We Tried to Be a Failure (And Still Got 18,000 Downloads)

The one we've been paying for without releasing anything for 12 months. The farewell — and it's a good one.

Burso and Almo are back together — two out of three original co-hosts (Fedora's too cool for us now, fair enough) — to wrap up The Imposter Podcast AU the way it was always meant to end. No script, no agenda, no idea what we're doing. Just the way it always was.

We started in January 2024 by venting into microphones for our own mental health. Went live in April. Somehow wound up with nearly 18,000 downloads across 83 countries — Australia, America, New Zealand, then Algeria, which we still can't explain. Hiroshima had more listens than Geelong. Geelong knows what it did.

In this one we catch up on where everyone's landed. Almo's out in the country now with a beehive he didn't ask for, neighbours who loan him excavators, and a life that's turned out better than expected. Burso's been making reels with Jarryd, appearing in War Machine for approximately 1.5 seconds, and finally painting the studio he's been promising himself since episode one.

We look back at the guests who made this thing worth doing — Matty Morris unearthing us, then coming to breakfast the morning after and showing us his fame when the local cops recognised him, Mark Thomas talking about being in his undies, the negotiator, Jess Taylor somehow cracking the top four most downloaded episodes even though we are the least likely pregnancy story hosts. We revisit the Simpson Desert, the Waves of Wellness wave pool, the sorting hat reel that got two million views, and what it actually meant to sit across a kitchen table from people we'd known for years and ask them real questions for the first time.

And we talk about what's next. Mad Dog Show for the banter, the chaos, and the content that'd get a guest fired. Wings Out for the career stuff, the transitions, and the conversations you can actually share with your boss. Two shows, two audiences, and a much better chance of not confusing everyone.

We genuinely tried to be a failure. Didn't quite manage it. Thanks for being part of it.

Black/Dark Humour is confronting for some people. It is however, how Veterans and First Responders try and shine some light on otherwise dark and hard to discuss topics. The topics and the way they are spoken about, don't actually show the real feelings of such events that occured. 

Matty Morris of https://www.zerolimitspodcast.com/ helps us out with a banger of a tune. If you want to hear about some real intense moments from Veterans and First Responders. Check out Zero Limits Podcast. 

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Transcript

Back After A Long Break

Almo 0:24

Three two one I've missed the road tune. How familiar old friend.

Burso 0:37

The old imposter co host. Here we go. Two out of three. Nora can't be with us because he's too cool. He's got no time for us anymore, but that's fair enough. Um so that's it.

Almo 0:50

We're back.

Burso 0:51

Yeah. We're back.

Almo 0:53

From a very long sabbatical.

Burso 0:56

Sabbatical means a lot more to you now, I think, than it uh it used to. The uh uh what are we doing? We're doing the farewell episode. Yeah. Wrapping the old girl up.

Almo 1:04

Widening it down.

Burso 1:06

Well, been paying for the subscription for the last 12 months without even releasing anything.

Almo 1:10

Things are costly to maintain in the digital world.

Burso 1:13

They are now everything is nowadays a little bit more uh little bit more carried away. Like there's a subscription to 400 different things nowadays, and they're like even if they're like four bucks each, and if you have 15 of them, now you're looking at whatever that means. 80 dollars. Bogged, bogged down in it. Um Yeah. What do you want to go with, Al? Do you want to go with where you've been, what's been going on?

Almo 1:36

Yeah, we can do. I mean, yeah, you continued and did some interviews after I had uh withdrawn, had bailed on you. Um but uh yeah, so I think we just wanted to sort of wind things down and and you're gonna move on to some other uh socials and podcasting.

Burso 1:54

So well, to be fair, you are welcome. Well, thank you. You are welcome back in the future if you want to get involved. If you want to get involved in anything. I think the um the the biggest thing was sort of um do we keep going with this or do we go somewhere else? I've obviously you know we're in this room now, I've painted it, there's a TV here, I've made a studio podcasting room. Well, to be fair, I think I made it ages ago now. I can't remember what I've come out, and I still haven't done anything with it because I've been busy doing my own stuff, but um yeah, like it was definitely I mean this was on the cards when we spoke about it at the start. We wanted to get cameras, we wanted to get everything else and get get that whole thing sorted out, and we just never really got to it, and then uh I've sort of slowly been adding to it, and it's funny that technology's gone a lot faster than I've been doing. Like we're using the old road mics, which are fine, but you know, like they're literally plugged into a device where everything works. Yeah, exactly. Even just our headphones are wired in. You see, all the people now they've all got earbuds and all that sort of stuff. I'm uh I'm over here sitting sitting on thinking I'm really cool because I've got my Sony noise cancelling headphones, and now you can do that with earbuds. Um I like the way I'm talking, like we've been doing this since the 70s. It was literally we did it in uh when was the first one? Like January 24th.

Almo 3:07

January 24, we were just looking at, yeah. So it's um quite strange that it's been over two years. Doesn't feel that way.

Burso 3:14

Well, we didn't go live till April. Um we didn't do the first episode till the seventh.

Almo 3:19

We recorded 35 before we ever put anything out.

Burso 3:22

Yeah, I think the first five were probably more just us venting for our mental health, really.

Almo 3:27

Tapping the microphone and saying um and uh everywhere.

Burso 3:30

Yeah, or we'll even just I mean we kept going on rants. I think I think everyone's in a space.

Almo 3:35

There was some venting to get out of the way for sure.

Burso 3:37

I think everyone's in a different spot now, so it's a little bit a little bit more chilled, a little bit more relaxed. Um but yeah, so like we're looking at um I want to say me, it's like me and a bunch of other different people. Um that's also been a thing is trying to get somebody to commit to doing something consistently is not really a thing. Like everybody's super busy now. Um the funny thing's been like with the with the podcast, is you know, like we st I still talk to most of the people on there. Yeah. Um, you know, like Jared and I now doing, obviously we're I'm turning up in most of the re like in a lot of the reels now that are there.

Almo 4:10

I think it's brilliant the little uh skits you guys have been doing, especially evolving to the police police comedy. Well it was there for the taking. Yeah, it is.

Burso 4:18

Um but the funny thing is too, like since since doing that, um obviously we've been I mean, and obviously I was at Invictus as well and um met a lot of veterans there, but a lot of the veterans didn't really a lot of them weren't keen on doing sport, but they're actually pretty keen to get into creative stuff. Like one of the boys now is he's writing scripts and he's doing short films. Um always people getting murdered in his short films. So acting out some frustration, yeah, yeah. But like but um so Ty's doing that. He um he's got a a um a film that he did, but he's put it into I think it's the St Kilda Film Festival. So he's entered something in there. Um one of the other boys, Richard, he um he's been doing painting and his paintings look they're impressive, but also they're the sort of paintings that you know when kids turn up to the school in horror movies and you're like, oh, a kid's not yeah, he's seen some things.

Almo 5:09

It's like great effort there.

Burso 5:12

Yeah, yeah, but the teacher needs to go and see a psych afterwards. Um I think that there was another thing too. Like we did that uh waves of wellness thing, and and the funny thing was the dark humour was I like I felt bad for the psych. It was uh that thing.

Almo 5:27

Yeah, wave waves of unwellness. Yeah, I got I got triggered in the wave pool.

Burso 5:32

Well uh well the funny thing was you were coming what an hour and a half most days to to come in and you were like you're on the beach, so it was funny for you to come in and and do the wave pool, and then yeah, that it's a very different, like it's such an amazing learning tool um to have that repeated wave um in urban surf.

Almo 5:51

But yeah, I think that was odd because we thought we had the whole pool and then we didn't, and there was a bit of surfer attitude in a wave pool, which is why I stopped going out into the ocean. So it was uh yeah, it was interesting. But it was great to get a bunch of the lads together, and especially most of them hadn't surfed before. So I ended up just enjoying sitting back or you know, watching them or pushing them into waves. It was pretty cool.

Burso 6:13

Yeah, we were on the big inflatable boards and stuff, and then uh like one of the boys has bought like three boards now. Um, because he got like a six-foot thruster or whatever that means, but it was well under what he needed. And yeah, we all do it.

Studio Dreams And Old Gear

Almo 6:25

We all think we can I've gone the other way to the largest nine six available now. Yeah, nice. That's where I should have started, of course.

Burso 6:33

Um, but it it is it also it's funny like the difference between doing the um the ESO world, the ex-service organization world. Um, like you bump into open arms and some other ones, and they've got a lot of people that are ex-military, etc., who then will speak to you about it. And it's a completely different vibe because they know where you're coming from. They also uh like you can make bad jokes and they don't actually lock you up for it. Whereas if you do it, if you do it with a civilian, you're like, ah geez, you know, live laugh like we live we have live laugh toaster bath t-shirts, you know, and it's like you can't wear that in C V Street and have them pretty sure the psych on waves of wellness was still hadn't heard some of the stuff that came out in that course.

Almo 7:12

So he was that's what I mean. He was a civilian one, yeah.

Burso 7:15

But he was very interested, and I think he was he was definitely learning where he was like, that's that's concerning, that's concerning.

Almo 7:21

No, they're all laughing. Dark humour's your only form of humour. Yeah, yeah.

Burso 7:24

And they're like, oh, they're outdoing each other now. Excellent, excellent. And then you could just see him going, I actually don't know how to section people or not. Yeah, like this sounds like they're it's just standard practice for them. Um, but yeah, so I I mean that was fun. But those boys now, like they're well, we went and saw some ice hockey together, and then um we, you know, that we're all movie stars now, we're all driving G-Wagons after War Machine. Um pretty big deals there.

Almo 7:48

Um I watched with a magnifying glass and didn't see you at all.

Burso 7:51

That's a pause button you need, it's not so much the magnifying glass, yeah. Yeah, split split seconds.

Almo 7:56

Um what was quite eerie um watching War Machine is that you and I recorded your audition together where you were uh what's his name? The main guy.

Burso 8:09

I was being a cadre.

Almo 8:10

Um yeah, so it was audition for one of the main instructors, and when I heard that in the movie, it was like haunting because we'd been over those lines like a hundred years. Yeah. Um and it wasn't you, I wasn't looking at you on the screen. So no, you didn't get cast as an American cardro. How disappointing. No, it's brutal.

Burso 8:28

And then the funny thing was other stuff happened there. Like we were up in uh we were up in Bright and we're doing a boot camp, which is not what I applied for. I applied for a cardro, I was supposed to sit in the back of the cardio. No, uh I don't know when they were, but they're definitely gone now.

Almo 8:44

Cardio days, I should say.

Burso 8:45

Yeah. The um yeah, I was supposed to be in the back of a humbee yelling at people. That's that was my plan. Uh hence why I applied for the cardroad, which is supposed to be 35 to 45, which I'm in that I'm in that range. And then the um the other the like the recruits were supposed to be, I think like 20 to 28 at most, um, which I was not pulling off. And especially when I shave my head, my hair goes white. So it was like, but they pulled me out. We were doing these runs with the uh we were doing these runs with packs. These were the best Pillow packs I've ever seen. Like I've come from aviation and these packs were lighter than I used to have. Yeah, right.

Almo 9:18

Um but he there was no method acting in the equipment.

Burso 9:22

Yeah, he um but the the director came past, grabbed me and goes, mate, you need to go to the back. He's like, There's no way we can pretend that you're 25. I was like, I know, bro. Talk to your casting agent, they put me here, I didn't do it. Um yeah, so that was pretty funny. But um then everyone laughed at me for being an old man going down the back.

Almo 9:40

So what's um what's old Reacher mate's name? I always forget he's the actor. Uh Alan Richon. Alan Richard Richon. Yeah. As one of the boys is saying he's not the giant that he's made out to be on television. Was that like he's obviously jacked?

Burso 9:55

How was who was who was this bike saying that? Was he seven foot?

Almo 9:58

Yeah, but like how didn't they make him out to be six eight or something like that?

Burso 10:02

Oh yeah, Reacher's supposed to be in the books. I think he's supposed to be six six. Yeah. But like real life, he's probably six five. Six six. Oh, okay. Yeah, like he's a big he's a big dude. Maybe I missed that. Um yeah. Well, I mean, like I'm almost six two. Yeah, and he's like he he was intimidating. Um did you ever meet Pete?

Almo 10:20

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, like Pete's his next one.

Burso 10:22

I think it might have been Pete that said yeah.

Almo 10:24

Oh, but the Pete's a big dude. Big, but not he's not six five or something. Pete. Yeah, isn't it?

Burso 10:29

A doorway six six. Um but he's like Pete goes sideways through doors. Yeah, if he doesn't listen to this because he'll hear me talking about. But um yeah, the thing.

Veterans Finding Creative Outlets

Almo 10:38

And the final scene that was Pete in the helicopter with the one liner.

