I get at welcomes another installment of the U project. It's Fatty Harps. It's where I am. Anyway, it's the nineteenth of December. We're sliding into Christmas like a piste bloke at a bar, just stumbling our way towards the fucking finish line of twenty twenty four. And you've spoken to the lady that we're about to speak to before you've heard her, or or you've heard her, I should say a couple of times, young Renee Ingles, Hi, how are you hi?
Well?
Actually, like that analogy metaphor that you just gave about stumbling into a bar, I think I'm actually like crawling, like to the finish line of what Christmas looks.
Like, just crawling on the sticky carpet that's had way too much beer and spew on it.
Yeah, exactly right, exactly that.
So yeah, there's a visual that no one needs at all.
You on your hands in these with your body torn jeans, just sticking to the carpet. Now, I see you brought a friend. I thought I just asked you, But you brought a friend along? Who's your friend?
I did this?
This is a man that has many, many titles. I could tell you that he has played in the NBA for eleven years, I could tell you that he's an Australian basketball legend, but I could also tell you what his most important title is, and that is dad to my three beautiful kids, hero in our household, and my
husband Joe Ingles is here to join us. And let me just say, I know you did ask me to come on this podcast, but as many would know from the last podcast, Joe and I are doing again long distance, which more of our relationship has been long distance than actually together. So I thought, well, this is an hour that I don't get to talk to Joe, so why doesn't Joe just come in and have a chat in the conversation we spend this hour together.
So well, I'm glad that we could be the conduit between you two, I mean all, albeit just us three and another twenty thousand or so people.
O can I mate? How are you wonderful? Thanks for having me on. It's nice to see my wife today the first time. It's crazy having been.
A part and this is the.
First time we've done it for a little while now, but obviously with three kids and both pretty busy schedules, and yeah, we do what we can. But yeah, get to see my wife and I get to see you, so it's a win win.
Fuck and hell, and look at what you're looking at? I mean, have you ever seen anything like this? Have you ever seen anything this good? At sixty one?
Mate? What you're looking at?
I feel like I'm living the bachelor life. Oh yeah, so I don't shave anymore. I literally sit around in a cold house because I don'tven bother turning the heating on anymore, because Renee and the kids aren't here. So who got me Christmas tree up from? When the kids hasn't moved, hasn't had the lights on once. But life's good.
You just do what you need to.
I mean, when I saw you the turn, that idea of a vagrant did spring to mind, but like a well paid vagrant nonetheless, you know, like.
Fit into the stereotype.
Of Hey Joe, what are the pros and cons? I'm sure there's more cons than pros, But what are the pros and cons of living apart a fair bit of.
The time, Probably not too many pros.
Obviously, we did it a lot early on when we first kind of got together, and then even even early on in being engaged and stuff, and I think at that point it's probably as much as it still sucks, it's a bit easier because there's no kids involved. There's no anything like that. So we would obviously miss hanging out with each other, but it was just me and Renee. It wasn't anyone else involved. Now with the kids, this is really the first time doing this without any of
the kids. And obviously Renee's got them pretty well, not pretty much, he does have them full time, and we've made it work as good as possible of obviously me getting home when I can, depending on the schedule, and then obviously Renee and the kids coming here whenever school and that schedule works out.
So I mean, it sucks. It's always the hardest.
Like they were here for nine days or eight days over Thanksgiving, which was awesome, and the day after they leave, I come back and I'm used to like a bit of a crazy household for those few days.
And then I get back.
And it's quiet, and I've got like a very humble four bedroom apartment that we're in, but it's I literally when they're not here, I use the bedroom and the sofa. I just go between the both. I don't go in the kitchen, I don't go in the laundry, so I.
Definitely miss the cooking and cleaning and all the wonderful things.
Well fucking hey, everyone, that was the NBA superstar. He said that, not me. I don't endorse all.
Me and Rene. His joke.
Renee is a very organized, clothed washer, Like the washing machine's going a lot of the time, And I like, I could go weeks throughout washing because I can just where I've got enough stuff. And so I mean, if I showed you the laundry, but Renee would vomit and you would probably laugh. But it's so choc a block full. Because I've been like two weeks, I'm like, I really don't need I just don't need to do it.
So it sucks not being with them.
But I think Renee and I both know it's it's always it's the short term.
It's not going to be forever.
And myself as a as an athlete, still trying to max out my last bit of my career.
And then.
After that they've got me full time, which you might be kicking me out the door.
At that point you might be hoping you go back and find another gig I on the OCD scale. If you're at ten on the OCD scale, would you say you're OCD or more just regular perfectionist?
Regular perfectionist?
And I would say the improvement in me in this area in the last three to five years is enormous. I have when I say it dropped my standards for me, Like, obviously, I think I've been doing a lot of self work and looking at all of those things and all of the things that were I was putting so much energy in and I've dialed all that back because it's just a waste of time and stuff that doesn't matter, and
truly it takes me away from things that do matter. However, I would say my standards are probably higher than your average person, but that is more of a perfectionist me.
And so like with a lot of people who are quite It's funny because I'm quite obsessive and quite a perfectionist. With some things, I'm you and with other things, I'm Joe. I do not give I'm like him. I could wear the same T shirt for a week.
I don't. I don't, but I could, right, I could.
Turn the same pair of jocks inside out and back to front for I don't know ever, I don't, but like there's some things that when it comes to like work things or producing content or doing a presentation in front of a group, or do it my job, like I'm very pedantic, but I think with other things not so much. Is there an underlying fear or anxiety for you around things not being good enough or organized enough or perfect enough.
