Welcome to the Mason Cox Show. It's so good to have you on as a listener. We're so excited for you to be part of the community. And as with any new community, we're looking to grow this thing, so like, share, comment, all the good stuff. And we've got an amazing person on for our first episode, Dylan Buckley. He has the Dylan Friends podcast, he's got producing his own agency that
he's made out of this thing. He's done some pretty amazing things in life, so we talk about his stuff from football, mental health advocacy, talking about.
His whole thing.
Are you trained for a marathon in eight weeks? Insane? And much much more so.
Listen in.
It's gonna be a great show and we're so excited to have you as a listener. All right, everyone, welcome to the Mason Cox Show. Now this is the first episode. Pretty stoked about this and we've got the og of podcasting mister Dylan Buckley. You've got an amazing career in AFL. You've got forty one games to your name, eight seasons
between GWS and Carlton. But more importantly you've got the number one sports podcast on Spot of Fire in Australia with over one hundred and twenty episodes, four and a half million downloads, one hundred thousand plus followers on Instagram, and you've absolutely killed it. Man, you're the og, like I said, of podcasting, and I'm so so impressed by what you've been able to do transitioning out of football and welcome, Welcome to the Amazing Cock Show.
Honestly, welcome, thank you. It's it's incredible to be your first episode means a lot. I'm going to fact check you on the food things you said. Firstly, you said amazing career and you said forty one games, amazing career. Now I don't know if I don't know you're humor that well yet, but I'm assuming you're taking the piece. Secondly, said four and a half million. That was maybe about six months ago or popping up million now, nose stats are there.
Well, I did a bit of research on you, and I'm gonna I'm gonna start this off because I actually went on Wikipedia, as you do for the first time a Wikipedia. Yes, everything is one hundred cent tru Wikipedia. So I'm going to quote a few things from you. You've apparently your height is one hundred and twenty centimeters just three foot eleven inches. Your right is two kilos and four pounds. For those Americans out there, your position is emergency or doggie.
It says, yeah, doggie, that's essentially it.
And you've played nine hundred and sorry, you've kicked nine hundred and ninety nine goals within your career. And one of the best quotes I thought was he was described by Carlton recruiting manager Wayne Hughes as a quick midfielder with excellent disposal skills, which that was later was proven wrong. It's literally is a quote Wikipedia about you, so it is. It is quite an amazing I think to have you on him, and I'm so excited to actually interview you.
It's you've got one of the most unique stories. I feel like you've You've had an interesting career in IFL and you've been able to, I guess, transition from AFL into a career of podcasting, which is something I think everyone admires you for and it's it's something you should be very proud of, I think, and it's something that no one else has done. I think you've transitioned from football into the media industry quite quite just better than anyone one else. That I really know, and you're doing
things with the AFL. Now you're doing your own podcast. You've got three or four different shows on there, and you're starting your own producing production company and feel free to shut.
Them out producy producing.
Yeah, and it's pretty amazing what you're doing with doing friends, mate, and it's a credit to you. But I kind of want to get to know you a bit better. I know, obviously you're behind the mic, probably interviewing other people and telling their stories, but I want to get to know more about what your story is personally. And it might feel a bit weird because you usually probably want to ask you questions, but I'm going to reverse this. I'm gonna be one asking questions, You're gonna be the one
answering them. So we'll start off a bit of how the podcast started. I know we can talk about AFL and things along that, and I'll probably get into it, but I want to know, I guess how the podcast started started. I know obviously you had Josh from Geobias Stays as your first episode, which I listened to, which was kind of crazy. How far you've been able to come and how many episodes you've kind of been able to branch off and do since then. But what was
the main reason you started podcasting? It was before really podcasting was a big deal, I guess.
Yeah, so yeah, I suppose the stories are pretty intertwined with the career as well. But firstly, thank you for those very kind words. Very nice of you to hear and love hearing that. No, so I started the podcast. Okay, so I'd have to go back probably yeah, five six years ago, I was playing with Carlton Footy Club and yeah, like,
my career was awesome. I absolutely loved my time in footy, but it was a really stressful time for me or something where like I loved playing footy, like I really really loved it, but I struggled with like the identity of being known as a footballer, and that was something that I just didn't love because you know, if I
played a good game, I was a good person. If I played a bad game as a bad person, and I hated that and I was like, well, fuck, I just wish that I could be sort of known maybe more as just like deal On Buckley the person versus deal In Buckley the football. This is a long winded an, so I'm sorry, but I'll keep going. So I was at Carlton. I did you know, two one year deals at Carlton, and it came to the end of that going like you probably weren't going to get another deal.
But through that whole time, I'd always had a really keen eye on what was next and trying to find something that I really enjoyed, because a really big fear for me was going, look, I love playing footy. I don't want to be a find as it, but also I don't really have any passion outside of footy, and I hope that one day when I leave, I'm not that guy that sits in the pub and says, oh I should have could have would have done this. So through that, you know, I've got a big, big shout
out to Carlton media team. Theres a guy named Luca Ganano there who's who's an og in just digital meter in general, and he wanted me to start the show called Discussions with Dylan, where I'd sit down with teammates and and sort of interview players and end up getting to listed from Carlton a couple of years later.
I loved doing that and that was a really scary time.
I know, you know, you had to chat with me on your podcast about when maybe career is nearly two and fro come to when you don't know what's next, and that scared the absolute suite out of me. Like I was remember being at home and I remember like having a mortgage, you know, my my my now wife and my mum were actually with me at the time, and I was, you know, having to pay a mortgage and just had had no idea when the next paycheck
was going to come. And I remember thinking, you know, if I get another chance to play footy, I'm never going to waste that opportunity again. And I want to sort out more my off field rather than than on field. So for me, you know, fortunately it was lucky enough to get picked up by the Giants, and lucky for me that was great. Unluckily for them, you could say it didn't probably pan out the best that should on field, but.
Two games, two goals for the games, two.
