Two ex-special operations guys armed with MBAs seek out people leading lives less ordinary, in order to find out how they fill their ‘unforgiving minutes’, and what helps them go, always, a little further. Like intellectual bowerbirds, we collect shiny little objects of knowledge that will help build better humans. Co-hosted by Ben Pronk and Tim Curtis.
Episodes
Friday Jan 26, 2024
Friday Jan 26, 2024
Ben and Tim are back for Season 5 of the Unforgiving60 podcast..... some amazing new guests lined up as well as new format (albeit with the same old dudes).
Thursday Nov 16, 2023
Thursday Nov 16, 2023
This episode is a rerelease of our interview with Tim 'Robbo' Robertson. 'Robbo' was tragically killed in an aircraft accident in Queensland. Forever the professional. Forever the character. Forever the Chronic Overachiever.
Forever in our memories.
Vale Robbo. To where the Wandering Warriors roam.
*****
Tim Robertson is an ex F18 fighter pilot who got bored of that and then successfully completed the Australian Special Air Service (SAS) Selection course! Robbo then saw operational service in Afghanistan and the Western Desert of Iraq, before leaving the military to: Consult to the United Nations || Advise an oil company in Geneva || Raise a nationally sensitive aviation capability || Start his own aviation company || And return to flying fast jets. He is current on around 40 different fixed and rotary winged aircraft and a highly talented musician. But Robbo talks about defining your happiness, the importance of hard work and overcoming adversity....
Wednesday Dec 21, 2022
Wednesday Dec 21, 2022
In this RV Ben and Tim discuss the years events, trends and ‘best ofs’ now that the world has opened back up and life has returned to having velocity.
From books, global change, travel, music ….. and what challenges have the boys set themselves for 2023.
01:30 What is an RV?
03:15 Let’s start with some stats
05:30 What is the 5th rated country by download? You’ll be surprised!
07:00 Some of the guest episodes…. Reflecting
14:15 How guests fight back…. Maccas Christmas Card to the boys.
18:00 Musical interlude…. I on U by The Externals
18:45 What was the biggest world development in 2022?
25:45 Tim will be easy meat when AI take over the world
27:15 Best book read this year?
Mastery by Robert Greene
About Cicero
Farnam Street Blog
37:45 Talking best travel in 2022
39:40 Project NEOM and the giga projects in Saudi Arabia
43:30 Music discoveries in 2023?
And Enjoy Band play Mojos Bar in Perth on 28 January 2023 opening to Humble Armada
47:00 Ben’s listens outside of Kpop….. back to the future- rediscovering albums
52:10 Coolest discovery in 2022?
53:00 About Gravel Bikepacking
56:30 About Snake Island
57:30 The privilege of Walking Country with the Nyamal Rangers
58:30 What about quitting? When is it right to quit?
1:07:15 Goals for 2023
Bikepacking Mawson Trail and Munda Biddi Trail
1:09:00 Info on Tim’s ‘Longest Marathon’ is here
1:15:15 Sam Bloom dominating …. Her episode on the U60 is here.
1:17:00 Talking about the 2022 Resilience Retreat…..
Have a great holiday period…… don’t forget to fill that unforgiving minute with 60 second worth of distance run!
Contact Us
Email us at debrief@unforgiving60.com
Instagram, Twitter: @Unforgiving60
Music …. With thanks to:
The Externals – available on Spotify
And Enjoy – available on Spotify ….and playing Mojos Bar on 28th January 2023
Monday Dec 12, 2022
Monday Dec 12, 2022
Ben and Tim are interviewed by Emily and Callum from Golds Gym.
***********
The SAS guys with MBA's and Authors of the best-selling book 'The Resilience Shield' join us on the Gold's Gym podcast! Tim Curtis and Ben Pronk are leaders in their field and chat to us about all things resilience. You can also take their test to find out how resilient you are.
Assess, understand and improve your resilience here:
https://resilienceshield.com/assess-your-resilience/
Resilience is a lifelong individual endeavour and you can get active in your own rescue. Here's a brief overview of what you can expect to learn in this episode:
- What is resilience and why is it important?
- What is the Resilience Shield and what are the layers?
- How does stress affect your resilience?
- How do you foster an environment to develop resilient kids?
- Fitness vs Toughness
- Show me your friends, show me your future: Why this statement determines whether or not you are flourishing
- Can you train mindset?
- Gut microbiome
- Wim Hof breathing
- Transcendental meditation
- Being curious about who you are and surfing your thoughts
- How self-compassion and self-forgiveness is linked to meditation
- What is the secret to being successful?
- Transferability of techniques
This is an episode you're going to want to listen to multiple times over to absorb all of the information. Download today!
