Nadia Lopez completely shatters the idea of a picture-perfect personal growth journey.

At 31, recovering from a tough breakup and admitting to being a highly anxious "people pleaser," she threw herself into a daunting 14-day solo trip to Japan. Her biggest mental breakthrough didn't happen during a serene, cinematic moment; it happened when she got lost near a bamboo forest, sat down in the heat, and cried her eyes out.

Why? Because she realized, for the very first time, that no one was there to tell her off or make her feel guilty for her day not going as planned. She was entirely in charge of her own life.

Nadia's story reminds us of a fundamental truth: We don't grow in comfort; we grow by pushing through discomfort.

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 life and moved from Perth to Melbourne to pursue a master's degree in music therapy—a move she made even while recovering from a traumatic health battle and severe PTSD. Claire quickly realized that the very sensitivities the classical music world viewed as a disadvantage were actually her greatest strengths in a therapeutic space.

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.

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 is one of the great moral and social thinkers of our time.

In this episode we re-visit his story from 2 years ago and use it as an example of the antithesis what’s happening in the world today.

I hope to take the time to reflect on what Ali did and relate this to the current actions of others.

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 of Music Production).

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.

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 episode to start the year is going to be a snapshot of three episodes that were in 2025.

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 and forge a career making an impact.

Following a career working for these organisations, and most recently as a CEO, Alex has now set up his own consultancy, designed to assist for purpose organisations prepare for mergers and collaborations with like-minded organisations to become more sustainable and to be able to continue to make a difference. Being prepared and taking ‘ego’ out of the conversation is his focus.

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, the desire to keep creating music in this genre was still strong but he realised a need to create “kid friendly’ content. From this thought, The Cuddly Koalas was born and the creation of hip hop/rap music with clean lyrics that have important social and personal messages …specifically for children. Using lyrics created by his acclaimed song writing wife, Anjana, and supporting vocals from their children, The Cuddly Koalas sound is catchy and highly relatable to their audience.

They have had great impact since releasing their initial album “Happy Families”. With world-wide involvement of children to make this music … this translated to international appeal once it was released. Consequently, they were discovered by an international network and this opened more doors to the world wide scene and a new growing audience.

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 creative.  

He had to believe in himself … a version of the classic Max’s Island value of ‘Believe in Everyone’.

Music had always been a creative part of his life and now learning to sing became a dedicated focus … it was an obsession … a way for him to fully express himself.

This creative expression became part of every aspect of his life … not just his music.

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 and the medical options for recovery lessened, he chose to explore the option of VAD.

He entered the very detailed and strictly managed process defined by the legislation. Having to meet specific standards and general requirements was important, but the real benefits came as during the process he became more in control of his destiny.

Working with close family, his GP and other trained professionals, a plan was developed and ultimately, he was able to end his life under his own conditions, with family alongside him.

The dignity and personal agency witnessed by Michael and his siblings was highly visible and helped them manage the emotions created by their fathers’ decision.

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 motivation to pursue a higher education in Political Science and International relations on her return to Australia.

But just as the degree was being completed, her life changed with the conception of her first child.

She was diagnosed prenatally with a very rare disability.

The pregnancy was highly challenging and the medical professionals painted a dire picture for her chances of survival at birth. But Monique relied on her ‘passion’ and used this to influence her intuitive beliefs and decision making to guide her, not only during the pregnancy, but also following her daughter’s birth.

n 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 Bali on 3 separate times, living in France on two other occasions and in between, staying in Melbourne and actually buying a ‘family” home in Perth. 

The reasons for these changes were mixed … and included multiple redundancies, taking work out of necessity and also by just “following their whim” that seemed to be the right thing at the time. And whilst all of this was happening, Deany gave birth to a second child … and embraced a real passion piece … where she self published a book for children,  explaining the menstrual cycle in mothers.

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 critical condition in ICU @ a Bali hospital … who were demanding large amounts of money before commencing treatment … Treatment to keep him alive and then to operate on his critical head injuries.

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…and moves to Jakarta to be with him … on an impulsive hunch that seemed to be the right thing to do at that time. This all happened within a couple of days of meeting him.

Ultimately, they met, they married and started a family within a short space of time.

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 explained how a chance meeting with someone, he initially didn’t know, heavily influenced the trajectory of his career.

But on this episode, we’ll learn that his evolution into music has been a much longer and more determined process.

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 forward looking lens … things became more obvious. Additional clarity followed with the strong influence of her mentor, who was a leader in nature sustainability.

He challenged her with the saying … “If not you … who! If not now … when?”

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 opportunities. …and, doing this without any formal teaching qualifications.

But that’s not all … he spends his leisure time organising, hosting and performing English spoken, “stand up comedy”. This is not necessarily unique in Osaka, but it is different, especially taking into account the Japanese cultural influences that inform the audiences.

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 country, as a pair of 30 years olds. This period of time was a significant influence in the way they appreciated life, and was an experience that actually reinforced their dream to follow a way life that really suited them.

They saw first hand how this way of life could be achieved, by observing others whilst on a surfing holiday to the south-west of France … and then Eve thinking “ we’ve got great jobs in central London…we’re making really good money … why are we not as happy as these beach bums … hanging out … surfing all the time … somethings wrong”

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, with his bosses … it was abruptly over.

Waking up on the next Monday morning, he was a free man … or so he thought.