July 20, 2025 • 24 mins
Fraser Grut is the kiwi filmmaker behind the '10,000 Dreams' project, his plan to record and publish the aspirations of 10,000 individuals. The project started as a bet with a friend, and has now ballooned into a globe-trotting project. At age 27, Fraser was broke and going through a divorce when a call came from The Wiggles asking him to film a music video with them and Richie McCaw. That video led to the chance to make a documentary on The Wiggles, the project that helped lift him from "rock bottom".
In this interview, Fraser talks to John about the most memorable dreams he's recorded, the missteps he's made, and Fraser asks John what his dream is.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from news Talk ZEDB. Follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Gooday, I'm John Cown. Welcome to real life. Fraser Grew
is a filmmaker who has a lifetime goal of recording
the dreams of ten thousand individuals. And you can find
his short videos on YouTube or Instagram and other online sites,
and they give you a huge array of glimpses into
the hearts of hundreds and hundreds of people, and amongst
(00:36):
them are at least seven Prime ministers, an impressive list
of international celebrities and world leaders, but also refugees and
homeless people, oscar winners and astronaut all sorts of people, toddlers, billionaires,
even a Satanic priest, and pilots and actually really muppets.
And so it's amazing he meets these people and he
(00:59):
asks them the same question, what's your dream? And this
amazing kaleidoscope of videos is intriguing to watch. You can
just spend so much time and just watching them. Welcome Fraser,
Thank you John.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Mate. What a pitch that sounds like my old email template?
That might be a wild.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Yeah, Hey, I mean you've been doing this now for
a few years, and it's very well known. I've seen
lots of interviews with you on various media as people
are just intrigued by this project of recording the dreams
of ten thousand people. But where did you get the
dream to do this from?
Speaker 3 (01:39):
Oh dude, it happened. This was not the life plan
at all. It has started nine years ago as a
bed made in Tinan, New Auckland. That was in twenty sixteen,
and the plan was still for one year, one dream
every single day. It was called three hundred and sixty
five dreams and about two hundred dreams in. I think
(02:00):
God worked on my heart a little bit and I
kind of started to realize maybe this is the thing
I was born to do, and so I changed it
to ten thousand because I thought it sounded cool. Ten
thousand dreams. It was a cool name. I didn't do
the mass on it. I didn't realize it was going
to take me like fifty years to finish. I find
am nine years in, two two hundred and forty seven
(02:22):
dreams in, and I've probably got about forty years left.
Man chat chat TPT told me recently that my end
date is in twenty sixty nine, which.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
I don't even know what I'm doing this afternoon. You
know what you're doing for the next couple of decades.
That's a bit daunting. So you've done how many did
you say? Two thousand, two hundred and seven? Okay, look,
do some name dropping. What are some of the big
names that you've that you've got on your catalog so far?
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Oh man, it's been outrageous. As you said, seven prime ministers.
I think the only prime minister I have in films
Helen Clark's Ashton Kocher, Mila kun Is, the Irwin family,
Terry Cruz, israel A Desagnya, or the All Black Richie mccaugh.
There's been so many, and there's been ridiculous. Man, I
(03:18):
don't know how it happens. The parachuting your shot. Most
of them were cold emails. And then there's been more
than like five hundred celebrities that have seen.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Yes, that's right. And the thing is they do say yes,
it must be something I do. You find you're getting
more better responses now because people obviously go online see
that you're legit, see that you've already got a huge
catalog of these people and so do you find it's
getting easier to get people?
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Absolutely, Man, I think the hardest thing is getting the
first fee, Like I think for me, it was getting
Ashton Kutcher's dream that was the first What the heck?
How did that happen? And then that just opened up
the floodgates for a lot more people. So I will
say it's a lot easier now, but I still get
rejected every day by multiple people. Man, it's you just
(04:10):
get your superne you know, and then post don't scare
me off anymore.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Well, you must have a very resilient ego, because I
think i'd you say you get rejected every day. I
think that I don't think I'm cut out to be
I say, a cold caller for an insurance product or
something like that, because I'd hate to get rejected. So
good on you for keeping going and backing up. You've
been talking to people about their dreams, your own dreams.
(04:41):
Maybe not this particular dream of doing this series of videos,
but you had dreams as a young fellow. Dude.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
I had one big dream from the age of seven,
and it was to be the next Peter Jackson. That
was my dream my whole life up until maybe twenty
two or twenty three. I was dedicated everything to that goal.
I met a feature film when I graduated from film
school at nineteen, you know, funded by family and friends,
(05:08):
and I was like, I'm going to win an Oscar.
I'm going to be the youngest Oscar winner of all time.