Goals, two emissions, but un two of the best years of my life, two years where I really really found myself. I know that sounds a bit cringy, but you know, similar to nowhere near as bigger movers as your story. But you know, I was a Muma's boy, had grown up in the same area my whole life, lived at home, went to school ten minutes down the road, played at a club when my father went you know, played for So I was in this inchula bubble without even knowing it,
you know, and had like really good friends. And when I left to go to Sydney, it was the biggest thing that ever happened, because I'd never ever thought I would live away from Melbourne and I was there and it just was a point for me and I realized, like, if I need to do something with my life, like, I have to do it myself and no one else can do it for me.
Not trying to.
Dramatize the story at all, but there was points where I was like, fucking know what am I going to do? So I ended up trying to get into radio, went to a couple of radio So since in Sydney one radio.
Station I'll never forget as the works experience I've ever been to my life. I've actually sat there.
I went there at like breakfast radio, sat there at you know, four am till seven am, and just did not say one word, like but they didn't even speak to me.
So I was like, you know what stuff this.
I've been listening to crime podcasts and I was listening to this podcast called Cereal, actually US podcast called Cereal, which is a murder podcast Adnanzayid. It was the first serial podcast and this was really new into podcasting, Like I'm talking maybe twenty seventeen, when like people had the app on their phone, but no one ever knew what it did. Like everyone just like moved. You couldn't delete it.
Everyone just kept like moving it like offscreen. And yeah, I used to listen to that podcast, Heaps and a lot of other crime podcasts. I was like, fuck, you know, maybe what I should do instead of you know, not knowing what to do post footy, I'll sit down, I'll do a podcast. I'll do like eight episodes interviewing my teammates. So then if I finish footy at the end of the year, I'll be able to go to a radio station and say like I've done something and like, you know,
can you employ me? Like I will come work for you at least I've done something. And I was like the last time I was asking for jobs and like, well, where's your experience? Yeah, like a resume, build exactly that, and yeah, that's how it all started.
It's crazy, man.
It's kind of interesting because I guess nowadays, like it's kind of weird to think, but almost every team has a podcast. It's essentially what you were the original of doing and podcasting and interviewing everyone else. I know, Adel always got one of starting this one myself, and I'm not necessarily doing teammates. But it's just so kind of crazy how you probably didn't realize how big this was going to become. Did you ever kind of have the
idea when to be first started? Was it just kind of like I need to put some effort and time away from foot you just to clear my mind, have a different passion to go to and then things like what were the kind of I guess breakthrough moments. We're like, okay, this is actually like getting a lot more traction than I thought, and this might actually turn into a full time gig.
Yeah.
Well, I've always had a lot of respect for players like yourself and even like Adam Tallah and Josh Dunkley and Mitch Robinson and guys that are on AFL list that are you know, you've been You've got good contracts and you've been on AFL list and they still put in this work. Because for me, the biggest factor was like I knew that my time in foota was like was imminently closing, and it was more I'd love to say that I had this entrepreneurial growth that I was keen.
To explore outside of footy, but the cold.
Art facts was if I didn't work something out, I was gonna have no job. And that's like nearly the podcast came out of fear, and it came out of like going, you need to get your life together really, like you need to work out what you want to do and work it out. So it wasn't It wasn't like I had this passion, which you know that came later when I started doing it, but it was more out of like a fear of you know, you're not.
Going to have anything else.
Yeah, the unknown. I was like, fuck, I need to do something.
But it's funny because when I was younger and you talk about being one of the first to do this stuff like I couldn't get a job on radio. I couldn't get a job with you know, Channel seven or anything. I played forty one games like who the fuck who? Wants to hear a forty one gamers opinion on like, you know, things when there's Brown Medalist giving giving stuff.
So I think my biggest thing for that was like I wanted to be a voice for you know, probably the eighty percent of players that don't get to do those things and don't get to experience the highs of footy, but they actually experienced the highs and the lows. And that was a really big thing. And for me as well, being a young guy, I really used to care a
lot about what people thought of me. Like I was really maybe not self conscious, but you know if people were like, oh that's that's you know, stupid, I was like, oh, yeah, okay, I won't do it. But as soon as I got to the Giants and you speak about culture and people I'd never met, and this isn't like having a gold Carton or anything, but it's probably just the time we're at where if you did something, you were shut down
and you were yeah, I was school footy mentality. And then when I got to the Giants, I didn't even know these guys and I was like, oh, I'm going to start a podcast and they were like that's awesome. That's the best idea, Like, what do you want us
to do? We'll support you, will do this. So it's like as soon as I got out of Melbourne, got away from my support networks and put myself under that pressure and surrounded myself with incredible people, Like my life started to change, which is really really special.
It's it's pretty amazing and like the early days. I remember I actually watched a video if you bit of research on your del and I watched a video and I couldn't help but laugh whenever it told me that you like, at the end of your career, right, the AFLPA has this kind of like I guess gathering of all the players they are retiring, yeah, and like it's like what's the next you know kind of thing? And you took a survey and what came out other survey?
When was you're most suited to become a blacksmith or a florist.
I know, to.
Think where you're at now is like absolutely I remember seeing that being like, can you imagine yourself as a blacksmith?
I don't even know if they still exist, to be honest, I don't know if they do either.
I remember those camps though, but that that shows, you know, and it's even really cool to have a chat today because I don't really reflect a lot on things.
But there was a really big time there where I just had.
No fucking idea what I was going to do with my life, like and it it's easy to look back now and go, oh, that was an easy thing because you sort of you forget about all those parts.
But I remember those camps. I remember those transition camps.
Went to two of them, two delisting camps, and I remember sitting there and your ego is something.
It's a hard one.
Like your ego I found it is a really good thing sometimes because it makes you know what you deserve and you know that entitlement. I think Chris Judd said this on one of my shows once. He said, entitlement gets a really bad connotation with life, and people say, oh, if you're entitled, you know you shouldn't do this. But if you're entitled, sorry, if you've done the work, you should be entitled because you you've done that, you put the time and work in. Entitlement's only bad if you
haven't done the work. And when he said that to me, that's when sort of things started changing around that period being like like this, like I am you know, I should be entitled. Now I need to make I need to change my mindset to be more like if I can deserve this, you need to start going out and getting things, because I think for you know, the Australian culture sometimes is like you can't say anything until you've done it, and I was like, well, I have done it, so I can do it.