Find the guys on social media: @resilienceshield
Music by The Externals
Thursday Nov 17, 2022
Thursday Nov 17, 2022
Senator David Van is a Liberal Senator for Victoria, who was elected to the Senate in 2019. As part of this, and arguably as the main reason many Australians might recognise him, David has recently been very prominent in his support for the people of Ukraine. In this discussion, we speak with David about what this cause means to him and what the situation there might mean for all of us in Australia.
We also explore David’s fascinating background, which includes time as a horticulturalist, in public relations and as a ski instructor, as well as his extensive interest in, and study into the current geo-political environment – David holds a Master of International Relations degree from Monash University and is undertaking a Master of Strategy and Security degree at UNSW at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA).
With all of this going on, we also ask David what he does for himself – exactly how does he stay healthy, happy and sane in the course of his busy and diverse life?
1:20 David’s upbringing – and experience in horticulture, public relations and ski instructing (all, as it turns out, very useful preparatory skills for a career in politics!)
7:22 Why the career change into politics? (and how do you get into politics?)
10:00 David’s support for Ukraine – and his frontline experience there
15:30 Is the conflict winnable (or loseable?)
18:30 What more should the West – including Australia – be doing?
22:30 What does the Ukraine situation mean for our region – and in particular, Chinese attitudes towards Taiwan? And what should Australia be doing about this?
29:10 David’s views on the current state of democracy – and its ability to stand up against emerging totalitarian regimes
32:00 David’s reflections on the current state of the Liberal party
35:00 How does David stay sane, fit and healthy?
36:50 On Josh Frydenberg
39:40 David’s reading recommendations…
41:40 …and his power song!
44:40 What’s next for David?
Email us at debrief@unforgiving60.com
Instagram, Twitter: @Unforgiving60
External Links
David’s website
Music
The Externals – available on Spotify
Ben Frichot - available on Spotify
Thursday Oct 13, 2022
Thursday Oct 13, 2022
TRIGGER WARNING. This episode discusses the 2002 Bali Bombing and involves content that some might find disturbing.
‘Macca’ is a knock about Aussie guy who 20 years ago at 19 years old played some pretty sub amateur footy at Kingsley Football Club in Perth. In October 2002, they won the team's first premiership and 20 people flew to Bali for an end-of-season trip to celebrate their victory. But only 13 of the teammates made it home. The remaining seven were killed in the Bali bombings, a terrorist attack which claimed the lives of 202 people, including 88 Australians.
Macca remembers seeing and hearing the blast. He was sitting around a table in the Sari Club with some mates and some girls they had befriended that night. What happened in the aftermath, including his response, and the selfless response of his teammates is quite remarkable.
This episode is powerful, but it also shows the caring side of Macca who has been profoundly affected by the incident. But it also shows his commitment to his own post traumatic growth.
07:30 Elite research on our guest
08:00 About Kingsley Football Club
08:30 Kingsley Football Club really sucked in 2001!
11:00 The win the Grand Final… and off to Bali they go!
14:00 Into the Sari Club…. Macca recounts the situation
19:00 Recall…. How our brains trick us…. Macca’s brains response
22:00 The startling result at Macca’s table. 8 metres from the bomb. Why/ How did Macca survive?
24:45 The Football Club refuse to leave…. Counting the cost. Trying to find their teammates.
26:30 How is Macca’s emotional state?
28:20 How long before the realisation that mates had been killed?
33:25 Coming home
45:00 After year one… revenge or forgiveness?
51:00 Maccas advice to those going through trauma
Contact Us
Email us at debrief@unforgiving60.com
Instagram, Twitter: @Unforgiving60
Music
The Externals – available on Spotify
Tongue Charge- not good enough to be available anywhere!!
Mitchell Martin
Nik Kali
Helplines.
For those who might be troubled here are some health support lines
Lifeline on 13 11 14 — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Beyond Blue aims to increase awareness of depression and anxiety and reduce stigma. Call 1300 22 4636, 24 hours/7 days a week, chat online or email.
Blue Knot Foundation Helpline is the National Centre of Excellence for Complex Trauma. It provides support, education and resources for the families and communities of adult survivors of childhood trauma and abuse. Call 1300 657 380, Monday – Sunday between 9am – 5pm AEST or via email helpline@blueknot.org.au.
eheadspace provides free online and telephone support and counselling to young people 12 – 25 and their families and friends. Call 1800 650 890, 9am – 1am AEST / 7 days a week, chat online or email.
FriendLine supports anyone who's feeling lonely, needs to reconnect or just wants a chat. You can call them 7 days a week on 1800 424 287, or chat online with one of their trained volunteers. All conversations with FriendLine are anonymous.
Kids Helpline is Australia’s only free 24/7 confidential and private counselling service specifically for children and young people aged 5 – 25. Call 1800 55 1800.