In the film bombs and my parents had to mortgage
their house to oh No, which was the ultimate parent
move for a twenty year old. And honestly, man, I
think most of my twenties was me wrestling with my
(05:31):
dream of being the next Peter Jackson. It took me
a long time to let go of that. I think
I have now, and you know what it was. And
I hate to name job, but when I was filming
Ashton Kutchen's Dream, I told him about this Peter Jackson
dream and he said to me, he said, Fraser, you'll
only ever be the second best Peter Jackson, but you
(05:51):
could be the best Fraser on the planet. And I
know that, but when he said it to me, it
hit really hard, like it just hit different when someone
you look up to says something like that. And I
think that was the moment I started to embrace Fraser
and I was like, wait, I'm just I want to
be me. I want to be the best meet And
(06:12):
that might sound cheesy, but I think ten Dreams is
me being the most authentic version of myself. But I'm
thirty one now. It took me pretty much all of
my twenties to get to that point, and I still
want to make feature films and everything, but I ultimately
the dream now is to be the best version of
(06:33):
myself that God's made me with, you know, unique giftings.
And I think ten thousand dreams is that thing. Man.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Okay, you say Ashton Kutcher reoriented you on that dream? Yes,
But had your dream be up to that point become
a bit of a monster, had it become something that
wasn't working for you? Had it was it something that
you were making an idol that was sort of messing
you around?
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Oh dude, yeah, man, a one hundred percent. And there's
actually a moment when I think I was I think
I turned twenty seven, I was going through a divorce.
I'll kind of hit rock bottom of my life. So
I'd spent my whole twenties trying to be the next
Peter Jackson, trying to get the next feature film off
the ground trying to make it as a filmmaker, and
(07:20):
it wasn't happening, and I was dead broke, going through
a divorce of twenty seven. It wasn't working, and I
hit the point of going, you know what, screw this.
I made a contract with God and I still have it.
It's called the all in contract, and I said, I'm
done chasing my dream. I'm given over to you. Now
you take the wheel. This A'm working. I'm all in
(07:43):
to whatever the heck you want me to do with
my life. Now.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
That's very scary because I've talked to people about their
fear of saying to God, look, do anything you want
because they're sure that they are sure is anything they're
going to be on the next plane to Papa New
Guinea or somewhere they don't want to go, and that
God's going to make them become a minister or something
other else like that. That must have been a lurking
fears as you as you put your signature on this
(08:09):
side agreement.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
It's terrify man, and my best witness and those a
legitimate contract.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
MM.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Well months to the date after signing that, I it's
a I'll speed up the story. But I got asked
by the Wiggles to fly down to christ Church to
film a music video with them and Richie mccaugh. So
I filmed their dreams years before became friendly.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
How many people get get said, I just got asked
to do a music video with the Wiggles and Richie McCall.
That's such a strange sentence. I know it probably sounds
natural on your lips, but it enters my ears sounding
very weird. But carry on, dude.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
Well, the funny thing is I did not because a
part of my contract with God was I don't work
on Sunday anymore. I'm taking a sabbath and they said
it's on Sunday, and so I said no. Then I
called my mom and she said, are you an idiot?
Say yes, God will understand. So I quickly called back
and said, years, I go down film this music video.
(09:08):
Next day, I'm editing it with my editor. It's real grungy,
and I say to my editor, dude, this looks like
a trailer for a Wiggles documentary. Because I was like backstage,
and then we both said, wait, has it ever been
a Wiggles documentary? So we googled it. There hadn't been
a Wiggles documentary. So I emailed Anthony the main Wiggle,
(09:30):
the Blue Wiggle, and I was like, dude, can I
make a documentary on you guys? And he came back
on my birthday and he said, phraser, many people have
tried over the years, but if you do it, we'll
make it happen. And just like that, a month after
signing the contract with God, I'm now making a documentary
on the Wiggles, which Amazon bought a year later, and
(09:50):
it came out a year and a bit ago on
Amazon and essentially was living out that filmmaker drink and
I swear bro the only way that happened was because
I had let go. I completely hit let go. There
was no plan. It was.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
So that sounds weird. You put down your dream, but
then your dream came true.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
Pretty much pretty much man, But obviously, like it's a
weird thing when you and you're kind of in the
middle of doing the thing you dreamed about. It's never
quite the way that you imagine. So there's a lot
more to that that I don't need to go into
so but it blew my mind. It was a month
before Bro. I was at rock bottom. It was possible,
(10:35):
the thought of an Amazon documentary, and it was just
it's just how God works.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Man.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
My whole life has just been a series of God
miracles pretty much.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
It's a pretty though that punctuating that or perhaps getting
into that place, you felt that you had to go
flat on your face and and some things came apart.
Like you say that you're going through a divorce and
this was someone that you've been dating since early teens.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
Yeah, yeah, since I was thirteen. You know what, I
look back on my life and all the tough times,
the rough things I've gone through, I'm so grateful for
because it's made me who I am today. And I've
been married for two years to the most incredible woman,
cook Jade, who I just cannot believe. But I feel
(11:25):
so blessed and lucky. So I'm grateful for my past.
It aped me, it made me stronger in my faith,
and it humbled me. I had a huge ego when
I was younger, man, a huge ego. My goodness, I've
been humbled multiple times in my life and I'm so
grateful for it.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Well some of this sounds painful, but I can look.