Burso 10:41

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh no, actually, that was the director, the guy with the beard, right at the end. Director made a cameo. Uh Pete was sitting next to him.

Almo 10:50

Yeah, uh, I'm Pete might have had a line as well.

Burso 10:52

Yeah, um, because Pete had been like he'd been the stand in the whole thing.

Almo 10:55

It was like it was like a let's go do this shit or something kind of end to the movie. Yeah.

Burso 11:00

Yeah. The director and he did a cameo in the chopper as well. So I don't know if it's because Pete and him were in that scene. I just don't because they went to New Zealand as well after we did our thing. Um Yeah, Pete's funny, man. Like he's he's chasing Alan around now, but I think he's get he's back into um what's he doing? The arm wrestling competitions. He's back into that now, he's got back in. Um I don't know what else he's running on nowadays, but um we're gonna catch up with him when he's down next. He's supposed to have he was supposed to have a thing down here in March, but he didn't get it or something, so he didn't turn up. But um yeah, he was supposed to jump on with us, which would have been cool, but um we'll uh no doubt catch up with him. Um so he'll like he'll be one of the boys that comes on. Um Sam Ride, uh medieval man's getting involved. Uh Chris May, the uh the fiery dude, he's he's keen. He's lost 18 kilos since the start of the year.

Almo 11:50

Wow.

Burso 11:51

Um he did that run around the bay thing last year and um smashed his knee up and stuff, and then I think he realized that a lot of that might have been due to the extra weight. Uh and I'm certainly not gonna sit here and throw stones. But um, yeah, like that was that was good. He's like he's shredded now. But it's funny how much he looks like he's younger now. It makes so much difference to actually like get back in shape and stuff like that, so which is why I look old, obviously. Um but yeah, like there's been that. Um else have we had Clay. Like, I still talk to him, he's now the president at the Oatley um RSL up north.

Almo 12:26

Okay.

Burso 12:26

He's doing that. Rod's now started the Peacekeepers, he's the CEO of that, or the president or whatever it is, one of the one of the boss names of that. But he's been traveling, he went crazy with his travelling on his book. Went a lot further. How many books does he sell? Oh it's irrelevant. He's gonna be able to do it. Do we have a promo code or where's the he was in like it was talking about the UK and he was on appeared on all other podcasts, like yeah, I don't know what's going on there. Like I don't know who his agent was, but they were doing well and above what what what Rod deserved out of that. Like, I mean, good on you. You you wrote a book, but at the same time.

Almo 13:02

But good read though. Um, obviously, as I was ribbing you before, you haven't ever read any of our guest books, but I've I've read all of them. I have perfectly. And Rod's book is good. Yeah, um, I loved the humility of it. Stop screaming, I'm scared too. Um, he's a great guy, and and that was one of the highlights, I guess, for the whole imposter experience was that we did that whole Simpson Desert trip with Clay and with Rod. And um, we're both pretty broke at the time, so it was a bare bones trip. There was like a raffle on the last night where we're like, I think I bought the drill bits for like $13. It was like I couldn't even afford that. And uh Imagine doing it now.

Burso 13:37

Oh yeah at three bucks something a litre.

Almo 13:40

Well, uh there it would have been three weeks. Oh, really? Yeah, yeah. Headed back to Finktown um in a couple of weeks' time.

Burso 13:46

So at least it's cheap now, it's only $2.60 a litre. Cheap relatively. What what would that translate to reckon out there? Because it was it would have been $2.60 back when we did it.

Almo 13:57

Well, I sent one of our mates a photo because the most expensive place for fuel last year was William Creek on the Udna Data track. Um, just a little um Royal Flying Doctor's town, essentially. And in Melbourne, diesel had become more expensive in in William Creek. So that sort of shows you the contrast of all the logistics of moving fuel. But um, I imagine it'll take a fair while till the prices come down there again.

Burso 14:24

Yeah, that's crazy though, that it was more expensive here. I mean, obviously they react a lot faster here. They're like, oh, there's a some sort of conflict somewhere, like you'll be altered, gold through the roof, diesel million dollars.

Almo 14:36

Um, yeah, that's but yeah, I think that was the awe moments of being out in the Simpson Desert, those sunrises, sunsets, and just a great crew um of people out there was was pretty special. And I got to do it last year again with one of our other old teammates, and to go back there with the knowledge, like having been there with Clay the year before, um, I've done a lot of four driving, but to be as remote as the Simpson Desert, like on the third day, you can't really be further from humans in Australia, and uh it does freak people out, and I just thought it was so peaceful and relaxing, and um, yeah, so it was great to do that again. Learned a lot from Clay about the sort of the methods and the etiquette, and uh especially it was sand you into safety of calling your position all the time, which most other people weren't doing. So if I hadn't seen Clay um exhibit that, I wouldn't have had the knowledge to sort of get through there on Scave the second time.

Burso 15:32

Well, it's it's funny, it's very aviation. It's like with the aviation, you're like, Yeah, we're traveling from here to here, estimated time of arrival will be such and such time at this one, and then you announce like the air, the air field that you're at, or the you know, whatever um air traffic control you're on at the time. Um, so it's like you're out there announcing yourself and and putting it out there. It's just sort of radar, but with vocal, but it like it translates really well to the desert.

Almo 15:58

Oh yeah.

Burso 15:58

But the thing is, if you've never been aviation, you're not used to that. Like Marx is actually a um pilot and a chopper pilot now, yeah. Um, which is funny. I'd it'd be interesting to see if he goes up to the Mari pub and flies out of there a couple of times. That'd be cool.

Almo 16:10

Um, case in point, um, I was sort of making the same marker calls as I'd seen Clay do the year before, and other people were as well. And this French guy was on the radio, you know, just sort of making nonsense, and someone said to him, He's like, mate, where have you come from? And his response was Birdsville. Oh, and that was three days ago. So the only thing that he could tell us is that he was coming from Birdsville, which doesn't really happen when you're getting 40 or 50 kilometers service on the uh UHF antennas. So I think he got scolded by a few people as he came through.

Acting Gigs And War Machine

Burso 16:43

Yeah. Oh I mean, he's not wrong, but at the same time. Well, yeah, you know, rel relativity. Yeah, but uh that's the thing, isn't it? The first thing you're like, if I can hear someone on the CB is within a certain range, um that's always your first heads up. But um, yeah, the desert's the desert's crazy because because we had a crew, you didn't really pay attention to how vast it was, where you were, because you're just like, hey, it's all good and well. It wasn't until you sort of got to the top of a dune and then you went, it's just never ending.

Almo 17:10

But we're also 1100 sand dunes, 550 kilometers span done at about 10 kilometers an hour. It's it takes a while.

Burso 17:20

We um I mean we were it was funny because it was just I mean, in the van, it was it was working the whole time. It's well like there's no order.

Almo 17:28

It made the cover of Traverse magazine, yeah, a motorcycle magazine, no less. We're pretty big deals on Traverse. Lee Lee loved it.

Burso 17:34

Yeah, um, but yeah, so I mean that that was that was funny there. Um but like it's just yeah, it's just working. But then when you'd get like Benji, you'd get the drone up and you'd look around, and that was when I reckon flying over there in a like in a bush plane, you'd just be like, geez, this is I really wanted to do it this year.

Almo 17:52

It's it's so expensive. Like we did go through MARE again. I really wanted to do the flight um with Phil, but it's like eleven hundred dollars or something is the cheapest flight that you can do, so yeah. Saw it all from the road again.

Burso 18:06

But yeah, crazy times. Um yeah, I mean it's been funny too. Like, obviously, we drove up to Newcastle, met Maddie Morris. Um Maddie's such a down-to-earth bloke. For yeah, you know, like for the the amount of traction and airtime he gets, he is just the same dude.

Almo 18:26

And when I went back through the chronology, like we actually recorded with him, we released our first episode that week, but when he agreed to have us interview him, we had nothing out there. So, and I I know this from so many people now, um, the Hot Debrief podcast and a couple of others. He just will give his time to people, any veteran first responder that want to do something, he's been immensely generous to people, and um yeah, it's just a privilege to be able to, you know, try to interview him because we've listened to so many hours of him with all the greats as well.

Burso 19:02

So we even it was funny because we um obviously we drove up there. He's like, What do you mean you guys drove up here? Yeah, isn't that like 11 hours? I'm like, Yeah, yeah. And then yeah, he was just like, Whatever you need, boys, however much time you need. We're like, this is amazing. Um, and then funny going because he came to breakfast with us the next day, didn't need to, but he he came out with us then and got recognised by the local cops in the cafe.

Almo 19:21

That was so funny.

Burso 19:22

We we felt like big deals because we were like, oh, they recognized him. Yeah, yeah, that's right. We're uh we're here with Maddie. We just interviewed him, no big deal. Yeah, well, it's funny now because it's like him and um Sam Bamford are doing stuff now, and um, but there's other stuff like um Puntas Politics and these guys. It's it's funny now that um and Russell Brand sort of probably did a lot for it as well, where you just start talking about stuff, and it's like why why are those people any less qualified than journalists? And it's funny now that there is a counter culture of like, well, you know what, you're actually not in like you haven't done any you've come from one sport, you've come from uni, and now you've got an agenda and you're doing whatever. And it's really interesting now to see people put their foot like put themselves out there, and I think now that there's actually multiple people having to put their voice out there, like you've got you know, Chucky, Bamford, Matty Morris, um Scojo. Love Scojo. Yeah, um I'll have to meet meet him somewhere one day. But he's funny though, because he's like he's isn't he intel or something?

Almo 20:22

Well, I listened to him on Sam Bamford the other day. Yeah, that's a really interesting interview. I think it's got a million views on YouTube for an Australian podcast, which is brilliant. But he was um some sort of like air defense guiding um intel.

Burso 20:37

But he was always doing brief, he was always doing briefings and stuff with people that came in, so he must be some sort of intelligent.

Almo 20:43

He's obviously well he says himself, he signed some sort of non-disclosure, so he's happy to stand up for other people, but obviously can't say too much about um the issues that he had with defence. But yeah, but yeah, I mean to see, especially like um the Zero Limits debrief um Maddie runs, you know, with with all those guys you just mentioned on it, there's probably not a better place to get you could say the counterpoint of all the topical sort of military um news at the moment, but from people that were there and experienced it, and you know, podcasting's always been valuable because of the long form. You're not just hearing a a three-minute clip where they're on a news station, you've got hours potentially to dive into it all. So I think they're they're doing very well as a network.

Burso 21:28

I think a lot of that comes from being in the police where you are you go to a job and then you watch it on the news and you're like, that's even remotely what happened. Yeah, which is obviously a thing VicPole could do better, they could be a bit more bit more transparent about it and stuff, but it just seems to be a bit weird that you know the boys just get hung out to dry over and over again for three years and then it goes to court. They're like, Oh, he's been cleared actually because he didn't do anything wrong. Yeah, and um that like that sort of doesn't sit well with me, and I know it doesn't sit well with a lot of the other lads, but um it's great now that um you know Maddie's got I mean he's got a bunch of army guys, I don't know if he's got any police to counter it.

Almo 22:01

Oh, he does have yeah, he has Raptor thirteen and a couple of New South Wales guys, but I think um yeah, it'd be great to see a few more ex Vic Pol tr chiming in on some of that.

Burso 22:10

It's been funny seeing watching Raptor call out just a lot of bosses. Like as soon as he got out, he's like, Hey, this boss, terrible. Like, see how we treated his boys there? Terrible. Called him out. And then he's called out other ones and they've They've rung him and he's gone out and goes, you know what? Hats off to him. He called me out. We went and had a chat and it's like I apologize. Um yeah, so the uh even in just the two years that uh I mean I'd say we've been doing it, but we haven't really been doing it for two years.

Almo 22:43

Well, within six months, most of the the good stuff was condensed into, and you know, you you mentioned Jared before, who I know you become really good friends with, which is great. And his podcast I re-listened to the other day, and um there's so many gems in there that are not you know what you would have gone into it thinking would come from it. And probably one of my highlights of the whole um series was his comment um to create more than you consume, um, as a metric of like how many hours a day am I spending scrolling and and all that sort of stuff. It's like, well, you know, I guess that applies whether you're Rod writing a book or you're you know, you and Jared making some funny reels. Um that was a really good way to measure, I think, whether you're just consuming or if you're actually, you know, doing something, putting something back into the world.