I think it's always come down to me of that feeling of not being good enough. And I think particularly when it came to like I've always been a very safe, but very fearful person of what if or what if the judgment, what if this happens, or what if they don't like me in this and so much of what other people say or think or do are out of
my control. Whereas how clean my house is, how much washing I have, how I perform in all of those dumb areas that really at the end of the day don't matter, are things that I for a really long time put a lot of control on, And particularly transitioning into the mum life and not having my career and standards in that aspect, I felt like there was nothing in my day that made me feel like I was
achieving anything. So being this like superwoman housewife at home with you know, three kids or at the time the twins and Jacob's diagnosis, but having everything looking like it was perfect made me feel like I was achieving something or ticking those boxes. So it probably comes down to
that fear of judgment and being liked. Now, the mental load on me, it just I can't be bothered, So I would just say now, I'm just far better at delegating that space or asking for help when I need to so that I'm not an angry wreck at the end of the day and my family don't get.
The better version of me. That's what the difference is.
Like, the mental load of thinking that I should or have to do all those things to be perfect just makes no sense at the end of the day because it was just taking away from me and my energy. So it was a combination of wanting to change and a combination of burning out. So having to change when it came to all of those perfectionist standards that I had in and around my career and home life and relationships and perception that I felt like everybody had of me.
That's interesting, Like a lot of you know, I've worked with lots of athletes, and I'm interested in athletes who when they step away from their sport or their professional career, there's like this identity crisis. They don't know who they are anymore because that's like what they do and who they are is the same thing. And now I don't do that anymore. So who the fuck am I now?
Was? Did that happen for you? Oh?
Yeah, it's still happening.
I think that's a constant conversation in this house of who am I?
Without that? And honestly, my default is still, well, let's.
Just get super fit again, super jacked, and get back on the netbook corn, go do what everyone says that you can't do.
Not too old.
For like, that's still the default because part of my identity is still tied up in the athlete and the achiever and all of those things. So that's a constant thing.
And also for me, I think the identity shift came a little bit after I retired, because I retired and then COVID hit, So it was almost like a year to two of like not being like sport wasn't the same netbull happened, but it was a bubble and I was like, oh, I wouldn't have been in the bubble anyway because I've got three kids and husband country Like there was almost these excuses or like a band aid put on what retirement.
Meant for me.
And then when the world opened up again and sport came back, and experience came back, and traveling came back, and I was able to get into Australia and all of those things and put my feet on the soil in Australia, I went, oh, my gosh, I do miss this thing. What is the void? Where is what does
that look and feel like? So still going through all of that process, John, when I talk about this daily, like who I am away from the athlete and the gym and how I tie myself up into that work, it's constant.
I need to be careful how I asked the next question.
But I was thinking before about you two, and I was thinking like, obviously, Joe's one of the best Australian basketballers, albeit looking like a vagrant at the moment, but nonetheless one of Australia's best players of all time. All that stuff, right, which is that goes without saying, but think about you you are maybe when you were at your peak, you're probably one of the best two or three netballers in the.
World, arguably do you know what I mean?
Arguably the best netballer in the world for a minute or two.
There more than a minute or two.
Do you is there any kind of I don't know, Joe, what do you think about that? Like, obviously you're a champion. I'm not undermining anything that you've done. It's fucking incredible. But do you think about how amazing your wife was an as an athlete in a sport that just doesn't get the accolades or financial rewards compared to what you guys do.
Oh? Absolutely, And like I mean even now, like we were over.
In the States and people ask obviously they can look at Renee until she played some sport. We try and explain that ball, which obviously doesn't go down too well over here.
But no, I'm like incredibly proud. It's to.
I guess now be married to someone. But when we first met and kind of just two professional athletes and figuring out along the way, and obviously I knew a little bit about her, but then understanding like why and how she was so good, and I mean she went into a little bit with the OCD and perfectionist of like she was not going to let anyone be stronger, fitter, quicker, a better catch a thrower, like whatever it took, she was going to be the best at that, which is
why she was a big, big reason and change of like little girls wanting to be wing defense and not throwing that bib away.
Yeah, I mean I still still now, like when the question.
Comes up of like who inspires you, who's your motivation? Like it's always obviously the kids are always a part of that. But seeing Renee at a professional level was like scary impressive because me and her are completely off in those senses, Like I'm a lot more laid back and just kind of let it come to me and I do what I need to do. And I've always been a professional and tick the boxes I need to tick to. I mean I've played nineteen years professionally now.
But yeah, it was always like, yeah, I always had a thing in my head of like if I could be like twenty percent of what Renee did, who knows
what else I could have been able to achieve. So yeah, super impresident obviously, Now, like Renee said, like we speak daily and trying to figure out, like since she's retired, it's difficult, and I've probably made the joke of like thinking I know exactly what I want to do when I'm post career, but I'm sure I'll go through it at some point when I don't have basketball like I do now, and I'll have a pretty experienced person in
that field to talk with about it. But no, it's really cool and obviously like super proud tow her as my wife and mother of our children. And yeah, everything she's doing off the court now is getting up there with just as impressive. But she does have more metals than me, so she beats me and all that she does.
I didn't want to bring that up, but good humility, man has the body. Nate, how are you holding up? I asked you that last time. I think you told me you were kind of getting back on track, and I see a couple of Insta shots of you in the gym being somewhat jacked house things.
Oh how do I even say how I am in that space? Fitness is a constant, like battle, but a constant energy taker and energy giver when it comes to me at the moment, people I think would look at me and say yeah, but you're fit, and I'm like, yeah, I am, like I'm fit and I'm strong. But I think at the moment, I'm like, I'm starting to get that fireback of like what's next in the fitness space for me?
I actually.