I'm watching you on a video link, and I can
see you've got to grind them a mile wide. And
that's not just because you've been mixing with a lot
of North Americans. They teach us a lot about smiling,
don't they. But and so obviously there's working for you,
and I'm intrigued by hearing some of the stuff that
(12:07):
you're saying. After the break, I want to talk to
you more about your own dreams going forward, but also
some of the dreams that you've captured with your camera.
So if you've just joined us, my guest tonight is
a filmmaker, Fraser Group, who's recording ten thousand dreams of
people around the world. This is real life. I'm Newstalk
sd B. I'm John Cown. I'll be back with you
(12:28):
in just a minute. Welcome back to real life. My
guest tonight is Fraser Grew and he's picked some music
for us. What are we listening to there? Fraser?
Speaker 3 (12:35):
It's hop Apollo by Sugar Ross And I might have
butchered the pronunciation on that.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
So why is the song special to you?
Speaker 3 (12:46):
It's the song I run to, It's the song I
dream to. I don't know if you have heard it,
but it's probably the most inspirational song ever so Icelandik.
I don't even know what the lyrics mean. I have
no idea what the song's about, but it makes me
dream and it makes me excited about life.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Yeah, wouldn't it be sad if you can see a
translation about it and it's all of it eating hamburgers
or something very uninspirational like that. But at the moment,
it's hitting you in the right place and bumping you
on down the road with some great dreams. And you, obviously,
if you've made this business of collecting dreams from people,
you obviously believe in the power of personal dreams.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Absolutely. I am an advocate for pursuing your dream. I
believe every single person on the planet has a unique
dream that is catered to them. Now that doesn't have
to be I want to change the world or I
want to be president. Your dream could just could be
I want to be a great dad, I want to
have a whole I want to just have a job.
(13:47):
Like That's an amazing dream. And I think it took
me a long time to realize that. I think maybe
the first half of this journey I was all about
the crazy dreams like give me the juice, like you
want to win a Grammy, you want to win an Oscar,
And now I'm like, whoa, No, all dreams are just
as important and just as special, So I'm all about
it man.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Yes, okay, So you see it as being something that
just keeps people putting one foot in front of another
and having a vision of something big up ahead. Or
sometimes do you meet people that have been so crushed
by life they don't have any dreams? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (14:22):
People that shock you too, People that are well known
that you would assume would have dreams who don't have dreams.
But I think everyone does have a dream. I think
people are afraid to share it or to even admit it.
And if I'm in a situation where someone goes, I
don't have any dreams, I just say what was your
(14:44):
dream as a kid? And everyone knows what they're dream kid?
And then that somehow leads us to what their dream is.
Now it's like the secret hacked, you know. But I
really believe everyone will have an answer to that question.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Yeah. I've seen advice that you shouldn't see your dreams
of people because people will often be dampen those dreams.
Have you come across people that are reluctant to do
that because of that reason.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
I've seen a lot of videos about that, about keeping
your dreams to yourself. So yeah, I don't know where
I stand on that. Like, I understand the logic behind that,
and I think you've gotta be careful with share your
dream too. That's why when i'm film dream, I'm I like,
my job is to encourage and to build people up
(15:35):
and to love on them. That's my job. I want
it to be a safe spot. So if you're sharing
your dream with me, John, I'm gonna but because I
want you to walk away going holy heck, Yeah I
can achieve it. Yeah I should start doing this. I
should pursue that. But I hundredsent agree. There are certain
people you shouldn't tell you dream too who are going
(15:56):
to crush it. I'm not one of those, but I
would never be a dream crusher, but there are definitely
people out there that well, So I understand on.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
The platforms you share your videos, do people ever make
comments that you think, oh, that's not that's not you know,
they're pretty contemptuous, so that person's dream or do you
switch off comments or how does it work I've.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Never switched off comments. There's been a couple of dreams
that have got me in trouble. I filmed Brian Tommockey's.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Dream last year.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Yeah, and I always got canceled in New Zealand. On
that one, I got destroyed in the comments, like destroyed.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
And yeah, I'm.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
First to say my timing of that wasn't Like I
didn't really think about it much when I posted it,
and I should have put more thought into I should
have got more feedback before posting. That timing was wrong.
But his dream was wholesome. It was not negative in
any way about his family. It was about If it
was negative, I never would have posted it. But yeah,
(16:54):
there have been a few dreams that have got me
in trouble.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
But right, have you ever come across some dreams that
have been so weird that they've rocked your back on
your heels?
Speaker 3 (17:05):
Oh yeah, I've heard every auntie you could imagine. There's
been dreams I haven't posted because the answers were too
aggressive or too like WHOA, probably shouldn't post that. That's
a bit aggressive. But we're dreams. Yeah, Like, honestly, I
(17:26):
genuinely like I like you. I kind of go blank
on so much from the like we said before the genuary, like,
it's so much I've gone blank on, Like if I
see a person, I was like, yes, I've filmed your dream.
