Johnny Yaps

Hi All!

In this episode I sat down with the 'Duke of Canberra' - Duke Didier.

It was awesome to listen to his journey of pursuing the Olympic dream from grieving a missed goal and self-medicating to re-framing and setting new goals.

Duke is currently signed to One Championship and should be returning to the big stage again soon.

We also discuss starting a Martial Arts & Fitness gym - Progression MMA in Canberra to fixing the vein structures in his legs and so much more.

Enjoy!

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/duke_didier/

https://www.instagram.com/progression_mma

In this episode I sat down with Colby Thicknesse, a professional mixed martial artist fighting out of Freestyle Fighting gym in Windang.

It was fun to chat with him about life, from being a twin to having the competitiveness of wrestling drive a small wedge between them to his mindset, approach to injuries, his mindset and so much more.

With an upcoming bout at Hex Fight Series against Michael Mannu, I'm excited for 'Slickness' to get back in there and do his thing.

It was also cool to chat about the early days at Freestyle, before Alex Volkanovksi was the champ and it was a small room of core people grinding away from the shining lights to having some of the best martial artists in the world coming to the gym to help and share their knowledge and insights.

Enjoy!

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/colbythicknesse

https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/166902-colby-thicknesse

https://hexfightseries.com/

In this episode I sat down with Gabriel Antonio Teixeira Dos Santos (a mouthful of a name right).

I didn't realise part of the reason the names could get so long was due to the inclusion of the parents surnames in the kids names, it's always interesting to come across these cultural norms.

There was a particular memory that Gabe shared with me of seeing his mother crying and tearing up photos when he was a young child that brought this memory to the surface for me of seeing a very similar thing with my own mother when I was maybe 16 or 17.

There's something so raw about that memory that it definitely forms a part of my person today.

Anyway, Gabriel is a really great person to train with and it's always admirable to find people who are pursuing a better life.

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/gabreubjj

In this episode I sat down with Dori Duncan, a professional female Muay Thai athlete (#13 in the World Female Featherweight rankings) who has an upcoming fight against the #1 contender Judy Humber on the 24th February 2024.

Shout out to Kristof from Strive Dietetics who connected Dori and I, it was great to sit down with Dori to talk about all things life, mindset, training, working, having a sibling 11 years older and delving deep into the world of being a Professional Female Muay Thai Athlete.

It's always difficult for an athlete to balance pursuing their competitive goals wholeheartedly and having some form of a living at the same time and it's probably even more difficult for female athletes, as such it was great to talk with Dori about the balancing act she plays whilst also doing her best to promote female participation in the sport.

Enjoy!

Links:

https://www.wbcmuaythai.com/female

https://www.instagram.com/duncbuns

https://www.instagram.com/muay.thai.league/

https://www.instagram.com/teamedmondsoncoaching/

In this episode I sat down with Fran Bavaro, a female jiu jitsu athlete who coaches, competes and also works in aged care.

Fran describes herself as the 'slightly more forgotten' middle child which no doubt has played a role in her perspective on things and it was really interesting to talk about how she had to analyse herself for her tertiary studies.

We often forget how fortunate we are in a 1st world country, so it was interesting to listen to Fran's perspectives on humanitarianism and 'volunteerism'.

One of the other things I really appreciate about this conversation is the candour that Fran provides in sharing her own stories and struggles.

Enjoy!

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/franbavaro/

https://www.instagram.com/australiangirlsingi/

PS. The book I was referencing was the Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley

In this episode I sat down with Finn Canning the 'Guardian of Gi' and Frederick Daniel.

I always enjoy chatting to younger athletes as they pursue their goals. From Jiu Jitsu to general degeneracy, betting on the UFC to finding lucrative side hustles in the Sneaker game, this was a really fun conversation with a couple of guys who really love the sport.

Finn, despite being a serial guard puller actually started with Judo. As a smaller kid, he was looking for a way to not get pushed around and found his way into combat sports.

Freddie never surprises me with some of the stories he pulls out, from talking to women or his sneaker hustle, to watching endless amount of Jiu Jitsu.

Enjoy!

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/grapplingeducation/

https://www.instagram.com/finncanning/

https://www.instagram.com/frederickdaniel3/

https://www.instagram.com/grapple.mania/

In this episode I sit down with Gase Sanita - a Female Professional Mixed Martial Artist who in her amateur career won IMMAF worlds 2 years in a row.

It's amazing the different journeys people take in life, from being a mum early in life to finding martial arts as a way to get fit, fighting her way down from 95kg+ divisions to the Bantam / Feather divisions she competes in nowadays.

Gase is an amazing person, who grew up as one of the only Polynesian families in Christchurch, New Zealand.

There's so much in this episode that makes me appreciate the attitude and work ethic that Gase has, from her experience with post natal depression to her commitment to the sport.

I hope you enjoy this episode and support Gase in her career (if you like the fighting stuff)

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/gase_sanita11/

In this episode I sit down with Brian 'Bad Boy' Ebersole.

I remember watching Brian's fights and thinking that he must be such a wild dude that it's a little bit crazy to think how twists and turns and we've become good friends through working together.

I suppose when the guy used to shave an up arrow into his chest hair and throw cartwheel kicks in cage fights, what other impression are you meant to get?

I still remember at a local Showdown Fight night when I was getting involved in the local scene that I grabbed Brian backstage for a short interview and I asked him 'Have you got any advice for aspiring fighters?' and the response he gave me was something like 'dont do it how I did it'.

Brian is such a gentleman with a big heart that it's amazing to be able to share a conversation like this with him about his life, wrestling, travelling and much more.

Enjoy

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/brianebersole/

Hi Everyone!

In this episode I sit down with John Luhr, a father, jiu jitsu enthusiast, General Manager at a digital web and app development company and much more.

John is a great example of not judging a book by its cover. Despite his 'viking' like look, he works in a very intellectual field and always seemed to be a bit of an entrepreneur despite some fairly humble beginnings (to be fair, that's probably a product of circumstance).

I think that's fairly obvious when you see all the different businesses he's involved with from Puppi Lovers (dating apps) through to Oktion (Charity / donation apps)

It's always interesting when I do episodes like this to understand how people get to where they are in life and these episodes are such great snapshots of this particular moment in time.

Anyway, Enjoy!

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/thehalfguardprince/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-luhr/

https://digiground.com.au/

https://smartb.com.au/

https://oktion.com.au/

https://puppilovers.com/

Hi All!

In this episode I sit down with Luke Pezzutti, an OG of the MMA scene in Sydney. From his involvement in Cage Fighting Championship to the running of Lion's Den Academy, Luke has been involved with the sport for a very long time.

t was great to sit down and listen to his stories, from the early days of trying to learn Jiu Jitsu from the 'seminar' circuit, to his experiences with Hector Lombard, to the pressures of running the biggest promotion in Australia at the time - Cage Fighting Championship.

Today, Luke has a great promotion he runs - Superfight, however is focused on getting his current crop of athletes to the pinnacle of the sport.

Links:

https://www.lionsdenacademy.com.au/

https://www.facebook.com/OfficialSuperfight/

https://www.instagram.com/lions_den_academy/