I think it's over the Australian culture. It's like top poppy syndrome, slash fitting this box kind of thing, and it's kind of cool whenever you actually have this experience where you're doing something that's totally outside the box and I would have done this before, so you kind of have full control and creativity over it. I mean you would have been sitting there saying like, oh, well, who can I look at has a podcast? That's the explorer.
Who's going into the media, that's an explorer, And like most people are going into media from the a f L. We're all doing statistical analysis and saying like this team plays this way, and I'm gonna do this and that where you're going that I was going to meet people like we're the name of the show Dylan friends.
I didn't sort of take too long to come up with. It was a pretty pretty soon amazing I think the quicker the better when it comes to names. But now you're right, I think going back to that part before I said about with footballers and athletes and just people in general have maybe that I look to be put on not a pedestal, but people think, oh, that's that's a cool thing.
We're all human.
And my biggest part was what I hated when I played footy was players people my mates would be like, oh, what's Mason Cox like? And I've got mate, he's the best bloker, but no, I don't like him. And I'm like, well, you don't know him. And then they go, oh, what's Dylan Buckley like? And they and they go he looks like a legend. I go, nah, he's actually the worst bloke on the list.
Like.
So for me, the show was all about going like, let's get these guys that I love and that I really respect and show I don't just like them for what they do, but like them for who they are. And that was another part that was really strong, and that's the concept really the whole show, and that's why I enjoy doing it.
That's the bitty other I think is you're humanizing these people and people put on a pedestal, and it's kind of weird because in Australia, no one's I guess, like on an international level, there's very minimal people on an international level, there are known and like we sometimes put these Australian athletes on this pedestal whenever, like they go down the street and go have dinner and just as there are anyone else would, or go to the shops
and get you know, their groceries, just as anyone else would. And it's kind of weird to think that people like necessarily idolize them. But just because they have this platform, it's as though you know, it's someone you can't like kind of find a middle ground and share experiences with. But one thing I think I've noticed in meeting people I guess that are higher up in society, whoever it may be, you're kind of people with status or you know, have done some amazing.
Things in life, is you're just human.
I can talk about meeting Joe Biden, who's the President of the United States, or Tiger Woods, and it's like we talked about the same thing that I would talk about with any Joe block off like the street, just because that's I don't know, You're all human at the end of the day, and it's kind of cool.
It's a cool thing.
I'm sure you would have experienced, I guess with being able to interview people. But I'm also interested in kind of psychology around interviewing people. Right, So you're very kind of humble, very kind of necessarily quiet, but you will be like an extroverted person, I would say, in a sense of some people out there in the media, and you're kind of just quiet and calm nature about things.
I think helps people open up quite a bit. Has that always been something you've had or is it something you've had to work on as far as being able to so, I guess be on the other side of the mic interviewing people and trying to bring out I guess, personal stories from people and be able to, you know, be able to find a middle ground that you can connect with them on whenever you're podcasting.
Yeah. Well, I think the funny thing about that is, like, I never study journalism. I'm not a I don't see myself as a journalist or anything like that. You know, that's something that people study at and for me, I don't even think that I interview people. I think that I just genuinely have a conversation and that's what I
love doing. Like I'm here not here saying that there are a lot of work goes into things, because, to be honest, sometimes I think the more I put into a show, the less results I get because I try and push on certain things. But for me, honestly, I just try and have a chat with people. I have like three or four points that I'd love to touch on, and I'm always just so grateful for people for coming
on and just interested. I think, like if anyone wants to start a podcast, you know, someone told me this once. It's like, don't be interesting, be interested, or maybe the other way around, or is yeah, don't be in, just be interested, be interested in other people, and I am.
I love it.
Like even when I was at Carlton, I used to have this really weird thing. I used to love going of those corporate days and talking to like the successful people and they're like, oh I do this, and I'm like but how like how does that work? Because I just don't get it. I didn't get it in my head. I was just like, I don't get how you because you leave school, then what happens? Because I left school and I went straight to footage, So I'm like, what
happened for you? You go to you need to do this, and they go I did this and I got this break, and I was like, yeah, then what happened? And then I'm like, then what happened? Like then, because I just wanted I wanted to understand how it works. And even with you, I'm in the normal in the real world now and even when I was there, I still go to people.
But what do you do? Like when people are at jobs, Like who tells you.
What to do?
You know what I mean? I don't know how that works, you know, because I've always sort of worked.
Ninetist, how does that work?
Like, I'm just interested in bus essentially straight out of the AFL.
More so just I'm interested in how people live their lives, especially because what's interesting to me might not be interesting to you, but things to you might have insued me. So anyway, I love chatting with people, love just breaking things down, and I think for me, something that I've found was really hard about the.
Whole, like chatting with people think.
The only thing that I've probably worked on a bit, which you know, I hope people understand that when I talk to people and bring my own myself into the story. Sometimes I do that just to like let the guests know that they can tell a story about themselves. So if they're not opening up and they're not, they're not they feel they don't want to talk too much about themselves because it's really hard to tell your own story. You feel like I'm a bit of a floggy, like,
you know, telling my story. But if you, you know, tell a little story first, then they go, oh, I can, I can tell stories.
I'll tell a story.
So that's just one thing that I've picked up which has been been really successful in the show.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's I'm reading a book at the moment, Cold how to Make How to Win friends and Influence people my del Cinne. If I've heard of it, yeah, yeah, definitely get onto if you haven't, and it talks about how to be interesting about people is to ask them questions. It's not to tell tell people things. Is actually ask people questions, so I'll try to get more out of them. Is there any books or anything that you've done research wise.
I mean, like I think of this whole thing.
