Paper Fox Radio

Mahboba Rawi was Born in Afghanistan and forced to flee as a teenager due to her activism against the Soviet occupation.

She then lived in a refugee camp in Pakistan for two years before marrying and moving to Australia.

After her son’s death in 1992, she decided to take action to protect and advocate for children in Afghanistan.

And founded Mahboba’s Promise. An Australian non-profit organisation dedicated to helping disadvantaged women and children in Afghanistan. A country that has been torn apart by years of war and civil unrest and who now live under Taliban rule.

Mahboba’s Promise has established schools, shelters and health clinics across Afghanistan and provided numerous sponsorships to widows, orphans and girls in need.

She has helped thousands and thousands of people and to many of them she is ‘Mother Mahboba’ …

Mahboba has been awarded an Order of Australia and in 2012 was Australian Muslim Woman of the Year.

Her story is worthy of making a film… or three.

Mahboba is an angel… up there with Mother Teresa for the work she does, it’s simply incredible... In the world she operates, and the comparatively small size of her organisation it’s difficult to comprehend the impact she has had on the many many lives in Afghanistan and around the world.

Please enjoy my conversation with Mahboba Rawi

Az 🙏🏽✌️

A fair bit of energy goes into finding guests for the podcast.

Do they fit the theme? Do they have a story to share? Is there and interesting angle to tackle? Do I have the courage to ask them? Are they willing and available?

And once every so often, Universe delivers people into my life that I’m magnetically drawn to talk to.

Even if I’m not clear why or how. Something just intuitively feels right and I go with my gut.

My conversation with Renate Rienmuller fits into the 'intuitively guided' bucket.

Renate is a photomedia artist based in Sydney who works primarily in traditional printing processes, including one of the most time consuming and technically savage photographic processes - 19th century ‘wet plate’.

She is a co-founder of the non-for-profit creative space ‘La Creme Creative’ and also a co-founder of B.A.D. The Brookvale Arts District. A thriving community, connecting local and international artists, artisans, creatives and heart-lead creators of all walks of life.

Renate is currently working on her next solo exhibition. It's a portrait series due for launch in mid September 2022 and a book!

In the conversation we discuss Renate’s photography, creative process and also turn our attention to: what make an artist? or said another way - who makes art?

Where do you draw the line between taking photos, hanging your work in a gallery (art) vs fixing bicycles or punching numbers as an accountant?

It’s about the labels we attach to define people - as artists, or not. What’s the connective thread that binds (creative) spirits together and what is it that makes them so magnetic?

Easily one of my favourite conversations to date and I hope you enjoy it too. 

Thank you Universe for delivering this opportunity to me and thank you Renate for bringing your magnetic energy, creative connection and sharing your story.

Az ✌️

Early mornings are part of Jaimee Roger’s life. 

As a young athlete Jaimee was a national level swimmer and trialed for the Olympics. Keeping company with some of Australia’s greatest swimmers. 

Swimming at this level means years of hard work and sacrifice. Early starts at the pool. Repeatedly pushing your mind and body to its limits. 

Often the difference between winning gold and obscurity can be determined by the millisecond. It was injury that forced Jaimee away from competitive swimming and she’s lived with the weight of 'never quite making it as an Olympic athlete'. 

These days Jaimee co-host's a breakfast radio show on the Big Sports Breakfast, in Sydney. 

More early starts. 

When she leaves for work, both of her young children are usually already awake. To make this delicate balance possible, the well-known media professional and busy mother of two means every single minute of her day is accounted for. 

After nearly 20 years away from competition Jaimee is ready for a new challenge. She is training for an 35km open water swim across The English Channel for her first time. 

In this episode I talk with Jaimee about swimming and the role it plays in her life. The beauty and challenges of open water swimming. The importance of community. As she prepares for this epic adventure of a lifetime. 

Please enjoy,
Az ✌️🏊‍♀️

Jaimee Rogers Intro (03:01)

Becoming the TAB Lady (04:05) 

Managing two roles and study (11:00)

Competitive swimming & injury (17:35)

Breaststrokers are their own kind (23:43)

Why the English Channel? (24:45)

The distortion of being surrounded by uncommon people (30:01)

Details and logistics of The English Channel swim (33:08)

Being out of my depth with open water swimming (35:16)

Time away from swimming (38:06)

Training, preparation and nutrition... (39:40)

What's it like being out there in the vast open-ness? (47:40)

The open water bug (51:45)

Mental health and suicide awareness (54:58)

How do you take care of yourself? (58:38)

A process of learning (01:03:45)

What does success look like? (01:09:29)

A detailed experience of my first 10 day Vipassana Meditation Retreat. 