I have no idea what you said five years ago,
but I remember the moments. I think that's how I
kind of reflect. It's about the moments of being with
(17:48):
people more so than what people are actually saying. It's
about the experiences I'm having.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Right, Okay, And can I ask you, and this is
probably the question you get asked all the time, what's
the most memorable dream that people have shared with you
or the most memorable personality that you've counted?
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Okay, man, there's a few answers to that. When I started,
I wrote out a list of five impossible people to film.
On that list was Steven Spielberg, Justin Bieber, Roger feder
jk Rowling, and Elmo and Sesame Street. I filmed Almo
Street two years ago, which was such an outer body experience.
Because I assume that would be impossible. I was like,
(18:28):
there's no way I'm going to film Almos stream And.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
By the way, it's delightful. I've watched I've watched that
really what a sweetheart.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
He got deep at the end like he had some
he was spinning wisdom at the inn. Man. It was
pretty powerful. But my favorite dream ever, I think I
filmed the Erwin Family's dreams last year at Australia Zoo
and that just found like the most mental experience ever.
It was an hour conversation. It was with Robert and
Terry Irwin and it was just amazing, Like Robert's stream
(19:02):
is to keep his dad's dream alive, like it was
just and like Steve Irwin. If I had a list
of ten people in history that I could have filmed,
the dream of Steve Irwin would have been on that.
It was like the closest that I'll ever get to
filming Steve Irwin's dream and it was just magic. Or
even like filming my best maid and his wife at
(19:23):
their wedding in front of everyone at sunset. Yeah, that
was magical, you know, like that's that's one of my
favorite dreams too. And there's so many, there's so many
John over nine years that the stand out.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Well, you're talking about videos at weddings and things, and
I heard an interesting story about how you filmed a
dream and then showed it at your wedding.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
Oh I when I met my wife. Oh dude, you've
been have I talked about this? This is a good one. Okay.
I film I met. We chatted for like forty five minutes.
It was kind of awkward, a little bit awkward. She
leaves and I say to my mate, dude, quickly film
me on your phone. And I talked to the phone saying,
(20:11):
hey everyone, this is Fraser. We're just this is at
our wedding. I've just met Jade, but we're getting married. Hi.
Everyone at the wedding right now. And I did this
whole message for the wedding because I knew I was
going to marry her. And then that plate at the wedding.
I think that's what you're referring to.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
I am about how you meet someone. And look, I
don't know how many women you've done this interview with
that you did that video with technique, no first woman.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
I filmed the video. But that is my advice to
every young dude that is single. Whenever you have a
first day, film a video that could play at your
future wedding one day.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
It's a great dude, Well, that's that sounds like interesting advice.
I wonder that will happen. But yeah, So I've been
going through some of the people that you've filmed in things,
and some of the dreams really surprised me. Jane good All, yes,
was fascinating. Her dream was to have the population of
(21:14):
the earth, which sounds sounds almost sort of like violent,
but her idea is that we've got too many people.
We need to balance up the world so that nature
can have a chance. I think she also had an
opinion on you and your mission.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
She called me crazy, which is in my cold email.
Jane Goodall called me happily, except that is her dream.
I don't know how much you know about Marvel and
like the Avengers, but her dream is pretty much what
Phenos's dream would have been. The bad guy in Marvel
was to split the world in half, like eliminate half
(21:51):
the world. So a lot of people since her dream
have made that reference.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
It's pretty much, but it's fascinating the whole range. Where's
the best platform for people to view you the work
that you've done. I've found them on Instagram and YouTube,
but I imagine is there a best way they can
catch up with your ten thousand dreams?
Speaker 3 (22:16):
I would say Instagram. I think all the other channels
I need to pick up more steam on, but Instagram's
kind of the main hut for me. That's my favorite
platform by far.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Right. Now, okay, well, I wish you all the best
in pursuing this dream and all the other dreams. I'm
sure you've got to other movie projects and film projects
and things, and hopefully some of them will make your
money and we'll get you further down that track of
becoming the best phraser grew in the world. I actually
already are, aren't you, And I wish you every success.
(22:47):
Thank you so much for taking time to talk with us,
and look forward to following your progress and following what
you're producing.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Joe.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
Can I quickly ask you what your dream is? Is
their time?
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Sure?
Speaker 3 (22:58):
What's your dream?
Speaker 2 (22:59):
Yeah? I refine it every decade. Last decade was punch
punch holes in the darkness, which was find out the truth. Well,
the decade before that it was change the world. This
decade it's give I refine my dreams into one word,
(23:19):
one word mottos that I can cling on too. So
now I'm busy coming up to another birthday next year
where it'll be another decade clicking over. I'm trying to
work out what will my dream be for that decade.
I haven't got an answer for that yet. But this decade,
it's a give of myself of what I have, So
that's my dream is also, Fraser, been fascinating talking with you.
(23:40):
Let's go out on a song that you've picked. Another song?
What are we going to be listening to?
