Rain, Hail or Shine: Chris Stannage on Cyber Run Club, Community and Mental Health

This episode is a little bit different. Yes, my guest works in cyber security, but we are not here to talk about breach containment or zero trust architecture. We are here to talk about the people behind the industry and what it actually takes to show up and do this job sustainably.Chris Stannage is a Scottish born, Melbourne based Senior Account Executive at Illumio, a former competitive rugby player, and the founder of Cyber Run Club, a monthly gathering at the Tan that brings cyber professionals together for movement, fresh air and honest conversation with zero pressure and zero sales pitches.We chat about the lunch that sparked the whole idea, the strictly sales free ethos and why it works, the organic connections made along the way (including an analyst picking the brain of a CISO mid jog), mental health in our industry and why talking early matters, what competitive rugby taught Chris about teams and discipline, and his unlikely path from a microbiology degree to cyber sales.Cyber Run Club meets on the last Thursday of every month at the Tan in Melbourne. Walk, jog or run, everyone is welcome, from students to CISOs. Find the group by searching Cyber Run Club on LinkedIn.A note on mental health: our conversation is general in nature and we are not experts in this space. If anything in this episode raised something for you, support is available. Lifeline 13 11 14 or lifeline.org.au. Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636 or beyondblue.org.au.