Burso 23:34

Um the um it's it's funny, he when we had him on, he was on, I think, about 9,000 followers. He's now pushing 47,000, I think. But he um it was funny too because he went from that to um you know from where where he started where it was just taking the piss and doing jokes, and you know, there's like 15 people in a room and whatever to now he's like he's done stuff for adfa, you know, like um I was up at the Veteran Games and um he and I sat down and we were having a chat with the SIAC, which is like the senior enlisted advisor to the chief of defense force. Yeah, right. That's like it's bizarre. He's and he's a great bike, that dude. Like he's he's out and about, and it's funny because he's obviously enlisted, so he's he's more in tune with our things, and he knows that like humour and the the way diggers operate and stuff like that. But um, and we were trying to get the chief in one of the reels, and it's like but and he's not against it, which is great value. Yeah, and then um, but it's just how you can make them a real person for us, yeah. But it's just how do you like how do you do it without political like just taking the piss out of the position? Like he is the chief, yeah. Um, we were trying to go through different options, and we were like um because there's one where uh Dan Goringe, who's now a massive dealer in AFL um podcasting and stuff like that, he's um he went up to the chief and def uh AFL and like he went to walk in there, he's like, No, get him out, you know. And I was just like you could do something so simple. Yeah, Jared doesn't even need to be in there, he'd just be waiting out the front like you used to when you're in trouble, like on the shit line. And you'd be like, default art, and you go to walk in, you'd be like, Oh go, chief, so I've got it. He's like, nope, like that'd be it. Just kick him out. Like it'd just be funny, like there's no actual interaction, there's whatever. Um, but I'm just wondering with the uh the handover from like there's gonna be a new chief and stuff like that. Maybe the outgoing chief might might appear and say good day.

Simpson Desert Lessons And Etiquette

Almo 25:25

Yeah, well you always get it's like when you hear say an ex-prime minister be interviewed, you think, why don't they talk like that when they are the PM? But it's because all the the pressure's off and all the polling and that sort of thing. So yeah, maybe when he's when he's done, especially because he's no longer a career man and he's not from Australia, um, maybe he'd he'd do it.

Burso 25:43

But it's um yeah, but it's just funny that we've gone from like the people that we've spoken to, like it's gone from like the kitchen table where we're just sitting around having our yarn with the boys and just seeing where some of the lads are now. It's um you know, like the the guys have done quite well, it's which is sort of I guess why we're moving from the imposters podcast. Because a lot of the dudes that we've had aren't imposters anymore. They're um like they're actually doing stuff, and I and I don't know. Um I was talking to Jared the other day and I was like, Maddie Morris is basically a triple J unearthed. Yeah, he's like you go on Maddie Morris, yeah, and then you now options, yeah, and it yeah, but it's it's it's almost like it's your business card now. You're like, oh, I was on, you know, I was episode 171. You should go on zero. The um you know, but it's it's just funny that um Maddie is literally a launching pad for so many people's careers. Um it's just yeah, it's like it's an it's an affiliation now when you you go on there and he's got so many people, and that's why the hot debrief works as well, because he's got such an access to different people. It's like hey, this is a coming up.

Almo 26:47

Seeing him and someone like Chockey collab um I thought was really brilliant because they're from very different backgrounds, but to see sort of the morals and values politically aligning, um it's just an interesting world where that sort of stuff wouldn't have happened um in any other way.

Burso 27:05

So you've got uh Carl Stefanovic as well now.

Almo 27:08

That's been interesting.

Burso 27:09

Yeah, he's hasn't he gone because I think he must have been he must have been getting fault grief on you know Tale 10 or wherever it was he was. He's he's made a few errors along the way on Carl. That's why I think that's why a lot of people have time for him. Yeah, because who hasn't? I mean that's the main reason people don't get into politics, because everyone's just like, oh I've made too many mistakes, I don't want everyone to know about it. Like, well that's why you get what you get, because the journos are just out to get people and like they don't really care about what happens, they just want to make a story. Um they don't care what happens, they just want to and like if somebody gets fired, they stay in, they don't really care about that stuff. Um, and you know, it comes at the expense of we're not we're not getting leaders that have made mistakes, become better. And yeah, if you used to be a drunk, now you're sober as a judge. Like those people are great for teaching people how to not drink anymore. But if you get someone who's like never, never sped, never done anything like that, and then you get them to advise you on you know social housing and whatever else it is whilst they were rich, but no one's gonna listen to that.

Almo 28:08

What's the whole life experience piece? It's like how some of the best police members, you know, were probably dishonest about some of the recreational drugs they're done in their early 20s or you know, military. But it's like you have to have life experience, and obviously you can't be still dabbling in any of that. But it's like, you know, if everybody's just done nothing in life, how could you possibly be good at those jobs?

Burso 28:31

And well, they reckon the best cops would have been the best crooks and vice versa. Yeah. Like the ones that get away with all the stuff, like they would have been amazing detectives because they know how to get around it, so they would have known how to detect in the first place. Yeah. Um, so there's yeah, there's there's that whole that whole chestnut as well.

Almo 28:45

But um it's just just before we move on from sort of the the comedy piece with Jared as well. I think you and I have both been really interested in like what it is about comedy, but how it can just speak truth. It's probably the only thing that can say the truth out loud without you know people being offended now. And um it's just yeah, it was really interesting diving into with Jared and um just seeing how it kind of cuts through, or even you can do a reel, which would be offensive if it was just a dialogue or something. Um, you know, it goes back to the court jester stuff, doesn't it? Whether it was the only person that could actually criticise the king via comedy, and a good king would have a court jester for that very reason to keep them in check. So it seems that these in these political times that's um it's pretty important. You know, maybe every poly should have to get up and do stand-up night once a month or something.

Burso 29:37

Well, I've been watching question time, half of them do. True, yeah. Um uh yeah, uh and Jared was funny with that too. Like he's been talking when he does stuff, like we do these reels about oh, I don't know if I'm gonna do that one. And you'd be like, I'll take that. And then you um then you look at it and you're just going, Whoa, Jared, what about if you get cancelled on that one? He's like, Cancelling's the best thing that can happen to me.

Almo 29:59

Yeah, it's like Well Matt Rife kind of proved that, yeah, as well as others.

Burso 30:03

I think the problem is you've got to be prepared to get bulk hate. And then if you accept that and you move on and you troll those people, then you now come out the other side and then oh was that you're there a little trial of a new energy drink. Not running the savvy?

Almo 30:22

Mad mad dog, mad dog energy drinks. Maybe watch this space.

Burso 30:27

We'll see how we go. Not impossible.

Almo 30:28

Who's a mad dog?

Burso 30:29

You know what? Imposter 17% off still works. Does it? Yeah, if you if you jump on the imposter.

Almo 30:34

If we ever make any money out of all the loyal people, yeah, I know.

Burso 30:37

I um I got uh I bought those DJ mics out of it. Oh we had enough money to make the mics, which is pleasant, thank you. Yeah, which is what led to uh all the reels having decent audio for change. So uh welcome. Oh that's quite nice that matters. Is it not normally one for energy drinks, but uh it's actually a Celsius just in case they want to sponsor us. We always always call it out there. Um yeah, and then we've got uh Sam Wright as well. Like he's a he's a big deal now. Oh, he was he was a pretty big deal.

Almo 31:07

Yeah, I never got to meet Sam. That was when I'd gone AWOL on you.

Burso 31:09

Yeah. Well he was like he was a pretty big deal anyway when we first got him.

Almo 31:13

Uh I mean in the We we tried to get a few people to drag us up with in the in the laughing. Offer them nothing of value.

Burso 31:20

Yeah, I mean in in the laughing world. Uh what was remind me what laughing is again. Uh live action roleplay. Yeah, he'll he'll lose his shit over that. It's actually Boo Hurt, which is like actual fighting. Oh, that's right. Yeah, so like yeah, um, it was funny because we put a helmet on and then he whacked it. It's just like putting your head in a bell. Surprisingly good at absorbing impact, but geez, it's loud. Um, and your vision's terrible, and they're like the helmet's like five kilo, which is quite a bit.

Almo 31:48

Um so it's especially people going out and fighting in all the old knights armour.

Burso 31:53

Yeah, but just they are hitting each other. Yeah, they've just got blunt blunt swords and axes and stuff. Um, but like if you slip through um, because I've seen some of the injuries that people are getting where they might be reaching to attack someone else and they get you under the arm where you you might be not like that. Well, it's just running like material basically to stop you from getting penetrating stab injuries. But um some dudes have just been nailed whilst they're moving in a bad spot. And then Sam broke some dude's arm with an axe another time because he just hit his like he's moved his arm into the way and just hit him right in the middle, snapped it. Um just old mate had two elbows, it's pretty, pretty gross. Um but uh but he then he went over to um Europe, travelled there, and then he just went to some other um world competition over in New York or something, uh New Jersey, one of those two. He was up there and um now he's running like some jewel, I can't remember what he calls it, but it's basically 2v2. It's um a new competition he's got there. But he's still now that's Cryo Castle. We are gonna go to that though. We need to we need to check that out.

Almo 32:54

That's where you go for rave parties, isn't it?

Burso 32:56

Uh they would have one. Surely they'd have them there. There's um but yeah, like there's it's just crazy seeing the lads go from there. But he started a new channel as well, like a tactical one where he goes out and does hunting and um which is weird because Australia I didn't think would have like YouTube's YouTube h guns anyway, and he's out there doing hunting stuff. Um I mean most of it's like 90% of him swearing about him falling over up and down hills and Lantana tearing him apart and all that sort of stuff.

Meeting Maddie Morris And Networks

Almo 33:23

But um We we got shared by a hunting channel, didn't we? You did repositive I almost quit on the spot then. Well, we didn't to be honest, we haven't done better than that. Cameron Haynes with what two million Instagram followers. Yeah. There was a video of me early on failing to draw back your 80 pound bow.

Burso 33:41

But you're you're actually doing archery now, aren't you?

Almo 33:44

Well, I'm just just gonna get into it. Yes, you've just got to. I let my firearms license lapse in uh in the persecution state of Victoria. I've decided not to put it back in the gun next to the machete bins next to the I never owned any actually, which was handy.

Burso 33:59

Um but we haven't bowed an arrow bin soon enough.

Almo 34:02

Probably, yeah, yeah. But um yeah, just focus a bit on the the craft of uh archery will be a bit of fun.

unknown 34:10

So yeah.

Burso 34:11

And then uh Joe, Joe Piazek is probably the the the last the last one that we were talking about. He's been doing he's been doing bulk marathons now. So like we um we talked to him about um I think he was he's gonna do like a couple of different runs and then um he did a leg for us at the Surf Coast Century, which was good. Um and did you do a leg? Of course not. Well I did the whole thing. You say we I did the whole thing. You were the support person. Yeah, I had the van and I I was at every checkpoint. Okay, didn't see the other boys at every checkpoint. It's a very big liberty taken on we there. Well, it was my it was my team, so I'll I'll take that. Uh and I picked them up and took water to it. Yeah, I I did go and pick up the the bibs for the boys, so I feel like that's that's my work done. Um and yeah, so he's just been doing a lot more endurance events and stuff as well. So um and now he's got his own business, finished his degree. So um yeah, we're looking at doing um some pods actually as well. Like so we're looking at splitting the pod between because the problem we were having was we would talk mad shit for the first 12 minutes and people would have no idea what we were talking about. And then the next week you'd go and we'd be like straight into a serious conversation about some dude who'd lost his brother. And people were like, What are we getting?

Almo 35:28

We put on our disclaimer, that fixed everything.

Burso 35:30

Yeah, well, yeah. I mean, we're yeah, we disclaimed it. But it was like if you're if you're sitting there on an algorithm, how would you pick it? You know, like one week it's talking about some people who own a pub in the middle of the desert um and talking about pilots licenses and stuff, and then the next week it's somebody's you know got blown up in Afghanistan, and then you do whatever. So the the problem was some people loved both of them, some people were mad for the banter, they just loved the lols and the lack of any sort of direction. They thought that was hilarious, and then other people were just like, mate, I'm literally eight minutes in, and I don't know what you're talking about, I don't care anymore. Um, so I think we're gonna sort of split that into one's gonna be more more like a footy show style thing where we sort of had segments and we do whatever. It might not be so much about guests, it might be more about you know, there's a bunch of different faceless um Instagram pages now, so we might be able to talk to them with some sneaky voices and stuff, or we might have meme of the week, we might have whatever. Like, I don't know, we might make it more of a a footy show talking rubbish sort of style, and then the other one might be a little bit more um like grown up and stuff. Like I've spoken at Hamwar and um some of the other places and they're gonna take us for um, you know, we'll go around and have a look at the like where they build the tanks and see what they're doing there. Um, because it they employ heaps of veterans. Um Navantia builds boats um and they they have they they support veterans really well and um like the bushmaster people up there, it'd be good to take Chris back up and have a look at the bushmasters, etc. Um, I know he's been there before, but um I think the first time was him just saying thanks heaps, but this time we could go there and actually learn and see what they're doing for their people. Um and there'll be heaps of other places as well that Babcock and all these other places actually look after people. Um so it's a little bit more that one would be a little bit more about like um transitioning. So whether you're a teacher and you've just been going from you've been a teacher for 10 years and you want to go do something else, or um just a little probably a little bit more interviews with people and a bit more grown-up y sort of style, um, where we won't basically stuff that you can actually be on and not get fired, as opposed to every guess that we seem to have, where they're like, don't know that I can do that. Um whereas the other one will just be, you know, we'll shoot each other with paintballs and stuff on the man dogs one. So like it's it's just gonna be a separate there with um yeah, grown-ups versus taking the piss style. So I mean obviously people are welcome to listen to either of them, but um and also uh like I've got cameras and stuff now, so ideally we'll be able to chuck it on YouTube and then see if the algorithm helps us out.

