Kintsugi Heroes: Uncovering our Hidden Value

Bradley Spillane is an advocate, a community volunteer and spokesperson. Through the men's mental health radio show on Radio Blue Mountains, he is a lodestone, a centre for people talking about something that wasn't fashionable when he started, which was men's mental health and men's health in general

This episode is a brutally honest, in-depth conversation between two friends: our host John Milham and Brad Spillane

Parts of Brad’s s...

Romina’s story begins with her being swept off her feet by an amazing man after a previous violent relationship. Their marriage developed into her feeling compelled to take part in webcam sex with her partner and other people. Naively she went along with it for eleven years, thinking it was what she had to do as a married woman even though her whole being said NO.

Eventually, she fell in love with an Egyptian man she met on camera ...

Amira's life has been defined by early adversity, including the loss of young family members to illness, accidents, and mental health issues. These experiences instilled in her a deep empathy and a drive to alleviate suffering. 

Becoming a mother to a child with cerebral palsy at 20 further shaped her journey, fostering resilience and determination in navigating single parenthood.

At 35, burdened by debt and lacking formal educa...

Shannan came from a dysfunctional, abusive family with intergenerational addiction issues. She shares her story of overcoming her past and using her experiences to empower herself to change.

She has worked very hard to overcome her addiction and realised, "If you want to make a difference in your life, you will invest in yourself because that is the only way you will grow and expand."

Shannan now uses the knowledge she gained to hel...

Kerrie grew up with alcoholic parents and began her own intense but successful struggle with alcoholism and mental health when she became an instant alcoholic after her first drink at fifteen. At eighteen, she joined Alcoholics Anonymous and has remained clean and sober since that day forty years ago.

For thirty years, Kerrie has worked and volunteered in the business and community sector, helping those struggling with life issues f...

Fran Garton’s story is about how she overcame severe fibromyalgia which was undiagnosed for many years. She describes the long pain-filled path through the medical system while she tried to maintain her work and family life until she finally found someone who knew what was wrong.

She was told ‘You are a plant with no soil. You're literally just pouring the water in and it's just coming out the bottom of the pot, because there's no ...

Bishoy Tadros was born in Egypt. At the age of three the family immigrated to the US when he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. He grew up in Long Island, NY where he received treatment for ten years. On his thirteenth birthday, Bishoy underwent brain surgery and remains cancer-free.

Bishoy shares his passion for health and fitness. He is an Iron Man and a six-time marathoner and has led charitable campaigns for the L...

Barb spent her childhood in New Hampshire then went to Boston University on a full athletic scholarship majoring in Elementary, Special, and Physical Education.

She married in 2001 and had two children. After the terrible pain of losing her daughter Molly in 2016, her husband was ill, and Barb was suffering from brain tumours, she fell into a deep, dark place. She shares that harrowing journey and her long slow climb out of that p...

Adam begins his story in the Solomon Islands where he grew up. At seven, he was traumatised by psychological abuse from a teacher which instilled a very deep fear of rejection. This resulted in not being able to display any abilities or skills and becoming introverted and an unhappy underachiever at work. Eventually he had a breakdown at a conference but met someone who loved his business idea and offered help which was the catalys...

Susan’s story is a harrowing and detailed account of an intense period in her life involving the U.S. medical system. Susan grew up as the daughter of the only doctor in a rural western Kansas town. After being a caregiver for her husband and a breast cancer survivor she has seen health care from three different angles. This has led to a passion to help doctors form better connections in all their relationships creating more balanc...

The first part of Francois’ story is a gripping account of his life changing experience in the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia. Losing friends there and elsewhere caused him to take the decision to accept his own mortality, live every day to the fullest, to inspire others to do the same and live their best life.

He advises seeking professional help when its required is one of the most powerful things you can do. But you don’t need others ...

Dinesh Palipana is an extraordinary human being. He was the first quadriplegic medical intern in Queensland and is a doctor, lawyer, disability advocate, and researcher. Halfway through medical school, he was involved in a motor vehicle accident that caused a cervical spinal cord injury.

Biography

Dinesh has completed an Advanced Clerkship in Radiology at the Harvard University.

He works in the emergency department at the Gold Coast ...

Joanne talks about her inspiring journey into becoming a true entrepreneur beginning with a conventional bank job after school as decided by her father, then an early marriage as was expected of her. She moved up through promotions in the banking and finance world that made her a role model for women, breaking the glass ceiling of that time as she developed and refined her skills. When she suffered the sudden loss of her husband in...

Ian was born in Hamilton, Canada, a poor working-class steel town. His childhood was extremely challenging as his mother’s partner was president of an outlaw motorcycle gang. He tells his story of the violence and criminality which traumatised him in his early years.

He describes how he survived and later thrived because of his placement with exceptional foster parents and his positive contact with several churches. This led him to ...

Melissa’s story is very inspiring. She shares with us how she grew up in a dysfunctional family in California and suffered childhood trauma, undiagnosed ADHD and alcoholism as a teenager. Despite this adversity, her courage and determination led her to meet amazing support groups, healers and mentors and eventually become sober and live an authentic and productive life. She has a long and successful marriage and a diverse career as...

Alan’s remarkable story describes overcoming the challenges that go with building relationships. He raised three young boys after his first marriage broke up. This was followed by business failure, then another failed marriage. 

His life began to change when he discovered his healing gift. Then he met a group of Aboriginal Elders for a year around a campfire. Because he wanted to learn, not to help, he was invited to go through...

Don Mathewson is a true champion who shares his extraordinary story of courage, determination, a passion for athletics, and overcoming major physical challenges alongside a life of service to others. 

He is a Masters track athlete who has been World Champion on three occasions across different age groups and received fifteen other medals. During his pursuit of excellence, he has completed World Masters Athletics Championships i...

Today Traci shares her very personal journey helping save her mom’s life… and colon… from Crohn’s disease, which doctors said was impossible, as well as her own experience with a terrifying combination of lead paint poisoning and toxic mould sickness that challenged her will to live. These struggles put everything she thought she knew to the test and drastically changed the course of her life. And she now helps many people worldwid...

Gregory’s story begins in a violent and destructive home environment fuelled by anger and alcohol. He describes in graphic detail a life of neglect and trauma through his years as uncontrollable child in an orphanage.

When he left at nineteen, he had no life skills and eventually ended up living as a recluse living alone in a rainforest in Northern NSW.

He shares his experiences, the wisdom he accrued and his suffering as he explor...