Lifeline provides 24-hour crisis counselling, support groups and suicide prevention services. Call 13 11 14, text on 0477 13 11 14 (12pm to midnight AEST) or chat online.
MensLine Australia is a professional telephone and online counselling service offering support to Australian men. Call 1300 78 99 78, 24 hours/7 days a week, chat online or organise a video chat.
MindSpot is a free telephone and online service for people with anxiety, stress, low mood or depression. It provides online assessment and treatment for anxiety and depression. MindSpot is not an emergency or instant response service. Call 1800 61 44 34.
SANE Australia provides support to anyone in Australia affected by complex mental health issues, as well as their friends, family members and health professionals. Call 1800 18 7263, 10am – 10pm AEST (Mon – Fri), or chat online.
Suicide Call Back Service provides 24/7 support if you or someone you know is feeling suicidal. Call 1300 659 467.
Open Arms — Veterans and Families Counselling provides 24/7 free and confidential counselling to anyone who has served at least one day in the ADF, their partners and families. Call 1800 011 046.
Head to Health provides free advice, assessment and referral into local mental health services. Call 1800 595 212 between 8:30am to 5pm on weekdays (public holidays excluded).
Thursday Sep 22, 2022
Thursday Sep 22, 2022
Through their work with The Resilience Shield, Ben and Tim have become fascinated with the topic – and in particular, with evidence-based research related to it. A few months back, they saw an article talking about an Australian academic conducting a range of ground-breaking research into this exact topic and reached out to see if she would be interested in sharing her perspectives with the Unforgiving60. Associate Professor Justine Gatt is Lead Scientist of the Gatt Wellbeing & Resilience Group at Neuroscience Research Australia and the School of Psychology, UNSW. In this capacity, she leads a research program looking at the neuroscience of wellbeing and resilience to stress and trauma, and the ways that wellbeing and resilience can be promoted via various intervention platforms. In this episode, she shares some of these findings with Ben and Tim, including a range of practical methods of building resilience that anyone can adopt.
0:25 A very special introduction – some original poetry from Jackson, a participant in Rick Pedley-Smith’s Rite of Passage program. For more on Rick and the work he is doing to re-engage and support boys who are considered ‘at risk’, see our discussion with him exactly two seasons ago, way back in Season 2, Episode 18.
7:05 Justine’s background – and how she got to her current role as lead scientist of the Gatt Wellbeing and Resilience Group
10:10 Justine’s definition of wellbeing and resilience
12:00 How much – and what parts – of our resilience is hereditary? Plus an explanation of Justine’s COMPAS-W scale
17:24 The impacts of early life stress on our resilience (and the physical structure of our brains!)
23:00 What can we do in our own lives to increase our wellbeing and resilience?
30:30 Social media and resilience – how are our screens impacting our wellbeing (particularly amongst teens)?
34:45 The ‘goldilocks’ effect at play in terms of screen time
38:30 Where to next for Justine? (And, importantly, can twins actually read each others’ minds?!)
43:15 What does Justine do for her own resilience?
45:45 ….and how does she try to build resilience in her daughter?
Email us at debrief@unforgiving60.com
Instagram, Twitter: @Unforgiving60
External Links
NeuRA (Neuroscience Research Australia), where you can find more about Justine’s work, and register your interest for their soon-to-be-released app
Justine’s publications
Music
The Externals – available on Spotify
Ben Frichot - available on Spotify
Thursday Sep 15, 2022
Thursday Sep 15, 2022
Our chat today is with world champion para-surfer Sam Bloom, and her husband Cam. Born on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Sam had everything she had always dreamed of. She’d travelled extensively, fulfilled her childhood dream of becoming a nurse and was a happily married mother of three young boys.
But without warning, the dream turned into a nightmare when on a 2013 family holiday in Thailand, Sam fell through a rotten balcony railing and crashed six metres onto the concrete below.
Lucky to be alive, she’d suffered devastating injuries, including severe damage to her spinal cord that left her paralysed from the chest down. Broken and hopeless, Sam reached her outer limits of physical and mental suffering. But with courage, determination and a little help from an unlikely feathered friend, she made her way back from the edge, scarred but undefeated. 'How' is the subject of this podcast episode.
6:00 Sam and Cam’s background, and how they met…
11:30 Talking the importance of travel in the like of the Blooms
16:00 That fateful trip to Thailand
18:30 Moving hospital to hospital… to hospital
19:40 Sam’s recollection of the incident
21:20 ‘Memories are so subjective’
25:00 When Sam realises the severity of the incident…
26:20 Cam is mopping up and trying to hold it together while Sam spends months in hospital
30:00 Sam arrives home… and its not how you think she would be
32:00 Enter penguin .. a fluffy magpie chick. Life changes
36:00 Cam and his accompanying photography. What he couldn’t photograph
38:20 How about the impact on the boys?
