Episode 53: Kara Robinson — Laughter, Service & Shellshocked Comedy

pisode Name

Episode 53: Kara Robinson — Laughter, Service & Shellshocked Comedy

Buzzsprout Description

What happens when comedy becomes more than just a laugh?

In Episode 53 of Who Is Your Hero, Buzz sits down with Kara Robinson — Brisbane comedian, community-minded storyteller, and a driving force behind Shellshocked Comedy, a project helping veterans and their families reconnect through humour, honesty, and shared experience.

This is a powerful conversation about far more than stand-up.

Kara opens up about her early life in Papua New Guinea, the contrast of growing up around violence and then adjusting to Australia, and how humour can become both a coping mechanism and a bridge between pain and healing.

The episode explores:

•  Kara’s path into comedy during Covid 
•  Why veteran humour is so raw, dark, and real 
•  The moment she realised comedy could help veterans open up 
•  The growth of Shellshocked Comedy
•  Why partners and families of veterans need support too 
•  Breaking trauma cycles and building a better future 
•  How laughter can make people feel seen, safe, and not alone 

This is a raw, honest, and at times hilarious chat about service, resilience, mental health, healing, and the power of human connection.

Big plug for Kara’s upcoming Brisbane show:

Spirit of Service

A collaboration between Dog Tag Whiskey and Shellshocked Comedy
🔥 Headlined by Nick Cody
📅 23rd April
🕕 Doors open 6pm
📍 Hoppers Brewing Co, Albion

Tickets:

Find Kara on Instagram: @kararobinsoncomedian
Or search: Spirit of Service Brisbane on Eventbrite

If this episode means something to you, share it with someone who needs it.

Because sometimes healing doesn’t begin with a big speech…

Sometimes it starts with a laugh.

Who Is Your Hero — real stories, real people, real resilience.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 1:09

Hello legends and welcome back to the Who Is Your Hero podcast. Now, if you're new here, this show is about one simple idea everyday heroes. Not the ones on the movie posters, not the ones the media tells us about, but the real ones. The people have lived a life, faced a few battles, and found a way to turn their experiences into something that helps others. And today's guest is a brilliant example of that. Our guest today is Cara Robinson, a comedian based in Brisbane who has taken the stage with a mission that goes far beyond just getting a laugh. Cara has been involved with supporting the veteran community, and through comedy, she's helping people do something that doesn't always come easy after service. Talk, laugh, and reconnect. Because anyone who has spent time around soldiers knows something important. The humor is different, it's raw, it's dark, and it's sometimes outrageous. But often the thing that keeps people going when the world gets heavy. Kara has helped turn that humour into something power through projects like a shell-shocked comedy, bringing veterans together through storytelling and laughter. Today we're going to explore her journey into comedy, the power of humour in difficult places, the stories behind the veterans she works with, and why sometimes the biggest healing happens through laughter. And of course, we'll finish the episode with a question on this show is built on who is your hero? So grab a coffee or a beer if it's that time of the day and enjoy this conversation with Cara Robinson. Welcome to Who is Your Hero, Cara?

SPEAKER_00 2:47

Oh, thank yeah. Thanks so much for having me. It's great to be here.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

Yeah, as as we discussed and in the lead up, uh, I I don't look for uh superstars, and I'm not saying you're not a superstar, of course, but um I look for just everyday people that are doing some something different for, I suppose, humanity, you know, as uh as I discussed, I looked, I looked death in the eye about nine months ago and decided, well, let's get the old yarn happening again rather than the texting and all that sort of stuff, and uh see if we can um, you know, you're helping the veteran side of things and see if I can get the everyday person that's contemplating something silly to stay another day.

SPEAKER_00 3:24

Awesome. Well thanks for having me. Excited to be here.

SPEAKER_01 3:27

Let's start at the beginning. I'll go back early in your life and then we'll as it goes on, we'll get to the the uh shell shot comedy and then we'll get to how we can find you and all that. Where did your story uh uh begin, Carl? What sort of kid were you growing up?

SPEAKER_00 3:41

Um I was a pretty quiet kid. Uh the first half of childhood, I was actually in Papua New Guinea. Um, up in Garoka.

SPEAKER_01 3:49

Oh wow. I've been up there.

SPEAKER_00 3:54

Hi, what do you think of it?

