In this pod I talk to UK-based Kiwi Flee and entrepreneur, Melisa White, whose life outside New Zealand has cut across Denmark, Singapore, and the UK, and across a remarkable range of work: from finance to recruitment, technology sales to corporate sales, performance coaching to behavioural science, mindset training and housing advocacy.

Melisa, who joined me from Cardiff, Wales, describes herself as a mixed Kiwi - having a Kiwi Dad and a Singaporean Mum. Despite admitting she wasn't that great at school and not graduating from university, Melisa got into Mensa at 24 and went on to become a top performer in several high-pressure corporate environments.

We talk about what it means to be great at the work, but not always an easy fit for the box around it. One former manager told Melisa she was one of the best salespeople he’d worked with, but “a nightmare to manage”. Her response - one she likely wouldn't use today - referenced Corollas and Ferraris to silence the criticism.

Our conversation tracks Melisa’s move to Singapore; a period of running at 150%, making good money and living hard; and the point at which she began to realise that speed, money, and performance are not the same thing as being well.

We discuss trauma therapy, silent meditation, self-awareness, and a personal and professional journey that eventually led Melisa away from corporate "ego-land” and towards helping leaseholders and residents in the UK housing system who are often left navigating unfairness, complexity, stress, and power imbalance on their own.

At the heart of the episode is Melisa’s current venture, KindStay, which she describes as the culmination of much of her life and career: sales, systems, trauma, performance, self-awareness, and a belief that old-school industries can be disrupted by paying far more attention to human beings.

This is a brave conversation about intensity, ambition, sexism, burnout, resilience, and reinvention - and the power of turning hard-won self-knowledge into something that helps other people and organisations navigate uncertainty.

A huge thanks to Melisa for joining me on Kiwi Flees and for sharing this candid and very human story.

On behalf of OFNZ, thank you so much for listening and sharing the pod.

My huge thanks to the Kiwi Flees for candid conversations, to my sound-meister Robbie and the team at Matrix Digital (Wgtn), and to Kea for promoting the pod.

If you're a Kiwi Flee or know someone who should be, please get in touch at: kiwiflees@onlyfromnz.co.nz

Please subscribe, leave a review, and join me in a fortnight for our next episode.

In today's pod I catch up with the London-based internationally award-winning VFX guru and Producer, Johnny Blick. This pod is a little different to previous episodes as Johnny was keen to mix the conversation up - not wanting to just focus on what he's been doing offshore (perhaps the bogie of imposter syndrome raising its pernicious head again) but also to look at why so many Kiwis excel internationally. We touch on both the upsides and downsides of forging a career and life outside of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Johnny first left NZ with his family in 1986, swapping Wellywood for Hollywood where he lived with his family in a house whose history stretched from Marilyn Munroe to David Bowie.

We discuss the contrast of Johnny's move from St Pats – a single sex Catholic boys’ school in Wellington, to the co-ed Beverly Hills High - alma mater to names like Nicolas Cage, David Schwimmer, & Angelina Jolie. Johnny suddenly found himself surrounded by students wanting to succeed, and with peers who expected him to want the same.

This expectation saw him auditioning and securing a place in the auspicious University of Southern California whose alumni include Will Ferrell, George Lucas, Ron Howard, and America Ferrera among others.

We briefly discuss Johnny's return to New Zealand to work first as an actor, before making a clean move into the world of film and television commercial production. Our conversation cuts between his stellar career - he's now the Managing Partner of VFX studio Gate+ - and the life of a Kiwi who has put down deep commercial and familial roots offshore. We discuss some of the traits and attitudes that hold Kiwis in good stead internationally and I loved Johnny's candid appraisal of what he sees as the opportunities for Kiwis abroad, along with some of the things he misses most about Aotearoa New Zealand.

A huge thanks to Johnny for joining me on the pod. Slay the dragon of imposter syndrome!

On behalf of OFNZ, thank you so much for listening and sharing the pod.

My huge thanks to the Kiwi Flees for candid conversations, to my sound-meister Robbie and the team at Matrix Digital (Wgtn), and to Kea for promoting the pod.

If you're a Kiwi Flee or know someone who should be, please get in touch at: kiwiflees@onlyfromnz.co.nz

Please subscribe, leave a review, and join me in a fortnight for our next episode.

In this pod I catch up with Kelly Rolleston (Ngā Rauru & Ngāti Ruanui) who joins me from his family's home in Piacenza, located in northern Italy, about 70km from Milan.

Kelly whakapapas to Taranaki iwi and on his father’s side, his grandmother - Hinemoerangi Tumaroroa - was the granddaughter of the Māori spiritual and political leader Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana, founder of the Rātana movement.

A hard-running rugby fullback who played for the Wellington Lions from 1992 to 1996, Kelly left New Zealand in' 96 and went on to play professionally in Italy and France. We look at the origins of Kelly's love of sport & physical activity which he gratefully acknowledges was largely orchestrated by his Mum, determined that her son have strong and positive roles models after Kelly's Dad died when Kelly was just two years old.

We touch on Kelly's lifelong love of sport, his pro athlete and then coaching career, the 'sliding door' moments that led to his career path taking the direction that it did, and his reflections on hitting that existential moment of asking 'what do I actually want to do with my life?'. Our conversation tracks across the vital role of sport and physical activity for keeping healthy and happy, Kelly's non-negotiable mantra that sport should be fun, and his work now as Italy's Master Franchisee of Little Kickers - an international franchise introducing football and the benefits of sport & physical activity to a legion of youngsters across his adopted country. Lastly we touch on identity and culture, with Kelly talking about the values at the heart of everything he does now, and his family living proudly across three cultures – Māori, Pākehā, and Italian.

A huge thanks to Kelly for joining me on Kiwi Flees. He is yet another awesome Kiwi doing it his way, and impacting positively on the world.

Kelly's contact details include: LinkedIn; email info@littlekickers.it; or click here for Little Kickers (Italy) franchising info.

On behalf of OFNZ, thank you so much for listening and sharing the pod.

My huge thanks to the Kiwi Flees for candid conversations, to my sound-meister Robbie and the team at Matrix Digital (Wgtn), and to Kea for promoting the pod.

If you're a Kiwi Flee or know someone who should be, please get in touch at: kiwiflees@onlyfromnz.co.nz

Please subscribe, leave a review, and join me in a fortnight for our next episode.