Right, So, COVID for two years, we as a society of Australia have had zero interactions with people, right, so we've kind of taken a step back, I guess and being able to grow as humans as far as that. And I think a lot of people, including myself, I'm not sure if you've felt the same, have struggled at times to whenever it first came out to have conversations with people. She's a bit rusty in this. I can't really know what to say, what to talk about, like
what's going on? I don't want to talk about COVID, but like somehow it comes up in every conversation type deal, like is that something so that you experienced wine? And then two, do you have any advice for someone who maybe is not the great a great conversationalist, but wants to be better in that and improve that aspect of life.
Definitely? I think the biggest thing we've already touched on is just ask questions.
You do not have to talk like people love without knowing people love talking about themselves, like not necessarily just on a podcast, but if someone comes up and they're really interest what you have to say.
You love giving that information.
So I think people that might be struggling or aren't as confident in public situations just ask questions and just listen to what people are saying. There's always a question to follow up with. You know, I did this, how'd you do that? Why did you do that?
You know, like who what? When we're well, they're like we learned that in primary school.
It's so sort of in our brains, but we sort of forget it when we're in that pressure. So I think those is a really big way to do so for me, Like during COVID.
I was still that honestly kept me saying.
I think to this day one of the biggest blessings for me and I only realized this six months ago, was that for me, like I loved, you know, trying to be mindfulness and I love, you know, trying to be the best version of myself I can be. And someone said to me the other day, They're like, oh, what do you do to do that? And I was like, oh, fucking I've tried so many things. I've tried breath work,
I've tried this stuff. And don't get me wrong, I love that stuff, but I've struggled to be consistent with it. And then I thought, the only thing that I've been consistent with for three years is an no hour of a week, I turn my phone off, I sit down with a guest and I talk to them, and I'm so entrenched in the conversation and I learned from them, and when I'm in that conversation, I'm not thinking about anything else.
So I was like, I've been doing mine for it. I've been doing you know what I mean.
That is like it's literally just having conversations with people without any distraction. Like it's nearly the best gift I can ever have to myself that without even knowing, you know, that's a job. But like I see it back and I'm like, fuck, I can't believe I'm actually lucky enough to do this.
Yeah, yeah, that's amazing.
Man's it's great to hear and if someone finds their passion and then makes it a career and knows that that's something I've been able to very quickly get off of you is the fact that you do love your job.
Yeah, I would even call it.
Like it's more of your I guess industry that you're working in you just love and you absolutely love it. You've got your different podcasts and you shut.
Up doing friends list cloggers. We started a couple other ones, ones called two hundred plus. You've got to get on that one. Three Boys of the Competition, Bromlely Lynch and not a couple of twins from Ballorada Sada Show with Give One with Spotify, Cade McDonald.
God, I can't forget any busy. I hope I haven't got any Who's your favorite?
This is tough to go. Who's your favorite guest you've ever had on THEE?
I'd have to say one, A couple of guests. Two really stick it.
It's so hard.
I'm going to say three. Three guests.
One because it changed the game for me and it changed what in what sense?
Yeah, one was Zack Dawson.
So it changed the game because he came on and we had this most It was the first time where we had this like the most raw and authentic conversation and he opened up about his story in like a f l and you know how he was I'm not sure if you're familiar with his story, but you know he'd been to Hawthorne and.
You know, had like eight goals.
Kicked on him in his first game, so he sort of had this reputation already. Then went to Saint Kilda and had a couple of things happened there, and then he went to Freeman and just got always trolled online.
But was the most beautiful person in the world.
And when I was talking before about that anecdote of like, people go, what's he like he is a flog but really he is the best bloke in the world, and like, I just think that whole chat just I've never had so many messages being like I am the biggest fuck we'd ever like, I, yeah, change my opinion on this person.
And that's when I was like, yes, like that's awesome.
That's the point of this, that's the point.
Yeah, that was a point. Emma Murray was another one who I just love chatting with her. She's just an incredible person. She's so authentic, she's so real and selfishly, like, even if the mic wasn't on, you know, it's just like my favorite time to have a chat with her.
It's just really really awesome.
And then it was a bit of a background to give a background, Well, yeah, she's a hyperformance mindfulness, so she basically is yeah, like meditation, mindfulness, visualization, she even does some like hypnotherapy, all these sorts of things.
Yeah, she worked with Collingwood, Yeah a little bit.
Yeah, I think, Yeah, she worked with Collingwood and then someone, I think someone got rid of her, and then she went to Richmond and then blew up.
So I think Collingwood missed out of it.
Yeah, that one.
And then another one that I really love this.
This guy's story was a guy named Nick Stone who
is actually in the US in your territory. He was playing for Hawthorne and you know, his career didn't really work out what he wanted to, but then he went straight into that investment banking, moved over to the US and now as a fander of Bluestone Lane and is one of the biggest you know they're rivaling wanting to rival Starbucks in the US, And just loved his story, loved his outlook on things, and it made me really question I think like when people when you go you know,
I heard the this thing that he said and then I've heard it since and it was like when you say, like what's your goals and you say, think big, Okay, so think about that Now when I say to you, what's your goals? Think big so you've got something in your mind. Yeah, okay, Then I go think bigger.
Yeah exactly.
Soon I go think bigger again and you go okay.
So like it just made me go, oh my god, Like I'm capping myself so much here, I'm thinking, I have a cool podcast.
Why not the best podcasts in the world, you know.
I know that.
Yeah, like in the world.
That's that's the one that's thinking about other things in my life as well. It's not just like like that, you can really I think we can really cap ourselves. And until we see other people do shit, we don't know what's real and we know what he's done has been like fucking hell, why can't I do this?
So love that his.
Whole families like that. Actually did some New York City marathon training with his brother. Oh wow, Andrew last off season. Yeah, he was well ahead of me, I'll say that, but he's good. The whole family's pretty amazing. Yeah, it's it's so cool to see an Australian company expand like that in the US. Like every Australian brands want to break it in America, you know, because there's so much more I guess media attention there and so much more population
everything else. It's always a you know, a goal to be able to make it in America, and he's smashing it, absolutely smashing it. It's cool to in Australia do well.
Really it is.
