Flying Blind Podcast

Imagine living life to the fullest, getting married, growing your own business, starting a family and the next thing you know, you’re getting diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer.  This was the sudden reality that Lisa Briggs faced 12 years ago. At the time she had a toddler, a 4 month old, her own business and a whole life ahead of her, yet no one could even guarantee her tomorrow.  In this weeks episode of Flying Blind, Lisa runs us through her story so openly covering conversations about mortality, having to live in the present when your future is so unknown, making the little things big, the power of mindset and the importance of always having something to look forward to! Lisa recognises that all of us are really just ‘Living while we’re dying’ and she chooses to focus on doing as much living as she can while she can!   We will be at Alpha Fest at Sandstone Point on the 30th of May in QLD. It will be an epic event and if you haven’t already, make sure you grab your tickets today and we can’t wait to catch up with you there! –  https://www.moshtix.com.au/v2/event/alpha-fest-%E2%80%93-the-mateship-muster/192080  Feeling thirsty? Get around Born Dry to re hydrate from a can that looks good tastes good and is good for the environment –  https://borndry.com.au/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Todays episode is a big shout out to the Mum's in honour of Mothers Day but also to one special Father, Ben's Dad Tim. Happy 60th birthday to the man who fostered Ben's "give anything a go" attitude by simply saying to him, in the early days of losing his sight, "All those things you love to do, we'll find another way to do it". And so they did. Ben gives us an insight in to how, with the un-waivering help from his family, especially his Dad, was able to keep his hobbies of waterskiing, shooting and fishing simply by doing things differently.We also chat about Amy's low key Mothers Day, Bens calendar & the very exciting release of the line up for Alpha Events Co's Podcast Royale 3.0 that Ben will once again feature in. Get around him and all the other fighters over on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/p/DX_e8oIkSQw/As always, Flying Blind is kindly supported and hydrated by Born Dry. Get around them at https://borndry.com.au/Check out Flying Blind on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/flyingblindpodcast/And on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@flyingblindpodcastOr watch full Flying Blind episodes over on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@FlyingBlindPodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There aren’t too many guest episodes that leave you pretty much speechless in the first few seconds of their story however this weeks episode is the exception! Ash Kasi was left on the door step of an orphanage in Sri Lanka at 3 day’s old, was adopted 6 weeks later to an Australian migrant family and from there takes us through the rollercoaster from 3 days old right through to 43. Ash and Benny cover it all in this one from bullying, identity and family through to stand up comedy and his mission to make 1 person smile every day.      Check out Ash’s podcast, Older But Not Wiser –  https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Older-but-not-Wiser-Podcast-61572427020828/ Feeling thirsty? Get around Born Dry to re hydrate from a can that looks good tastes good and is good for the environment –  https://borndry.com.au/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Helicopters, barra fishing, swimming holes, pubs and an awesome crew of mates was the recipe for success last week.  Recorded live from the Sand Palms Roadhouse in the NT at the end of one of the alltime great weeks! 8 blokes who have become great mates through podcasting have spent the week with Finniss River Helicopters to showcase what the NT has to offer. Excuse the bugs and background noise as Benny recaps the week with Tommy and The Poo Bandit from the Alpha Blokes Podcast, Bryze and Zaden from the Deadass Podcast and Pirate from Finniss River Helicopters who made the whole trip possible.   Get in touch with the team at Finniss River Helicopters to plan the NT trip of a lifetime – https://www.finnissriverhelicopters.com/ Check out Alpha Blokes Podcast –https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/alpha-blokes-podcast/id1581699623Check out Deadass Podcast –https://deadasspodcast.com.au/For most of this trip, if there was a hat on our heads, it was a Country Trucker Cap. Check them out here –https://thecountrycompanies.com/ Feeling thirsty? Get around Born Dry to re hydrate from a can that looks good tastes good and is good for the environment –  https://borndry.com.au/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are big believers that there is no such thing as a silly question in life and in this weeks episode Ben and Ames get to answering a heap of questions that you’ve hit us with! Since we kicked Flying Blind off we have been