Intro

• About Vipassana Meditation Retreat (02:24)

Day by Day 

• Day 0 The environment (15:56)
• Day 1-3 Learning to breathe, avoiding discomfort and Snoring Man (20:10)
• Day 4 Mind wrangling and feeling insanely creative (30:11)
• Day 5 “The Hour of Power” (35:11)
• Day 6 Echo chamber of noise (46:46)
• Day 7 Seeing things differently (1:02:47)
• Days 8-9 Who in their right mind does this? (1:08:03)
• Day 10 So that’s what compassion is? (1:13:36)
• Day 10 Start again (1:17:42)

Insights

• Where do insights come from? (1:21:56)
• Meditation retreat or masochistic bootcamp? (1:23:30)
• A process of contraction and expansion (1:24:21)
• Life in nothingness (1:26:30)
• The inside noise vs outer noise (1:30:00)
• Your perfectly unique experience (1:33:00)

Closing

• Wrap-up (1:38:22)

The background noise of life today is a constant siren of uncertainty for the future. It’s easy to feel out of control and lose sight of what matters.

When the opportunity to interview Kirli Saunders arrived, I felt a pull to also talk about the future of our planet.

Kirli is a proud Gunai woman. Her writing has received numerous awards and critical acclaim. An Artist and consultant on culture and diversity. She is an advocate for the environment, gender and racial equality and LGBTIQA+ rights.

In 2020 Kirli was awarded NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year.

In our conversation we discuss the environment and listening to each other, our elders and to country. We follow Kirli’s trajectory from a career in teaching that inspired her to write ‘The Incredible Freedom Machines’. To the moment her mentor said “Kirli… you need to start taking this [writing] seriously.” And the pressure that comes with stepping into the unknown, success and responsibility. 

The thing that struck me was that under the barrage of worldly heaviness and uncertainty, Kirli is a figure of calm resilience founded in daily practice.

A voice of hope and possibility for the whole community. Kirli’s message begins with compassion and alignment to values, country and community. It’s in her voice when she talks, her writing, her art. Everything she applies herself to.

It’s a reminder that making any change in the world needs to start with ourselves. 

Enjoy,
Az 🙏

"It's the realisation that there's always more that can be done. There will always be more that can be said. There will always be questions left on the table. There will always be more that you can add. There will always be room for improvement. It can always be better. It’s learning to be ok with things left undone and unsaid. It’s about doing what you can with what you have at the time. it’s accepting things for the way that they are and letting them fly and be in the universe."

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Hey team, I hope you’re doing really well 🙂

Sticking with the theme of the podcast → “this one’s a little different”.

First: It’s my first shot at a solo episode. That’s an experience allllll in itself!

Second: it essentially documents my personal rollercoaster through the process of redefining the next iteration of this podcast.

What’s cool / interesting is how it started out as very rough sketch: “What if my creative process was the episode?” And transformed. Throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks and building on those ideas. The episode emerged.

The result not only captures how messy my (the) creative process can be. It’s a look behind the curtain at the internal challenges and habits that have derailed me in the past and confronting those head-on.

Building an episode around this journey turned-out to be the perfect vehicle for new ideas and insights. I made a mess, learned a bunch of new things and had so much freaking fun along the way.

As Bob Ross would say ‘a happy accident’.

I hope you get something from it too and would love to hear your thoughts.

Enjoy,
Az 🙏

At 93 Edward ‘John’ Swan is behaving like he’s 70.

It’s like he’s blissfully unaware of the 'You’re ageing. Slow-down' memo.

The retired school principle still has a firm handshake, a sparkle in his eye and purpose in his step. Although it’s just one knee gives him a bit of trouble.

And only when walking uphill.

Still fiercely independent and pushes himself too hard from time-to-time. He keeps himself sharp and comes prepared. His mother would be  proud.

A voracious consumer of knowledge. John reads ‘Ulysses’ on a regular basis and stays across all worldly and neighbourhood topics.

Curious about everything and everyone.

This vibrancy for life and unbounded curiosity put him at-odds with his late wife. She would describe it as "John has an extremely high tolerance for boredom."

A comment he accepts with a badge of honour and laughs “She had zero tolerance for boredom, whatsoever!”

My conversation with John is vignette of themes across his 93 years: 'Life-long learning'. Parenthood. His passion for teaching. Major influencers in his life. Regrets. Happiness and what getting older is like.

What’s beautiful is John's recall of early memories like they happened yesterday. Childhood bonds and adventures with friends. His first experiences at a potters wheel. Growing-up with his single mother in a small country town - in a time when being a divorced woman meant you were treated as an outcast.

Experiences that shaped him remain unfaded in his heart and mind all these years later.

