Menslink Midweekers

In this Midweeker, held in August 2024, we heard from Andy Friend who has over 30 years of experience in the high-performance world of professional coaching, having a demonstrated history of achieving success, working with both teams and individuals to maximise their potential.

His roles have included Director of Rugby for Irish province Connacht, the Australia Sevens team, the Brumbies in Super Rugby, English club Harlequins, and ...

In this Midweeker, held in June 2024, we heard from Omar Muscat, a well-known face in Canberra’s hospitality scene.

Omar is the owner of some of Canberra’s favourite venues including Urban Pantry Manuka, Double Shot & Locale Pizzeria in Deakin, and Little Sutton Bakehouse.

After more than 30 years in the game, Omar knows how to fuel hungry Canberrans with great hospitality experiences. He is passionate about providing exception...

In this Midweeker, held in April 2024, we heard from Peter Gordon, CEO of Hands Across Canberra.

At the time, Peter had been with the Foundation since its inception providing valuable leadership and using his extensive network to create change in the community sector.

Over the years, Peter has established a reputation for assisting organisations to grow, prosper and achieve value for their stakeholders.

As a Senior Public Servant a...

In this episode, we share a special moment from our annual Menslink Big Night Out, where Duncan Brede spoke.

Duncan is a well-known Canberran. He is currently CEO of his family business, National Capital Motors Group, and he also represented the ACT in Cricket for many years in the 90s and 2000s.

Duncan was invited to speak at the Big Night Out to share the tragic story of his brother's suicide in 2023 and reflect on how Menslink's...

In this Midweeker, held in February 2024, we heard from Ben Gathercole, Menlink CEO.

Ben has a long history in sport – both as a competitor and coach. His journey has taken him through swimming, triathalon, rugby, and motorsport.

Ben is also an author, his first book Better Than Winning is the story of his personal and public journey taking his athlete Simon Thompson to the 2004 Athens Olympics and it was published in 2012 and beca...

This episode is a little different in that we aren’t bringing you our latest Menslink Midweeker speaker.

Instead, we are going to share an episode from another podcast, Viking Talks, hosted by Bjarne  Kragh, who is Danish, a true Viking. We are sharing the episode here because, recently, Mark Wadie, Menslink’s Education Program Manager, sat down with Bjarne to discuss the work Menslink does for young men in Canberra.

It really is a...

In this Midweeker, held in November 2023, we heard from Wally Rao from Deakin & Me.

Wally is the “accidental mentor” who helps more young people daily than he cares to admit. His booming hello of “Hey champion” is a hallmark of a visit to his cafe, Deakin & Me.

Wally’s coffee and cafe journey started with his parents owning and operating one of the original cafes in Petrie Plaza in the mid 60’s called the “chuck wagon”. Wal...

In this Midweeker, held in October 2023, we heard from Francis Owusu from Kutlure Break.

Francis has used his love of dance to stimulate others to build their confidence and self-belief, as it did for him. A child of Ghanaian parents, Francis grew up in Victoria where he endured racism born of ignorance which almost propelled him towards a life of crime.
 
Moving to Canberra he turned his life around through dance, going on t...

Michael Coutts-Trotter was our keynote speaker at the 2023 Menslink Business Breakfast. 

Earlier in 2023, Michael was confirmed as the Secretary of NSW Treasury to the new Chris Minns NSW Government.

Michael’s past has been written and spoken about extensively. 

Arriving from England as a young guy, he lost his father to cancer at a young age. He then fell into the trap of drugs and dealing, which led to a stint in jail and rehab. ...

In this Midweeker, held in September 2023, we heard from Chris Dutton.

Chris has been a journalist for the past 15 years after graduating from the University of Canberra with a sports media degree.

During his career, he has covered a wide variety of sports and competitions and is now the sports editor at The Canberra Times.

He has covered the Olympic Games as part of a team of journalists from The Canberra Times, the Sydney Morning...

In this Midweeker, held in August 2023, we heard from Ben Alexander.

Ben is a well-known Canberra figure, having played hundreds of matches in the front-row for the Wallabies, Brumbies, Vikings, and Owls. When Ben retired, he was a 72-Test Wallaby and all-time games record holder for the Brumbies, with 154 caps. Today Ben is co-founder of the app, Alfred, a weight management platform, co-owner of The Dock, on Kingston Foreshore, co...