, everyone had theircameras on and they were.
It was just like this.
And you know, a class of 25people and everyone was just
allowed to share what you know,what was going on.
No judgment, you know, I alwaysclassify.
You know, although I'm inacademia, I'm not a therapist, I
don't have, I'm not qualifiedto speak.
(21:44):
But if you just want to chat,we can do that and that's what
they wanted.
And every now and then they'llsay, professor, can we do what
we did before, can we just chatlike so?
So people, not just people inacademia, people are looking to
chat, they're really lookingjust to talk and some, as you
said, Damien, you said it soeloquently they're not looking
for answers.
(22:05):
A lot of times, they're justlooking to share.
So, yes, they can call atherapist if they want to get
counseling.
They we have many resources atthe college, but sometimes
people just want to share andtalk and in a space.
So yes, so that's where theycan find me, shireen I love that
.
Shireen Botha (22:21):
Thanks, guys.
Uh, yes, so yeah, you same here.
Shireen you can find on thesocials instagram, facebook.
Shireen's bookkeeping servicesis found on linkedin, instagram.
But, more importantly, friendsfrom wild places dot
buzzsproutcom that is thewebsite friends from wild places
(22:44):
dot buzzsproutcom, as tanyamentioned in the beginning.
You can find us on all the livestreaming platforms to listen
to us.
Previously we had Lisa Zarconeon the channel, who is an
(23:05):
advocate for adult survivors andchild abuse, so if that
interests you, go and listen tothat.
But other than that, thank youso much for your support and for
listening and remember you gotthis and stay wild.
Bye, guys.
Voiceover (23:25):
You've been listening to Friends from Wild Places
with Shireen Botha.
Be sure to subscribe to thepodcast from the links to catch
every episode and unleash yourpassion.
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