Almo 37:57

YouTube's where it really can happen. Um but uh for the for the listener, for the one the one that remained following us, um are you gonna modify all the socials and stuff, or are you starting over with both of them? How are they gonna be able to find you in those different versions?

Burso 38:15

Well, so the at the moment, the what like the imposters one that we've got at the moment, like we haven't posted anything for us in God knows how long. Um they're mainly just collabs with um Jared just taking the piss with reels. Um so that one will probably turn into the mad dog one because half the boys that are on there are gonna be hosting it. Like they'll be yeah, like Sam and Chris and whoever else is on there, like they're already on that page. Um, they're in half the reels, so it's like that that one will probably just change to that. Um we'll retire the uh the imposters part, and then I don't know, we'll see what we do with a new one. Like, I don't know if it's got a name or not. Like that one's already changed about five different times on on where we'd go with it. Um, just based off we initially had two other people that were keen, and one dude's like, I can't really commit to that, and then this other guy has turned up and he's like, Yeah, one of my mates is actually super keen, and we've been talking heaps about it. I said, you know what? You guys should run your own show instead of me just tagging along with yours now, like it's just silly. But um, you know, we'll see how that goes. Um I don't think they're s they're sort of running a little bit of imposter syndrome where they haven't, you know, they've like Joe's made a cameo, but his other mates never been on. But um, you know, people have sort of realised now in the business world that you need to grow an actual persona online or you just get left behind. Um it's really weird. Like I I remember there was a couple other guys I dealt with who were on like LinkedIn and they were absolute wrecks in their own life. But on LinkedIn it looked amazing, and they were getting speaking gigs and people were like looking for jobs and stuff because they were doing whatever. But the problem is if you're actually not if you're not living your best life the whole time, then you know you can't actually hold it hold a job down and stuff. But like people are watching, so if you're actually happy to put yourself out there, you'll find it. I mean, and that's from that thing we learned pretty much week one with the what was it? The I can't even we never knew what it stood for. W the woo-woo thing. Oh yeah, something about influencing others. Um that was your quality, you're a woo-woo personality.

Almo 40:10

That's yeah, whatever that was. Um but it correlated with us finding as well the people who didn't feel they were imposters were just useless people who hadn't even that it hadn't even occurred to them they were no good at what they were doing and somehow were still getting a gig somewhere.

Burso 40:25

And well, what's that I can't remember what it's called now? That that curve where they're basically like there's that thing where at the start you think you know everything, so you're like really high performing, so you're like, Yeah, I'm all about it, and then you realise what you don't know. That's the one down the frugal, yeah. And then you go, then you go down into the valley of despair or whatever it is, and then you actually get up at the end where you've actually got the intelligence, but you don't believe you do anymore. So it's it's a weird, it's a weird sort of stuff.

Almo 40:49

I think for me, remember talking to someone who was a self-described leadership coach and being totally curious. I was like, Oh, what what sort of teams have you led? And uh she said, Oh, I know, I just teach leadership. I was like, Yeah, yeah, but where does all your experience come from? I think you and someone else were like chuckling beside me because it hadn't hadn't dropped for me yet. It's like, no, this person's never led any team, but they've made this software package and they apparently can show other people how to lead teams effectively. And yeah, but she was the last one in the room to realise that it was an empty, empty course.

Burso 41:21

But I think that's like that's the thing, is a lot of a lot of people from first responders and and military are like if you don't have lived experience, they don't listen to you. You could have done four degrees, you might actually be the most qualified person in leadership, but if you've not done it, it's the same as when you go to a gym. There's like there's a jacked up dude, and then there's like some super skinny dude, and you're like, if I'm trying to get massive, I'm gonna talk to the massive dude, even though skinny guy might be able to be all over it with like nutrition and whatever else it is, just by default, you'd be like, Well it's a business card, yeah.

Almo 41:50

And I would have been just as interested if she led tech teams or anything, but I just thought it was you know, I was expecting there to be some substance behind the the resume. Just anything. Like, did you drive yourself here? Like, did you leave coach a netball team?

Burso 42:04

Yeah, did you drive your car here? Were you a captain of your under 12s rounders team? Like just just at some point were you were you leading something? The um did do the only research they've ever done. And when I say you did the research, yeah, but when I say I've done it, I've done you're part cyborg now with the amount of AI that you use for life. Yeah, well, it's the only intelligence I have it's artificial. But um, so I've put in all the transcriptions for all our different episodes, and it was put through, and there was like uh we just had the best of quotes. So they might be terrible because I haven't even looked at them yet. But uh Yeah, we've just renamed it on the fly, episode one, the shambles podcast. It was actually uh Fedora that said that.

Almo 42:45

Was it okay? And then you reiterated it.

Burso 42:48

Well, I might have just called it a shambles, and then he just said we've just renamed it, so that was that wasn't bad. But then you've got uh Jess Taylor, and um when I uh she's like uh she said that she felt that. I'm like, I didn't realise you felt like that when you like as a single mum.

Almo 43:04

Oh, that was that was very funny. Well, it's Fedora Fedora husband. Yeah. She's never been a single mum.

Burso 43:13

Yeah, that was really yeah.

Almo 43:14

You followed it up, you said our fingers crossed. Yeah.

Burso 43:18

Yeah, there's still time. Yeah, he's still punching above his weight. Um, yeah, he was good, he was good value there. But um funny enough.

Almo 43:26

Yeah, when Fedora came on, they were always always good lols and yeah.

Burso 43:30

It was it was funny. I feel like um I feel like you both got performance punished almost. Like I know Fedora started hearing people listening to the podcast and he sort of went, Oh, this is getting bigger than I thought it was gonna be, and started trying to hide in the background. And then you got a bit funny when the reels came up when you made all those uh when I did the Hoopman ones, that was the death of me.

Almo 43:50

Yeah, because I ended up filming them on my own, and when they went up, there was just this realization, like, oh no, oh no.

Burso 43:57

But like, did you get any negative feedback or was that just all you?

Almo 44:00

No, because I intentionally was never had access to any of the comments on things, yeah. And and you always vetted that without telling me. Yeah, there's this philosophy I've heard more recently where a bit like Murphy's Law, but it's like the most ironic outcome is the most likely outcome. Yeah. It kind of goes to like when you name something like the imposter podcast. Almost cursed at least one of us to feel like more of an imposter. Yeah. Um, but yeah, like there was a lot of irony in it. We were speaking to people that had blasted through it. And I mean Maddie's message, which hopefully will still be the outro that we'll play at the end of this, the you know, just do it. What's the worst thing that could happen? It's it's as greater advice as you're ever gonna hear, but it's sunk in on different levels at different times, and while things can be easy to hear, they're not always easy to do. But it still will stand a timeless um example.

Burso 45:01

You know, I'm just reading through the quotes. I'm like, you know what I haven't done? No, I know not that one. What you haven't done is use the mixing desk for all that one, that's what I wanted to get. No, I didn't. That's the one. That's the one I wanted I thought it was. That's the pink one, yeah.

Almo 45:15

We're back to the shambles final episode.

Burso 45:18

Yeah, that's literally what I was reading about it. Um what did it say? It's got the um the mixing this mixing table is just gonna keep on giving. It's like still just as true as Fedora presses yet another unknown button.

Almo 45:32

The other well, just while we were on it too, like um Matt Morris's messages were so good throughout, but I really listened to his episode um a week ago too, and because we just kept pressing him on things because we hadn't realized them yet. But you know, he started business after business, and he just kept saying to us, he's like, I didn't know how to send an invoice, I just got on YouTube and had a look at oh okay, what do you do with zero? Oh, okay, I can follow that. Oh, how do I do a tax return? Oh, I owe the ATO. It's like so he just laid out the fact that you've got skills and you've never run a business, but we're in a day where you can get a tutorial on anything at all. Um, and he's stepped through to having very like successful businesses and multiple of them.

Burso 46:20

Um just released the uh new pre-workout, the roadside bomb. Get around it. Roadside bomb. Yeah, it's it's terrible. That's terrible. By all accounts, it's actually uh pretty good. I haven't had any yet, but I'll have to get on board it.

Almo 46:33

I wonder how he's he was telling us he launched cosmetics for stuff as well. I asked him about that.

Burso 46:40

He wouldn't give me anything else on that because I asked him about it, uh, but he just kept that on the download. So I wonder if it if you went to Maya, there's probably like a line there that he runs, but he's just keeping it on the download.

Almo 46:48

Probably the second biggest brand in Australia already.

Burso 46:51

He actually bought Chanel. Um just back on the Jess thing. Like she's actually now our fourth most downloaded thing, which is bizarre to have Maddie as one and two, then McConnell as the negotiator three, and then the birthing story.

Almo 47:08

Is it just because of how awkward and uncomfortable I was?

Burso 47:11

Or I to be honest, I think it's because some of the real like the Harry Potter one, for example, which blew up and has like two two million views, which is bizarre. Um, and mainly what do you mean? We have a Harry Potter clip? Yeah, we did normal, we did one with Jared. We did a Harry Potter sorting hat. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's um I'll I'll show you afterwards. You've literally got the famous that famous hats next year. But um, yeah, we did like it got like two and uh like two million views, and then um that was actually the only reel that we've done that's been over 50% of it. It was an imposter rule, right? It was uh it's a collab, it's a collab one. Okay. Um so it's but it's got you know two million views, and over 50% of it was female, so it's all the other ones like dudes watching the watching the the reels. But this one had 50%, and I think what happens is they jump on board and then they see the ones on there, have a look, and then they see like the birth and banter one, and they're like, Oh yeah, cool, we'll do that. Um, because there's that one and then the and then SJ's um erotic novels one also gets a lift. So you can sort of see after the reels. Uh, if we did a cop one, for example, the negotiator and carowana's cert one would go up. Um, so it was it's interesting seeing, even though the reels got nothing to do with our podcast at all, but because people turn up and they're like, these are great, these are funny, we like these guys, we'll see what they're doing. Like, we still get 200 downloads a week, which is bizarre considering we haven't done anything for yeah, it's quite spooky.

Almo 48:34

Um you and Jared talked as well about how, especially with some of his bigger posts, the comment section would just, you know, get hundreds of thousands of comments, and he he's like, I know no one's watched the video, so just go straight to the comment. But then they're gonna get spammed with my videos next time.

Burso 48:52

So Well, we did um what's that uh Jared did he did a thing for Anzac Day, uh where he just put he just he didn't even put a photo up, he just had writing and he was like, Um, put your best war dog photo up. And it's funny in a in a time where people have been so anti-police and army and all that sort of stuff. And um he got like when I last check I did, it had 1300 comments. So everybody was just putting a photo up there, everyone's laughing, Jared's rating him, he had to stop rating him because there were so many of them. But it was um, but you know, like it was just it's really great to see the community that he's sort of he's sort of building now. Like people go to his shows almost because they know it's gonna be full of first photos and whatever. Um, like I mean, he's very inbuilt now into that niche, so it's sort of he he might have even performance punished himself to be stuck in that niche, but they're very loyal.

Almo 49:44

His shows are so fun though, because of that. Um like I went to a second one with you a year about basically a year ago, and the way that he works the crowd because it's such a nuanced sort of military comedy, it's very fun to see.

