Hunger & Heart with Kaila Colbin

A thousand miles down the Yukon River, from Canada into Alaska and up to the Arctic Circle. It’s the definition of remote — more people have been to the top of Everest than have been past Dawson City. No support boat, no resupply, no road, and no rescue worth the name.Get it wrong out there and you're days from help, not hours.The Yukon 1000 is the longest paddling race in the world, and Jon Frith is the man who decides who is allowed to start it.More than 1,500 teams apply. Just 30 make the start line. They paddle 18 hours a day, sleep for three and once they're out past Dawson City, they're on their own.Jon spent 32 years in the British Army. Competed in the Yukon 1000 because he’s passionate about pushing himself. Now he runs the whole thing.In this conversation he tells me about his extraordinary life before he found the event. Why the Yukon 1000 has no prize money. What happened the first time he saw the river. And why, while thousands of miles away, he can’t stop thinking about what might just be around the next bend.Find out more about the race (and get your application in? You know you want to) at yukon1000.org.Hunger & Heart is a podcast about the intersection of wild ambition and fierce compassion, hosted by Kaila Colbin. Find out more at hungerandheart.com.—Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

William Trubridge is one of the greatest freedivers of all time. He’s set 18 world records. Won six world championship titles. In 2016 he became the first person to reach 102 metres on a single breath with no fins and no rope.In 2019 he crossed Cook Strait entirely underwater, in a series of 934 breath holds over nine hours and fifteen minutes, to draw attention to New Zealand's critically endangered Hector's and Māui dolphins.When you’re 100 metres underwater, panic burns the oxygen you need to get home. So he’s spent decades building a system for not panicking — and it turns out the system works in a queue, in traffic, and in the conversation you're dreading.WHAT'S COVERED- Sailing the Pacific as a toddler — a boat was home until he was ten- The poem he wrote on an Auckland dance floor a year before he'd heard of freediving- Two failed world record attempts — and the word that made all the difference for the third- Risk vs stakes — and why refusing every dangerous thing is itself massively risky- What actually happened at 127 metres, and why his lungs stayed dry- The mental immune system- Why the muscles you breathe with decide how you feel- Nine hours underwater across Cook StraitFIND WILLIAM Website: https://www.williamtrubridge.com/ Instagram: @‌willtrubridge — https://www.instagram.com/willtrubridge/The Rebellion — his work teaching the mental immune system: https://www.rebellionimpactgroup.com/The Mental Immune System programme: https://mentalimmunesystem.com/MORE FROM WILLIAMOxygen: A Memoir — https://www.williamtrubridge.com/post/oxygen-a-memoir-by-william-trubridgeBreathe (2011) — the documentary following his attempt to become the first person to reach 300 feet on a single breath, no fins: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2103163/Hunger & Heart is a podcast about the intersection of wild ambition and fierce compassion, hosted by Kaila Colbin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At 17, Gráinne Moss swam the English Channel — the first Irish woman ever to do it. At 56, she became the 45th person on Earth to complete the Oceans Seven, the seven hardest channel swims in the world.This conversation is about the 39 years in between.We talk about the two failed attempts at the same stretch of water between Ireland and Scotland — one she was elated by, one that broke her.About being stung head to foot by jellyfish and somehow swimming on for seven more hours.About looking back at the White Cliffs of Dover three hours into the Channel — and her utter despair at realising she'd barely moved.About finishing her first channel crossing at 17 with nobody there to meet her.And about carrying everything she’s learned from ultramarathon swimming — the grit, the resilience, the purpose — into one of the hardest jobs in the New Zealand public service.WHAT'S COVERED:- The three hours that nearly ended her English Channel swim- Being obliterated by a shoal of jellyfish — and why she got out of the water happy- How you keep going when you can't see any progress at all- What a good coach actually does- Night swimming, box jellyfish and the Channel of Bones- Leading Oranga Tamariki — where she put her focus, and why she says you have to know your own reasons before you take a job like thatABOUT GRÁINNEGráinne Moss (née Gunn) grew up in Bangor, County Down, and started swimming in an unheated saltwater pool fed by the sea. She swam the English Channel in 1987 in 11 hours 52 minutes, aged 17, becoming the first Irish woman to do it. She moved to New Zealand in 1998 and swam the Cook Strait in 2001, and completed the Oceans Seven in June 2026 with the Tsugaru Strait in northern Japan — the longest span between first and final swim in the challenge's history. She is Chief Executive and Secretary for Regulation at the Ministry for Regulation, and was Chief Executive of Oranga Tamariki from 2016 to 2021.Visit Gráinne's blog https://grainnemoss.com/ for detailed accounts of her swims and follow her on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/swimirishkiwi/.—Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steve Tew was chief executive of New Zealand Rugby from 2008 to 2019, and ran the Crusaders and the Canterbury Rugby Union from 1996 to 2001. He is now Director of High Performance at High Performance Sport New Zealand.This week, he joins the podcast to talk about a career that started with a box of files inherited from a volunteer and ended up running the organisation behind the All Blacks — and about the decisions in between that he still thinks about.That includes protesting the 1981 Springbok tour while his own family sat on the other side of it, taking Rugby World Cup matches away from Christchurch after the February 2011 earthquake, backing a coach the media wanted gone, and the review that put New Zealand Rugby's own culture under outside scrutiny.WHAT'S COVEREDHow he ended up in sporting governanceThe 1981 Springbok tourWhy New Zealand Rugby apologised to players it never selectedThe February 2011 earthquake, and telling a city it had lost its World Cup matchesHow the Crusaders went from last to first in three seasonsAppointing Wayne Smith, and backing him when the results hadn't arrivedThe Respect and Responsibility ReviewWhat he looks for when he's assessing people for leadershipThe performance conversation he's never started too early Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Sorenson won two world championships by the age of seventeen. But at twenty, despite playing the best tournament of his life, his team lost the final. That heartbreak led to an insight: it doesn’t matter how spectacular you are if you can’t make the people around you better as well.Mark is one of only two New Zealanders to win world softball titles as both a player and a coach — four golds with the Black Sox, including the only three-peat in the history of the men's game, then World Coach of the Year after taking them back to gold in 2017.This conversation is almost none of that. It's about what happened in between: the years he tried to lift his team by policing them, and the shift that finally made them follow.We talk:- The difference between having the title and having people follow you- Why Mark told his own daughter she would never win a trophy while he was coaching- How to hold high standards without humiliating anyone- Being liked versus respected- The honesty gap between team spirit and high performance culture- Why rules without reason carry less weight- When delegating a hard conversation is the strongest thing a leader can do—A huge thanks to Celebrity Speakers for supporting this episode. If you want to book Mark Sorenson for a keynote and leave your audience hungry for more, visit celebrityspeakers.co.nzHunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mike ‘Crono’ Cron spent 15 years with the All Blacks — more than 200 tests, two World Cups, and a reputation as the best scrum coach in the game.In this conversation he breaks down how he actually does it:Why he shows a photograph of cyclists shoving cigarettes in each other's mouths to every team he works with. How he used the Royal New Zealand Ballet to transform the All Blacks lineout. The three “big rocks” of coaching: systems, skills, and decisions.We also get into why "what did you hear" is a safer question than "what did I say". Why a team that goes slack the moment you turn your back is a sales problem, not a character problem. And the line he uses when he knows his comment is going to hurt — it’s a master class on feedback.For more about Crono:  https://www.mikecroncoaching.co.nz/Mike’s book: ‘Coach’ https://www.harpercollins.co.nz/9781775542650/coach/-Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

90 minutes into a 1,367km swim down the length of New Zealand, Jono Ridler turned his head to breathe and saw a large shark a body length away. He got out of the water for 20 minutes, then got straight back in — and kept going for another 89 days.The kid who had to be bribed with candy to finish a swimming lesson ended up breaking the world record for the longest unassisted staged swim. In this conversation he breaks down the journey.Along the way: the panic attack 100 metres into his first open-water race. The Cook Strait crossing that ended with him pissing blood. The 33-hour Hauraki Gulf swim where he hallucinated a snowman on the support boat.From swimming for a reward, to swimming for an identity, to swimming for something that will outlast him.We also get into the voice that tells you to stop (and why it only ever arrives at the edge of what you can do), how to train the mental skills necessary for his feats of endurance, and what he's learned about uncertainty since walking away from a 13-year career with no idea what comes next.Jono Ridler | Speaker, Athlete, Advocate — https://www.jonoridler.com/Live Ocean Foundation — https://liveocean.org/Swim4TheOcean — https://www.swim4theocean.org/FOLLOW JONOInstagram: @‌jonoridlerFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Jono-Ridler-61584529661244/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonoridler/-Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience. It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At 8,200 metres on K2, in deteriorating weather and near the summit, Peter Hillary made what he calls a “bravely independent” decision: he turned around and descended alone into the storm. The rest of the group stayed together and pushed for the top.It was one of the loneliest descents of his life — and it’s the reason he's here to tell the story. None of the others survived.In this conversation, we trace how a lifetime in the mountains, with a father like Sir Edmund Hillary, prepared him for that moment: a childhood where a family holiday meant Kathmandu at age seven, a teenage ascent of Mount Aspiring twice in three days followed by a humbling introduction to Aoraki/Mount Cook, and the 1979 avalanche on the west face of Ama Dablam that killed a member of his team and left him hanging on a near-severed rope with a compound fracture.We also talk why he rejects the framing that he grew up in his father's shadow — and how he thinks about it instead — and why whether he could live up to his father’s accomplishments was never the right question.Peter Hillary has dedicated his life to mountaineering, adventure, and the outdoors. He also continues his father’s contribution to the Nepalese people who have meant so much to the family. Peter is chair of the Himalayan Trust, founded by Sir Ed, which does extraordinary work providing health and education for remote communities in Nepal. Find out more and support his work at http://himalayantrust.org–A huge thanks to Celebrity Speakers for supporting this episode. If you want to book Peter Hillary for a keynote and leave your audience hungry for more, visit celebrityspeakers.co.nz.Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sir Wayne Smith — aka “The Professor” — is one of the most decorated coaches in New Zealand rugby history. In this conversation he opens up the systems behind decades of winning.The season the All Blacks spat into vials so a scientist could map their hormones — and why every fix was cultural, not chemical. The Henry V video that rebuilt a last-placed Crusaders side. The honesty card players handed back when a teammate broke the standards — and the cards Smith found pushed under his hotel door on tour. Why he doesn't believe in team talks. Why he wore sunglasses to speak to one All Black before games. What the self-coached 1924 Invincibles still teach anyone leading a team a century later.And then there's the Black Ferns: the party bus that traumatised him until Kendra Cocksedge told him to stop asking about the music, the coin toss where his captain overruled him, and what coaching the women's game taught him about how different teams find their best.▶ Want to learn these systems from the inside? Explore the Crusaders Leadership Programme™: https://crusadersleadership.com/▶ Register for the upcoming Crusaders Leadership Programme™: https://bomanz.myshopify.com/products/clp?variant=42228067205233–Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

He found the cable-box switch that unlocked adult content when he was just five years old. For the next three decades, porn was Dr Luke Sniewski’s coping mechanism for loneliness, stress and fear - through a professional football career in Italy, a burnout that ended his training business, and relationships that all ended the same way.He spent nearly a decade trying to willpower his way out. It never worked - because the behaviour was never the problem.Dr Luke Sniewski's doctoral research at AUT studied meditation as an intervention for men with problematic pornography use - research that ended up revealing something he didn't expect about what actually helps people change.In this conversation, Luke explains why you can't quit a behaviour you refuse to understand, what meditation actually is, why the saviour instinct leads to burnout, and how to talk to your kids about the things you hope they never do - without judgment, and without driving it into secrecy.Connect with Luke's Somawise community: https://www.skool.com/somawise-tribe/aboutJo Robertson's TEDx talk on young people and porn, referenced in this episode: https://tedxchristchurch.com/jo-robertson–Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dillon Boucher was so sure he'd made the 2000 Olympic team that his wife had already booked her flights. But when they announced the squad in alphabetical order — by the third one he knew he hadn’t been selected.What Dillon did next is the definition of commitment.He quit his job, started a coaching business so he could keep a ball in his hands all day, and trained until his fingertips split open.By his own admission, pursuing basketball full-time back then was “absolutely madness.”Dillon made the Tall Blacks the following year and went on to become one of our greatest ever.In this conversation the unlikely legend unpacks how someone with no natural athleticism built a career at the top: the coach whose belief changed everything, why every loose ball is critical, the difference between consequences and punishment, and why the willingness to do hard things is the most underrated strategic advantage there is - on the court, in the boardroom, and at home.Whether you're leading a team, raising kids, or wondering if you're good enough for the room you're in, this one's for you.–A huge thanks to Celebrity Speakers for supporting this episode. If you want to book Dillon Boucher for a keynote and leave your audience hungry for more, visit celebrityspeakers.co.nz.Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nobody is born good at hard conversations. Not even the people who teach them.I’ve spent years running Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead™ programme. I built the Courageous Communication™ programme specifically around the skills of having hard conversations. But teaching it and living it are two different things. In this episode I sit down with my colleague Hannah Hudson to talk honestly about what it's actually like trying to walk that talk every day.The defensiveness that creeps in when a client gives feedback. The resentment that builds when you let something go but don't really let it go. The moment all your skills go out the window in a meeting you thought you'd ace.We cover why anger sometimes feels like the only possible response (and why there are always other options), how to set a boundary without being angry, and the one definition of success in a hard conversation that doesn't depend on how the other person responds.If you've ever swallowed the thing you needed to say - this one's for you.🎓 Want to get better at hard conversations? Start with the free Courageous Communication™ email course: https://nz.boma.global/cc-email-course🧭 Explore upcoming Dare to Lead™ programmes: https://nz.boma.global/dare-to-lead–Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

⚠️ Please note: this conversation talks about depression and mental health. If you or someone you know is struggling, free help is available through Lifeline - call 0508 TAUTOKO, that's 0508 828 865.Sir John Kirwan is one of New Zealand's greatest All Blacks — but, while he lived the life of a champion, his mental health suffered. He's since become one of the country's greatest wellbeing advocates - speaking openly about his own depression, the night on tour when he wanted to jump out of a window, and rebuilding his entire life from scratch.In this conversation with Kaila Colbin, JK talks about what depression actually felt like from the inside, why he had to treat himself like he was dead before he could start again, and the system he built - and now teaches - to make sure he never goes back there.This isn't a rugby episode - though there are some great stories. It's a conversation about what it takes to perform at the highest level of anything - and why care isn't the soft option.In this episode:Why JK says balance is bullsh*t - and what to do insteadThe night he wanted to end his life, and what his mum said that changed everythingHow he put his life into boxes and rebuilt it from