Yeah, but when you chat with him and I know you've you've crossed bathsman as well, but just the most humble guy. Like even after it, like he's so busy, so busy, and he's like hung around for like an hour just chatting, and I was just like, you can go, man.
I felt bad.
I was like, I'm like, man.
I want to keep you here, but like I know you've got places to be, like you can It's all good. But yeah, it's a good got so much time for him, and I really want to get over to the States soon and do some cool things over there as well.
So are you contact I'll be there in septainer October. Maybe do the podcast.
Yeah, we're taken the role on van Yeah, must be the floating van I reckon by then?
Yeah, that was that was a bad gay? How is shit that sucks? Well?
I ask another question on the podcast. I want to know this is a This is a bit I guess controversial. Maybe is like, what's the conversation you had to cut out of a podcast that was hilarious?
Questionable?
Maybe you just TMI with a guest, so you just go, this is maybe too juicy, This is maybe too juicy for the public.
I don't know about this.
There's so many, man, because I feel like in a podcast, we don't realize you have maybe like an hour hour and a half chat, right, and then you realize the podcast might be cut down forty five minutes or thirty minutes. It may be, and there's so much you cut out, and it's it's one of those things I think like I've done podcasts and I've sitt there and gone and done an interview with someone, right, and then after you
go oof, maybe I shouldn't have said that. Yeah, And then I hate to be the guy because I know this might be your kind of headline. Yeah, yeah, you're going to have to take that out And he's like, oh, no, you're serious.
I'm like, yeah, you're gonna have to r that's fine.
Like that that does happen a bit, But to be honest, I think for me and this is something where I pride myself on is at the end of the day, like I don't don't underestimate, you know, the role I have and the trust that people have in me to have, you know, to share their story in. It's something that like I'm so grateful for that I'd never want to jeopardize. And there's been times where like even I've taken stuff out when they haven't even asked me to because.
I'm like, I don't want to. I'm not I don't want to.
Grab news stories and I'm like, that could come back, you know, if you said that, that can come back and someone might interpret that the wrong way, and then it blows up. This was on dealing friends and I'm not here. I don't want to do that. I don't want to break stories. And then it's like, well, if I ever fucked over one player or one person, no one will ever come on anyone. So yeah, I'm not
there to to do that stuff. Like nothing really springs to mind because we do leave a lot of it in, but like, yeah, there's been a few things whereas some players we've said stuff and nothing like bad, but just more like I just don't think I don't just doesn't make you look the way you want. It came off like they're all good intentions, but sometimes if you don't tell the story around the situation that well, it just
doesn't look that good. So yeah, I've definitely taken a few things out for players benefits.
We'll see how much of the podcast to do with you.
Yeah, like an hour hour and a half chats.
Well, another thing I want to talk to you about is you're a big advocate for mental health, tackling feelings. You've done stuff with November, You've been involved with something exactly. I guess your experience with it, if you feel comfortable enough, it's talking about that and then kind of how you've got involved with these different charities and you know where you see it kind of going in the future.
Yeah.
Sure, So I think I've always been really really into this space, and I never knew why until probably recently, But yeah, doing work with like tack your feelings and November always tuted to raise money, and I think subconsciously I knew but never wanted to.
I wanted to admit it.
But my old man sort of stuff, he's had some suffering with mental health and alcohol addiction, and I've sort of grown up with that with him like that, I love him, you know, love him to death, but I just knew there was something not right and it probably took me, you know a long time to work that out and have those conversations and get on the front foot with him about that, which has been incredible.
You know, he's in love. He's never been bad.
I he's never been happier, he's never been he's been off alcohol for over twelve months, you know, over twelve months now.
It's just been huge.
But I think, you know, now, reflecting on that, I look back and I go, fuck, everything I was doing was like in subconsciously being like, looked at I'm doing this, I'm you can always come talk to me, sort of thing. So that was that was like funny to realize because I think that I was like, what, you know why I wasn't interested in this, But I think it was more just to show that, like to my friends and family,
family and friends. So it was like if anyone's ever struggling, they could come talk to me, because they go, oh, deal does stuff with me and me he does stuff with tucky feelings.
I could go talk to him. Whereas realistically it's probably the other way.
I should have just gone up to them first and been like, what's going on, I can help you. But I was probably trying to take a bit of a different way and like do all the work and if someone wanted.
To approach me, they could.
But that's the thing with you know, mental health and these conversations is they're not comfortable chats. You know, even now, I speak about this shit all the time and you still get tould, you still got that little frog in your throat when you.
Bring it up.
But that's why it's it is so important to chat about. I think it's really to think that, you know, we don't all experience it on some level, you know, with especially with tucky feelings. We talk about and that's a business I do a lot of work with. We go out to local community clubs and talk about mental health and how to deal with it. And we talk about a continuum and there's three levels, you know, there's thriving, coping, and struggling, and it's like you're on that continuum all
the time. And just because you're struggling at the moment doesn't mean you can't be thriving as well. Like you move up and down and just because you're thriving, it doesn't mean that one day you might be struggling. Like you've got to be able to to bounce back and forward. So yeah, I think just like that education piece around it, you know, upskilling myself on it, like I love you know this man, We're all not immune, like like I have bad days. Everyone has bad days. But yeah, I
think it's just such an important piece. And I just always wanted to know that if someone was struggling, I'd be there for them to reach out to, which you know, I can still get better at, but I'm doing my best.