overwhelmed by all of your support already and appreciate everyone getting around it, rating, reviewing and sharing with your mates. In and amongst all of the support has been plenty of questions so while Benny is chasing Barramundi in the NT this week we sit down and dive into a range of different things that you’re keen to learn more about, enjoy!. Feeling thirsty? Get around Born Dry to re hydrate from a can that looks good tastes good and is good for the environment – https://borndry.com.au/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Benny has spent all of 3 nights at home since he and Ames last sat down in the shed to catch up. In this weeks episode of Flying Blind Ben recounts a powerful program of work across the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, getting back in the car to drive back over the SA border for Easter less than 12 hours after getting home, topped off by an absolute ripper of a trip to Tasmania! Ames gives us an insight into the juggle behind the scenes, the importance of the 6 P’s (Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance) and how she managed to deliver a fantastic workshop in and amongst the chaos.  They also introduce something new to these catch up episodes this week as they take a minute to look back at what worked, what didn’t and what they have learned… It’s ok to lower your bar rather than setting yourself up for failure and sometimes you just have to bite the bullet, even when it means scuba diving in the sharks backyard!   Feeling thirsty? Get around Born Dry to re hydrate from a can that looks good tastes good and is good for the environment –  https://borndry.com.au/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this weeks episode of Flying Blind, Benny sits down with one of his good mates, Liam ‘Shooter’ Williamson, the morning after a ripper night at Lainey Wilson’s Melbourne concert. Shooter is a carpenter and co-host of The Dusty Boots Podcast, which is fitting considering the boys may have been a little dusty during this recording. This is the first time that Shooter has been on the receiving end of an interview as he is normally the one asking the questions to some of the worlds biggest country music artists. They cover everything from growing up in the country, working hard for what you want, building a family and trying to be tough through tragedy.        Follow Liam On Instagram https://www.instagram.com/liamshootswilliamson/  Follow the Dusty Boots Podcast on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thedustybootspodcast/  Feeling thirsty? Get around Born Dry to re hydrate from a can that looks good tastes good and is good for the environment –  https://borndry.com.au/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ames sits down with Benny for this episode to chat about what he's had and got going on this month including the Two Flogs Golf Day and the upcoming regional speaking tour on the Eyre Peninsular. They also throw in a few stories about a cruise they once went on, how they met plus a quick chat about the best birthday present Ben has ever recieved.Enjoy the chat and remember to get your hands on Born Dry still and sparkling water over at https://borndry.com.au/You find out more about Ben and Flying Blind in the following places. Get around it! Website:www.benpettingill.com Instagram:@benpettingill @flyingblindpodcast TikTok:@benpettingill @flyingblindpodcast Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/benpettingillspeaker Flying Blind podcast is recorded across Australia and pays respects to the Traditional Owners of Country, recognising that First Nations peoples were first in language and storytelling. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Ben was up north for the recent Two Flogs golf day, before they hit the golf course, he jumped into the Two Flogs studio with great mate and co host, Andrew ‘Buster’ Kirby for a yarn. There is plenty in this one as they cover everything from local sport, family, burgers and stand up comedy through to mental health, agoraphobia, online hate and unpacking the 3 different versions of himself, Andrew, Kirb & Buster. Throw in a revved up rooster on a rampage inside a van with 7 blokes on the road and this one certainly has a bit of everything!     Follow Andrew on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kirb___buster/ Follow the Two Flogs Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twoflogspodcast/Listen to Two Flogs Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6aY7uIE9mgrX6FmbPFkZETDrink Born Dry: https://borndry.com.au/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We went, we skied and we conquered 456km’s from Murray Bridge to Renmark in South Australia over 3 days as part of Ski For Life 2026! Daniel is new to Ben’s Ski For Life team this year, so the two of them sit down after the dust has settled to crack a couple of cans and recap what was an epic event, running through their highlights and the impact that it had.  