Two New Shows One Feed

Burso 49:58

Matt, he he has them now where he'll go somewhere and they'll put their phones away. And it's like that's like the safety of you knowing it's not being recorded. Yeah, like we uh we didn't reserve you don't want him to long here, and he went there and it was so funny. It wasn't even like it was realistically, it wasn't even his show. Yeah, like people just sent him a bunch of like messages about other dudes from the like from the unit and just gave him shit. And then he was he was just into this one bloke, he was down the front, had RM Williams boots on, had jeans, had a polo shirt tucked in, probably a Ralph Lauren polo shirt tucked in. He was an officer then 100%, and he called him early on, and old mate tried to pretend that he wasn't, and you're like, mate, nobody is with the chaps, yeah, yeah. It was like Jolly God, cracking show, young man. But uh yeah, that was hilarious. But the thing was, it was so he and he was just getting loose, but it was funny because you actually had the RSL, a lot of the RSL boys were there, so you had the old boys, and then you had the young fellows from the reserve unit, and they're all getting together, and that's sort of to the credit of the guys running the RSLs around here. Is there they go to the reserve units on a Tuesday night and hold a barbecue, yeah, and then counterfuck party? The boys are always trying to get to the RSL here, and then the RSL put like beers over the bar for them afterwards, and it's a bit more old school the way it used to be, um, which is great for the old boys who now are like, well, you know, all the young fellas are coming here, we'll come in, and we'll wear all their gear. And then the young fellas come off, they're like, buddy hell, what are all these buddy old blokes, all these gongs about? And that's like that's literally what it was supposed to be about. Um, you know, like the the weird awkwardness is still in some RSLs, but there are some cracking RSLs that are doing some really good work now, which has been you know, and they and I mean anytime they grab Jared, it pretty much brings everyone together anyway. Because the older the older people and the younger people have the same F'd up sense of humor.

Almo 51:51

Time of comedy thing. Yeah, do they stock camo roll toilet paper yet there?

Burso 51:56

I don't know that he's even still involved with that, but I mean, yeah, I mean when he said to the RSL, what are you doing? Why aren't you doing that? And then there was leaps of them that did. Bunch of them took on camo roll, which is great value for them. Um it's funny that we talk about like the um yeah, the lulls that we were having on the um like on the podcast, but then there's some stuff like when we spoke to Mark Thomas, where we were like, I didn't want to be here at the cricket, or I didn't want to be here on this earth, I couldn't tell the difference. And I was like he also talked about being in his undies because he was crazy. You know, like it was um but like for some of the boys on here to just come in here and have be open. I mean, I know it's just at my like it's just at my house in the kitchen, so it's sort of um it's easy to forget, but then when you and I don't even know if Mark had people can hit him up afterwards, but um I'd definitely have people message me and just go, that was legit. That was a pretty that was that was nuts. Um and I don't know how many people are um were interested in doing the psychedelics and stuff after um Michael came on, but um Yeah, Michael Raymond is um a very interesting person I've spent um a bit of time with.

Almo 53:08

We live fairly close to each other and the legwork he has put into some of the psychedelics policy in Australia and taking people overseas for those experiences is um immense and uh he's kept at it. Um so yeah, it'd be interesting to know if anybody's been on one of his programs, but I I just don't have the fortitude to see it through. I'm terrified of it.

Burso 53:35

The um it's funny enough the uh one of the quotes is our disclaimer. It's like it's better than some first responders. Try to be serious and then you just punked me. Which was the best. It was so good. I love when we sent that to we because we did another like eight of them afterwards, and then we sent them all to MT, and he's like, um, yeah, we were like, no, we're not doing that.

Almo 53:56

That was a example of when I didn't know your objective was to create a funny one, whereas I thought we were doing a serious disclaimer, but from the get-go, you wanted it to be mocking our own disclaimer. Well, that was my plan.

Burso 54:10

I think we had a bit of that along the way where you were doing all the professional stuff and then things got awkward.

Almo 54:16

The other thing that came out with a few guests, we interview, I mean, a lot of people had never been on a podcast before, and something I know I struggle with was when you put the headphones on and you see the record hit, there's something different about it. And probably like every podcast that exists, some of the best conversations happened away from the recording because people relaxed in their intermission and and just had a chat, and so I don't know how other podcasts deal with that, but it was hard to not feel like you're putting people in this under this sort of spotlight. Um, we did talk about getting rid of the headphones after sound checks and things like that, but yeah, there's definitely a realism or a starkness if you're being interviewed about yourself once the headphones go on and you can hear you know the feedback of yourself talking.

Burso 55:07

Well, yeah, and then you had people that would never put their mouth near the microphone or they'd turn away and talk about like they needed the headphones.

Almo 55:14

Yeah, that that was hard too.

Burso 55:15

Yeah, and then you had people that uh we had to give them like pillows because they kept spashing the table. Who was that, McConnell, Ned? Yeah, I think there was a couple of them. Love smashing the table.

Almo 55:26

Although, by virtue of that as well, we did McConnell was a great example. A few of our former teammates we learned things about them. We had no idea after knowing them for a decade or more. The uh yeah, that interviewing style just brought conversations out with that we'd never had around the team room and stuff like that.

Burso 55:43

So Which is funny considering we like we would have spent like eight hours in a car at times with these people, just never never just sat down and asked them about the history. Um, which is funny because you know, like you actually do get trained to do interviews, and then you just never interview each other in the car and you just don't know anything about each other. Like it's uh I mean, I d I don't know if we just don't pass that on to each other because we don't want people to judge us in our own time and then not see us as you know mad wardogs or whatever it is, but you're like, oh, you love actually doing flowers or whatever, you know, like or you do uh what do they call it? Slam poetry.

Almo 56:24

We uh I think you know, like we're both well out of the police now, but I used to jump to people.

Burso 56:32

Were you a cult?

Almo 56:33

Oh, were you were you a soldier?

Burso 56:36

Um, I just meant we actually never were allowed to talk about it. Oh, did we officially unacknowledge it? Yeah. Yeah, okay.

Almo 56:42

Remember we were like we're never we're civvies now.

Burso 56:47

Well you sound so nervous all of a sudden.

Almo 56:49

No, because we obviously were Well, how dare we speak about something you know that is part of our life? Um that was it's not like we made it our identity or anything.

Burso 56:59

Yeah. But we do with that though, it was funny because we had other people obviously that we were like, hey man, should you come on because you you know this happened, this happened. Pretty bad story. And then people are like, Oh yeah, I ring the media unit, and then they said, No, you're not allowed to go anywhere near that. And you're just like, Well, you know. And then we I mean, I remember Fedora started saying the whole fuck around find out thing. Not that he ever he never found out, or fucked around that much, really. Like he fucked around off the microphone, like he was like, Yeah, I'm hard as put the microphone on him. Nope, I don't have a real name, and I'm never gonna comment about anything.

Almo 57:34

I remember um another one of our teammates, Brad Williams, was on zero limits, but he was a firefighter by that time. And um, I asked another friend who was high up in the firefighters, I said, Oh, how you know, how would he have got approval to do that? And his response is like, approval for what? I was like, you know, to be to speak and to be in the fire service and stuff. And he's like, Why would he need approval for that? And it's like he didn't even know why I was asking that question. Whereas as police, we would never have been approved to do that, um, you know, unless you go on the lame official podcast, which we have better ratings than.

Burso 58:11

Well, I'm pretty sure that's where we got our one star from. Yeah, yeah. Are we gonna we're gonna call out the one star or are we gonna let him go this time?

Imposter Syndrome And Lived Experience

Almo 58:17

Yeah, it's not it's not confirmed. Yeah, well, things come around in the end. Yeah, um, yeah, but I think where I was getting at was yeah, I used to joke, or you know, meeting new people and neighbours and things like that. Um, as I've just moved house, but I think why we probably didn't talk in the van as much. I used to joke it's like I've used up all my words for today because you're just having these long, deep conversations with people having the worst day of their life, and the last thing you really want to do is just continue talking, or or you do just the token talking about some of your hobbies and stuff, but um so yeah, I think we probably just avoided by virtue having a lot of those deeper conversations, and sometimes you wouldn't know one of your teammates' wives' names or kids' names, you sort of know all about them and what they're doing, but just didn't have the bandwidth to always be digging in in that downtime.

Burso 59:12

Well, sometimes the first time you'd know about it was like you'd go to a thing where like a kid had drowned in a pool, and then you'd be like, mate, you're right. What's going on? You're like it's the same age as my kid and my oh more. Yeah. First I knew about it. Um, you know, because we'd go there, we'd be training, or you'd be you'd go there, there'd be a job straight on, or you'd go and you'd be counting something, or you'd be doing some other random admin. Um you did a lot more in the negotiators, there was a lot more sitting around talking because there was a lot less of the negotiator. Yeah, big, I was a big, big big time negotiator. One of the Did they teach you how to actively listen? Not often. That's why I've got AI. Summarizes it for me, gives it to me easy now. You had a pass on that session. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, there was definitely no student of merit on the listening part.

Almo 59:58

Um yeah, I think too we've got so many colleagues, probably the best people we've worked for worked with, sorry, just being chucked out of all the services at the moment, um, which is very hard not to get angry at. But um, yeah, I was in the midst of that during the peak imposter as well, and it was very hard to exist being uh wrangled up in the sort of work cover system and all that at the time. So we're just talking about it before, but being free of all that now was very liberating to just sort of have your your own life back in control. But um, I say that mostly because it staggers me how many of our friends are still wrapped up in that in the moment, and uh it takes quite a while to to work free of.

Burso 1:00:47

So even just when I went and met up with you guys out at the pub um not long ago, like the the difference with you know, all of you boys that I caught up with was so different from when it was a couple of years ago. Um, and everyone's got and none of you had the same story, like you're all going through different stuff, and none of it was actually from doing anything wrong yourselves. Like that's the crazy part about it.

Almo 1:01:13

That's the most hard part to swallow, is like, yeah, when I look at some of the people going through it, the most competent, conscientious, caring, the best leaders, and somehow um we can't put our finger on it, but it's not by coincidence. There's some sort of you know, malevolent intent or something behind it all. So whether we'll ever understand that or whether this is just every generation in service history, you know, hits this point where all their friends are going through that. I I don't know. But it's crazy to be um in that generation now.

Burso 1:01:47

Well, it's very it's very Batman, like you live long enough to be the villain, you know, like the and I think policing is probably something that we need to sort of look at with a how long you're in the job for. But anyone who's done 10 years is very jaded. Like they're you know, like um some of them that jump on the van, then disappear and go straight up to the top. Like in ten years you can be an inspector if you do all the play all the games. But um, if you're on the street for 10 years, like you at no point do you look at people the same. Yeah, like every person's lying to you. Um you know, you're always watching your exits, you're like, what's that guy's doing? That's threatening indicators here, and it's I've got to sit in a certain place in the cafe here, and but not just that, like you like I can't go to the gym without you know, ever every three weeks there's some dude in there because we used to deal with like bikers and stuff, and bikes love going to the gyms, and um you know, but you said you see him in there, and like I've been in there working out with boys before, and then you see this other bike, you're like, I arrested that dude. Yeah, you're like how long ago? And you're like, Oh, like seven years, he must be out. You know, like this dude's just done seven years tail time, and then you get out, and you know, is he sitting there going, remembering I I remember that dude, he just took seven years of my life. Or do you think he's sitting there going, Well, I did import him a whole bunch of oozies, maybe that's okay, you know.

Almo 1:02:59

Like not sure that that epiphany occurs.

Burso 1:03:02

Yeah, he's like, you know what, mate, thanks. I was I was an arms dealer, you're right. That was probably not the best.

Almo 1:03:07

Um and I've moved way out into the countryside for that reason too, and I actually can relax at home and sleep well now because you know, not many people around.

Burso 1:03:16

How's your stand-to and stand-down routine?

Almo 1:03:18

No, I'm I'm pretty good with that. Yeah, yeah. When I was in the suburbs, it was like you know, when I was sort of stuck at home a couple of years ago, it's like every car that went past I'd have to go and check, you know, who it was or you know, what the postman was up to. And yeah.

Burso 1:03:33

But were you looking for like our people or other people?

Almo 1:03:38

I don't think it it wasn't that, it was just like um it was it was always described to me as having a feeling control, so I just had to know who was around and what they were up to. It wouldn't have even mattered what they were doing, but just to sort of be observing and everything. So um the good message too is that it took some time after separating from um the police and all of the uh I'll say corrupted departments that are supposed to help, but um, but it has got a lot better and uh normal civilian life has has returned, which is very refreshing. And we're doing some work in you know the normal professional services now. It's just been brilliant to work with some normal people and that just don't have these whole identity fusions that we had. They're interested in what we did, but they don't care about things the same way that we did like that. So to be around clients now and not offenders is uh is a real breath of fresh air.

Burso 1:04:36

We always used to call them clients anyway.

Almo 1:04:38

Well, yeah. That's it was the I don't know when that started.

Burso 1:04:45

But yeah, it was just funny that they I don't know when it changed that we started calling on cro uh clients instead of crooks.

Almo 1:04:51

Yeah, uh just yeah satire.

Burso 1:04:54

Well, I just wonder if that if it was a joke or whether it actually was something that we it sort of got brought in from the top, maybe, and it became a thing.

Almo 1:05:01

Once you're serving them toast and jam and coffee from your own paid social club, I guess they are a client. Yeah, that is pretty true. Shout out to those on the divisional van today.