the ground upThe All Blacks' performance-care philosophy - and why he believes it's why they finally won the World Cup in 2011The six daily pillars he uses to protect his mental healthWhy the care conversation and the performance conversation are the same conversationWhat a Catholic priest told him before his wedding that became some of the best advice he's ever receivedWhy the badge of honour around working yourself to exhaustion is destroying peopleThe "to-done" list - and why it matters more than your to-do listWhat it means to manage your imbalance instead of chasing balance📚 JK's BooksAll Blacks Don't Cry: A Story of Hope - https://www.fishpond.co.nz/Books/All-Blacks-Dont-Cry-John-Kirwan/9781776950492Stand By Me: Helping Your Teen Through Tough Times - https://www.fishpond.co.nz/Books/Stand-By-Me-John-Kirwan/9780143570639–A huge thanks to Celebrity Speakers for supporting this episode. If you want to book Sir John Kirwan for a keynote and leave your audience hungry for more, visit celebrityspeakers.co.nz.Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience. It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dame Farah Palmer wasn't the most talented athlete in the room. She was nearly invisible at her first university orientation week. And then… someone from the rugby club noticed her.In this conversation, Kaila Colbin sits down with one of New Zealand's most decorated sportswomen: three-time Black Ferns World Cup captain, Dame Companion, first woman elected to the New Zealand Rugby board, and one of the architects of the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021 in Aotearoa.We get to the origin story most haven’t heard: the absent father, the eating disorder, the scholarship her mum found for her, and what it actually means to lead when you're not sure you're the right person.Please note: this conversation contains discussion about eating disorders. If you or someone you know is struggling, free help is available through EDANZ — call 0800 2 EDANZ (0800 233 269).This episode covers:Growing up in Piopio and the sliding-doors moment at Otago UniversityBeing shoulder-tapped for rugby at 16 and what it did for her relationship with her bodyBeing asked to captain the Black Ferns - and hiding behind the door afterwardsThe "BTB" framework: Better Than Before and what it did for team cultureWhat she calls her “fourth World Cup” and why it means more than the three on the field📖 Book mentioned: Who Moved My Cheese - https://www.unitybooks.co.nz/products/who-moved-my-cheese–Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it take to hold professional athletes to the highest standards - without ever raising your voice?Maggie Cogger-Orr is one of New Zealand's top rugby referees and the current Referee of the Year. Originally from Canada, she grew up playing gridiron football before falling in love with rugby - and after two ACL injuries ended her playing ambitions, she went all-in on refereeing. She's now officiating at the top level of the men's and women's game.In this conversation, Maggie unpacks the "know me, be me, stay me" framework NZ's top referees use to perform under pressure, and why accountability has nothing to do with anger. She shares the early mistakes that taught her how to de-escalate, how she processes being shouted at in front of thousands of people, and what every leader can learn from the loneliest job on the field.–Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rob Hamill is one of New Zealand's most storied and decorated rowers - a silver at the World Championships in 1994, the winner of the first ever Atlantic Rowing Race in '97, and a man who has lived a life most people couldn't imagine. But beneath the athletic achievements is a story that shaped everything.When Rob was 14, his older brother Kerry went missing while sailing through Southeast Asia on his OE. Sixteen months of silence followed. His parents wrote letter after letter to ports across Asia, hoping for news that never came. When it finally did, it arrived on the front page of a newspaper: Kerry had been blown off course into Cambodian waters, captured by the Khmer Rouge, tortured for months at the infamous Tuol Sleng Prison, and executed.In this conversation, we get into grief, resilience, forgiveness, and what it means to carry loss through a life lived at full throttle.Rob shares the extraordinary details of Kerry's forced confession — and the extraordinary messages his brother managed to hide inside it.He talks about rowing across the Atlantic and discovering, alone in the middle of the ocean, that he had never truly grieved.He talks about testifying at the War Crimes Tribunal in Cambodia thirty years later. About losing his other brother, John, in the aftermath. And about why, in 2018, he and his family set sail to circle the globe — finishing the journey Kerry never got to complete.Please note: this episode talks about suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling, free help is available through Lifeline, call 0508 TAUTOKO, that’s 0508 828 865.Links mentioned in this episode:🎤 Rob Hamill's TEDx Talk — On Forgiveness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q87a7KNq2YQ🎤 Matt Brown — The Barbershop Where Men Go to Heal | TEDxChristchurch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UhP3OZ9ZCE–A huge thanks to Celebrity Speakers for supporting this episode. If you want to book Rob for a keynote and leave your audience hungry for more, visit celebrityspeakers.co.nz.Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