It's a constant, I think thing for all of us to put time and effort into it. And I think it's pretty amazing in this country. One thing I've learned is we're very I guess like open about it comparatively to other countries. I know about New ass Like I wouldn't have the conversations I would have in Australia. I think there's a lot of media and attention that goes
into mental health here and doing me wrong. There's always been for improvement, but I think it's pretty amazing in Australia that there's this initiatives that kind of happen, whether it be ore You're OK day and things like that, where it's very much in front of you of saying no check in on your mates, like and there's been people that have unfortunately passed away in the media and things along that those lines where like Triple M and radio does a minute of silence and you know for
certain days and things like that where you wouldn't really get that anywhere else. I feel like, and there's an amazing part of this Australian culture. I think that really is look after your mates. And yeah, there is a bit that's like, you know's all have a laugh and you know, it's Australian ways to take the piss out of each other, I guess per se. But there's also this really genuine and humanizing like section of Australian culture that's becoming bigger and bigger and bigger that really does
look after each other. And it's I mean, even look at your podcast mate, Like just having those stories of people opening up and telling their experiences might you know, be tough for them, but that also might open up an opportunity for someone else say, look, you know Zach's gone on his podcast and told it like, why can't I tell my closest friend this experience I might have had.
Oh, they're the best, you know, and I'm sure you'll experience that soon when you when you get humming with the show. But like, I think anything not even they don't have to be like the darkest times, even the happy you know, like being able to give people just like laughter and content and and relatability. I suppose it's like something that I'd never take for granted, and it's something that you know, when you get a message and someone says like that made my day.
You're just like how, you know, like how how? And those Yeah, it is. It is really special. It is really. I'm a very emotional person.
But there's a hard times at the end of the year when we do like this the bn F and we do like the best and farest of the year, and people sort of ride in their feedback.
And like, what's one of the best messages.
I don't even say it.
I can't even say it, like more just I could say it, but I would just like.
Just break down.
Yeah, it's just crazy.
I think, Yeah it is. There's some things you've covered on the podcast. Man, You've really shone a light on the ability to open up to other people.
But it's you know what it's actually, it's just it's a it's a skill, as in, like it's not something that you're good at.
Like I was terrible at this. I was so bad, and to be honest, I'm still not very good at it. But like you practice it, it's a it's you.
The more you are you ask your mates how you're going, the more you are vulnerable, vulnerable, the more you do open up and talk about hard things, the more you hit that conversation on the head instead of ignoring it or that is all skills.
But the more you do that, the easier it gets.
So like I remember in my podcast one the first one I ever did, I had this psychologist on it, and I was like, oh my god, everyone of the Biggest Loser ever really, like I couldn't even say mental health. It was the first time anyone at it Like this was very early on, okay, and then you know, two years like I'm talking about my own struggles, my dad's sing,
I'm like, fuck, it's a skill. You know, you get better at it, Like you're not gonna the first time you maybe do something you're not gonna go straight into the deep end.
You just you can work.
You can you can work into things, and that I think that's what people a really good message And something that I've learned maybe is that that you can work at this stuff just because you might not think you're good at vulnerability at the moment, like you can.
You can do it.
Yeah, And I think it's it's.
A bit of advice for people out there that maybe I guess feel uncomfortable and having that initial conversation with others and it's so much opening up it can be and it's it is like everyone, but you come to realize that everyone has their like it's not you're not alone.
No, you know how good you feel and you would know this, but like I always related to this. For example, I'm sure you had a lot of better relationship with the coaches than me.
But you know when you're like at the club and you're like, oh.
Fuck, I need to go chack to the coach today, Like fucking hell, this is gonna be an absolute nightmare, and you put it off, and you put off, and then you go, I'll do it tomorrow, and then you put off and you sleep on it, and then you go in the next day and finally the coach, Hey, come have a chat, and then you have the chat and you're.
Like, that was awesome outside, that was really good. I should have done that earlier.
And it's like that's the same with any conversation, Like it's so much easier than you actually think it's going to be, but it's still not comfortable, but you're so much happier that.
You had it, and you never regret having the conversation.
Yeah, clearse your mind.
I think it's sometimes it's it's a stressing you. You overplay it in your head of like oh, maybe that he's going to say this or someone's going to say this, and I don't know how I can reacts. I don't know what to do, and it's then you kind of have the conversation go, oh, that's how he feels, that's how I feel. This is the direction we're going in, like so much clearer, like why did.
We do this?
Like that once ago?
I love torturing myself with different outcomes.
But I think it is putting yourself in maybe an arching scenario to to give you more clarity or even you know, you never know what a conversation will do.
For someone.
Yeah, I've had people I know, just having a conversation with them as I have a footy field about just life and they're like, man like made my life, like my week, made my mind, and I'm like, I'm.
Just a broke athlete.
It's just like here, you know, having a great time and like it's it's amazing. I guess what little things you can do that will make someone's day and make someone's like a week or whatever it may be that you know, sometimes we take it for granted. I guess, I just I guess how how influential we can actually be in a positive light.
It's it's something that I definitely definitely don't take for granted.
Yeah, for sure. Well, I want to get a move a bit of a track. Your hobbies love a bit of golf, man, you loved bit of golf. Now I've had a few questions come out about you, and I want to know a few things. One what is your handicap? I had to learn what that says. I'm getting into golf. I'm just getting into golf recently. Now, did you know what it is?
Yeah? It's like how many strokes over parre? You sently, I'll explain.
It, because it's taken me aged to even work this out myself, So I hope this makes sense, but say I do, I explain it? Okay, every hole you score, right, if you hit a par, you get two points for every hole. So have you hit four shots is in Stableford? Okay Stleford, you hit two points. Have you hit four point four shots, you hit two points. If you hit
three shots you have two points. So someone off scratch, they're off zero, they have to go around and hit pars the whole way around the course, eighteen holes two points on each. Then they get they hit thirty six thirty six points, and that's hitting to your handicap. So someone off nineteen, off a handicap, they get one extra stroke on every hole.
So's every hole.
Yeah, so if you boge every hole, you'd get two points, but if you par it you get three because you're hitting one under your handicap.
So if you're thirty six, you get two shots every hole.
So I'm off twenty one at the moment basically, so I get one shot a hole on everything except sorry, I'm off twenty, so two other other ones I get two points.
I don't know if I've just confused you even more about that.
I'm saying you average almost a bogie plus a little.
Bit here pretty much pretty much makes sense.
It's pretty good.
Yeah, it's not that good. It's not that good.
Because I've actually went golfing recently. I've had the story told to me.
