Michala McMahon came to Australia from Manchester on a working holiday …and has stayed. Whilst Manchester is a big cosmopolitan city, it cannot compete with the weather and unique lifestyle of Australia.

On her initial arrival in Bundaberg QLD, a chance exchange in the street with an engaging couple captivated her attention and was the start of a new life … down-under.

Bec Bowman is someone who is always on an adventure and looking for new challenges. This has seen her travel the world and follow dreams that have created memorable, life enriching experiences.

But for the past few years she has been deeply ensconced in Perth WA, and has become totally immersed in the creative arts scene. By working casual “night shifts” as a nurse - her initial working profession - she can fund this lifestyle and begin to make real social impact in the sector.

These pursuits include being a radio presenter, an organiser, an emcee, a panel facilitator and a writer.

As a 24 year old, Ryan Miller took the opportunity to follow his dream of becoming a TV broadcaster and journalist at Sky News in Sydney.

He immediately hit the ground running and was soon thrust into a management role looking after a news team. As a traditional journalist, he was passionate about reporting the truth but it didn’t take long before editorial direction began to occur from above. This coincided with the ‘on air’ arrival of polarising people like Andrew Bolt and Peta Credlin…things now began to change. When these on air presenters began espousing the conservative views of the network’s “owner” and these views were morally different to Ryan’s, he knew it was time to move.

The dilemma of leaving a position after only 10 months, the potential career consequences of this and the requirement to pay back some relocation costs, made for a difficult time. But a chance referral from a mate to a role in football at the Greater Western Sydney Giants, a sport that had been a large part of his life in WA, was the ideal way to relieve this tension.

Chris Singleton has extensive experience in starting and operating many businesses. This long and successful career has been built on a real inclusive approach, with the adoption of some clear, effective principles.

This is a great episode for budding entrepreneurs and business owners to learn how these principles can be adopted for success … even in challenging times … similar to those faced by Chris after a serious car accident.

Eve continues to tell the story of caring for Rickie’s great aunt, Tatiana, and the challenges that this has posed in their lives.

Recently, as Tatiana approaches 99 years of age, a traumatic visit to an emergency department at a London hospital has again influenced the plans and aspirations of Eve and Rickie. Their dreams of moving to France to live and begin a new stage in their professional careers has again been impacted by their concerns for Tatiana’s health.

So, now they are relocating to Bristol … to be close to the new high care facility Tatiana has moved in to.

Their journey continues.

7 years ago, Eve Lameks and her husband Rickie, moved across the world on an adventure that was to see them based in London, growing their professional careers in the hustle and bustle of the construction industry and enjoying the convenience of taking frequent holiday jaunts to continental Europe. They were really planning to “live the life”.

Soon after their arrival in London they were excited to visit Rickie’s great Aunt … someone who they didn’t know but were keen to meet. Tatiana at the time was 91 years old.

Stuart Thomason left uni and jumped straight into being a social entrepreneur in the music business. The first few years were very successful, with the Sheffield based (UK) business employing a growing team and engaging with a wide range of contractors.

But cashflow pressures and, in his words, the inevitable, desperate measures of throwing good money after bad forced him to close the business.

The manic activity and personal pressures of that final year in business, trying to keep things afloat, released a psychosis that saw Stuart move into a mental facility for recovery.

After a year of reflection, personal recovery and a focus to clear all outstanding personal financial debt, Stuart emerged to begin a new a career in the Not For Profit sector, coaching and mentoring upcoming social entrepreneurs.

Clare Goodridge spent two years locked-down in Perth WA during the pandemic whilst still coaching, teaching and consulting with individuals and corporations all around the world. This lonely life in the most isolated city in the southern hemisphere, generally meant all night work and sleeping during the day. There was little social life and she went weeks on end without "‘touching’ another human.

Once the restrictions were lifted, she jumped at the opportunity to re-engage both professionally and personally with those people she had been working with in the virtual world. Using a network of Airbnb co-working facilities in major cities in the world, Clare has continued to build her digital business in some of these most exotic and fascinating cities. And this includes a period of time in Marrakesh.

This episode is titled, “For a short time” – and we reflect on two stories from 2022 where a person entered the lives of each of our guests for just a short period yet made a momentous impact.

Every year on Max’s Island, we like to begin the year by reflecting on some of our interesting guests from 2022 and combine their stories into a mixed episode that has added meaning. These extended episodes are a great way for you to allow yourself the time to refresh your energy for the new year and be inspired by the experiences of others.

In this first episode of two in the 2023 Starter Series, you’ll hear the stories from 3 strong women of our world … all who have had significant moments that have shaped the rest of their lives. They all had common desires to seek a meaningful life and career … and interestingly each of them have a story that has some closely related themes and experiences.

in economics. It has taken him to the policy and financial capitals of the world … including Canberra, London, New York and Sydney.

In Canberra, he had a front row seat to the significant developments of the Australian financial markets in the 1980’s … especially during his time working with the then Australian Govt Treasurer, Paul Keating.

He eventually left the safe confines of the Canberra bubble to begin a long career in the competitive field of bonds and funds management in Sydney and then overseas.

His career was not without its challenges but Stephen always managed to stay loyal to his employer, clients and most importantly his work colleagues … especially when times were tough.

This is a story of resilience and trust … with a dose of good humour and common sense.