Like, I'm like, do I run another marathon for charity and do that again for Culture City? But I'm not sure that's good for our marriage. Do I sign up for an iron Man or do something like that to raise money for charity? But I think all of those things are small band aids for still trying to fill that void.
But I love being fit. I love feeling good.
It gives me a journal and it gives me energy. I love working out.
I sort of that is part of my Sunday night ball league I have.
I've started tennis over here Grego and I love that. And then in January a basketball league started up that I got asked to come on a team, so I'm really excited for that. So feeling those voids in middleways, I still monthly get some state league netball teams from Melbourne ask if I want to come back and have a run around next year, but I'm sure that would break my body into pieces.
But I.
Don't know. I don't know.
I'm not suggesting you should do it, but there's a big gap between your chronological and biological age.
I would think, how old are you at officially.
I'm thirty eight, Yeah.
So you your body ain't thirty eight though, Like you don't have thirty PM games? Oh yeah, yeah, Well that's a fucker ten.
Thirty in warrigal Or where I don't even know where they are anymore.
What do you want to be down there thirty on a Wednesday?
Who knows? Who knows? I don't know. I'm like fit, but I'm a different fit.
I'm strong at the moment, not necessary cardiovascular endurance fit.
But you could pioneer the first netball league in the States.
They do have netball leagues over here.
It's still like very very amateur, and they are introducing it to college sports and stuff.
I have been in talks and stuff with.
Netball America and how I can help and coach and different aspects of that. But at the moment, especially when my husband lives in another state, it's a little bit hard logistically to go and sort of build that from scratch.
But you know, I mean Craig Oh and I at the moment are in so many conversations, like I feel like my head's all over the place in terms of what's next because we're just trying to Like, it's really hard for us and where we're at right now to have a vision of what our future looks like in terms of where that is, Like, we can argue that it's best for the kids here in their schools and they're engaged and happy. Where's Joe's next career piece? Do we need to be with family and stuff in Australia.
There's just so many angles that we can argue of what our future can and should look like that in a space now of like having to have those really serious, in depth conversations that are really difficult because we don't know what that future piece looks like. And part of that is that, like do I invest in that ball over here and start building that out? So I feel like I've got a bit more of a career identity in that space to like, where's Joe's next job going
to be? In terms of playing? Does he want to coach? Does he want to go into front office? Does he want to take a break? Do we try like as just so many variables that we have to weigh up in our lives and look at at the moment that I'm having to get used to uncertainty and what that looks like.
And I don't love that uncomfortable feeling.
Guess what, baby cakes, Life is uncertain Life is uncomfortable, and life gives no fucks about your emotions or your fear.
So batten down the hatchet. She know that you know that, you know? It's like, how adaptable can you be? And for how long?
That's pretty much like I reckon the number one question for life survival is pretty much how well can you solve problems?
You know?
And how how comfortable can you be? How good can you be in the discomfort? Like how comfortable can you be in that? You know, that equanimity, that calm in the chaos.
What I'm realizing, though, is like Joe and I are like experts at actually being deep in the discomfort of the change, the transition and what all of those things are. I'm not sitting in the discomfort of the uncertainty of what that is. It's not actually a mess that scares me. It's not knowing, it's not knowing.
Yeah, but I mean the thing is.
But not knowing as fine, not knowing as part of the human experience, Like there's so much shit that you will never know. And it's okay, Like you don't like I think that idea that you need clarity and certainty about the next one two five years and you need it by fucking Friday night. It's like, just doesn't really happen. It doesn't happen.
I know, And I think for me is what is tying into that lack of identity piece?
Is you know what Joe's thinking. He's thinking, thanks harp, That's what he's thinking.
Absolutely is He's.
Like, thank fuck, where's this bloke? Bean? I need to get him on speed dial? You know we're doing this each night, right? That is all right?
Let me go back to something completely. Let me give Renee an emotional break on the couch. How's your body mate? How are you holding up?
I've I've been very lucky throughout my career. I have just recently done my first CALF, which is an experience at thirty seven years old. Now, prior to that, I felt really good the last couple of years. I did my ACL three years ago.
Now, so.
Building back from that, and getting that kind of confidence back to play again, and yeah, realizing that I always seen people do a CL's achilles. One of my best mates did their achilles. I can seeing the rehab of it and probably not fully believing that it takes a couple of years to get back to like feeling yourself and then doing it myself and realizing exactly what those
those other athletes have gone through. The last kind of like six or twelve months, I've really started to feel good again, and yeah, my body feels good, and probably having that year off of ACL probably did did good for me. I was definitely like mentally and physically a little bit drained before that, And.
Who knows if I would still be playing if I if I didn't do that. But I feel good. I still really enjoy.
Like the NBA and the guys on my team, and obviously being in the league and competing and doing all those things.
And I do know, my mate, my days are counting down. I'm not unaware of that.
And I mean it even went into the decision of coming here of like being on a on a really good group. We grew a really good team with a great group of guys, a great coaching staff. Obviously, the only kind of negative is being away from Renee and the kids. But yeah, just trying to maximize this kind of last little stin of my career out and before figuring out what Renee.
Is going through right now. Yeah, yeah, it's now.
This is a weird question, especially for an elite athlete on an interview, But so my audience is not your general sporting audience. It's about sixty five percent female and thirty five percent guys. For people who have not much of a clue, could you just tell them what a normal NBA season looks like in terms of how long is a season, how often do you play? Because I don't think people would grasp the chaos of what it is to be you.
Yeah, I think it.
I think probably a lot of professionals was the NBA with our salaries being out there and everything that comes with it. Everybody loves to talk about the salaries and the nice car and we charter charter plane, charter flights. We have our own flight, our own plane to fly.