43:00 How the book started
52:00 Recruiting the actors for the movie version of the book
54:10 Doing time with their Hollywood counterparts… and shooting in their own home
59:15 Sam reconnects with her passion of surfing
1:02:00 SurfLakes Yeppoon … artificial surf facility in Queensland
1:05:00 Australian Championships- Surfing …and what’s next
External Links
https://www.facebook.com/sambloomaustralia
https://www.instagram.com/samjbloom/
Contact Us
Email us at debrief@unforgiving60.com
Instagram, Twitter: @Unforgiving60
THE RESILIENCE RETREAT INFORMATION
Be guests of the authors of The Resilience Shield between 27-30 October 2022 on Fitzroy Island off Cairns, North Queensland, Australia
Info and bookings here: https://resilienceshield.com/retreat/
Music
The Externals – available on Spotify
Mitchell Martin- – available on Spotify
Thursday Aug 25, 2022
Thursday Aug 25, 2022
We first spoke to David way back in Season 3, when he was kind enough to dial in from Antarctica and talk about his experiences as an Australian Antarctic Division Station Leader. At the time of that episode, David’s team’s trip had already been extended due to COVID, however at that point, he didn’t realise just how long he would be on the ice for, nor what sorts of challenges his trip would present him with. Turns out, the total deployment time was 537 Days, which ended up being the name of his outstanding new book.
In this episode, we catch up with David to talk about how the remainder of his time on the ice panned out and what leadership challenges he faced while deployed – including right up until the very last minute! In the process, we’ll ask him about the specific leadership challenges he faced, how to deal with an extreme medical emergency in such austere conditions and the significance of the midwinter celebration for expeditioners. Along the way, we'll also explore how he found the writing process and find out what was the first thing he did when he got back to Australia.
5:00 Picking up where we left off (from our last chat with David, Season 3 Episode 3)
6:02 On the writing process – what was it like collating his experiences into his book
10:10 How did David break the news to his team that they wouldn’t be going home when they expected to?
17:50 How do you galvanise the team after such disappointing news?
24:00 The importance of affiliative leadership in the AAD environment – plus the other leadership styles David found himself using
26:30 How can you achieve work-life boundaries when you are living at work?
28:30 The medical capability that David’s team had – and how they used this during an emergency
31:00 The very real threat of a COVID outbreak on station
34:06 After 537 days on the ice, surely nothing else could go wrong?! Incorrect – Dave talks about the fire on the vessel during his return journey
43:05 The significance of midwinter for expeditioners
46:30 What makes a good Antarctic expeditioner?
48:00 What are David’s most memorable ‘#Antarctica’ moments?
50:40 What was the first thing David did when he got back to Australia?
56:50 What’s next for David?
Email us at debrief@unforgiving60.com
Instagram, Twitter: @Unforgiving60
External Links
David’s website
Signed copies of David’s book
Media and reviews on David’s book at these links: here, here and here.
Hear David’s story at your next corporate function – click here for speaking engagements
Music
The Externals – available on Spotify
Ben Frichot - available on Spotify
Thursday Aug 18, 2022
Thursday Aug 18, 2022
Beau Miles is an award winning filmmaker, PhD, a poly-jobist, speaker, writer and oddball. His YouTube Channel houses his movies which have been watched millions of times. One short film, ‘Running a marathon a mile at a time’ has been viewed over 4 millions times.
It’s a bit better that our YouTube channel!
We talk life and living. The importance of art and where Beau gets his mad ideas!
Tune in. Beau is certainly filling his unforgiving minutes with 60 seconds worth of distance run.
6:00 Who is Beau Miles…. And introduction
8:40 Giving kids space to find themselves
14:10 What is a poly-jobist?
16:30 Has Beau found his Ikigai?
18:30 Talking YouTube…. Crazy tasks and whacky ideas. What was the most punishing?
24:00 Do we have free will? Where are we relative to computers and AI?
28:15 Where do the ideas come from?
38:00 Talking art and pop.
40:40 Can you make it on YouTube? What’s the recipe?
46:00 Talking about the book- ‘The Backyard Adventurer’
50:00 How does the family keep up?
54:00 Talking music with Beau…..
External Links
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm325cMiw9B15xl22_gr6Dw
Contact Us
Email us at debrief@unforgiving60.com
Instagram, Twitter: @Unforgiving60
THE RESILIENCE RETREAT INFORMATION
Be guests of the authors of The Resilience Shield between 27-30 October 2022 on Fitzroy Island off Cairns, North Queensland, Australia
Info and bookings here: https://resilienceshield.com/retreat/
Music
The Externals – available on Spotify