I was with my golf partner was there, you know, and he was telling the story about he actually ran into you. And he said, yeah, you were golfing with Tom Mitchell, Okay, just telling the story and I'm terrible golf and I almost hit someone in the face and they head you know, you yell at for and it was a part three.
That's well, that's what you normally do.
Yeah.
Yeah, I learned that very quickly. I've been here before. But have you been yet.
You're at.
The shoulder, shoulder and the del to it didn't see it coming.
Nothing was said, No, it was a people behind us. I was like, surely they just didn't hit I turned around.
I was just bang straight in the shoulder or picked up their ball and just piffed it into the trees.
I would just sat there and yeah, just come and get it.
I was so angry the story his fathers and walked off, Yeah.
I would be the guy you're gonna have to face me on.
It might have been there might have been some other things said.
But anyway I was on this story is I was on a player with this guy and you were apparently playing with Tom Mitchell and my partner is the guy I was playing with. He was playing with his partner at the time, and apparently he he whiffed one and hit Tom Mitchell on the foot and he knew.
Who you were.
Yeah, told me, oh, he's gone ship, I've got to go get my ball. I've got to go pick this steg up. What what actually was said if you get hit by a ball Tom Mitchell the five mid season where he's still going to have to play? What was actually over the words towards the words he decided to give to this spot.
Do you know what I actually I actually don't know, so I want to hear it.
But I know one thing. If you're playing at Burnley Golf Course in Richmond, you're pretty much silly to think in knocking to cople golf porn the head. It's pretty much like the like mecha of amateur golfers, So like, go there at your own risk. Like and that's probably what we you know, it was our own fault really at the end of the day that he that he
got hit there. But yeah, I just remember we're walking on this one hole and the funny thing was about your mate, Like we were probably fought, I don't want to say, forty five meters away from.
The where the green.
Was, so I don't know what sort of golf for this bloke is, but it was so far away from any other green, like there's other parts on a golf course where you're like, this could be a risky spot. We're genuinely on another fairway, so probably like fifty meters lateral and then like another fifty meters in front of his so like he's pretty much in it fifty minutes wide and fifty minutes too long over like another fairway and just smashed Tom in the back of.
The calf and I remember just going, oh my god, like what the fuck has happened?
Like I have no idea he's in pin obviously hurts, and the guy just came up and and said sorry, and I was just like I was just amazed. I was like I was like, maybe this yell four next time. Man, It's pretty pretty dangerous, But yeah, I think it was. You know, obviously you're never aiming for someone, and I don't you know, no offense to that blow. But I don't think he could hit anyone even if he was aiming for it, let alone the.
Middle of his club. So it happens to the best of us. Happened. I've nearly hit people.
Have you actually ever heard I've never hit anyone, but I've nearly hit people. You never hit people, but you just got to. You've got to give a good four. Yeah, give him the best chance to get out of the way.
I don't think there was one yelled that day. But yeah, it's funny.
I was golf with my for aend the other day and he said something that stuck with me. He said, golf is a game that's created because men feel awkward asking themselves asking others to go for a walk.
Yeah, yeah, that's exactly what to do.
We have to have an activity that we're doing.
But like really it's just us catching up, like having a little chat and like being in nature and going for a walk, and then we hit a few golf offs here and there.
Whatever. Yeah, but it's more of just like I will.
Say though, when you know you like my personality is how do I say?
This very addictive personality.
So like we came in here today roll in Studios, there's these boom arms, like I can guarantee as soon as I leave, I'm going to buy four of these because I've just just inspired like I need them, like as soon as like I can't stop thinking about it, like I'm not even I'm still thinking about it now.
Like these cameras.
I had to go buy a few cameras of those cameras because it's just like as soon as I see it, I'm like, no, I need to do that.
With golf, it's probably the worst it's ever been.
Like clubs, like top of the line clubs.
I wouldn't say I've got a great partnership with Calloway. Actually shout, they're listening so beautiful clubs there, Michael Gorn and the team down there, tall Away nice and got nice and fitted. But you know, like my bag, I love like the pins, I love having nice teas, I love having good ballmarkers. I love having you know, a nice golf kid as well. And yeah, it's just weird.
I just love the whole vibe of it. Like I'm a member of this club.
Now.
I love being a part of a club. Yeah, it's fair to say I'm I'm very materialistic, but in a good way, if that makes sense, Like it makes me happy.
So yeah, I worried about that break out of the car. He's got all the gear and everything else. It's gonna absolutely murder around chasing shots.
Yeah, it's I make up.
Well, my old man, you fade me if you don't look like if you if you can't play like a football, at least look like one. So it's a bit with the golf as well. So if you don't, if you can't hit the golf all that, at least look good while you're doing it. So I like to think that, you know, I've got some cool kids to wear out there.
That's so good.
You've also ran the Melbourne Marathon. I did recently congratulates that. Actually, so impressive that one run a marathon, Like I just I have so much respect for anyone like and like stick to that can't training and run it.
Yeah, what was the experience?
Like, man, like, did you did you get to a certain point you hit a wall? Like I had a friend that ran in the New York City Marathon, Like I was saying, and he I've got him probably at thirty eight forty k Mike, and he looked like death.
Yeah, like looked like proper.
Death in the hole, really struggle on every step, And it was hilarious for me as just someone who usually works out for a living to get to see someone else go through the whole for Mons.
Yeah, oh it sucked. I'll be honest, Like it was a really hard, really really hard. It's probably the hardest thing I've ever done.
But really funnily when we talk about before about the cameras and the goal, like running was another one of those things like I had to get the run as the socks that all those things, and like that was a part of the fun for me to have those those types of things. But yeah, basically it started as
a little competition. We're doing it with this Cloggers producer Sam and Dan Garrange were like, I listen to the marathon and I was like, okay, cool, And as soon as it's you know, it turns into a competition and you're competing with each.
Other and it was really fun.
