Max's Island

Claire McGlew’s story is a profound journey of adaptation and defying the odds. She initially studied to be an opera singer in Western Australia before transitioning into music education with a strong desire to help kids who, like her, didn't fit the traditional educational mould. However, despite excelling in her university practicums, Claire faced severe discrimination; schools bluntly refused to hire her simply because she is blind and uses a guide dog.

Instead of letting this defeat her, Claire adapted. After noticing the profound psychological benefits her private music students were experiencing, she packed up her li...

Ali Horriyat describes Compassiviste through the lens of an octopus. While the "main brain" has a vision, each "tentacle" (program/initiative) has its own "mini-brain" that acts independently yet in perfect cohesion with the whole. This decentralized approach allows for specialized impact—be it in art, film, or direct aid—without losing sight of the central mission of compassion.

From Individual to Collective: Ali argues that global conflict and inequality are symptoms of "individual thinking." He advocates for a shift toward a "collective mindset," citing that only 0.01% of the population holds significant global wealth, leaving half the worl...

In 2016, businessman-turned-charity founder Ali Horriyat gave away his entire personal fortune of almost $100m. This was not just a meaningless distribution of cash to satisfy an ego charged desire for personal fulfilment, but it came from a real belief in a better way to shift the social impact dial.

He went to the extremes of experiencing homelessness, connecting with people who’s human values mattered more than their wealth and spent many hours, weeks, months and years capturing a manifesto of beliefs that were used to set the basis for his future life.

He is on...

Feels is a duo featuring Rosie Taylor and Elise Reitze-Swensen. Together, they have over 10 years of experience writing, producing, and recording music, and then playing this music all over the world as professional musos.

Recently, Rosie visited the island to share their story of where they saw a gap in the local electronic music space for female artists. The opportunities were not always there, and that was to perform or to make their mark in the local scene playing live and even aspiring to go international.

So to correct this gap, they created Womp. (Women...

Flash Poetry visited the Island in late 2025 and shared the journey from having a career in copywriting, to being fully immersed in making music, sharing messages and having real impact from a creative form.
Flash Poetry blends spoken word, freestyle rap & alt-rock instrumentation to concoct lyrical epics that explore our modern myths & middle-class demons.

The recent release of a debut album … “Reality. Now” is now a platform for live performance and collaborations with a community wanting to be inspired to make change.

Also in this episode is a special treat for all visitors to Max’s...

Welcome to Max’s Island, 2026. This year I have a quest. Just like all my guests on Max’s Island, I aim to be more relaxed and open with my lead-ins to each episode. I want to feel like I’m talking directly to you and not at you. So, I’m going to be far more less rehearsed and just go off the cuff. This may mean I might ramble a bit, might even sound like I’m sort of looking for words, but the approach is hopefully going to make your listening experience so much more enjoyable.

This...

Alex Green grew up with a nurturing, working class environment that positively influenced his approach to helping others. Guided by his grandmother and a significant example of caring for those less ‘well – off” saw him become connected to the charity … for purpose … sector, where he has spent his professional career.

After a confronting experience, on the charitable front line in Manchester, he released he was best suited behind a desk doing things in the fundraising and organisational management space.

From here, he realised that his personal values we the driving reasons for him to engage passion an...

Gaj was into hip hop and rap when growing up in Sri Lanka. At 16 years of age, and heavily influenced by the New York hip hop and rap scene, Gaj and his brother set up their “Urban Sounds” outfit to entertain crowds at clubs and live events… and then through studio recorded releases.

As typical teenagers, they were actually really anxious about performing live and were more comfortable in the studio. This changed once they began to get a following.

After coming to Australia and with the birth initially of his daughter and then his son, t...

Michael Ward faced a definitive moment during a dark time in his life. He admitted that he couldn’t see a way out. He was just ‘stuck’ ... he couldn’t find happiness or any purpose to his life. But a revelation that he should ‘try a little harder’ and make real change was the catalyst to ‘writing a list’ of what was needed to recover.

He became diligent in adopting new disciplines of looking after himself … sleep, food, water, exercise and being with the right people were the primary drivers to achieving a different life…PLUS there was a desire to be c...

Since the introduction of legislation into the WA parliament, in 2021, the practice of Voluntary Assisted Dying (Commonly referred to as VAD) … has been accessed by many West Australians.

The opportunity for patient autonomy and compassion in end-of-life care … and the relief from intolerable suffering, has seen a year-on-year increase in the number of people making a first request for VAD and the number of VAD deaths recorded.