Speaker 3 (23:44):
Walking on the Dream by Empire the Sun. It's probably
my favorite song ever.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
It's just so happytastic. It's great. Fraser, thanks again, wishing
you all the best. Thank you, This is real life.
I'm John Cown. Looking forward to being back with you
again next Sunday night.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
For more from News Talks that'd be listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our pot casts on iHeartRadio
You're listening to a podcast from news Talk ZEDB. Follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Gooday, I'm John Cown. Welcome to real life. Fraser Grew
is a filmmaker who has a lifetime goal of recording
the dreams of ten thousand individuals. And you can find
his short videos on YouTube or Instagram and other online sites,
and they give you a huge array of glimpses into
the hearts of hundreds and hundreds of people, and amongst
(00:36):
them are at least seven Prime ministers, an impressive list
of international celebrities and world leaders, but also refugees and
homeless people, oscar winners and astronaut all sorts of people, toddlers, billionaires,
even a Satanic priest, and pilots and actually really muppets.
And so it's amazing he meets these people and he
(00:59):
asks them the same question, what's your dream? And this
amazing kaleidoscope of videos is intriguing to watch. You can
just spend so much time and just watching them. Welcome Fraser,
Thank you John.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Mate. What a pitch that sounds like my old email template?
That might be a wild.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Yeah, Hey, I mean you've been doing this now for
a few years, and it's very well known. I've seen
lots of interviews with you on various media as people
are just intrigued by this project of recording the dreams
of ten thousand people. But where did you get the
dream to do this from?
Speaker 3 (01:39):
Oh dude, it happened. This was not the life plan
at all. It has started nine years ago as a
bed made in Tinan, New Auckland. That was in twenty sixteen,
and the plan was still for one year, one dream
every single day. It was called three hundred and sixty
five dreams and about two hundred dreams in. I think
(02:00):
God worked on my heart a little bit and I
kind of started to realize maybe this is the thing
I was born to do, and so I changed it
to ten thousand because I thought it sounded cool. Ten
thousand dreams. It was a cool name. I didn't do
the mass on it. I didn't realize it was going
to take me like fifty years to finish. I find
am nine years in, two two hundred and forty seven
(02:22):
dreams in, and I've probably got about forty years left.
Man chat chat TPT told me recently that my end
date is in twenty sixty nine, which.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
I don't even know what I'm doing this afternoon. You
know what you're doing for the next couple of decades.
That's a bit daunting. So you've done how many did
you say? Two thousand, two hundred and seven? Okay, look,
do some name dropping. What are some of the big
names that you've that you've got on your catalog so far?
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Oh man, it's been outrageous. As you said, seven prime ministers.
I think the only prime minister I have in films
Helen Clark's Ashton Kocher, Mila kun Is, the Irwin family,
Terry Cruz, israel A Desagnya, or the All Black Richie mccaugh.
There's been so many, and there's been ridiculous. Man, I
(03:18):
don't know how it happens. The parachuting your shot. Most
of them were cold emails. And then there's been more
than like five hundred celebrities that have seen.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Yes, that's right. And the thing is they do say yes,
it must be something I do. You find you're getting
more better responses now because people obviously go online see
that you're legit, see that you've already got a huge
catalog of these people and so do you find it's
getting easier to get people?
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Absolutely, Man, I think the hardest thing is getting the
first fee, Like I think for me, it was getting
Ashton Kutcher's dream that was the first What the heck?
How did that happen? And then that just opened up
the floodgates for a lot more people. So I will
say it's a lot easier now, but I still get
rejected every day by multiple people. Man, it's you just
(04:10):
get your superne you know, and then post don't scare
me off anymore.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Well, you must have a very resilient ego, because I
think i'd you say you get rejected every day. I
think that I don't think I'm cut out to be
I say, a cold caller for an insurance product or
something like that, because I'd hate to get rejected. So
good on you for keeping going and backing up. You've
been talking to people about their dreams, your own dreams.
(04:41):
Maybe not this particular dream of doing this series of videos,
but you had dreams as a young fellow. Dude.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
I had one big dream from the age of seven,
and it was to be the next Peter Jackson. That
was my dream my whole life up until maybe twenty
two or twenty three. I was dedicated everything to that goal.
I met a feature film when I graduated from film
school at nineteen, you know, funded by family and friends,
(05:08):
and I was like, I'm going to win an Oscar.
I'm going to be the youngest Oscar winner of all time.
In the film bombs and my parents had to mortgage
their house to oh No, which was the ultimate parent
move for a twenty year old. And honestly, man, I
think most of my twenties was me wrestling with my
(05:31):
dream of being the next Peter Jackson. It took me
a long time to let go of that. I think
I have now, and you know what it was. And
I hate to name job, but when I was filming
Ashton Kutchen's Dream, I told him about this Peter Jackson
dream and he said to me, he said, Fraser, you'll
only ever be the second best Peter Jackson, but you
(05:51):
could be the best Fraser on the planet. And I
know that, but when he said it to me, it
hit really hard, like it just hit different when someone
you look up to says something like that. And I
think that was the moment I started to embrace Fraser
and I was like, wait, I'm just I want to
be me. I want to be the best meet And
(06:12):
that might sound cheesy, but I think ten Dreams is
me being the most authentic version of myself. But I'm
thirty one now. It took me pretty much all of
my twenties to get to that point, and I still
want to make feature films and everything, but I ultimately
the dream now is to be the best version of
(06:33):
myself that God's made me with, you know, unique giftings.