But it got for me just one of those things that I really really got into and it was whenever it was closed in lockdown. So you know, I was just running and I don't know about you, but before playing, you know, finishing footy, I had not even been for a run since right and even before that, the longest I'd ever ran, I honestly think was probably three k's, as in like three k time trial. And then once when I was in Berlin, I did a six k run and I was like, oh my god, I'm gonna
have the best year ever. Like I just I remember just doing a six k run. I was like, funk, I'm gonna be the fittest light bloke in the world. Like next time scaley year I go. Anyway, So when I finished and the challenge, like I think the beauty of running is which I really need to get back into. Was you have that thing where you go, I'm gonna do five k's today and then next time you go six k's and you're like, all right, I'm going to do ten. Then you do ten, You're like, oh that
was cool. I'm going to do fifteen, and then you do fifteen, then you do twenty, and then you go, this is cool. I can do this.
But a scary story.
When you're talking about the hitting the wall, I was actually running around here. So I did the Capital City Trail and this was like two weeks before we finished, and you have to tick off all these milestone so I did like, shouldn't have done this, but we did it in eight weeks training eight eight weeks training block, and I was like, to be.
Honest, I don't ran since because my body's just so still dead.
But we did this Capital City Trail one day and I remember my mate was doing a half marathon, so he did like twenty with me, and then he stopped and got the bike, but then he couldn't find me. Long story short, when you get to I think it's like the longest i'd ran up to there was like twenty two or something like that. And then after that, once you get to twenty six ks, you really need to get your fuel in and you need to start taking jails because your body really starts to shut down.
And I had no idea. I was like, okay, cool, never been there, never been to that stage. And I remember running around this trail and I remember like really starting to and I'm not a big eater, but I remember running and I'm actually vegetarian as well, and I remember running and going like, holy fuck it. If there was a burger in front of me right now, like a beef burger, I would literally demolish it like that.
As I was running, I was that hungry, and my mom was starting the platry and I said that that was weird. Anyway, kept running. Then I started getting like really bad like pains, not pains, but like really that empty feeling, you know, you're just running on empty. And then I started getting bit dizzy and like I was like, oh, this is weird. I'm like, oh, it's not long to go, not long to go. Anyway, I was like, fuck, I'm just going to get to thirty.
I'll get to thirty. And I stop because I was going to try and do like thirty five. I didn't stop.
I had no fuel, no music bars like anything. I don't think i'd had a banana for breakfast, so it was just ridiculous. Anyway, I stopped and got the thirty k's and literally just like collapsed and I was like on the ground by myself, like as in collapse, like just down, Like I wasn't out or.
Anything, but I remember just getting it. I could hardly get up.
I couldn't even get my shoes off, and I thought I was so disorientated where I was. I thought I was close back to my car, but I ended up being like another three k's away, so I literally just had to walk, and I was like just so drained, no phone on me or anything because I wasn't running.
I thought I was where I was.
I was trying to get a car to pick me up and take me back, but I didn't even know I could even speak, I didn't know who I was, So long story short, finally got back to the studio where I work and went downstairs ordered some breakfast out of smoothie.
But it probably took me in nearly three or four hours to like feel good again.
So that was nearly the best thing that happened because I did that and then went into the race two weeks later, really shooting myself but also going like all right, you've got a fuel. So like from there, I started like taking all the jails, and I literally ate so much during the marathon that I like put on weight and drank. Yeah, it was weird, like I'd put on so much like snakes lollies, these carb jails I was.
Drinking like fanny pack it tights.
And I had just all these pockets.
And then one of the coolest things about the marathon, and not to talk about this from now, but is the fact that like it's one of those things as well as saying it was an emotional person. But you're sort of there and you're so tired running and there's so many people and they're handing out like lollies and gatorades and you're just like thank you.
Yeah, you just like thank you you so like you.
Know, when you're like tired, then like you're like like you're like you're like you're like, I'm just so tired, and I remember running just being like oh, like crying running sort of thing.
And then people are.
Like nice and you're just like, oh, this is the best. Yeah, it was a really good, good experience. Look, i'd recommend it to it. I probably want to be doing another one for a while, but I would say go for it.
I recommend you do the New York City Marathon scoop. Yeah, I'd get up for that one because it is cool. I went there last year and like you said, like whenever you get to the end, there's bands playing the whole way man, Like it's a whole ordeal. Yeah, and it's cool to see like so many people you have no idea who they are, just supporting random people running down the road. There are just an absolute shambles trying to get across this line.
I must say that people went to like an alf for party.
I went for one beer and literally had to get picked up because I was in so much the legs and knees and back.
I was like, I can't have.
A conversation with you right now, it's in so much pain. I didn't even get to enjoy it.
Really, you got to everythot you've gone for a yeah, eight weeks. I actually baffled that you've done this in eight week eight weeks. Other boys fair.
God's got it done, which was even a bigger surprise because he did not do half the training that I did and sam our producer.
Unfortunately he didn't hurt himself halfway through.
He still finished, but he walked, so I don't know did he finish.
He got the metal of it hanging on the mantle. I'm not sure.
I'm not sure.
I don't know.
Yeah, I'm not sure. I'll leave that for him to side.
Yeah, beautiful man. Well, it's been so good getting to know you.
Man. I really appreciate you coming on the show. It's it's been awesome, the first podcast in the books man, And it's a credit to you. If you've been able to just be able to manipulate a career in the a f L. To to be the media personality you are now and to have your own producing production company and everything else is it's a credit to you.
Man.
Should be extremely proud of your absolutely honored to have you on and have you the first guest on the podcast.
An honor first guest. I can't believe it. You're gonna do good things.
As I said today, we were lucky enough to record another pard and you got just an incredible story and one of my favorites. So blessed to know you're blessed to be on the podcast and can't wait to see what's next for both of us.
You're the favorite podcast I've had so far. Yeah, very good.
Yeah, and that's that all about. What a great chat with Don Buckley. An amazing human and so privileged for him to jump on and open himself up like you did. He's an amazing person. That's done some amazing things in life and so very fortunate to have him as the first episode of The Amazing Cockshow. And we're so grateful to have you as a listener. So as mentioned before, like, share, comment, all the great things and we'll have plenty of more content coming to you soon