Michael McBride’s father was described as a ‘larger than life’ character who had given a career to the protection of others. Once his cancer prognosis was clearly defined an...

As a teenager, Monique Power was exposed to the death of a friend’s father and this became an early catalyst for her to realise “Life is Short”. She felt there was a need to do things.

In her early 20’s, this took her to Ghana, Africa on volunteer work … Quickly, she realised her passion was not necessarily being on the ground, so to speak, but it was in influencing policy to make change … and using her ability and privilege to leverage.

She also discovered that “Passion is well received” by others and used this thought for moti...

In this final instalment of Deany Jaghdour’s visit to Max’s Island, we begin to learn a little more of her personal discovery of how she thinks and acts in stressful situations. The importance of professional mental health support is highlighted and Deany really learnt more about herself by reflecting on her early childhood memories.

But, whilst she was managing her own mental health recovery pathway, the family life was not settled by any means. And in fact, it became more chaotic as they traversed the globe during a short period of time … This included living in Bal...

In the first chapter of this story, Deany Jaghdour met a man, Nabil … moved to Jakarta … married him and started a family. It was a whirlwind decision … and meant a new life, away from Australia.

They then moved to Bali to open their dream restaurant … unfortunately it was just as Covid hit. These challenges were being faced by many other businesses in Bali … but since Deany still had her job in Jakarta  … they thought they would be able to ride it out and come out the other side.

That was until a motorbike accident left Nabil in a cr...

Deany Jaghdour’s visit to Max’s Island was a long one … she stayed longer than most guests … But there is a good reason why… she has a story that has many parts.

So, it is split into 3 chapters … each will be released separately.

They are individual experiences in their own right … but all form part of a bigger story from a time in her life that has certainly opened her to exciting opportunities, personal and business challenges and confronting emotional highs and lows.

These interconnected stories begin with Chapter One, where she meets a man…an...

As a returning visitor to Max’s Island, Justin Davies was keen to share the latest story of how he has embraced the creative passion of creating, playing and recording music for all the world to hear.

As an acoustic singer-songwriter, he’s known for his lyrical honesty, dry wit, and ability to connect through the strings of his guitar and the stories in his songs. They’re all rooted in real life — drawing from personal experience, observations, and a sharp sense of the world around him.

On his last visit to the island, Justin explaine...

Elena Brand chose to embrace the Japanese concept of Ikigai to inspire a career ‘shift’ … This was not going to be a full blown change … but more of a re-framing of her existing passions to guide her life’s vision.

However, it was not until she began to have vagal faints that her actions became more deliberate. Especially after she fainted into someone’s lap, on a train journey home from work.

So, during one of her regular ‘future self meditations’ … an annual course correction … used to inform her thinking for the year ahead and to adopt a very much...

When Dylan Lamb last visited the Island, he described an experience he encountered in Queensland Aust, as a “spiritual emergency”. It was mentally challenging and probably influenced by something sinister … or it may have been influenced by his state of mind at the time … or it might have been influenced by deep mental health characteristics. Who knows"?

But since then, things have really changed in his life.

Now living in Osaka, Japan with his partner, Dylan is teaching English to young Japanese students and helping them to develop the language skills to enhance their career opportun...

Eve Lameks now lives in a small town in south-west France with her husband Rickie. On the surface that may not seem dramatically special, however, to go there not only satisfied a long-term dream but it also was important for their England based business.

Their transition story began following the passing of their dear, 100 year old Aunt Tatiana, who they had been her primary carers for eight years. On a previous episode, Eve had shared with the listeners of Max’s Island, the loving but sometimes challenging task of caring for an elderly relative, in a foreign co...

This episode features a classic example of a person who totally adopted the Max’s Island way … and made a deliberate decision to change everything.

As we say on Max’s Island, that moment in life where you made a decision … for yourself.

However, in this case … for a range of reasons, it didn’t end there. In fact, it eventually ended back to where it all began.

Darren Green made a decision in 2018, after 15 years of running his own successful mortgage broking business … and within a week of him sharing that decision to walk away...

Danny Allen and his mates used getting together, over a few beers, as a way of keeping close and yakking over things that mattered to them.

A chance meeting with a podcast producer and content creator … at a pub in the Perth northern suburbs … just as they were thinking about starting a podcast for themselves, was the moment of truth for them.