And I think ten thousand dreams is that thing. Man.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Okay, you say Ashton Kutcher reoriented you on that dream? Yes,
But had your dream be up to that point become
a bit of a monster, had it become something that
wasn't working for you? Had it was it something that
you were making an idol that was sort of messing
you around?
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Oh dude, yeah, man, a one hundred percent. And there's
actually a moment when I think I was I think
I turned twenty seven, I was going through a divorce.
I'll kind of hit rock bottom of my life. So
I'd spent my whole twenties trying to be the next
Peter Jackson, trying to get the next feature film off
the ground trying to make it as a filmmaker, and
(07:20):
it wasn't happening, and I was dead broke, going through
a divorce of twenty seven. It wasn't working, and I
hit the point of going, you know what, screw this.
I made a contract with God and I still have it.
It's called the all in contract, and I said, I'm
done chasing my dream. I'm given over to you. Now
you take the wheel. This A'm working. I'm all in
(07:43):
to whatever the heck you want me to do with
my life. Now.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
That's very scary because I've talked to people about their
fear of saying to God, look, do anything you want
because they're sure that they are sure is anything they're
going to be on the next plane to Papa New
Guinea or somewhere they don't want to go, and that
God's going to make them become a minister or something
other else like that. That must have been a lurking
fears as you as you put your signature on this
(08:09):
side agreement.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
It's terrify man, and my best witness and those a
legitimate contract.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
MM.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Well months to the date after signing that, I it's
a I'll speed up the story. But I got asked
by the Wiggles to fly down to christ Church to
film a music video with them and Richie mccaugh. So
I filmed their dreams years before became friendly.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
How many people get get said, I just got asked
to do a music video with the Wiggles and Richie McCall.
That's such a strange sentence. I know it probably sounds
natural on your lips, but it enters my ears sounding
very weird. But carry on, dude.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
Well, the funny thing is I did not because a
part of my contract with God was I don't work
on Sunday anymore. I'm taking a sabbath and they said
it's on Sunday, and so I said no. Then I
called my mom and she said, are you an idiot?
Say yes, God will understand. So I quickly called back
and said, years, I go down film this music video.
(09:08):
Next day, I'm editing it with my editor. It's real grungy,
and I say to my editor, dude, this looks like
a trailer for a Wiggles documentary. Because I was like backstage,
and then we both said, wait, has it ever been
a Wiggles documentary? So we googled it. There hadn't been
a Wiggles documentary. So I emailed Anthony the main Wiggle,
(09:30):
the Blue Wiggle, and I was like, dude, can I
make a documentary on you guys? And he came back
on my birthday and he said, phraser, many people have
tried over the years, but if you do it, we'll
make it happen. And just like that, a month after
signing the contract with God, I'm now making a documentary
on the Wiggles, which Amazon bought a year later, and
(09:50):
it came out a year and a bit ago on
Amazon and essentially was living out that filmmaker drink and
I swear bro the only way that happened was because
I had let go. I completely hit let go. There
was no plan. It was.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
So that sounds weird. You put down your dream, but
then your dream came true.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
Pretty much pretty much man, But obviously, like it's a
weird thing when you and you're kind of in the
middle of doing the thing you dreamed about. It's never
quite the way that you imagine. So there's a lot
more to that that I don't need to go into
so but it blew my mind. It was a month
before Bro. I was at rock bottom. It was possible,
(10:35):
the thought of an Amazon documentary, and it was just
it's just how God works.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Man.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
My whole life has just been a series of God
miracles pretty much.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
It's a pretty though that punctuating that or perhaps getting
into that place, you felt that you had to go
flat on your face and and some things came apart.
Like you say that you're going through a divorce and
this was someone that you've been dating since early teens.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
Yeah, yeah, since I was thirteen. You know what, I
look back on my life and all the tough times,
the rough things I've gone through, I'm so grateful for
because it's made me who I am today. And I've
been married for two years to the most incredible woman,
cook Jade, who I just cannot believe. But I feel
(11:25):
so blessed and lucky. So I'm grateful for my past.
It aped me, it made me stronger in my faith,
and it humbled me. I had a huge ego when
I was younger, man, a huge ego. My goodness, I've
been humbled multiple times in my life and I'm so
grateful for it.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Well some of this sounds painful, but I can look.
I'm watching you on a video link, and I can
see you've got to grind them a mile wide. And
that's not just because you've been mixing with a lot
of North Americans. They teach us a lot about smiling,
don't they. But and so obviously there's working for you,
and I'm intrigued by hearing some of the stuff that
(12:07):
you're saying. After the break, I want to talk to
you more about your own dreams going forward, but also
some of the dreams that you've captured with your camera.