To games and stuff, which is all great, don't get me wrong, But.
So we usually start we've got to be in the kind of city that we're playing for at about August, end of August, start of September. Season starts about start to middle of October, so we have about a month of pre season, so through middle of October basically start of April, we play eighty two games, so we and we have one week off in February as a bit of an all Star break.
So we we.
Average probably four sometimes five games a week, And I think, what what the like? What people don't understand? Which is the difficult part. Again not complaining because I'm very, very lucky in what we do. But we will play a game wherever that might might be, and then we'll fly straight after the game, get to either the next city or home at two, three, four am, depending on where we're going. Practice the next day at eleven, ten or eleven. I might have a day off, depending whatever's but then
play again. So you're basically playing every second game, every second day for basically that whole time. There's a few little windows where you get two or three days, and it's not, like I said, it's not hard. We stay in beautiful hotels, we get our own plane, We obviously get a lot of a lot of perks, but it's the obviously the physical fatigue, but also the mental fatigue of like getting in at three or four am, and obviously with Renee, like I would get up as often as I.
Could to help help with the kids or get them to school and go to.
Practice then and then after practice go help with We've got three kids at three different schools, so help with picking the kids up and then entertaining the kids and then heading off to a game and.
Then and obviously just kind of repeating that cycle.
So it is busy. Like I said, again, it's not like I love it. It's what I've done since I was seventeen. I don't know any different. I wouldn't know what to do if I didn't have a Yeah, the other part of it is like we we literally live since I've been seventeen, and we live off a text message the day before of what the schedule is.
Yeah, there's a rough idea.
Of like you can look on the internet at the games, but like the daily schedule we do. Every day we get a text from from one of the group admin people and it says this is practice, this is your individual.
Times, and that's what you do.
So it's in terms of forward planning for someone like Renee is not an ideal what life to be part of the NBA, But like I said, it is what I'm used to. It's it is what it is, and with.
My personality in the way I am, I find.
It kind of reasonably easy in terms of that because I kind of just go with the flow anyway. So it's busy, but like I said, I love I wouldn't I wouldn't trade it for any job in the world.
It's amazing. Nay, do you think that you and Joe part of why you get on great? I'm assuming you get on great. That was very presumptuous you seem too, but this could all be a fucking act. Who knows, that could be the world's best charade. Do you think that part of why you two get on well is because you're, like, you're really fucking different, Like you two are so different, like chalk and cheese different.
But you know that is probably a good thing, right.
Well, And we knew that since day one, the day we met, we were completely different, and I think that has always been one of the things that kept us really strong.
I think it's like at times hard.
To navigate, obviously, because we come at different situations or problem solving in really different ways. But I've said since the day that we met that I was always running so fast and never never stopping. My brain wouldn't stop, my activity wouldn't stop. Always had to be busy and full schedule. And Joe's sort of at the other end of the spectrum of that, and it's been a really nice balance for me to come down and calm down
a little bit and find a balance. And it like Joe, don't get me wrong, I mean this in the best way and love your pieces, but like raising his high performance standards and like where that sort of stuff can come up for him. We've been able to meet in the middle and find a really nice balance.
And don't get me wrong, we.
Drive each other nuts because of our differences, but it's also one of our strengths, I think. And there's always something surprising because we're so different, so we laugh a lot, and I think that's what is the most important usually at each other because of our differences. But yeah, it's sort of something since day one that we've embraced, I think.
And then one of the biggest things that we've had in common is obviously our love for our athletic careers and always been able to find synergy in that and what our careers meant individually to ourselves, and understanding the sacrifices that we needed to make individually to achieve all that we were setting our sights on achieving, but then
wanting that for the other person as well. And I truly think the lifestyle that we have over here, it's really difficult to get used to, and it's not a lifestyle that a lot of people understand until they're actually in it. But I think that is made easier for us as a couple because I was an athlete before and do understand the sacrifice and stuff that he needs to make in that space. Wouldn't necessarily do all of the same things in the way he does or doesn't prepare.
But I've learned a lot over my career in how I helped my game because of what he was able to show me and teach me in all of those things. And what I will say, Joe, I'm not like throwing you under the bus, but I am a little.
Bit is that I feel like she is.
We're talking like he is the most laid back, relaxed person. Don't get me wrong, but there are things that he's also very particular.
On in terms of like.
Outfits and T shirts and shoes and where the trackie pants like fit into the socks, and like your pregame routine and when your coffee is and like you're relaxed and you're flexible, but you also like things the way you like things too.
Hey, don't fuck with his rituals, all right, that's.
That's any of the Are any of those rituals superstitions?
No?
Well, the only thing I've really used to.
Do that I thought was like a supers But then I don't think like my biggest thing. Like Rene, we're so different in how we approached it, I think, and for me it was like.
It was all it was.
All I knew of how to approach It was like and then I meet Renee and it's like, oh shit, there's probably a few things I can do a little bit better.
And I think vice versa.
She was like, Oh, I probably don't need to do a B and C every single minute of every day to be okay for the game on one game a week on a Saturday. Yeah, Like I've got a few Like when when I mean this is different this year because I'm here by myself, but like I would get to the arena early. That was probably my main one of the main like the chaos of the day in
the morning and whatever. I would get to the arena a bit early and that's it, and I would like shower and get organized, and that was kind of like the reset of like, all right, now I know Renee and the kids are good, They've.
Had dinner or whatever. Now I've showered.
Now I can kind of get ready and focus for the game. I mean, I'm very boring with like what Renee said with like I've got this one. I've been sponsored by Nike my whole career, so I've always just had Nike clothes for free.