Burso 1:05:10

So um, I mean I've obviously got a thing here that we've done nothing with. I've done the research about it. It's actually interesting, I'll read this afterwards. But um the a couple of different things it was asking about was uh what's going on with your um YouTube channel? Is that still happening? Is it did you put any more into it? Are you gonna be putting any more into it? Because you did the think.

Policing Fallout And Workcover Anger

Almo 1:05:33

Yeah, so yeah, the Hard on Juro Dirtbike Channel, which was yeah, launched a similar time to Imposter. Um that became a real imposter thing for the two of us as well. Um it had a fair bit of success, but it was that case of when you make something you love your job, we just weren't loving writing anymore, and you'd be constantly trying to we're we're buying things all the time just so that we could make a video about some handguards or something like that. But even the writing just became so orchestrated because filming, unless you have a film crew if you four wheel drive 24 7 or something, it's so arduous to be setting things up all the time and make it you know look natural. So, yeah, it kind of took The joy out of it. Um, that basically ended I had intended to film the Fink Desert Race, which I did last year. I filmed some of the training and stuff like that, but that trip is just a brilliant couple of weeks away with good friends and family. And I was like, I just don't want any of the joy to get sucked out of this trip. So um I ended up not doing that. In some ways, that was a shame because um, in a quite funny turn of events, I was the last official finisher for the Think Desert Race for last year, which actually comes with some interesting sort of um little experiences with the Marshalls and things like that. But yeah, it was a pretty good time to just be in the desert away from tech and not trying to film stuff like that. So um yeah, so we've left the channel just up, and as YouTube does, it's still chipping away, and apologies that comments still come in, and and we've just decided not to monitor that anymore. We talked a lot about yeah, you know, you get one negative comment out of a thousand, and it's it's hard to just stay at it replying to stuff all the time. But um I've been out riding again in the last few months and just enjoying loving being out in the bush and the therapy that that gives me and heading back to think in about three weeks um with the crew. Uh I said never again, it was one of the most hellish things I've ever done. Um but I decided to do it again because so many people come up out of goodwill to be your pit crew and your supporters, and so I thought it was a bit weak to just go as a spectator and not, you know, be another rider. Um so I'll be trying to be a finisher again. I'll try to come second last this time.

Burso 1:08:11

Did um the riding that you were doing, because obviously we rode like when we came back to the desert. That riding in there, did that make you a little bit more confident about the think? Because you did training after that, didn't you?

Almo 1:08:23

Yeah, so yeah, when we went to Simpson, it was the the next year. Um sorry, no, I I actually went back to Fink as a spectator and pit crew for the for the these guys that year, and I kind of got the bug and also really wanted to ride Simpson after being on Clay's tour. So um, yeah, it kind of just all came about because of that. I re I have never got to ride Simpson. I tried to do it last year, but only had one person that could do the trip with me, and it just wasn't really logistically doable. But um the sand is quite different on a bike, like it's yeah, it's just trying to kill you. Um the red center sand is not too bad. And actually, Simpson Desert, although I haven't ridden it, so I won't speak too much, but because it's very deep tire tracks, to some degree you're sort of just in a rail and you just go for it. Um, but where we were training up in the big desert, it's just beach sand, and so you kind of just the bike will just go where it wants to go for 20, 30, 40 metres, and then eventually it comes back to you, but it's a very unnerving feeling, and so um, yeah. I didn't enjoy the riding, but I enjoyed the trips away, the training and the and the camaraderie of just being up in Alice Springs with like 50,000 people, the most affluent bogans you can ever imagine. And if you're running a trophy truck, you're like a million-dollar buy-in, like it's insane. Some of the companies that are up there where you have to have a company to be to be running on four wheels, and then just a bunch of legendary backyarders in all the bike categories, because you know, for 25 grand you can be on almost as good a dirt bike as you can get.

Burso 1:10:08

So yeah. The um what's like what's the appeal? Is it literally literally just the race? Because it's not like it's widely publicised and stuff like that.

Almo 1:10:18

Like the There's almost no prize money. I think it's just one of those great trips people have just become loyal to. Um, I think originally it was like a bit of a pub to pub type thing that started, and then it just developed once you know bikes became pretty good through the 70s, 80s, 90s, it turned into a real like rough desert race. And it's rough, like it each leg says two days, took me four and a half hours. In fact, the cutoff is four and a half, and I came in in four hours, 29 minutes on day one. I knew how close I was and I I could not go any faster. But there's not a minute, there's not ten meters in that whole distance where you can rest because you just get thrown off. So, of all the kind of crazy, stupid physical testings and things that we've done over the years, this was by far the most brutal physical thing I've ever done. And then you have to turn around the next day and go back. And I very nearly part of me wished I was four hours and thirty-one minutes, so it would have been cut for day two. Yeah. But uh, like anything, once you've crossed the marathon finish line, it was a great feeling to yeah, to go to that presentation and just have that night with all the people that come up to support us.

Burso 1:11:35

So they have a list of how many finishes they're done. Like there wouldn't be that many, surely.

Almo 1:11:41

Yeah, I'm not sure. Certainly there'd be a quarter of the field, at least, that don't get back for mechanical or time reasons each year. But uh I'm not sure. This year may well be the last one ever. They haven't said that officially, but as things go with permits and insurance and that, this is the 50th um think this year, so all rumours are that they've tried to just keep breath in it to the 50th, and this will be it. Where with the prices of diesel, it might be a bit of a fizz of this year anyway. But um we'll see.

Burso 1:12:11

The um it is funny being in part of the bureaucracy now, seeing how it works, and just oh, we've got all these events, and they're like, Oh, it's getting more and more expensive, we're not making that much money anymore, and this and that, and we're like, we're telling them off for it. And then you realise that the reason they're not they're not making money is because of us. Yeah, like because we've made it permits and we've made too many rules and the insurance is too heavy and traffic management plans and yeah, that's the biggest massive cost. Yeah, um, and it's just bizarre that we've just put all this all this red tape up everywhere and then got confused that people can't do stuff anymore. And then we wonder why everyone's isolated and lonely when we don't hold events. Like the it's just it's funny that the people who are trying to allegedly trying to fix these things and make them better are the literally the ones causing the problems. Um, you know, like people like well it was working beforehand, like, well, Womba hasn't died, and you're like, that's probably because it's racing across a desert in stupid heat, doing whatever, like you know that going into it.

Almo 1:13:07

Um and it's it's um and the reason it's lasted so long is a credit to the Alice Bringshire and Council because they fully support it to the degree that they even can these days, but it's their biggest revenue turner of the year, so you know it's it's vitally important to them. Um, and so I think they've made every accommodation they can, which most urban councils just don't have to do anymore, so they don't, I guess.

Dirtbikes Finke And Red Tape

Burso 1:13:34

Well, yeah, I mean the other problem with that is it's like the state and federal laws, and like every one of them puts on a different layer of tape, and then the insurance company is like, well, to make up for that, we're gonna charge you more in insurance to do this and do that. Um, and it's funny because that's a lot of the time why people travel. Like you go to Turkey and New Zealand, and I mean New Zealand now has probably got a lot of red tape too, but you used to go to New Zealand, it was just loose. Yeah. Now you'd be doing all sorts of adventure sports because you could. Um, you know, and then people go to Bali and they jump on those little parasil stuff, and it like I mean eventually somebody falls. And you're like, well, that's why it cost you 30 bucks, not 180 like it does over here. Um, you know, like it's just the risk assessment you have to do yourself. But we've just in Australia we've just cut it away. It's like, no, you can't do your own risk assessment anymore. Um it's just yeah, it's just nuts that we've handled any accountability off to the government um and then got upset that they taxed us 45 times. And you're like it's a self-fulfilling, like it's a self-licking ice cream, basically. Yeah. Um, you know, like we we we make the problem and then we take less care about ourselves because you're like, oh well, everything's super safe now, and then somebody else gets hurt because you're so blasé about life, and then next minute you've got to fix that, and it just now you're just like, you know what, don't leave your house. Safer, safer to just never leave your home. Um yeah, it's just bizarre. What is uh what do you have to then? What are you gonna do now?

Almo 1:14:58

Well, uh as we prophesise with Jared Gandry, I did end up homeless for just over one year.

Burso 1:15:05

Um it's in a care carnival, you're in a decent yeah, I'll I'll qualify that.

Almo 1:15:09

I was not sleeping rough on the streets. I had a had a little pod caravan, but um yeah, that was interesting. It was done out of necessity by being um pensioned out of the police and the massive sort of income drop that comes with that. So had to sell a house very bitterly and um decided to hit the road for a while to sort of balance out all that life and finances and stuff like that. So first few months were good, had a lot of things planned and went to think and that sort of thing. And then when the reality of being a van lifer hits, it's a pretty lonely, boring life. And other people in vans didn't want to hang around and chat like I sort of thought they would. That's weird. Yeah, I was quite surprised. Caravan parks, they will, especially all the old boys who want to come over and ask what your GVM tow rating and stuff is. But yeah, actual van life people parked up at beach car parks. I really just got nothing out of them, which which surprised me. Um, I thought that was going to be quite a social sort of uh little scene. But um, yeah, just earlier February this year, finally bought a property again out in the country, and so really settling into that quieter life. And um, I think I don't suggest it to everybody, and it certainly was easier without having a family, but that year on the road probably really grounded and reset me.

Burso 1:16:29

Are you homesteading? Are you like making your own food and all that sort of stuff as well?

Almo 1:16:32

Like, yeah, getting into it for sure, be um trying to grow quite a lot of veggies. I inherited a beehive there, which uh unexpectedly has been a very profound experience. If you've never been over a beehive with a bee suit and been covered in 20,000 bees, I think that we should form like a bee therapy um type treatment. It was absolutely staggering experience. And um a first responder friend who who we call the bee master um helped me out and loaned me a suit. And I just think it's so strange, but the gift that he gave by showing me how to open up a beehive, and you actually have to do a fair bit of maintenance. Oh, really? It's a very symbiotic relationship where one needs sort of each other to to really thrive. And um, yeah, so to have a bit of property, the joy of you know, these bees and mowing the lawn on a ride and mower and things like that, the the simplest, dumbest things can be the best. Ride on mower is everybody's dream, yeah, yeah. Um especially having enough land to be able to have a ride and mower. Correct, yeah. So yeah, I think the year on the road has really made me appreciate that and sort of the quieter life, and just already I've got deeper connections in this small rural town than I ever had in an apartment block in Richmond or something where you wouldn't even know who was in the next apartment. People within a week were you know offering to loan me um hydraulic log splitters and excavators and things like that. And I you know, you think even trading mates wouldn't loan you a drop saw sort of thing. So yeah, um, yeah, really landed well there, thankfully, finally.

Burso 1:18:12

Um with the like with the bees and stuff though, like you you find that you can build like and you make a whole bunch of like food and stuff, like it's great to have bees.

Almo 1:18:21

A lot of honey comes from them, but there's a lot of flow on how they'll pollinate your other plants, they're very good for your vegetable garden, um, very important for our ecosystem as a whole. Um, and you can have them in the suburbs as well. There's some great hives that are quite easy to use these days.

Burso 1:18:41

Um over the road from where like where we're parked at the moment. That'd be an amazing spot, I reckon, to have a beehive because it's not close, it's not that close that people need to worry about it.

Almo 1:18:51

Um a honey bee will travel up to 10 kilometres each day to find pollen. So it actually doesn't really matter where you live, they will find something. Yeah, right. And some of the most flavoursome honey apparently comes from suburbs because the density of different flowers and plants in all people's gardens are just everywhere.

Burso 1:19:08

So I don't know when I turned into a bit of a honey nerd, but like um I went to some farmer's market and there was a bunch of different honeys there, and it was bizarre that they taste so different. Because I never got into wine or anything else. Uh dark chocolate and honey has been like a thing that I'm quite happy to be a connoisseur of.

Almo 1:19:25

I think I'm learning like all things, and I'm happy to sound like an idiot saying this, but when you have real vegetables that someone's grown in their backyard or honey that hasn't been homogenized, like our milk, they are unbelievably tasty. Um, so yeah, I'm just really buying into that sort of thing at the moment. Um, we've always sort of hunted with friends with rifles, but um, yeah, I think the pursuit of a bow hunt um life, which again, I'm on the fringe of of the Otway Ranges in Victoria. So my commute to be on the dirt bike or to get out with a bow, acknowledging how hard it is to um to get an animal or a deer with a bow, but I think just those um pursuits of things that are that lifestyle um of that region will be very enjoyable.

Burso 1:20:15

Have you touched base with Carolina about the bows?

Almo 1:20:18

Yeah, not not recently, but we talked about it, yeah. So I'll try to get out with him. It'd be funny watching a vegan come out with you. Ethical vegan. Well, that was the thing's hunted meat.

Burso 1:20:28

Yeah, he was like, I'm not, I'm not killing like if I haven't killed it, I'm not eating it.