Daniel also shares why he was so keen on getting involved in Ski For Life in the first place, opening up on his own battles with the black dog and unpacking plenty of life lessons that he has learned on the fly that plenty of us will be able to relate to.  If you would like to get behind the team’s recent effort, and the great work that Ski For Life do supporting mental health, wellbeing and suicide prevention, you can donate here -    https://chuffed.org/fundraiser/the-college-2026  To find out more about Ski For Life, check out –  https://www.skiforlife.com.au/  Check out Caitlin Drew and the song she wrote for Ski For Life here –  https://open.spotify.com/track/6PUyEte3CdL3OmcCsAHVTB?si=IHfGjZZNTfuL39UIN9leUQ  Feeling thirsty? Get around Born Dry to rehydrate from a can that looks good, tastes good and is better for the environment than your average plastic bottle –  https://borndry.com.au/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We switch things up in this weeks episode of Flying Blind, taking the opportunity to sit down in a boxing ring in Gulgong NSW of all places. With brothers Brad and Nat, we recap a mammoth community effort post completing a 24 hour boxing challenge for mental health! These two brothers are a couple of down to earth country blokes and they take a look back on growing up in the country, taking over the family farm plus open up on mental health challenges along the way and how getting involved with the local community boxing gym has not just changed their lives but, for one of them, probably even saved it. We know this one doesn’t sound like a typical episode recorded in the studio but Benny couldn’t pass up the chance to highlight what a ripper event these fellas put on for their community along with the entire Gulgong Community & Fitness Centre team. It was a damn pleasure to have been apart of it. Check out the Gulgong Community & Fitness Centre and the great stuff they are doing for their community here: https://www.facebook.com/GulgongCommunityFitness Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this weeks episode of Flying Blind, we rip into our first guest yarn with a great mate and host of the Alpha Blokes Podcast. Tom Dahl catches up with Benny when he was down in Melbourne at the end of last year.When Tommy was growing up, podcasts didn't exist so having "podcast host" as a career aspiration was impossible. This wild ride from working in the mines to hosting one of the country’s biggest podcast is the definition of flying blind. They unpack the journey it has been so far as well as taking a look at some of the stuff that goes on behind the mic that not everyone hears.Tommy’s blind skills also get put to the test for a bit of fun. For this chat we were tight for time so don’t stress, Tommy will be back on down the track to keep spinning yarns with us all.Check out the Alpha Blokes Podcast websiteAlpha Blokes Podcast on Spotify or Apple PodcastsAlpha Blokes Podcast on Instagram, TikTok and FacebookPlus follow along with Tom’s adventures on Instagram or TikTokAnd you find out more about Ben and Flying Blind in the following places. Get around it! Website - www.benpettingill.com Instagram - @benpettingill  | @flyingblindpodcast TikTok - @benpettingill  | @flyingblindpodcast Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/benpettingillspeaker  Flying Blind podcast is recorded across Australia and pays respects to the Traditional Owners of Country, recognising that First Nations peoples were first in language and storytelling.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the debut episode of Flying Blind, a podcast for all of us out there winging our way through life. In this introductory episode, you learn about your host, Ben Pettingill, a blind professional speaker and Dad, who lost his eyesight overnight at age 16 to a rare genetic syndrome. Ben also introduces you to his wife Amy who will make regular appearances on this weekly podcast but will mostly be behind the scenes editing and producing Flying Blind. Ben and Amy chat about a recent experience he documented and shared online which subsequently went viral, giving his audiences a taste of life as a blind bloke. This experience encapsulates the literal side of Flying Blind where you will hear from Ben all about his life with only 2% eyesight. Alongside guest interviews with people generous in sharing their own metaphorical flying blind through life stories, Flying Blind is a podcast to remind us all to have a crack because we really are all just winging it!You find out more about Ben and Flying Blind in the following places. Get around it! Website:www.benpettingill.com Instagram:@benpettingill @flyingblindpodcast TikTok:@benpettingill @flyingblindpodcast Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/benpettingillspeaker  Flying Blind podcast is recorded across Australia and pays respects to the Traditional Owners of Country, recognising that First Nations peoples were first in language and storytelling.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.