I've got this one other brand.
That I wear clothing wise, and I don't venture out of that, and I wear like I could have the same, but I've got three hundred. We're kindred spirits, you know.
I went to Southland the other day, which is a shopping center.
Here, nit Rene is going to.
Roll her fucking eyes because she's a goddamn goddess, right, I went to south Land.
I only wear black T shirts.
We spent all our time at southlande We have a house in Bomoros.
Steady on.
And I got there and I bought eight black T shirts. It took me twelve minutes in and out on the motorbike home. Total trip twenty six minutes. Fucking eight shirts. You welcome. Now, I just rotate those. I don't give people go you wear the same thing all the time. I'm like, yes, I do, and it doesn't.
Matter to me.
That's the last thing I need to spend energy on is what you fucking think of my T shirt.
And the funny thing for us in what we do is like the last maybe five six years has turned into this like fashion parade walking into the NBA arena people folk. There's actually awards that this like I don't even remember what it's called now, but like people get awards for who is like best dressed throughout the year, And I'm like, I could wear the same Nike like Wolves sweatsuit every single day because for me, it's like
like tomorrow night, we got a game. It's on TNT, so we're on National TV tomorrow, big game against the Knicks.
Who.
We had a big trade right before the season started with the Knicks, so like our players coming back, the two guys we got are playing them for the first time. It's this big hype, like our guys are going to come some of the outfits tomorrow.
Make sure you follow whoever posts them or whatever, because it'll be great.
But my thing is like, I'm going to leave here at whatever six o'clock tomorrow night to go to the stadium, go do my thing, blah blah blah, do it, and then I'm going to come right back to this seat here at about midnight, like I don't know, understand.
And then when we're on the road, you're getting on a.
Plane anyway, you're sitting on a bus in the arena, taking all these fancy closer and putting them back on to sit on the plane for two hours to then go to the hotel and check back in. So for me, I've always been I'm like you, I don't care about what I wear, what I'd like. My teammates laugh at me all the time because I went and being a minute. So I just wear the same like hoodie and be I wear.
I've worn this every day for about three weeks and I couldn't care less. But I'm warm, mate. It's all about function and comfort. That's Renee.
And I will go out for dinner, She'll put on she always like she she likes her fashion.
A little bit. And you look, show the throw the world on the camera your wardrobe. Can I just tell you everybody, we got to look. We got to look from missus Ingles then like that, are you fucking with me? Look so good? I will wear if we go to dinner? What do I wear to dinner? If we go to dinner, all.
The same think they were to a basketball game. It never changed.
Like black jeans if I have to get really fancy and a black T shirt, or if I'm going like to lunch or whatever, if it's black tracks and a black or maybe white T shirt.
If I'm getting a little crazy, like crazy for me is jeans. Like let's just remember our first date and why you fell in love with me.
Yeah, I saw the money from the netballs. I got to get this. That was right.
He just went with thebes under the under the driver's I was like, oh my god, I get to drive the Vixen's car.
Remember car cra like's bright?
Yeah, I remember, I remember it all.
I can imagine him seeing you across the netty court and just going katching.
Look at that.
Must be milking it in Actually no, you know what every night and baked fish.
She can't the first thing I what I mean, obviously knew she was a very attractive woman or younger woman back then, but when she rocked up, because she'd already she canned me about five times on like the first date, coffee, whatever we're going to do. And so the last time we did it, I'd gone out the night before and like wasn't expect because I'd always wake up the next morning to a text of like, oh, sorry I can't come.
I've got blah.
Blah blah blah to day or I'm like whatever, fucking I guess I'll never see this girl. And then she rocked up the first time and she had like a sweatsuit on trackis and a hoodie and I was like, fuck, I'm in here, this is a fellow.
Yeah, those first those first five cancelations, were they bullshit or legit?
Yeah?
What's the go with that? Tell us Like, let's.
Just like at that time of you know what I was like back then, Crago, we'd go out every weekend Netbull. We'd play on a Friday night for the Melbourne Phoenix and Vixen's or like you're playing on Sunday, so you kind of had a night every time to go out and basketball where much the same.
Joe was playing in Australia.
I'd see him in the clubs, you know, and in my mind I was like, dating in elite athletes not for me. I'm like, I'm a relationship list. I'm always in relationships. The elite athlete life is just not for me. I don't trust a lot of people. And then ditched him five times and then met him and said, oh god, this guy, I actually like him.
I Renee. His mother, Margaret had a bit of a hand in that. She as much as we've gone blows over the years about little things, she was the one that made Rene go on the first date.
So shout out to little old Margie out in Phillip Island.
Renee reminds me of Renee back in the day.
You probably know this, but shouted t shirt that said give us a hug and a baseball cap that said but fuck off.
Though it's like that, a little bit of her was a little bit. Yeah, a red food brou shir this love. Oh that's that's hilarious. Hey, no, how do you think you're going to go at basketball.
Oh, I'm going to like get MVP.
Yeah, yeah, you have you played, Like, I'm sure you've played a bit, but have you ever played in a team for a season or something.
I played until I was sixteen and was definitely not good compared to netball, Like I was a netballer, not a basketballer. And then actually, after I had the twins in Salt Lake City, I played in a league in Salt Lake City out of this random little church with this random group who a couple of them have Actually
we've stayed really close as friends. So I was a bit wobbly on my feet then, but I actually knew in my mind that I was going to be coming back to netball, so I thought playing basketball might help me get my feet going a little bit back on the court.
And yeah, I'm really really excited to hit the basketball court again. I've got no.
Basketball skill, but I'm athletic, so I think I can rebound the ball and I think I'm going to steal it and pass to someone else to dribble.