They mused over a Podcast name … loosely formulated a plan … and then just relied on the connection they had between themselves … to create 4Beerzin.

The natural evolution of this creative endeavour has been s...

This is part 2 of Brad Cecin’s visit to the island.

Previously, we learnt how Brad’s passion and commitment was pivotal in starting a successful community radio station.  

In this episode we continue to peel back the layers of person who has achieved so much…as an elite sportsman, talented media personality and a genuinely good bloke.

Brad shares his involvement in the Nollamara Primary school basketball phenomena, the passion for surfing and the diverse media experiences he had on both radio and TV. 

All this is wrapped up in a storyl...

The many faces of Brad Cecins…Sports star, media personality, school teacher and community radio entrepreneur.

This is Part 1 … of a two part series … of Brad’s visit to The Island.

Whilst sharing his primary journey of starting a community radio station, Brad unearths a story that has a multi-faceted message of commitment, perseverance and self belief. Without this focused drive, the ability to connect with others and be supported along the way by his family, he would not have achieved the amazing outcomes that have occurred.

His engaging personality genuinely reflects the Max’s Is...

Simon Carabetta openly describes himself as a typical arrogant, egotistical 20 year old, back in the early 2000’s. He joined me on Max’s Island to speak about these times and his early introduction into the local ‘pro-wrestling” scene in WA.

After a chance meeting with a group of guys of a similar age, he was drawn into being involved in an emerging organisation at the heart of this ‘pro-wrestling’ scene. His strong ego put him front and centre of this group and he immediately took on the roles of ‘marketing/PR guru’ and ‘event night referee’.

He was now in the...

We all aim to set ourselves “Everest Events” … those personal quests that when completed, provide internal fulfilment and a sense of achievement. The impact we create for ourselves can be huge … or, it just may be the start of a series of smaller achievements that build momentum and meaning in our lives.

But, they don’t need to be as grand as scaling the world’s largest mountain or crossing the largest oceans.

Lois Keay-Smith used the motivation of completing the Cape to Cape trek in the South West of WA, and then striking it from her ‘bu...

The final lines in the early 20th century poem, by Robert Frost …  The Road Not Taken … says:-

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Paul Skewes admits that over his life he has regularly chosen the road less travelled and this has shaped him. From this, there have been experiences … some intuitively driven, some pragmatically driven and sometimes even driven by nothing other than a feeling for what is the right thing to do.

Paul n...

Tara is passionate about bringing the beauty and power of Australian Sign Language (Auslan) into early childhood education. This passion is obvious in her emotionally powerful description of the venture she has created with her partner. Called Tiny Hands Signs, it has a purpose to introduce sign language as an additional method to aid the communication development of all children.

For all her life she has been deeply connected to the deaf and hard of hearing community, so the chance to take the benefits of sign language to all educators is an opportunity to good to be...

Raff Di Bartolomeo has spent a career helping others and guiding them to find what’s important for them. Particularly, those with an interest in looking at how collaboration, connection and intentional action can address social need and elevate the voices of those most impacted. Ultimately, he has focused on others and embraced social innovation to make their lives better.

When the effects of a set of physical challenges began to impact on his own professional perception of himself, he eventually had to realise that there were resulting mental health pressures as well. The lived experience from re...

On Max’s Island, we’ve spent the holiday period reviewing our purpose and taking the time to really connect with our creative reason for being.

It’s been exciting to re-discover that each story shared by guests to Max’s Island, can be aligned to one of the 5 values that guide our purpose.

In the new series for 2025, we will be highlighting this connection and the meaningfulness of each story … they all really matter.

So, get ready … New episodes are coming, and we’ll be spreading our message through a reimagined Instagram page.…stay tun...

John Meacock has had an extensive business life in consulting and professional services. This has taken him to the boardrooms of many companies and organisations around the world and allowed him to interact with senior C-Suite executives and influential world leaders.

Whilst John is well skilled, has extensive technical knowledge and is focused on achieving outcomes, his use of sound human principles of trust, honestly and building genuine relationships has been the key to success.

By adopting these approaches, that have led to him to be being in the same room as someone, or just...

Jamie Larson has always been one to travel afar from his native New Zealand, challenge himself and find new ways to connect with people.

At one significant moment, with only a ‘basic’ high school level of Spanish, he made a decision to relocate from England and go to Argentina. With little expectation and not much of a plan, on arrival he set about using his instincts for meeting people as a way of fitting in and looking for work. He had immediate success … but then the pandemic hit, and Argentina was completely locked down … and his world of oppor...