For John, the conversation was an introspection. Looking back on the fond and difficult moments of life.

In the hours after recording this episode, John was taken to hospital.

Thankfully it was precautionary. The Doctors said he’d pushed himself too hard and needs to look after himself better: Rest. Hydrate & eat. They kept him in for a couple of nights with ‘other people his age.’

He hated that.

Enjoy,
Az 🙏❤

(This is part two of my conversation with Matt Ottley.)

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There are layers to a Matt Ottley story.

Layer by layer they reveal themselves until you get to the essence.

An internationally acclaimed, award winning multi-modal author, artist and composer with more than thirty-five picture books published.

His work includes: ‘How to Make a Bird’, ‘The Incredible Freedom Machines’, ‘Teacup’, ‘Parachute’ and his ground breaking multi-modal work, ‘Requiem for a Beast’.

Matt’s latest piece, ‘The Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness’ is a multi-modal project of epic proportions, weaving the worlds of literature, music and visual art together. Inspired by his own experiences living with Bipolar disorder.

In this conversation, we follow Matt’s early influences, from a childhood in wild Papua New Guinea (cannibalism was still very much on the menu). To his time working in the hard Australian outback as a Stockman.

From one creative to another we peel back the layers of his work and discuss how he weaves his Synesthesia into his utterly fascinating creative process.

Imagine: Painting sound and hearing colour.

A major theme is about living under the weight of shame and stigma experienced from culture of  communities, to those who are closest and ‘only want the best for us’.

This is the cost of blending in. Becoming invisible.

Sure, no one will notice you and you might even be safe from harm. But your gift will never be seen.

It's a potent reminder about being true to your nature and finding your people.

At 59, Matt continues to evolve. He shares with us what it takes to develop as an artist and a person.

Finally, it shows how even your darkest times can become your greatest gift to the world.

My conversation with Matt was an absolute privilege. As a creative, and as a person navigating my way through this noisy world, this episode deserves a careful listen - It's courageous, colourful and full of wisdom.

Thank you to Matt for putting your trust in me to share your story.

Enjoy, Az 🎨🙏  

There are layers to a Matt Ottley story.

Layer by layer they reveal themselves until you get to the essence.

An internationally acclaimed, award winning multi-modal author, artist and composer with more than thirty-five picture books published.

His work includes: ‘How to Make a Bird’, ‘The Incredible Freedom Machines’, ‘Teacup’, ‘Parachute’ and his ground breaking multi-modal work, ‘Requiem for a Beast’.

Matt’s latest piece, ‘The Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness’ is a multi-modal project of epic proportions, weaving the worlds of literature, music and visual art together. Inspired by his own experiences living with Bipolar disorder.

In this conversation, we follow Matt’s early influences, from a childhood in wild Papua New Guinea (cannibalism was still very much on the menu). To his time working in the hard Australian outback as a Stockman.

From one creative to another we peel back the layers of his work and discuss how he weaves his Synesthesia into his utterly fascinating creative process.

Imagine: Painting sound and hearing colour.

A major theme is about living under the weight of shame and stigma experienced from culture of  communities, to those who are closest and ‘only want the best for us’.

This is the cost of blending in. Becoming invisible.

Sure, no one will notice you and you might even be safe from harm. But your gift will never be seen.

It's a potent reminder about being true to your nature and finding your people.

At 59, Matt continues to evolve. He shares with us what it takes to develop as an artist and a person.

Finally, it shows how even your darkest times can become your greatest gift to the world.

My conversation with Matt was an absolute privilege. As a creative, and as a person navigating my way through this noisy world, this episode deserves a careful listen - It's courageous, colourful and full of wisdom. 

Thank you to Matt for putting your trust in me to share your story.

Enjoy,
Az 🎨🙏

PS: This is part one of a two part conversation.

‘Lightning‘ Liz Allen is one of a rare number of Lightning Process practitioners - on the planet.

A process that helps thousands of people overcome issues from chronic fatigue, chronic pain, anxiety, depression, IBS and more.

After months of illness, chronic fatigue ended Liz’s design career.

In this conversation we follow Liz’s transformation from chronically ill, back to health and being of service to others. 

We dive into the nuts-and-bolts of chronic illness, NLP and the Lightning Process. We explore the massively fascinating mind-body connection and how life altering change can happen - much quicker than we believe.

What really landed for me is how people who’s lives are impacted by chronic conditions, often continue to live with it long after their initial trauma event. When getting out of bed, having a conversation or catching a bus become virtual mountains to climb (Things most of us don’t think twice about, and often can’t see the pain it causes from the outside).

What’s remarkable about the Lightning Process is not just how fast it can work but how empowering it is to the individual. Who go on to reclaim their autonomy, confidence, sense of self and often lead more fulfilling lives. 