And true, that's kind of how Obi. She's going to be the best have the best shoes in the game.
One percent per Hey, So I'm going to ask you both.
I'm going to ask you both a question and you're not allowed to answer it straight away because I want to ask you both the same question, and I don't want you to confer. So from zero percent to one hundred percent? What are the chances that in five years you'll be living in Australia. I both want you to get so zero percent you know you won't be living in Australia at all. One hundred percent? Absolutely, what's the percentage? I want you each to think of it and then
don't fucking change mind when the other one says the answer. Rene, We're going to start with you in five years time? What's the percentage.
Chance going to be? I'm going to write mine down so you guys know that I'm not lying. Yeah, you write it down? You write it down? Renee, do you have pen and paper or no? I can?
Do you want me say?
I've written down? Write it down? Okay?
And when let's do this, which is terrible for an audio podcast, but I'll tell everybody the results. We might put a snap on socials, okay on three on three?
Ready? One, both both of you? Now, mine's on my phones.
I might not be as cool, but okay, three two, one oh, hang on, So eighty percent and does that say thirty seven percent?
Thirty seven? Wow?
So missus Ingles thinks there's an eighty percent chance that the family will be in Australia in five years. Mister Ingles, Fuck, this is this is going to be a scoop. This will be in the Herald Sun in Melbourne tomorrow, do you yeah? This could be everyone? This could like if the marriage is on the rocks in six weeks, you know where it started.
Five years, we're going to know who wears the pants. That's what we're going to know.
Nate, where does your Okay, let's let's unpack this, not for too long, because I really don't want to start some kind of domestic fucking implosion.
It's actually funny because we've been talking about this a lot the last like a few months.
So right, right, I've got my I've got my reasons for that number. Right, I'm sure. Let's let's hear your case. Let's hear your case. Joe first, All right, Nate, what do you think there's an eight out of ten chance you'll be back here?
The fact that we're talking about the option of it so much right now makes me believe, given that that conversation is happening, that there's something under their bubbling. And I think in five years we're going to have a lot more perspective or understanding or awareness of what Joe's post.
Career looks like.
And I think we could really happily be here for another one, two, three, four, five years. But I just think the fact that this the conversations are bubbling that in five years, the age of all of our kids and the resiliency that they'll have then compared to even.
Now, is young.
And after a few couple of moves, I just think, yeah, in five years, every like so much can change in five years. I think about how much older my parents. My parents will be seventy in five years. So what does their helse look our families?
Oh she got you there, big fella, she got you there. That's like an ace.
He's played the emotional joker card boom.
Yeah.
So I if you had said, like the question was phrased like would we end up in Australia, I think we will end up probably living in Australia at some point for the rest of our lives. Like five years, ten years, like whatever they did will I would be very confident to say we would live like things would have to be dramatically amazing over here for us to stay here like forever.
So I do think we will live.
In Australia at some point, at whatever age that is, for the rest of our lives. But I don't think it'll be in fire like Renee said, Like we've we've talked about it a lot.
We go back and forth. We one day we're like America, one day we're Australia.
Yeah, so I'm at like, I technically agree with Rene's eighty percent, but I think I just think it'll be it'll be some point down like somewhere down.
The track.
Actually as well, because part of the conversations Craigo that Joe and I have a lot is.
That move is made.
It's final, Like we're not going to be moving country to country backwards and forwards if it's the right decision. So it would have to be very known that that is the right decision.
So I need to need a marriage guidance counselor I just want to say you're welcome, I'm here.
Rates are very reasonable.
I don't want to say that I'm fucking making your marriage better, but I mean data, you know, So, yeah, we're just.
Going to run our marriage now.
Whenever we're talking, we're just going to have to go, okay, write your percentage down and.
Then yeah, sure. It's actually a pretty smart idea, come.
To understanding where we're both at in terms of these decisions.
That number you're going to You're going to think I was crazy, but yeah, I genuinely do think we we will. I mean, I know we will live in Australia at some point, but it is I think too like what I think people feel like, we're We're clearly Australian. We love Australia, we will live in Australia, but we've also like we've also been here for this is like at the end of this year, we've been here twelve years.
Yeah, we haven't been three years. Like this is at the moment, this is home.
Home is like our home home right now is in Orlando's where Renee is sitting right now, and our kids are happy, Jacob's thriving in his school there. We're not just going to pack all that up in the next few months to move back to Australia. Because we want to live in Australia there there has to be some great reasons.
There has to.
Be schools for Jacobs, schools for the other two kids post career, what I want to do obviously what Renee wants to do with her working career wants once we figure all that out, So yeah, I definitely think we'll be back. There would just be a matter of when it is.
What is the biggest adaptation Renee that you had to make living in the States, Like, what was the thing that you had to not necessarily that was bad, but like for you you really needed to adapt and adjust to something.
What's the biggest adaptation? I good question. I don't know.
Is it just just being away from family or something, or.
I think so because I'm really really close to my family. I speak to my family every day while we're over here, So there's obviously logistics and stuff that comes into that with time differences. But I'd say one of the other adaptations is like, I think it would have been a really natural career move for me once I finished playing netball to move into another role in netball, and.
That hasn't been able to happen.
But I also think that's been a strength, Like the amount that I am learning and growing over here in another country, in another environment, with different people, different cultures, the different cities we've lived over here. I just think the information that Joe and I gaining from the experience that we're having over here, I believe far outweighs me. When we do decide to move back to Australia, we bring all of that back with us. So wel it's
a yeah, you can argue it so many ways. It's like what we spoke about last time was on your podcast. To everything that's a costom there's a reward, but we're really like we love life in Orlando. Will definitely say that we just don't have a community here, like it's pretty lonely.