Almo 1:20:32

It's the only vegan I've ever met who had the right reasons for not eating meat.

Burso 1:20:36

Yeah, yeah, it was good for him.

Almo 1:20:38

Um but yeah, paired with that, um, I got into the security industry over the last year as well, sort of slowly, and you know, again, that's there's all sorts of different areas of security, but why that mattered is because I got to um reconnect with some of our good teammates, some of the best people um that we'd worked with, and they gave me the return to work that our organizations had promised to, you know, they were supportive leaders, they you know just let you start slowly and and build up that incremental exposure. So um, you know, they know who they are, but I'm eternally grateful for them. Um, you know, a label that's on myself and a lot of people now is is pensioner, but they made it clear very early on. It's like we know your work history and others, it's like we just want you to be part of the team, you know, whatever degree you want to be. And so, yeah, a lot of growth came from that just being like, oh, okay, not everybody's written me off and is labeling me. And so um, I've been able to do not full-time, but to contribute to some operations and actually work on some pretty novel clients, um, get a window into some lifestyles and and private business that we you know had never um seen before and met some of the greatest people ever. And Super Swift? Uh no, no, but um, you never know. But um, yeah, not necessarily people whom you would know the names of, but you know, very successful business people um and people, you know, getting threats and that sort of thing. But yeah, that's just been amazing to have clients who want to have you around, want to go to the gym with you, things like that, you know, driving around in their cars, just having conversations. And one thing I've found with all these hyper successful people, you know, Matt Morris included, is they are just curious. So it's hard to get a question in because they just want to learn about you or the people around them, and they just seem to be absorbing everything um that's happening around them.

Van Life To Rural Reset

Burso 1:22:48

So one uh one thing that I like I'd I'd back on that as well is like now that like I have that that role in the council, I meet a bunch of people now who uh look, I would never have had access to doing anything else. Yeah, but the funny thing is how much research they do. Like I mean, and especially coming from this podcast where I did nothing about I was just like, I will find out in the interview. That's that was always my plan. Um but the um, yeah, like I'll meet people now that are like high up in KPMG, or they'll be um, you know, like they're uh like you know, they might be a mayor in their area, or they might be an investor, or they might be a developer, or whatever else it is. And just the effort that they go to to find out about you beforehand is interesting. Like I can see why these people are up there, like they they already know a bunch of stuff before they go in their room. Like they they know they know who they're talking to before they come up and talk to you. Um, I've had randoms come up and go, hey mate, I've seen you around doing this and doing that and doing whatever. And then they'll be like, Oh, that's really interesting that you used to do this in Blackhawks or whatever. And I was just like, I don't even know this black man. And he's come up and he already knows this and that, you know. Like they go and do research, they work out what they want to get from you, because that's the other problem when you're in this role. Yes, they're not coming to talk to you because they're just thinking. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, but it's interesting that they do that research. Um, and it's funny the higher up, even though you're sitting there going, Why would somebody waste time speaking to me? It's like this person's making 15 times what I'm on. But the problem is they need you to do something before they can do that. Yeah, um, so it's funny where they just go they go out of their way to try and work out how do you tick, what are you into, all that sort of stuff. And it's funny coming from the um, I know you don't know this, but I used to be a negotiator. Um but just counselor and negotiator. It's a fair resume being built here. But um but the honourable Chris Person. Oh, there's no honour in it. Um I don't know why they have honour. It's just bizarre.

Almo 1:24:44

Is that actually in your title? No, not at all. Is that just the mayor? No, no, no. Or is that just a judge?

Burso 1:24:50

No, it's uh it's like cabinet, I think. Yeah, it'll be members of the cabinet.

Almo 1:24:54

The dishonourable Chris Person.

Burso 1:24:55

Yeah, yeah, pretty much. Um but yeah, there's no honour in those people anymore. Like, you know, they're not statesmen, so I don't know why we've still got that term. But um, but yeah, it it is quite funny seeing these people who are really high up in their industry, but they go out of their way to talk to some dude who's like a part-time part-time politician. Um, you know. Just trying to get the rubbish emptied. Yeah, that's right. Um, he's like, mate, why is my footpath bloody, you know, why at the pavers level? Um but it's yeah, but like these you know, the it's funny the people that um might be on welfare will come and just abuse you for a pothole, and then these people that are making a fortune and live in a gator community will come over to you and be the most polite people ever, and it's just upside down world. Um and it's but just seeing how those people operate. Um, and I think the biggest thing I thought I took away from and like this whole podcast thing, and A is just do it, which is funny because that was really early on with Maddie that we learnt that.

Almo 1:25:53

We could have just been, oh, we're done.

Burso 1:25:55

We should have retired, should have retired on top. Um and then um, but yeah, and then just meet your heroes is probably something like I know people say don't meet your heroes because you get let down. I said, Well, I'm probably the opposite on that, because I might meet your heroes so you realize you're not that far from there. Like if you want to achieve something, go and meet the people that are doing what you want to do and realize there's no difference between them and you. Um, I mean, some of them do have some sort of weird head noise going on, which is why they're so dedicated or whatever. Like they a lot of people have their own demons that they're trying to run away from, which is why they're you know, they're trying to get away from a childhood or they're trying to do this, trying to do that. That's fine. But you'll also realise that they're not really that much different. Um that was sort of my biggest takeaway from that. But it's been uh it's been a real ride, really, going from where we started. Um, I mean, we I remember when we uh we got to like our fourth one, and you're like, hey guys, we've made it. Because you're like we're already. Yeah, you're like statistically, we're ahead of like 80% of podcasts.

Almo 1:26:55

Um there's around 60 episodes out there, I think, which is pretty crazy.

Burso 1:27:00

Yeah. Um, I mean, we've just gone through some stats before we were like 83 countries. We're massive. Our fourth biggest country is Algiers, which is what? Um, because it was Australia, America, New Zealand, Algiers, UK. Which is bizarre.

Almo 1:27:17

Very bizarre. There must be some, yeah, the algorithm sends little samples to try places.

Burso 1:27:22

I was thinking that, but then also like you look at our audience, they do hang out in the world.

Almo 1:27:26

Are we calling out our Geelong friends? No, they're a waste of time. Yeah, well, they they didn't even listen, apparently.

Burso 1:27:31

They were like the 173rd city. Yeah, like Ho Chi Minh was in front of them, you know, like Helsinki was in front of them. Like, leave us alone, Geelong. We don't care about you guys anymore.

Almo 1:27:39

Well, Hiroshima had more listens than Geelong. Yeah.

Burso 1:27:44

Yeah, that's bizarre. Um, it's probably Intel gathering, they're like, Ah, our time's come. We're a threat. Yeah, but um, yeah, just bizarre. How many different places, how many different cities. Um, and like you can see now too, like realistically, they're probably most of them are veterans. And you can just see because I actually uh thinking about Helsinki, I do actually have a mate over there. Maybe maybe that's why. Maybe it's Kim. Hello, Kim. How you go, mate? That's him. But um, you know, and then there's friends of ours working for the UN and there's friends of ours working all over the place that are uh and not even just us, like obviously we don't know everybody that's listening to us, but you know, friends with Maddie or any of these communities, like we they Go and work security in these places. So, you know, like it if you look at the dots as to where our people might be working, well they've got their VM that sort of lines up a little bit more dubious places. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Their VPN's actually trying to get them rated.

Almo 1:28:36

It's like um, and the other part we're saying, since a lot of our listener was, you know, veteran or first responder, but you know, I probably had a pretty dim view, a very jaded view of the world, certainly. But I've met so many amazing people in the real world this year, and they do exist, you know. We were in those echo chambers, as uh what would Kevin Gilmartin have said, I'm surrounded by dickheads and everyone's an asshole and all that sort of thing. But it's been a real breath of fresh air to go and work with some normal businesses and have great conversations and just see one of the young tech companies just seeing these. I call them kids, which is a bit insulting, but just in relative age, but they're just getting after it and they're so smart and they're so plugged in. And um, I just feel lucky to have been a fly on the wall and see some of their enthusiasm and you know, be in totally different environment, you know. They they look after their staff. I've observed one of the best leaders I've ever seen in all my careers is a tech CEO, and he's he's quite young, and I'd just like to observe how he uh very you know decentralized command sort of style with his team, and I just wonder like how how he he's you know acquired that skill. Um, so I would have also had that view that you had to be, you know, had to have been a soldier to be a leader or something like that. Who didn't lead? Yeah, like no, not not at all. So it's opened my mind to some of those um assumptions that we had, and um which is pretty funny because realistically we had a lot of shit leaders.

Burso 1:30:15

Oh so it's like we got more examples of bad leadership than it's like so just assuming that somebody would be a better leader because you're there is funny. Um, but there were also a lot of dudes that were on the van that should have been leaders. Oh, but they just wanted to keep doing the job. Yeah. There's heaps of guys where you're like, why aren't you gonna be a sergeant? It's like, why aren't you? You're like, well, because I want to do the job, he's like, Jiddo. And then it was almost like if you were bad at the job, you're probably more likely to get promoted. Yeah. Because everyone else wanted to keep doing it.

Almo 1:30:43

And they needed them to keep doing it as well. Well that yeah. So the yeah, sometimes the underperformers just raised, went up.

Burso 1:30:52

Well, you were less you it's funny because uh and policing's weird like that, where the most damage you can do is your intro level. So, you know, like a senior sergeant's not gonna go out there, and then I mean there are some loose senior sergeants that'll go out and do it, but they're they're all booted now anyway, because they'd actually make their own decisions and do the job. But like it's it's your junior members that go out there and they're making the calls. They're the ones that are gonna get stabbed, they're the ones that are getting to shootouts and doing whatever.

Almo 1:31:20

It's never you it's never an inspector, senior sergeant or a provisional vans always and always will be the hardest and most dangerous job in policing. And they're the newest, youngest members do it day in, day out.

Burso 1:31:31

Yeah, and they just and they rush them off as soon as they can. And then you're like, well, look, the sergeant's the last actual operational dude. And then they they skim through that.

Almo 1:31:43

No correlation.

Burso 1:31:46

No. Well, I uh I mean I got my 10-year ethical or diligent and ethical service medal. I wore that hands act day.

Almo 1:31:54

Did you? Yeah, got it out. On the on the right breast. It's a bit bit awkward when there's just one lonely medal over there.

Burso 1:31:59

Yeah, and it's just and it wasn't I was very like Napoleonic Wars, just it was just flapping around, like it's not a not a core mounted, not a core-mounted one. It's um, yeah. But um, yeah, I was like, yeah, you know what? Screw it, I'm I'm about it. Um and I do think that there is a bit of a change at the moment. Like I saw a bunch of like BRS shirts at the bar RSL. And it was funny because it's just like that's it's almost like that's a protest vote against against the government now. Um definitely. I mean it's unfortunate that there's a guy who's gonna get drawn hot like all over the coals for it.

Security Work And Better Leaders

Almo 1:32:33

You've got to wonder where, you know, where would you find an Australian in the street who would have been like, yeah, put him on trial, you know, 99 out of 100. They wouldn't care, but who who's the yeah, who who was calling for it? Like it's just bizarre.

Burso 1:32:46

Yeah. I think they also need to justify having something being that there was a terrorist attack in the meantime, whilst they put all their all their intelligence officers to go and have a look up to look after the boys rather than the people that came in. But um, yeah, just crazy times, but it's it is interesting to see, you know, it just seems to be we're getting a little bit more old school Australian again, and then um, like ideally people start playing sports and stuff again, but it's um like isolation's such a massive thing now. Um, and that's one of the things. I mean, we never did the challenges, which was disappointing. Um, but again, that came from like we weren't filming stuff, we weren't doing like we weren't doing any camera stuff, but that was also because you know, like we had current serving coppers who weren't allowed to do anything, so like we were sort of very limited with what we could actually do. Um, whereas with the with the mad dog scene going forwards, like it's gonna be more probably video centric. Um, like Sam already films pretty much anything he does. Like Sam will go out for a walk in the morning and it'll be like, hey, guess what I did today? Um and Chris has been doing like the Furfi files where he goes out and he does these things so he finds out like local heroes and stuff. He started off with a lot of um the World War I and II veterans and and stuff that happened, and then he just sort of got into history. Um so ideally we'll get him doing more of them because he's sort of he's slacked off on them whilst being very unslack on himself. Like he's lost 18 kilos, he's running like four minute 15ks now. Wow, like he's flying. Um, but yeah, so ideally we'll um yeah, Sam and Chris will be doing all more of that, and then um, like I mean I've got a room with lighting and all that sort of stuff. Eventually I'll actually just use that. Well, the idea is Chris will come, you'll sit in here, and then Sam will be up on the TV, so it'll sort of be the three of us hanging out anyway. Um the Zoom podcast, yeah, yeah, yeah, pretty much. Um, you know, and like so whether we use these mics or we use some other mics or how it's gonna go, I'm not I'm not too sure just yet. But um ideally we'll be starting that up in May. Um so there's that, and then um I know Jared's got some some things in the works. He's like he's jumping on board with some uh like proper film crews to see what he can do there, which will be fun. Um I don't know if I'm supposed to be talking about that, but it's the 15 people that listen to this will no doubt dub me in.