A big, big thank you to Liz for her time and sharing her story so generously. Her passion and energy for making real, lasting change in people’s lives is abundant. 

Az ⚡️🧠❤️

Connecting with your inner explorer.

After some time in the wilderness, doing my own exploring, we are back!

Along with being a top human and friend of mine, Kay is an elite ultra endurance athlete, an executive coach and author of the award winning book ‘Turning Right: Inspire the Magic.’

Kay’s book had a significant impact on me that has helped me take more of my own ‘right turns’.

It’s essential reading for anyone wanting to transform their lives to reach their next level… whatever area of life that might be and whatever that looks like.

In this conversation we unpack those ingredients of transformative change. The things Kay learned through his own transformation journey from ‘weekend warrior’ to ‘elite ultra endurance athlete’: Raising consciousness, the role of fear and success, meditation and the illusion of control.

He also introduces us to characters who were pivotal along the way.

There’s a lot in this ep.

I’m grateful for Kay’s generosity of time and sharing his experiences with me, and producing his thought provoking book.

And to be back from the wild. Creating things with my hands again. Having great conversations with interesting people and to be able to share this with you.

🥾🧭 🌳 - Az

"When the pain of not changing outweighs the pain of change - there's really no choice". Mark tried to play-down his problems, hiding the truth from those who were closest to him, because time and culture had taught him that vulnerability was a sign of weakness. Through his depression Mark rediscovered running, like a daily meditation to get his mind and body right. Day-by-day his life slowly started to mend. How far he could go? What sort of legacy would he leave behind? I caught-up with Mark soon after he'd finished running 21 Half-marathons in 21 days to help raise awareness for Mental Health (a 'warm-up' to running 22 Marathons in 22 days 😬). Marks is a story about the death of a close friend, his own mortality and working through depression. It's about the choices we make and the actions we take in the face of crisis. It's about having a daily practice of patience and self awareness. It's about speaking-up when you need help, and discovering purpose in the darkest of places. I hope you enjoy this episode Az x PS. If you've got a story to tell or know someone who does -> drop us a line. 🦊 How can I support this podcast? Subscribe, Rate and share with your friends! Thanks heaps :)

Ian loves working with a beautiful piece of timber in his shed. Good tunes on the radio. Dog by his side. He's salt of the earth kind of guy. His face and hands are weathered from a life spent outdoors and working on the slipway. A shipwright by trade, his passion is restoring old wooden boats; He's worked on everything from century old yachts to old fishing boats. Old boats are like time capsules. When opened and paid attention will share their many lives and stories with you. In a time of lightweight, space-age, almost disposable materials. Short attention spans and constant pressure for things to be done faster and cheaper. It's Shipwrights like Ian who ensure these boats live on and continue to tell their story. I hope you enjoy this episode, Az ⛵️ PS. If you've got a story to tell or know someone who does -> drop us a line. 🦊 How Can I support this podcast? Subscribe, Rate and share with your friends! Thanks heaps :)

"I'll never meet the angel on the other end of that phone call... I'll never know who they are. They saved my life..." Something was wrong with Jack. It wasn't just burn out. This had a frightening quality to it, that he'd never experienced before. It started when Jack wasn't finding joy in the things he loved. A string of injuries kept him from his passion of sport. In his life outside of sport, no matter how hard he worked, how high he climbed, no amount of praise or accolades were enough. He felt empty, uncared for and alone. But on paper, Jack was 'kicking goals'. He was a young, white, straight Aussie bloke. He had a great education, played high level sport, was hard worker and he had plenty of friends. His family loved him. However, the wheels still fell off. This wasn't one of those problem he could solve with more hours at work, more reps in the gym or just 'man up' and muscle through it. Those things that had bought him success, were now his enemies.` Jack found himself headed into a severe state of depression, about to take his own life. The moment he picked up the phone and called Lifeline, Jack's recovery began. Today, Jack's journey has led him to The Banksia Project where he is now the program lead. Jack has devoted himself to serving and supporting others, caring during tough times and empowering them with preventative skills to better manage their mental health, before reaching crisis point. He has been there, he doesn't want to watch others go through it. - My conversation with Jack follows his journey from crisis to recovery. How mental health is one part of the personal health picture. And what we can each do to look after ourselves and the people we care about. Mental health still carries a lot of stigma and it's important that we give people the tools, space and support to have these conversations. A conversation that could change your life. I hope you enjoy this episode, it would mean a lot if you shared it with your friends, family and community. Az x PS. If you've got a story to tell or know someone who does -> drop us a line. 🦊 How Can I support this podcast? Subscribe, Rate and share with your friends! Thanks heaps :)