So that Joe, do you get I don't know what the word is, but I don't know I'm going to go with this. I don't even know if this is a term, but recognition fatigue where people go hey, hey, hey, do you just wish you could just go somewhere and nobody goes hey are you? Aren't you kind of a selfie? Like does that wear you out? Or is that what is?
Or does it just depend on how you're feeling on a day.
Probably a little bit depending on how I'm feeling the if if I'm ever with Renee or the kids, I can be an absolute, complete, very rude, which Renee would Renee would like try and like run over there and apologize for me if I'd said something to someone and they The biggest like trigger for me with those things is everybody knows what we're doing, how much we're paid, where we like, where we live, where, like everything is so public and the one time or whatever it is,
once or twice a week when I'm with my kids at a restaurant or at a park, like, just let.
Me be with my kids at And in saying that, I get what.
Being a professional athlete being in the NBA, I get what brick like what comes with that.
I'm not saying.
I hate it whatever it is, but it does get Yeah, it's probably a good word, Like the fatigue is is a real thing with that, And I'd definitely like, I mean, there's probably a million people I would have to apologize to that I have been rude to, but I would hope that they stand to some level of like I don't get to see my kids that often.
I don't get to spend this time.
Having a waffle with my daughter at a like all these little things that people get to do everything every Saturday or everyone.
I don't get to do these things.
I missed Miller's Little class show today, Like I don't get to go to these things. So I would like some people would probably argue that I would be lying, but I would be more than happy when I stopped playing to never be recognized again and just be with Renee and the kids and live on a nice big block of land with no neighbors.
And yeah, I believe it. I believe you hate Nay.
I wanted to well, I want to talk to you both about and we'll start to wind up because I know you don't have all day, but thank you for chatting to me.
I love it.
I was talking this morning about I was talking with somebody about, you know, some of the athletes that I've worked with over the years who were like, hugely talented but really just didn't do it because whatever they couldn't manage their fear or anxiety or emotions, or they had a shit work ethic, or they were lazy, or they got fucking offended every four minutes or you know, and then other people that. And one of the examples I gave was Jackie Cooper, the aerial ski jumper. So she
went to five Olympics. I trained her for nearly twenty years, you know, five time world champion, five time Olympian, like, and she would tell you not that gifted.
And I would like, as an athlete, you.
Throw a ball that hits her in the face, right, like not but a good like the toughest person, maybe the toughest athlete I've ever trained in terms of resilience. And talk to me a little bit about like I think, I think about optimizing potential, and I think about you, like you were talented anyway, but then on top of that, you added this work ethic and this borderline obsessive kind of attitude and you know, ticking every box and all
this stuff. Then I think about Joe and I think, maybe he's lasted so long because he's kind of fucking laid back. Maybe a completely different approach, do you know what I mean. I don't think there's one way to optimize potential. What are your thoughts?
Yeah, I don't think there's one winning recipe in that I think in terms of when it came to me and my underlying work ethic. It was always came from a place of regardless of what game I'd won, or championship I'd won, or if I felt like I was lucky enough and got an individual award, whatever those things were, there was an underlying feeling in me that I was never good enough, and I think that drove the work ethic.
It was almost like, well, I'll prove my way or all hard work way into that, and that was almost like my inner dialogue. I think when it comes to Joe and Joe play, jump in and correct me if
I'm wrong at any stage. What I've always admired about Joe is He's had this inner burn to like prove people wrong, or this underlying belief in himself as a basketballer on the court and his ability and what he brings to a team, which he like along the way, has taught me, or like even like the reflecting on a failure or whatever it is, Joe's always been really good at like just flicking the switch and moving on, And like the NBA is part of that, Like they
play so often, they can't wallow, whereas netball and our performances and me not missing out on teams or whatever that stuff was. Netball and basketball have quite a different culture, I think when it comes to those things. But yeah, I feel like I always lacked the inner self belief that I felt like if I wasn't trying to get one percent better, then that one percent would be the reason I didn't make a team or that we did lose, or that I failed.
And I never wanted that to be on me. I wanted to write, couldn't.
Have worked any harder, like, there's no excuse from that aspect, Whereas Joe has had this god given talent and people along the way that have sort of said, no, you're not going to make it, or your teacher Joe when you're in primary school saying no, like you need to pick a different career, and him going whatever, This is what I always had that in a self belief.
Oh missus, i'rilly, you fucked up. You got it wrong. He fucked up a lot.
I think I definitely don't think there's one like. I mean, there's two recipes right here that are completely different and have both had hell of a sporting career. I think for me it was always yeah, that that inner like because I was never I was never the best on any of the teams I was.
I was never I was.
I think one of the things I have been really good at is like the consistency of what I've done.
Like I've I've always worked hard, I've always showed up.
I don't I don't miss practice, I don't miss days, I don't miss games. I don't like I've always just played, practiced and done everything at a at a at a pretty consistent level. And like I said, whether that's right, Like there's probably some things I could have done differently that maybe I would have been a little bit better or a little bit quicker or whatever it is. And I think along the way you find those things out.
Like I mean, one of the people that I'm still I just spoke to him tonight, a guy called Mike Elliott, who's one of my performance directors in Utah, kind of changed my whole thought process of my career. Like I played five years straight or something under him, didn't miss
a game. I played like five hundred games straight without missing a game in the NBA and playing in the summers with the Olympics and stuff like that, and just just different different people along the way that can teach you, like, I'm never going to have the same athleticism or body tie or whatever is Anthony Edwards one of my teammates, or as Dante DiVincenzo or whoever the's got like the Americans or whoever it is. But I know what I'm
really good at. I know what I what I can do to help help our team or my team, and I've just tried to always stay really consistent with that.