Shannon Ziegelaar has had some grass roots experiences in the various levels of local and federal politics. This included supporting a close friend in the City of Perth Lord Mayoral elections and then being a volunteer for Kate Chaney as she entered federal parliament at the last federal election as a successful independent community candidate.
The collective views and values of a group of like minded community focused citizens, who were also inspired to think there was a better way for effective representation, has led to the formation of Voices of Moore.

Shannon tells her story...

Davy Rowe was back at square one … his business was gone!

So what next … especially when the advice from his brother was … "You know, realistically mate ... you've got to forgive the guys that cheated you"

Was he really ready for that?

The first step toward accepting any change, occurred when he went with his brother to a “men’s retreat” for a weekend in the USA. The realisation of who he was, and what he wanted to be, was uncovered…along with an interest in “plant medicines” as a way to help his self discovery.

Part 1 :-

These words came from a voice in the mind of Davy Rowe one morning, as he was travelling down the freeway in Perth. It took him many years to share this experience with anyone … but it formed a catalytic moment for drive and purpose in his life from the moment he ‘heard’ them.

He had arrived in Perth from the UK in 1990 with a wife, two young kids, and a determination to build a business from scratch. The business was beginning to grow when he heard this message, and he was able to use it...

The inspired decision at a young age to study French in school, has lead Rachael West on a path of living and working in France on multiple occasions.

These visits were experiences that have shaped her thinking, allowed her to take study opportunities that have fuelled her passions and ultimately allowed her to be immersed in the French culture.

But, these are not the only interesting experiences she has had … there’s also “Clown School”. Being part of this intensive program of performance, has positively influence her understanding of how humans perform in front of crowds...

Frank Scatchard has led an interesting and varied life.

During his visit to The Island, Frank shared with us some really interesting details from his original career as an industrial “kiln operator”. Yep, it’s not every day you meet someone that has operated an industrial kiln at dangerous temp’s of over 1000 degrees…and has lived to talk about it.

But whilst that was a significant part of his early working life, there was a drive for the freedom to work for himself. So, after some careful planning and creative working arrangements with employers, Frank was...

As a developing child, Larissa Muir’s son was being excluded from aspects of the community and faced challenges in his initial years of education. Through clinical support and a medical process of discovery, he was initially diagnosed with ADHD, and eventually this led to a recognition of autism.

But, what do you do when you realise that the way he thinks … is the way you think and view the world. For Larissa, this was a revelation and allowed her to also be diagnosed with both conditions. As a professionally successful adult in her mid 30’s, she was no...

When faced with the emotional pressure of a long term relationship break-up it would seem natural to find the security of a safe space, in the company of loved ones and looking for stability in your life.

But for Alexis Naylor, when this happened she chose something quite different. She decided to embark on an adventurous life of living on the road and travelling around the country. With her re-fashioned ex-ambulance named “Van…essa”, Alexis was able to spread her wings, re-capture her independence and take control of her own destiny.

Being a successful musician, Alexis...

After only 3 and half years knowing each other, Seb and Rhys chose to leave the professional comfort of Not for Profit organisations working in the disability sector, to create a business for themselves. They had a vision to create an entity that would continue to allow people with disability to exercise their independence through personal choice and control. And they did this in classic “bootstrapping” style … by believing in themselves.

The NDIS has created an interesting marketplace in the Australian disability landscape and the opportunity for independent, customer focused contract providers to create an impact, is strong.

...

Yvette Thomas and her husband had well established, long term careers. But they were forced to make a considered decision, during the worldwide pandemic, to seek a new life … and future.

This involved a move to regional Western Australia to operate a tourist accomodation … a project that lasted for 2 years and 9 months. However the intensity of running a 24/7 operation created physical and mental burnout which led to the need for both of them to take a break. The only way to deal with this was to take 3 months for “complete rest and recovery”.

After this time of...

Ali Horriyat established Compassiviste to unite individuals into collectives that can make real change to the world.

Following a self described “ mindset experience “ with a homeless person who shared food with him when he was “on the streets”, … Ali embraced a clear understanding of compassion, and most importantly, the actions of compassion that help others to make real change…from these thoughts came Compassiviste.

Ali has devoted his time and thoughtful mindfulness to capture many concepts that form the basis of the Compassiviste way. His featured essays and manifesto’s continue to develop philosophies in areas that inc...