For SJC, 2016 was the year when she started a new job, went on a holiday to Bali and then faced the trauma of caring for her mother, as her health began to dramatically fail.

Having worked away from her family in the US, for 22 years in Australia, SJC had to deal with her mental challenges after her mother’s passing in a new way. The mental scaring from being raised in a domestically violent environment had been the catalyst for her to disassociate from traumatic situations, as a way of coping throughout her adult working life. But a “PTSD blackout” after a confrontation at work in 2018, became the moment when her approach to dealing with her mental health issues dramatically changed.

USA Today Bestselling author Nicole Flockton writes contemporary romances that sparkle and seduce you one kiss at a time. Nicole likes nothing better than taking characters and creating unique situations where they fight for their true love.

In this episode we learn about Nicole’s passionate approach to her craft and how over a long period of time … and with a great amount of hard work … she has established a place in the romance writing world as a published author.

Also, she speaks compassionately about the value of the collaborative network of writers and how this collective works to support many budding writers.

You can find more about Nicole’s work at http://www.nicoleflockton.com/

Emily Silva Hockstra believes everyone has the power to create the lives they dream of.

During a holiday to Costa Rica she saw a handwritten flyer in a coffee shop for an “intuitive painting course” and immediately was taken on a process that changed her life. The woman teaching her ended the course by interpreting her paining and telling Emily that she needed to be Brave … and to go after what she really wanted … Love!

Returning to the US, she quit her job, then booked a one way trip to Bali to find herself and plan the future. But in the beginning this wasn’t so spiritual and meaningful … it took 3 weeks of rain, rats and stray dogs, before Emily realised the need to look at life differently and be grateful for what she was experiencing and use this for her motivation.

Craig founded a charity called Short Back and Sidewalks (SBSW) in early 2015. It’s a free hair-cutting and grooming service for members of the community who are experiencing homelessness and is currently governed and operated entirely by volunteers.

The service goes beyond just giving free haircuts; they create meaningful connections through conversations with clients, and create visibility for some of the most marginalised community members in Australia.

Importantly, Craig was named as Western Australia’s Local Hero in 2022 as part of the Australian Of The Year Awards. Craig has volunteered at all levels of SBSW and he is the visionary that keeps the organisation striving to better serve those in need. He now plays a critical role in the national expansion and strategic partnerships. Having had a family member experience homelessness Craig is passionate about breaking the stigma often attached to society's most vulnerable people.

Previously, we learnt that Ryan took up “blind cricket” in his mid forties … after a successful career as a national Goalballer and a world champion sailor.

On this episode, we’ll discover how he made his way to Queensland and into an international series against New Zealand … BUT, it wasn’t all plain sailing for Ryan. Illness nearly prevented him achieving the ultimate goal.

Also, Ryan tells us what is like to be in the same game when teammate and long time friend, Stefan Nero scored a world record innings of 309 runs.

Returning to Max’s Island in this episode is the inspiring Ryan Honschooten.

Well known and world regarded blind sailer, adventurer, mentor, motivator and general great guy.

For someone who has achieved so much, then why would he choose to take up a new sport in his mid forties? Because that is just what he does … and it was no surprise that this new sporting endeavour has seen Ryan reach the pinnacle of Australian Cricket … a Baggy Green cap.

Sarah got the feeling of ”where she was meant to be” when she got the surprise offer of a book deal.

The amazing process of writing the book happened in Copenhagen … another place where Sarah and her husband Chris just happened to travel too.

The book took ten months to write and was finally publish in 2020 … just 2 years after she was first contacted by the publisher. The launch was in New York, and in her own words… it was like being in a movie …like being in “Sex in the City” in downtown Manhattan.

“Find your Flow … a life changing practice for a happier you” was soon followed by her second book “Choose Happy”. Whilst she couldn’t change the publishers name for this second book, she was able to create a book that makes you feel good … as she says it’s like “a hug”.

Sarah Gregg thought she had it all. She was happily married, had the perfect career and was fulfilling the life she had planned for herself. But she was ANGRY.

She had followed the rules … gone to school, worked hard on her education and got the good job everyone … including her … thought was going to satisfy her needs. However, she was still missing the reward of happiness and fulfilment.

So, during a trip away with her husband, they decided to sell up, move on from their secure jobs and travel … and then just see what happens.

The freedom of this lifestyle nourished her soul but was consuming the savings and within a few weeks of having to make a financially driven decision to possibly go home … for good … something special happened.

The ‘universe’ provided … and out of nowhere, she was offered a “book deal”.

This changed it all.

As an aspiring first class cricketer, Kris McShane made his way to Perth to hone his skill in different conditions during the English winter on three separate occasions. As a young man in his early 20’s, this was a chance to follow his passion, see the other side of the world and have a good time.

He progressively embraced the Perth lifestyle on each visit and eventually had the opportunity to take a chance and continue his already successful career in recruitment in WA.

The decision to relocate and ultimately set up his life in Perth came quickly and within 3 months from the start of the process he arrived to begin his new life. But, like many things in life, there were some challenges. Having the company who sponsored him to come to Perth being sold in his 1st six week was the first hiccup and then the sudden death of his father really challenged his resolve to stay.

Nonetheless, time has now passed, where he is well intrenched in the Perth corporate recruitment world and continues to play cricket each summer … and will continue to until his bowling shoulder says “it’s had enough.”