He lost his dad to suicide, surfed for 40 hours straight and built one of Australia's most powerful mental health movements — one wave at a time.Blake Johnston is a World Record holder, mental health advocate, Director of Cronulla Surfing Academy, and the man behind the world's largest paddle out. But before any of that, he was a kid from Cronulla who loved the ocean more than anything — and had no idea how much he'd one day need it.In this episode, Blake shares the full story: growing up with ADHD in a house of many brothers, chasing a pro surfing career that didn't quite go the distance, meeting and marrying his partner Lauren, and then — in a single phone call on the way home from a surf retreat — having his world shattered when he lost his dad to suicide.What followed was a decade of rebuilding. And then, in an act that defied what most people would consider humanly possible, he paddled out into five-to-six foot surf at 1 AM, and didn't come back in for 40 hours and 7 minutes. 707 waves. A world record. This conversation covers grief, purpose, resilience, the ocean, community, parenthood, and mental health.Please note: this episode talks about depression and suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling, free help is available through Lifeline, call 0508 TAUTOKO, that’s 0508 828 865.To learn more:Get a link to Blakey’s website: https://www.swellbeing.com.au/A link to his book, Swellbeing: https://www.swellbeing.com.au/product/swellbeing/And a link to the documentary (trailer and where to watch in Aus): https://inpiecestogetherfilm.com/–Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sarah Kessans came to New Zealand for a two-year postdoc. Thirteen years later she's still here - an Associate Professor at the University of Canterbury working across synthetic biology, space research, and agricultural climate science.But before all of that, she was a 20-year-old from Indiana with $500, no ocean experience, and an idea she'd read about on a plane.In this episode, Sarah tells the full story of how she and her college rowing rival entered the Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race — a 5,000 km crossing from the Canary Islands to Antigua. How they built their own boat, raised $150,000 from nothing, and arrived at the start line as one of the most prepared crews in a fleet of 26.And what happened on Day 45 when a rogue wave flipped their boat upside down, 1,400 miles from land, in the middle of a hurricane.In this episode:How a single book on a flight changed the entire direction of her lifeBuilding a racing boat in her dad's cabinet workshop in IndianaWhat it's actually like to row through the night, alone, in the middle of the AtlanticThe capsize — and the 14 hours that followedWhy she went backBreaking the women's world record by 17 daysHunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience. It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Few All Blacks have ever been as loved as Andrew Mehrtens. Ask him why, and he'll tell you he was just the kid next door who got a winner wish.Growing up bilingual in the small North Canterbury community of Tuahiwi, Mehrts wasn't the biggest, the fastest, or the strongest. What he had was something harder to define - and harder to hold onto.In this conversation, Mehrts opens up about the confronting feedback that forced him to rethink how he showed up as a teammate, the coach who believed in him three times when nobody else would, and what genuine team culture actually looks and feels like when you're inside it.A conversation about humility, trust, and what happens when someone cares enough to tell you the truth.—Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do you do when Sir Edmund Hillary tells you your ambition isn't big enough?For Jamie Fitzgerald, that question led to one of the most remarkable expeditions in New Zealand history - becoming the first Kiwis to reach the South Pole unsupported on foot.But before Antarctica, there was the Atlantic. In 2003, Jamie set the world record for rowing 5,000 kilometres across the ocean - with three weeks' notice and a partner he'd never met.In this conversation, Jamie shares what extreme adventure taught him about resilience, team culture, and what it actually takes to unlock peak performance - whether you're in a storm in the middle of the ocean or leading a team of 6,000 Rugby World Cup volunteers.—A huge thanks to Celebrity Speakers for supporting this episode. If you want to book Jamie for a keynote and leave your audience hungry for more, visit celebrityspeakers.co.nz.Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, no new Hunger & Heart episode. We’ve paused for renovations and will be back next week, bigger, brighter, and bolder than ever. See you then! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rachel Taulelei became a Trade Commissioner for New Zealand at just 25. She's built companies, represented New Zealand at international trade forums, and co-owns the Tokomanawa Queens, a championship-winning team in the Tauihi Women's Basketball League.In this conversation, Rachel opens up about:why she was thrilled when her D1 basketball-playing daughter transferred colleges, even though it meant far fewer minutes on the courtwhy she now disagrees with her younger self's advice about showing up authenticallythe hire that raised eyebrows when the Tokomanawa Queens launched, and how they won everyone overHunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wesley Clarke led the Manawatū Women's Sevens to back-to-back national finals, claiming the title in 2016.He stepped onto the international stage as assistant coach of the Black Ferns from 2015 to 2022, delivering World Cup victories in 2017 and 2022. He’s now head coach of the Manawatū Turbos in the National Provincial Championship — a team that once fired him.In this conversation, Kaila and Wesley explore:how being fired turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him,what it means to be a good follower, anda specific technique he uses to help players take ownership and accountability.A huge thanks to Celebrity Speakers for supporting this episode. If you want to book Wesley for a keynote and leave your audience hungry for more, visit celebrityspeakers.co.nz.Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Craig White has spent more than three decades coaching at the highest levels of professional sport, including international rugby, professional football, and elite club environments.He's coached with the British and Irish Lions, worked in the English Premier League, and guided international rugby teams across five Rugby World Cups. Over the last decade, he's worked as a leadership mentor, supporting men to develop greater self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and presence.In this conversation, Kaila and Craig explore:how his thinking on masculinity has shifted from toughness and emotional control to compassion, regulation, and relational leadership,how he integrates vulnerability into high-performance environments, anda three-step regulation practice that can bring both calm and strength to tricky moments.If you’re interested in Craig’s mentoring programmes, visit craigwhitementoring.comHunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dame Susan Devoy dominated international squash through the 1980s: world number one for nearly a decade, four-time world champion, eight-time British Open winner, and the most decorated player in New Zealand squash history.Her achievements were recognised with numerous honours, and she went on to serve in prominent leadership roles — including five years as New Zealand's Race Relations Commissioner.In this conversation, Kaila and Dame Susan explore:what it took to leave New Zealand and become world champion at just 17,the specific techniques her parents used to build both fierce independence and wild ambition, andhow she sees her journey differently in hindsight.A huge thanks to Celebrity Speakers for supporting this episode. If you want to book Dame Susan for a keynote and leave your audience buzzing, visit celebrityspeakers.co.nz.Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kieran Read is rugby royalty: former Crusaders captain, former All Blacks captain, one of the most capped players of all time, and the fifth most capped All Black in history.He played 127 Tests, scored 26 international tries, and is one of only 45 players worldwide to have won multiple men’s Rugby World Cups.In this conversation, Kaila and Kieran explore:the specific techniques the Crusaders use to create belonging,the link between care and high standards, andhow lessons from elite rugby translate into the business world.If you’re interested in Kieran’s leadership programming, visit kieranread.co.nz.Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience. It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marina Erakovic spent a decade ranked inside the world's top 100 tennis players. She competed in 36 Grand Slams, reached a career-high ranking of 39, and won 9 WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) and 18 ITF (International Tennis Federation) titles.Marina represented New Zealand at two Olympic Games and one Commonwealth Games, and played more than 600 main draw singles matches, including 44 at Grand Slam level.In this conversation, Kaila and Marina explore:her family's immigration story, what it's really like trying to make it in a massive global sport when New Zealand has almost no support or infrastructure, the sacrifices that made her career possible, and the pressure that came along with those sacrifices, and, why tennis was the right fit for her — how it matched the way her brain works, why it lit her up, and how, over time, she learned to grow not just as an athlete, but as a person.A huge thanks to Celebrity Speakers for supporting this episode. If you want to book Marina for a keynote and leave your audience buzzing, visit celebrityspeakers.co.nz.Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hugo Inglis is a four-time Olympian who represented New Zealand in field hockey, earning more than 250 caps for the national team and winning both silver and bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games. He's also the co-founder of High Impact Athletes.  In this conversation, Hugo and Kaila talk about:how his competitiveness with his brother led him into elite hockey, his move from measuring success externally to internally, and how he’s empowering athletes to make a measurable difference in the world.Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alice Soper has been playing rugby in Wellington women’s teams since she was 13 years old; she’s played Sevens and 15s and she’s also played in England. She’s a freelance journalist, a content creator, and a staunch advocate for getting women over the advantage line.In this conversation, we talk about:the fact that the All Blacks are NOT the winningest team of all time, the difference between a team-first and a personality-first strategy, and the specific tactics the Tokomanawa Queens basketball team use to create a sense of fun and belonging.Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last episode, Kaila spoke with Don Tricker, who said something that caught her attention: the only reason to have process-driven goals is in service of an ambitious outcome.In fact, focusing on process while excluding outcome may be a cop-out.Goal-setting is something Kaila and Boma educational designer Hannah Hudson have talked about for years, but Kaila’s conversation with Don sparked a new exploration of how goals can be defined and what “winning” truly looks like.In this episode, Kaila and Hannah unpack:the difference between process- and outcome-driven goals, how goals link to ambition and motivation,the connection between goals, self identity and worthiness, andwhy setting ambitious goals is scary.Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Don Tricker was a former player and coach of the Black Sox, New Zealand's national softball team. Don worked in IT for a number of years before joining Sport and Recreation New Zealand. After playing a crucial role in the analysis of New Zealand's disappointing performance at the 2007 Men's Rugby World Cup, he was appointed by New Zealand Rugby as High Performance Manager in 2010. In 2018, he shifted gears again and moved to the United States, joining Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres as Director of Player Health and Performance.In this episode, Don talks about:an extremely specific six-step process to break down a big-picture vision into tangible efforts (seriously, this is one you can take away and apply straight away in your context), culture-building actions that he calls "low cost, massive return," andthe emotional price of high performance and how to pay that price guilt-free. Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The legendary Shane Fletcher — or “Fletch” is the High Performance Campaign Manager for the Black Ferns, both the XV and the Sevens. He was the team manager for the Crusaders for 8 years; his tenure there included their 7-in-a-row championship run.Fletch is also one of the extraordinary teaching assistants on the Crusaders Leadership Programme™, so someone we get the privilege of working with on a regular basis.In today’s episode, Fletch  talks about:going from 7 championships in a row to not making the playoffs,how identifying leaders can actually undermine group performance, and how to develop true performance languageHunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shane Bond is a legend of New Zealand cricket, widely accepted as one of the greatest fast bowlers of his era. Currently, he has the second best bowling strike rate of all time in test match cricket. He played for the New Zealand Black Caps in Test, One Day International and T20. To this day, he is the fastest New Zealander to take a hundred wickets in One Day Internationals, achieving that feat in just 54 matches. In today’s episode, Shane talks about:the difference between playing to win and playing not to lose, how his training as a cop helped him cope with the pressure of international cricket, and why one of his goals as a coach is not to go harder, but to soften.A huge thanks to Celebrity Speakers for supporting this episode. If you want to book Shane for a keynote and leave your audience buzzing, visit celebrityspeakers.co.nz.Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Known as the Mountain Warrior, Shane Cameron was the Commonwealth cruiserweight champion and held the WBO Oriental, WBO Asia-Pacific and IBF Pan-Pacific titles. Today, he’s a businessman, with ventures including the Shane Cameron Fitness gym and the Counterpunch boxing range.In today’s episode, Shane talks about:his rural upbringing and how he felt like — in his words — the “dumbest kid in school,”the fight of the century and what he regrets about his behaviour in the lead-up to that event, andhis depression following his world championship fight with Danny Green, and how he came back from it.A huge thanks to Celebrity Speakers for supporting this episode. If you want to book Shane for a keynote and leave your audience buzzing, visit celebrityspeakers.co.nz.Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Todd Astle is a former professional cricketer; playing Test, ODI, and T20 cricket for the New Zealand Black Caps. In 2023, alongside his brother Ryan and his mate Ged Robinson, Todd co-founded BetterMan, a not-for-profit delivering BYC — betterment, yarns and competition — for men in Christchurch.In this episode, Todd talks about:what it was like to get four ducks in a row (of the cricketing variety),the PERMA-V model of positive psychology,his secret sauce for getting men to open up and share more of themselves.Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Karameli Faaee is one of the most successful international rugby players in US history. As captain of the USA Women’s Eagles, she led the team to fourth place in the 2017 Rugby World Cup, their first time making it to the semifinals in nearly 20 years. She then went into coaching and became the first-ever women’s coach of a US professional men’s rugby team, Rugby United New York.In this episode, Karameli talks about:The connection between emotions and performance, The difference between coaching men and women,What happened when she had to face the Black Ferns' haka.Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’ve just returned from the U.S., where we filmed content in collaboration with the U.S. Soccer Foundation. Our work together focuses on the Yes Coach! initiative, which has a target of upskilling 100,000 coach-mentors across the United States by 2030. We interviewed 10 players and coaches, from grassroots to pro levels, and were struck by how many parallels we saw with past Hunger & Heart guests.This week on the pod, Kaila and Boma Educational Designer Hannah Hudson unpack core insights from their trip — including:What makes “tough love” workWhen to apply a mindset of minimising mistakes vs. maximising opportunitiesThe profound impact coaches can haveHunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, no new Hunger & Heart episode. Kaila checks in from Seattle, where she’s been filming with an incredible crew and extraordinary coaches and athletes. Stay tuned, we’ll be back next week! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zoë McBride is a double world champion in the women's lightweight single scull rowing. She held the world record in the lightweight single scull and is only the second New Zealander to win a double national championship in both the lightweight and premier single sculls.Zoë stepped away from rowing in 2021 and has been open about how the need to make weight took its toll, not only on her body, but also on her soul. In this episode, Zoe shares her heart-wrenching journey. Her hope is that it might be useful for anyone else facing similar struggles. It’s a searingly honest conversation, and ultimately an uplifting one. Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Campbell Johnstone played for the Crusaders in 2004 and for the All Blacks in 2005. In 2023, he came out as the first openly gay All Black and made headlines around the world.In this episode, Campbell talks about:The surprising way his older brother reacted when he came out How he let himself down in his goal to become an All BlackThe remarkable support he received from the rugby communityHunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the Crusaders Leadership Programme™, you get two live, one-hour, Ask-Me-Anything sessions with our faculty, including Sir Wayne Smith, who we featured on Episode 5 of the podcast. For today's episode, we are pulling a clip from one of those Ask-Me-Anything sessions where Smithy talks about his experience coaching the Kobelco Steelers, the rugby team for the Kobe Steel Company in Japan. It’s an extraordinary story. Smithy arrived to a team that had lost its connection, that was complacent, that was entitled.He turned it around in the most profound way, going back into the company's history to find something they could play for that was bigger than them.The lessons in this story apply to anyone who's interested in theming specifically, but also in culture building more broadly, and how we connect culture to the bigger picture of the world around us. It's a beautiful story. It's just 10 minutes. We can't wait for you to hear it.Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