Where yeah, just I don't know, I think that then that.
Is the recipe.
Then it's actually it's not playing the comparison game and going, well, he or she is doing this, so I need to try and do this as well, because they achieved it by.
Doing it this way.
I need to find what my winning recipe is for me and embrace that and like full step with which way both of us are done.
I can one hundred percent like and I'm still very confident in what I do. But there is a lot of players that are better than me, that haven't.
Had as long an NBA career as me, purely.
Because I've accepted a role, like I knew who I was and I accepted that role. And yeah, of course I'm always trying to get better and play more minutes and like make more money and do all those things that we do as athletes.
But I knew, I knew who I.
Was as a as a player and as a teammate, and like I still now, I'm like the joking asshole of every team I've been on, Like I can be a prick, but I'm a good teammate. Like all my teammates would say they enjoy being around me. But I'm also going to call it straight when I need to,
Like it's just who I am. So I think, yeah, I think there's different for everyone, But I think, yeah, like accepting the role that I was kind of given and then trying to be really good at that role is why I've lasted as long as I have compared to Like I know, for a fact, I could probably name people that I know are better and more talented and quicker and faster than me. But I didn't want
to accept certain roles for whatever reason. Maybe it was valid and whatever, but I knew what was going to keep me in this league, and I've done everything to do that, and I think I've proved that I that I can do it.
Yeah, you go, all right? I mean, you know, Craig Harper, but look you go, all right, well done? Well were you the leading three point score at Utah?
There's only one of us. I'm at the top. Welcome back to the Humble Hour with Joe Ingles. Let me tell you how humble I am.
So fuck it was honestly one of my like I've been like, the bronze medal with the Australian team is always going to top everything that I've been able to do with my sporting career because it was the first one ever. But to come to the NBA at twenty seven and really not be looked at to come over here much before that at all. And then, like Rene said before, we loved our time in Utah and all that, and we got embraced and had a hell of a
community there of pretty cool people. But to then say you broke a record of a franchise that had John Stock and Calm Alone or like all these guys playing, and yeah, grant a very different league now to then like whatever, But to still say I was number one. So when Donovan Mitchell got traded from Utah, who was about to catch me? So they traded him at the perfect time. So he's still number two. I think, so, yeah, you got you're.
Listening suffering your jocks mate. It is interesting though, in a it's like different things work for different people, right in that you know, you can have like what will be the ideal training program for you would be a terrible training program for someone else.
You know.
It's like what is like when people I get a lot of older dudes ask me how I train and how I eat and and all that, like my model, my operating system. I'm like, yeah, don't do what I do though, because you're not me, Like, you'll fucking die if you do what I do because I ate two meals a day and I'm the most most boring motherfucker in Australia. So don't do what I do because you won't last. And it's not because I'm tough, it's just that's what works for my mind, my brain, my body.
And I think there.
Is this kind of when we talk about high performance or positive change or growth or I don't think a lot of people think with you know, when it comes to training or recovery or nutrition or getting strong or developing skill or there's a best way. But the truth is there isn't. There's like your best way, Joe's best way, my best way, and there's a bunch of variables around that.
And it's trying to actually figure out not only how your body works, but how your brain and your mind and your emotional system works so that you can get the best out of you. You know, and as I can't say who, but I worked at some Kilda footy club for a while and I remember a coach talked to a player that I knew the player extremely well,
in fact, he worked for me. And I saw this guy try this communication style with this guy which was completely fucking wrong for this guy's personality and the moment he basically attacked him in an effort to try to get him to perform, but it was the guy just shut down. I'm like, you're a fucking idiot. That guy is now going to hate you and never going to do anything for you. And that's what happened, Like he just destroyed because he didn't understand how to communicate and
connect and inspire this person. And he would use the same model for every personality and so it's very hit and miss, like you can't you can't talk to ten different people the same way and expect the same outcome. That just shows your lack of social and emotional intelligence.
I do think though Crago, like back in that time and when you were with Saint Kilda, you were ahead of the game in terms of that stuff. Like I think sport now has evolved and there is a more of an understanding of the individuals as human beings in sport. So I think that that thought pattern that you had an understanding, especially in like the old school AFL environment, like you're a I'm being able to understand that and
have the emotional telligence of that. But I would agree that there's no winning recipe that is broad enough.
That everyone can fit under that blanket.
It's about finding for yourself what works for you your mind, your body, your soul, your recovery, you sleep, all of those things. And then the winning recipe on top of that is when you see an opportunity, fucking take it like yeah, don't there and what you've got to take it whatever, And that I think has been true for Joe and I cross both of our careers in so many different ways and formats. But you've got to take the opportunities because if you don't, someone else will.
I could talk to you guys all day, but you probably got more important things to do to talk to a fucking and nobody in Australia on his dinky little podcast. Hey, well say goodbye, fair but mate, thank you so much for taking the time out. I hope that old man injury of yours recovers quite quickly. You know it's an old man injury, right, I've been I've been told that several times, but.
I think.
I've put myself on like a media band. So this is the first time anyone's going to hear from me in about for the last three years.
So oh wow, I think wow.
I don't want to say I fucking groundbreaking, but I'm groundbreaking.
Nay, thank you so much. What time is it over there?
It's one thirty five here in the thriving Metropolis PM.
It's nine thirty five PM for me and eight thirty four Joe.
All right, well say goodbye for the moment.
But Joe and Renee, thank you so much for ben on you project, make good luck for the rest of the season, and I hope that body looks after you and appreciate you both.
Thanks for having us, Thanks having