So if you've just joined us, my guest tonight is
a filmmaker, Fraser Group, who's recording ten thousand dreams of
people around the world. This is real life. I'm Newstalk
sd B. I'm John Cown. I'll be back with you
(12:28):
in just a minute. Welcome back to real life. My
guest tonight is Fraser Grew and he's picked some music
for us. What are we listening to there? Fraser?
Speaker 3 (12:35):
It's hop Apollo by Sugar Ross And I might have
butchered the pronunciation on that.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
So why is the song special to you?
Speaker 3 (12:46):
It's the song I run to, It's the song I
dream to. I don't know if you have heard it,
but it's probably the most inspirational song ever so Icelandik.
I don't even know what the lyrics mean. I have
no idea what the song's about, but it makes me
dream and it makes me excited about life.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Yeah, wouldn't it be sad if you can see a
translation about it and it's all of it eating hamburgers
or something very uninspirational like that. But at the moment,
it's hitting you in the right place and bumping you
on down the road with some great dreams. And you, obviously,
if you've made this business of collecting dreams from people,
you obviously believe in the power of personal dreams.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Absolutely. I am an advocate for pursuing your dream. I
believe every single person on the planet has a unique
dream that is catered to them. Now that doesn't have
to be I want to change the world or I
want to be president. Your dream could just could be
I want to be a great dad, I want to
have a whole I want to just have a job.
(13:47):
Like That's an amazing dream. And I think it took
me a long time to realize that. I think maybe
the first half of this journey I was all about
the crazy dreams like give me the juice, like you
want to win a Grammy, you want to win an Oscar,
And now I'm like, whoa, No, all dreams are just
as important and just as special, So I'm all about
it man.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Yes, okay, So you see it as being something that
just keeps people putting one foot in front of another
and having a vision of something big up ahead. Or
sometimes do you meet people that have been so crushed
by life they don't have any dreams? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (14:22):
People that shock you too, People that are well known
that you would assume would have dreams who don't have dreams.
But I think everyone does have a dream. I think
people are afraid to share it or to even admit it.
And if I'm in a situation where someone goes, I
don't have any dreams, I just say what was your
(14:44):
dream as a kid? And everyone knows what they're dream kid?
And then that somehow leads us to what their dream is.
Now it's like the secret hacked, you know. But I
really believe everyone will have an answer to that question.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Yeah. I've seen advice that you shouldn't see your dreams
of people because people will often be dampen those dreams.
Have you come across people that are reluctant to do
that because of that reason.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
I've seen a lot of videos about that, about keeping
your dreams to yourself. So yeah, I don't know where
I stand on that. Like, I understand the logic behind that,
and I think you've gotta be careful with share your
dream too. That's why when i'm film dream, I'm I like,
my job is to encourage and to build people up
(15:35):
and to love on them. That's my job. I want
it to be a safe spot. So if you're sharing
your dream with me, John, I'm gonna but because I
want you to walk away going holy heck, Yeah I
can achieve it. Yeah I should start doing this. I
should pursue that. But I hundredsent agree. There are certain
people you shouldn't tell you dream too who are going
(15:56):
to crush it. I'm not one of those, but I
would never be a dream crusher, but there are definitely
people out there that well, So I understand on.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
The platforms you share your videos, do people ever make
comments that you think, oh, that's not that's not you know,
they're pretty contemptuous, so that person's dream or do you
switch off comments or how does it work I've.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Never switched off comments. There's been a couple of dreams
that have got me in trouble. I filmed Brian Tommockey's.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Dream last year.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Yeah, and I always got canceled in New Zealand. On
that one, I got destroyed in the comments, like destroyed.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
And yeah, I'm.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
First to say my timing of that wasn't Like I
didn't really think about it much when I posted it,
and I should have put more thought into I should
have got more feedback before posting. That timing was wrong.
But his dream was wholesome. It was not negative in
any way about his family. It was about If it
was negative, I never would have posted it. But yeah,
(16:54):
there have been a few dreams that have got me
in trouble.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
But right, have you ever come across some dreams that
have been so weird that they've rocked your back on
your heels?
Speaker 3 (17:05):
Oh yeah, I've heard every auntie you could imagine. There's
been dreams I haven't posted because the answers were too
aggressive or too like WHOA, probably shouldn't post that. That's
a bit aggressive. But we're dreams. Yeah, Like, honestly, I
(17:26):
genuinely like I like you. I kind of go blank
on so much from the like we said before the genuary, like,
it's so much I've gone blank on, Like if I
see a person, I was like, yes, I've filmed your dream.
I have no idea what you said five years ago,
but I remember the moments. I think that's how I
kind of reflect. It's about the moments of being with
(17:48):
people more so than what people are actually saying. It's
about the experiences I'm having.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Right, Okay, And can I ask you, and this is
probably the question you get asked all the time, what's
the most memorable dream that people have shared with you
or the most memorable personality that you've counted?