DJ Forbes is Rugby Sevens royalty. He played in 512 games in 89 tournaments, winning six World Series. Last year he was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame.In this episode, DJ talks about:The influence of his Samoan culture on his leadershipComing to grips with the idea of captaining his nationWhat surprised him in going from player to captain to coachA huge thanks to Celebrity Speakers for supporting this episode. If you want to book DJ for a keynote and bring his special brand of leadership to your audience, visit celebrityspeakers.co.nz.Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Raelene Castle is a woman of firsts: first female CEO of a club in the National Rugby League, the first female CEO of Rugby Australia, and the first female CEO of Sport New Zealand. She’s also unafraid to take on gnarly issues, operating at the centre of the storm for some of the biggest controversies and challenges on the world stage with a near-supernatural level of grace and steadiness.In this episode, Raelene talks about.How her parents helped her cultivate a passion for debateHow to stay calm when everything seems to be falling apartWhat she learned from her closest advisorsA huge thanks to Celebrity Speakers for supporting this episode. If you want to book Raelene for a keynote and challenge your leadership to the next level, visit celebrityspeakers.co.nz.Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rob Penney just finished his 2nd year as head coach of the Crusaders. Year One: the team didn't make it to the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade. Year Two: complete turnaround, won the championship.Huge credit of course has to go to Colin Mansbridge, Angus Gardiner, Brent Francis, and the entire leadership team for keeping their cool, understanding what needed to be done, and staying the course. But of course Rob was the man at the centre of the storm — and he handled it about as well as a mortal red-blooded human could handle it.In this episode, Rob talks about:The shift from being driven by hate for the enemy to being driven by love of the gameHow he learned to cope with the pressure of professional coachingWhat happened in the off-season to turn things around from 2024 to 2025Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon in 1967 — and had to literally fight off a race official to do so. Because of her, millions of women are now empowered by the simple act of running.In this episode, Kathrine talks about:How her parents empowered her to think differently about what was possibleHow she has continued to leverage her experience to expand access to more womenForgivenessA huge thanks to Celebrity Speakers for supporting this episode. If you want to book Kathrine for a keynote and leave your audience beyond inspired, visit celebrityspeakers.co.nz. You can find Kathrine’s nonprofit at https://www.261fearless.org/.Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New Zealand windsurfing icon Barbara Kendall won Olympic gold in 1992 — the first Kiwi woman to win gold in any sport in more than 40 years, and only the second woman ever to do so. She is a 5x Olympian with 25 national titles and 11 world championship medals. She was also the first woman inducted into the world Sailing Hall of Fame.In this episode, Barbara talks about:The impact of nearly dying on a yacht with her entire familyHow we can better set young people up for successThe specific characteristics that made her coaches so outstandingA huge thanks to Celebrity Speakers for supporting this episode. If you want to book Barbara for a keynote and leave your audience buzzing, visit celebrityspeakers.co.nz.Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ian Jones MNZM is one of New Zealand's most capped locks, with 105 games and 79 tests for the All Blacks. Known as Kamo,  Ian played for the Chiefs from 1996 to 1999, and is now a rugby commentator for Sky Sports as well as General Manager of the All Blacks Experience in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.In this episode, Ian talks about:What it takes to be an All BlackWhat his most impactful coaches had in commonWhat the haka really meansHunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anna Galvan's netball career spanned 17 years. She played for the Southern Sting and for the Canterbury Flames, later the Canterbury Tactix. As a Silver Fern representing New Zealand, she competed at the Commonwealth Games in 2002, where New Zealand lost the final in heartbreaking double overtime to Australia. In this episode, Anna talks about:That silver medal.The challenge of balancing motherhood with being a professional netballer.How she supports the next generation of athletes.Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tori Moorby has been dominating the javelin throw in New Zealand since March of 2014 when she first broke the New Zealand record. She was just 19 years old. Since then, she's broken her own record over and over again, currently sitting at an astonishing 63.26 meters. In this episode, Tori talks about:Her insatiable ambition.Why she doesn't like team sports.The first person she calls after a competition.Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam Whitelock was the fastest player ever to reach 100 international appearances, the youngest New Zealander to reach 100 tests and one of just 44 men in the world to win a Rugby World Cup more than once.In this episode, Sam talks about:How his father deliberately cultivated Sam's rugby intellectThe real reason he's obsessed with body languageThe trick he would use to get the most out of Israel DaggHunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read. You’ll get their secrets for building high-trust, high-performing teams, on the rugby pitch or in the boardroom.Hunger & Heart listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.