Almo 1:35:00

But um on the on the hero side, like and you know you horribly embarrass me in front of Matt Morris and made me quite nervous. But um uh technical difficulties, we're alright. But um there's also some people like that who are just the best people in the world, like they gave their time when they were gonna get nothing for it, and so overwhelmingly, we're just grateful at all the guests that we had that sat down, uh whether it was their first interview or their 50th, and we're just happy to have a chat and give us a chance. And I think that'll be the long-lasting um benefit, is we just got to meet some great people and have some great experiences and yeah.

Burso 1:35:42

Well, it's funny. I like I play volleyball every Wednesday, and it's great to have those lads together, but we have like when Jared comes over and we just get a bunch of us together to make reels, it's hilarious. Like the clip goes for 45 seconds, yeah. But we're here for four hours, pissing ourselves laughing with 90% of the stuff is just you can't use it. Like it's you know, like it's just we we start off, it's like Jared has a line, then everyone tries to outdo it. We write down those ones, and then people go too far, and then we go three lines past it, and then we're like, you know what, we'll go back to this area. That was actually pretty funny, and we could probably post that, but it's just it's funny seeing it going that way, and then um yeah, and then the boys are all here talking crap while Jared edits, and then Jared will put it out there, and then everyone watches it, and you can just see us everybody's watching it on their own phone, and then for the next 30 minutes, it's like, oh 1500, oh, we're up to 3,000, you know, and it's like it's funny because it doesn't mean anything to any of us, but it's hilarious to sit there and watch it, and it's like, I mean, they're Jared's views, it's Jared's business, like you know, like but I think he also gets to enjoy seeing us laugh at it, even though we're in it, and seeing what he's done with it, um, even though there was some terrible, some terrible takes by us. Um, but even just like, oh, I'll jump out of that bush. They're literally just around my house, you know, they're cut they're jumping out of the pantry, they're jumping out of the bush at the front, they're you know, like the the production quality is not amazing, but it's hilarious being part of it, and um like I like watching them now just to be like, Oh yeah, I remember when that happened to that. It's not even the real that I'm laughing at half the time, you know, it's the banter behind the scenes.

Almo 1:37:16

Um I remember before I did cut the socials, one of the most common comments with Jared was that like um physical training tracksuit that he got, the ADF one. It was like it's just there myself.

Burso 1:37:27

It's hanging up in there with the Johnny Howard and stuff.

Almo 1:37:29

It is just yeah, like some of the props when you know you just yourselves or you're unshaven and that, but you use a lot of the military and police props, or like it just made it, yeah.

Burso 1:37:38

Well, there's the cat the hats up there, the Johnny Howard jackets in there, the old Samrod PTI jacket. He left it here and went up. That's mine now. Yeah, right. But it um it's been in more reels than Sam has now, which is great. Um, but now I've got like a I've got an SES t-shirt, I've got a CFA helmet. It's just funny now the stuff that appears because obviously Jared's always on the road. He doesn't even have a house anymore. Yeah, like he's just he's just traveling around. So now we get stuff sent to us. We've got a navy um jacket, we've got a Air Force one, um, and then there was a closing down costume store, which is why we've got the we've got the old Cerberus outfit and all sorts of shit. So it only fits like two people though. It's the tiniest little outfit. Um, and it's painful for people to get into. But um, yeah, like it's just been funny to see the lads get together. Then we did one at the Lara RSL, and then they got involved, and now Lara RSL and Orlane RSL are getting along, Dry Style are getting involved, um, Hawthorne RSL come down here. Like it's really showing and it's bringing it's actually using the internet for social stuff, and it's bringing people closer together again. By you know, like if Jared's at the Hawthorne and then he's at the Lara one, and then he's up in you know Broadbeach or wherever he is, or it can be the Townsville one or whatever, and you know, everybody's so much closer again then, and then like the the Lara RSL one was interesting because you had all these other RSLs commenting on there, um, and they were RSLs from around the country, and then WIA had their RSL opening and they showed it as the opener, you know, like it's just it's it's funny where it's going, you know. Um so that like that was that was one of the that was one of the best RSLs going around because the CEO of RSL Australia emailed us and he's like, How do we get more of these? And we thought he just meant he wanted us to actually do some more about RSLs, and then we're like, What do you what do you mean? It turns out he just wanted us to send him links because he's he just doesn't know how to use the internet, but um, but like he loved him, he was all about it. So it was really funny seeing. I don't know if we're the Republic or back it, there's a new one now anyway, but um yeah, it was just funny to see how far it would go and how many people got involved. And then obviously Jared did he's doing the tour de force where he was travelling around doing that. Um so it's like I mean his first to market, but also I haven't seen any of the other any other veterans doing what he's doing. Um I I mean, no doubt there's some trying, but Jared's like, you know, he he's got around run army, he's been a run army ambassador, and he's doing all these sorts of things. So there's there's definitely lads now that are doing stuff, and it wouldn't surprise me if Jared goes and he appears on like a Peter Hellier show or something else. Like eventually, I dare say he'll turn up because he works a crowd really well. Um he's he's got great proud crowd presence, he's got he's great at being like at improv and and those sorts of things. Um so it it it wouldn't surprise me if he does eventually turn up and do something cool soon. But yeah, and I know he's going to the Edinburgh Um Comedy Festival, that'll be this year. Amazing. Um yeah, and then like and he he's already he's already reached out to like Mandatory Fun Day and some other people, like he talks to them as well. Like it's it's crazy how how much just doing these sorts of things, if you do them, and then you know you get a bit of airtime on it, other people will see that and then they'll be. We had vet TV copied a sorting hat thing. So we did we did the sorting hat, and then we did two more of them, and then Veteran TV had a collab with somebody doing a doing a sorting hat. And I was just like, if that's not flattery, I don't know what it is. And it's like there's just it's literally just where we put the it's like Harry Potter, where you put a hat on and tells you what house you're going to, like Gryffindor or whatever that thing is, and then but we just had it where you put the sorting hat on, and you're just like, oh Navy, etc.

Speaker 3 1:41:26

Because you were yeah, yo.

Gratitude Stats And Final Sign Off

Burso 1:41:28

Um but um yeah, it was hilarious just how many people got around it. Um but yeah, so I just I just don't know where it's gonna go. Like it's just consistently getting large views to do stuff now in these collaboration ones, which is just amazing to see what's been happening.

Almo 1:41:46

Well, it's also the epitome of what Jared told us is comedy is two truths with a link that nobody's noticed before. Yeah. And so you're the reels are offering people almost like a mirror to their service experience and getting a laugh out of it. So it's not shocked me at all that they've crushed.

Burso 1:42:06

Well, it also shows that like we don't grow up. It's the other thing like we get out and we're still the same, we're still the same Larry, it's just pretending. Yeah, like there's mates of mine now that are like pretty high up in like corporate gigs and stuff, and they just say unhinged stuff on emails to other mates of theirs, and then you'll be like, watch this email, and then he sends one out, and it's just like, Yeah, look, I'd love to uh just do this and do that, and then we'll circle back and we'll you know, we'll go fly quiet and then we'll do this, like just all the corporate jargon, and they put it out there, and you're just like that's not him, and then you're just like everyone else that's listening to it is also lying, like nobody's nobody's being legit, and then you just you can come to the reels and you just piss yourself laughing, and you're just like they're 45-year-old dudes that just are still 16, you know, but then there's 70-year-old dudes watching it who piss themselves laughing and they're still 16, so it's just a yeah, it's just been a wild ride, this whole thing, really.

Almo 1:42:58

I hope it uh continues well for you in the new iterations, and uh you might have to split the listener between both.

Burso 1:43:08

Well, yeah, so I mean, and I've been talking to my mate Claude and chat and Manus and every other artificial intelligence. Yeah, basically. And um, you know, like so one of them will be more like for LinkedIn and stuff like that, which seems to be getting funny anyway now because there's a bunch of weird stuff happening on LinkedIn. Like before it was just grown-ups having grown-up conversations and they'd have arguments online, but they'd actually put references in there, which I was just like, dude, this is very grown-up. Whereas now they're starting to post weird videos, like it's Facebook again. Um, but so it's probably more for that where we'll be talking about grown-ups and stuff. And then the other one will be sort of more yeah, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook groups where we'll just be taking the piss and doing whatever. I'd actually be keen to do like a live as well, which would be funny, see how that goes and just see. You know, because if we're actually able to if it does all right, then maybe the boys will be able to commit to doing like one Wednesday a month or whatever else it is where we do a live. Um, but we'll see, we'll see what happens. But um, yeah, like I'm not not really trying to put any pressure on it, but I am interested to see how algorithms and stuff work. Because we I mean we got nearly 18,000 downloads for this, and it was never advertised. You know, we didn't do an advert we didn't do an advertisement.

Almo 1:44:24

Um, which is very helpful, but yeah, it's pretty staggering, and probably that's where some of the complex came from.

Burso 1:44:31

Yeah, I I think that was the thing. Like it just it seemed to resonate with a lot of people, and I had people recognise my voice, not me, because obviously we're not on here. So I was in Adelaide and people came over and they're like, I've what do I know you? I was like, What do you mean? He goes, I feel like I've heard you before. And I was like, Yep. Uh maybe. Have you done listen to Maddie Morris? And they're like, Yes, that's where it is. You know, it's like, whereas now I get people, they're like, Did we work together? Because they've seen my face. And I was like, Do you watch Jared's reels? He's like, uh, yeah. Whereas they all just think I've worked there.

Almo 1:45:01

Would your Zero Limits had 40,000 listens or something?

Burso 1:45:05

Yeah, last time I asked him, it was like 38 and a half. So I don't know now. Might have gone backwards if you can. And Jared's get hundreds of thousands. I don't know, maybe. Yeah, yeah. I mean, oh, his reels, yeah. Yeah, like nuts. It's just bizarre. It's crazy the reach of social media. But like, I mean, the crowd too, like, they're not really. I haven't seen any real negative stuff on there. We had one on like a vintage one. We did like an Antics Roadshow thing, and some dude goes like Rod in Hell or something. We were like, Whoa, what? Oh, it's hilarious. I was like, of all the reels to get upset over, that was just the most bizarre. Like, Jared, it's a crayon. Well, you know, like what are we what are we getting that worked out for? Um, but yeah, I think that's about it, man.

Almo 1:45:49

Yeah. Well, we'll look forward to watching what you guys do next. Yeah. And uh watch out for the socials to see uh where Councillor Burston pivots to.

Burso 1:45:59

You had to throw it in, didn't you? The um yeah, I was just gonna say it's uh all the ones that I that we did really well at was the ones that you were in. Like after that, people were interested in it, but people really seemed to like the the feedback I always got was we loved having Al on because he was the one everyone associated with. And then they're like, and it was just funny watching you take the piss out of him, even though he was like you were actually the show. I was just the dude chirping from the side. Um, so that was uh that was a real pleasure, and I really enjoy still listening to like the start ones where we were like we're going out to The Simpson, or you know, like when we it was you, me and Fedora at the start, we were like, Yeah, we're gonna feel Rod Labour and we're gonna do this and do that. I was like, Oi boys, put out some really outlandish stuff, and then and then yeah, so it was just it was interesting, and then you know, seeing Jared and some other people now that were on like three or five thousand followers who are now also 40,000, and had we have done video and committed and done like it'd be interesting to see where we were. Like we actively tried to be the least the least followed thing going, and we still got you know 18,000 listens um all over the place. So I think even as much as we tried to basically be a failure, it still did so well, and we got to meet so many people. Um and I love I mean, even like I'll take I'll probably take the impossible one down because I'm paying for it every month, and then I'll probably re-upload them in different because there's two different styles. Yeah. So I'll probably upload them again. But realistically, I love listening to them. Like I've downloaded them all. So like we can just give them to you. But um yeah, just been it's been a pleasure and thanks very much for coming back again.

Almo 1:47:40

Thanks for having me back. Sorry I bowed on you. Well, I mean I'm glad you've kept doing stuff and that you've got plans to to keep going now.

Burso 1:47:51

Well, yeah, I guess that's about it. I might just do this one more time.

Almo 1:47:59

Thanks for listening.

Burso 1:48:00

But then we'll also do Maddie afterwards. Okay, bye.

Almo 1:48:02

Bye.