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Okay, man, there's a few answers to that. When I started,
I wrote out a list of five impossible people to film.
On that list was Steven Spielberg, Justin Bieber, Roger feder
jk Rowling, and Elmo and Sesame Street. I filmed Almo
Street two years ago, which was such an outer body experience.
Because I assume that would be impossible. I was like,
(18:28):
there's no way I'm going to film Almos stream And.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
By the way, it's delightful. I've watched I've watched that
really what a sweetheart.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
He got deep at the end like he had some
he was spinning wisdom at the inn. Man. It was
pretty powerful. But my favorite dream ever, I think I
filmed the Erwin Family's dreams last year at Australia Zoo
and that just found like the most mental experience ever.
It was an hour conversation. It was with Robert and
Terry Irwin and it was just amazing, Like Robert's stream
(19:02):
is to keep his dad's dream alive, like it was
just and like Steve Irwin. If I had a list
of ten people in history that I could have filmed,
the dream of Steve Irwin would have been on that.
It was like the closest that I'll ever get to
filming Steve Irwin's dream and it was just magic. Or
even like filming my best maid and his wife at
(19:23):
their wedding in front of everyone at sunset. Yeah, that
was magical, you know, like that's that's one of my
favorite dreams too. And there's so many, there's so many
John over nine years that the stand out.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Well, you're talking about videos at weddings and things, and
I heard an interesting story about how you filmed a
dream and then showed it at your wedding.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
Oh I when I met my wife. Oh dude, you've
been have I talked about this? This is a good one. Okay.
I film I met. We chatted for like forty five minutes.
It was kind of awkward, a little bit awkward. She
leaves and I say to my mate, dude, quickly film
me on your phone. And I talked to the phone saying,
(20:11):
hey everyone, this is Fraser. We're just this is at
our wedding. I've just met Jade, but we're getting married. Hi.
Everyone at the wedding right now. And I did this
whole message for the wedding because I knew I was
going to marry her. And then that plate at the wedding.
I think that's what you're referring to.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
I am about how you meet someone. And look, I
don't know how many women you've done this interview with
that you did that video with technique, no first woman.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
I filmed the video. But that is my advice to
every young dude that is single. Whenever you have a
first day, film a video that could play at your
future wedding one day.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
It's a great dude, Well, that's that sounds like interesting advice.
I wonder that will happen. But yeah, So I've been
going through some of the people that you've filmed in things,
and some of the dreams really surprised me. Jane good All, yes,
was fascinating. Her dream was to have the population of
(21:14):
the earth, which sounds sounds almost sort of like violent,
but her idea is that we've got too many people.
We need to balance up the world so that nature
can have a chance. I think she also had an
opinion on you and your mission.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
She called me crazy, which is in my cold email.
Jane Goodall called me happily, except that is her dream.
I don't know how much you know about Marvel and
like the Avengers, but her dream is pretty much what
Phenos's dream would have been. The bad guy in Marvel
was to split the world in half, like eliminate half
(21:51):
the world. So a lot of people since her dream
have made that reference.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
It's pretty much, but it's fascinating the whole range. Where's
the best platform for people to view you the work
that you've done. I've found them on Instagram and YouTube,
but I imagine is there a best way they can
catch up with your ten thousand dreams?
Speaker 3 (22:16):
I would say Instagram. I think all the other channels
I need to pick up more steam on, but Instagram's
kind of the main hut for me. That's my favorite
platform by far.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Right. Now, okay, well, I wish you all the best
in pursuing this dream and all the other dreams. I'm
sure you've got to other movie projects and film projects
and things, and hopefully some of them will make your
money and we'll get you further down that track of
becoming the best phraser grew in the world. I actually
already are, aren't you, And I wish you every success.
(22:47):
Thank you so much for taking time to talk with us,
and look forward to following your progress and following what
you're producing.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Joe.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
Can I quickly ask you what your dream is? Is
their time?
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Sure?
Speaker 3 (22:58):
What's your dream?
Speaker 2 (22:59):
Yeah? I refine it every decade. Last decade was punch
punch holes in the darkness, which was find out the truth. Well,
the decade before that it was change the world. This
decade it's give I refine my dreams into one word,
(23:19):
one word mottos that I can cling on too. So
now I'm busy coming up to another birthday next year
where it'll be another decade clicking over. I'm trying to
work out what will my dream be for that decade.
I haven't got an answer for that yet. But this decade,
it's a give of myself of what I have, So
that's my dream is also, Fraser, been fascinating talking with you.
(23:40):
Let's go out on a song that you've picked. Another song?
What are we going to be listening to?
Speaker 3 (23:44):
Walking on the Dream by Empire the Sun. It's probably
my favorite song ever.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
It's just so happytastic. It's great. Fraser, thanks again, wishing
you all the best. Thank you, This is real life.
I'm John Cown. Looking forward to being back with you
again next Sunday night.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
For more from News Talks that'd be listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our pot casts on iHeartRadio
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