Ep 19: Glenn Pate

Ep 19: Glenn Pate

Glenn Pate, known to most as “Patey” was born with a rare heart condition called Ebstein’s anomaly, where a key valve in the heart is displaced and doesn’t function properly. This is a conversation unlike any other I've had. Ever. Patey speaks about mortality with a calm honesty that’s both confronting and deeply human. He always knew something wasn't right, then at 8 years old overheard a doctor telling his parents to “go home and make the most of the time they had left with him.” Since then, he’s undergone three open-heart surgeries, faced moments where he’s come dangerously close to the edge including one experience he describes as meeting death, and choosing not to follow. Two and a half years ago, was placed on the transplant list. Today, he feels he doesn't have six months left. Patey shares how he's starting to feel detached from this world, almost like he's subconsciously preparing for whatever comes next. The impact on his family must be huge, it would have to be, though you’d never know. He knows his kids feel it. Even getting a day to record this episode took a few tries, some days, fluid buildup makes leaving the house impossible. And yet, he has never let it define him. From riding motocross in his younger years to becoming a self-taught tattoo artist and building one of Tasmania’s most respected studios, Patey has lived with grit and purpose. This episode ends in a way I never expected: hoping that in six months, we’re talking about his recovery—because the alternative is something far harder to face. How close Patey has walked with death his whole life has changed his views on it I think. Even now, I still can't truly get my head around Patey's calmness and acceptance for the most final thing we all will face. A thing we fight tooth and nail to avoid, a day that makes most of us sick to think about, Glenn has accepted, and honestly the attitude I think it has brought him is something we could all strive for. TikTok: glennpate Instagram: pateytattooartist

Ep 18: Brodie

Talking with Brodie as he shares his story of ICE addiction, growing up with 11 siblings and not knowing his father until his was 17 made his early years difficult. Brodie really struggled in school, and now that he is diagnosed and medicated for ADHD, he compares sending a child to school without medication for such things the same as sending a child to school without glasses Once meeting his father, he found it was more of a friendship than your typical father-son relationship, and when his dad wasn't in jail, they were moving constantly. His father smoking meth Infront of him, and then with him for his 18th birthday kind of always felt like he was destined to fail in some regard. While in active addiction Brodie still managed to hold down several decent jobs, with large amounts of responsibility, but in the end it all fell apart. He rang his mum in the early hours of the morning while walking down a highway wanting so bad a chance to "leave this life" telling her if she didn't pick him up, he'd throw himself under the next truck going past. Spending 7 months in rehab terrified that his daughter would think he's "a piece of shit", Praying every day that he gets to see her again, until a chance encounter at a shopping mall on Father's Day that he says was his first encounter with God, who was rewarding all his hard work. Today, on the other side Brodie is reaping the rewards of years of hard work and commitment and is getting ready to welcome twins into the world soon. You can see it in his eyes just how proud of his achievements he is, and talking to him before we started recording, he speaks with a lot of conviction in his words and is adamant the upward trajectory he is on is one that will not stop.

Ep 17: Memeio

Imagine getting asked to be in a Mr. Beast video but having to say no... Talking to Memeio, who has 1.41 million subscribers on YouTube, all of which he has amassed from playing the game "Rust". This was truly an eye (ear) opener for me learning about a world that is so foreign and so strange to the way of life that I know. To be in the top 0.06% of people in the world with more than 1 million subscribers on YouTube, and gaining them from recording himself playing a game, editing, then uploading it. This has been the only Job, the only paid gig that Memeio has ever known and as much as people think the life of a "youtuber" would be easy, it's far from the truth. It has allowed him to buy a house among other things, but the reward hasn't been by accident and not without perfecting his art. The science behind the exact makeup of each video, the background noise, how long each little segment goes for, the voice over, having management reps, brand deals, the thumbnail, previews, the whole thing, it's nuts. Even with 100K subscribers managing to keep his whole YouTube life a secret from his parents, his best friends, everyone, until a kid at school tried to rat him out. To now getting recognized and the various comical ways he deals with it. Choosing to do everything in house himself, and the constant fear that even now "tomorrow it will all fall apart, no one will watch his stuff, and it will be over" We discuss the couple things he picked up from a completely unrelated video that he then included into 2 short 60 second reels that gained him over 200 thousand followers and opened his eyes to a new way of keeping people entertained, and as he said felt like he "cracked the code".  We discuss how a recent survey of young kids in America returned a number one answer of "content creator", when asked what they want to do when they grow up. Even though Memeio has cracked what nearly all seem to aspire to, he has different plans. He's already done stand-up comedy and would like to continue to follow his acting and directing dreams. This chat was so different from anything I've ever experienced, to get the opportunity to talk with someone in the 0.06% of anything is amazing. I must admit I've always had this idea in my head of what a youtuber is, but it's not this. There is actually an art to it. It is hard work. There is a lot that goes on you wouldn't even begin to think about. I honestly don't even need to put his handles in, google Memeio, you can't not find him. www.lordofthelettuce.com [https://www.lordofthelettuce.com] lordofthelettuce@gmail.com [lordofthelettuce@gmail.com]

Ep 16: Tom Wolfe

Talking to Tom Wolfe, front man of the family band "The Wolfe Brothers" who have, among various other awards, won 15 Golden Guitars throughout their amazing career. Coming from a gene pool of musicians, the band was always destined to form into what it is today, Australia's biggest country music group. We cover the journey to get there, from playing cover songs at one of Tassie's most remote pubs for 30 people, to licensing coming to shut down gigs because of massive attendance number, to Australia's got talent, preforming with Justin Bieber, Touring with Lee Kernighan, the various shows and muster's that make the country music scene what it is. Leaving the tiny island state of Tasmania to tour at 23, living in Nashville, Tennessee, to getting sober and how it's has changed Tom's whole outlook on life, his achievements, and the bands success. Talking to Tom was and absolutely amazing experience, he's as funny as they come. Hearing his plans for the future and his outlook on the path that got him to the point he is at today was something I'll remember for a long, long time.

Ep 15: Chris Keefe

Talking to Chris about slipping into heavy alcoholism without really realising it.  The health consequences 7 months on, of large quantities of alcohol every single day, in his case 9L of pure lemon juice and vodka. We talk about him having a fair few goes at getting sober without real help but only being able to last a couple weeks at most before everything fell apart again. The day-to-day life in rehab, the classes, the tools, the people, and how some of them refused to take it seriously and were still drinking and using drugs whilst in rehab making it extremely difficult for others. We also share comparisons in the rehab's we both attended, the rules, the do's and don'ts and I share some of my journal entries from my time in there. We talk about our experience with A.A and how as an alcoholic you think you can hide it, but once you're sober you realise just how ridiculous that idea is. As Chris mentions he feels in a place to help others and has said if anyone would like to reach out for advice from his experiences, he'd be more than happy to talk to anyone who may be thinking about rehab.