SPEAKER_01 3:56

Um Well, a a couple of the superintendents I had when I was working in New Guinea were from Garoka, and they took me up there. Um they come and come and meet my uh chiefs and all that, and I'm going, oh yeah. And I went up there and I'm glad I had uh a couple of blokes that were related to the chief, that's all I could say. How did it go for a um a a white Anglo-Saxon lady up there?

SPEAKER_00 4:19

Yeah, well, um obviously I was a child, but uh we were in a compound, so that's all really fenced off, barbed wire. There's everyone's got German shepherds, plus there's some on patrol and there's people with machine guns guarding it. Um so we were protected, but obviously moving back and forth around places, you're not always protected, you know. You've got to drive and you've got to move from spot to spot. Uh so yeah, it was a pretty dangerous place. It was building up with some civil unrest as well, which um escalated into a near coup. So there was a bit of I think it was um martial law at some point and curfews and everything at 6 pm. So if you were out after 6 pm, you were shot. Well that was it. That was it. There's no yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:08

Well, I did hear a story where I I was over there five years as I discussed, but I was in West New Britain uh in but it put a lot of people associate with Rabaul, like just cause just because the tourist ships go there. So I was right in the middle in uh a little town called Biella and it was tribal. Yeah. Even even 2017 to 2020, it was tribal. I mean, I did I had the choice of a compound, but I didn't stay in one. Um, I thought, you know, I've got to experience life here, and it was so empowering to do it because I enabled with the trust in the nationals, and they I was teaching, so um, I was offering something rather than taking something off them. Yeah. And I just got the experiences of of really going into the tribal element of it. It was it's it's fantastic. And what age was that with that you were there?

SPEAKER_00 6:00

So it was just all early childhood up to about age six or seven or so.

SPEAKER_01 6:05

Wow. Yeah. So do you reckon that shaped shaped you a lot? Did you you you've hung around with a lot of the national kids, or were they throughout it? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:13

That's the tribe stuff too. Definitely up in the Highlands, there's a few tribes around. We were the Garoka mudmen, uh, or I think it's a Saro mudmen. Um that was the name of the tribe, and they use mud. So they make big masks out of clay. Um, take off, like they don't wear clothes that much, and cover yourself in mud and put these long fingernails on, and that was the uh the way they looked when they did battle tribal stuff. Um I would say uh a few things. The people are extremely nice, like really lovely with and the family values are huge. So I probably got the best of it being a little kid because they really look after little children. Um, you know, it's a village. It's literally, you know how they say it takes a village, it's actually a village. So um it's got all the all the women helping, and um I liked that part. It made me sort of um the Western culture's not very affectionate with one another. So um I I find that sometimes a bit weird. It feels very almost like people are being they're not being rude, people are just being who they are and what they were raised to be. So it's all relative, but it feels rude sometimes to me. I'm like, why aren't we all, you know, all happy and laughing and hugging and all that. Um and uh also just being around the violence stuff. So when we did see that, um, it just made me that's what I thought the world was, so there's no other reference. Um so when I came to Australia, I just was so shocked at how people live and the safety and ability to walk around a street with no worries. Um some parts still like I don't wear jewellery because I just that's normally a target that you'd get targeted, things like that. I've got little habits that I still keep. Um if people leave electronics out, this is some a real bad habit I have because I do it subconsciously, I'll hide it. But I'm doing it so automatic that I forget. So people will come up and be like, where'd my phone go? And I'm like, Oh, I must have hid, I don't know, I've hidden it somewhere. It's just out of sight somewhere. You just need to find it. Um but yeah, I I thought it was great. Uh lots of great stories. Um, didn't really understand violence and the nature of uh finality of deaf and things. So even I did get shot at and stuff, but as a kid I didn't really know that what that meant.

SPEAKER_01 8:22

That would have had a bit of a bit of fun, maybe.

SPEAKER_00 8:25

Yeah, seemed high.

SPEAKER_01 8:27

Was hu was humor always part of your personality, you know, like at a young age or Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:33

Um I'm like pretty quiet, but um humor. So I think humour people who probably go on to become a comedian successfully, which I'm not saying I'm successful, but definitely some of the other ones, I'd say humour's almost a trauma response. So you may have taken it on the a lot of comedians are the youngest in the family. So it may have been your a role in some way, uh, to you know, when things were stressful or there was conflict in the house, to make everyone laugh.

SPEAKER_01 9:04

I'm the youngest of six, but I don't think my jokes are that funny, but I certainly try it.

SPEAKER_00 9:10

Yeah, well, even if you're attempting it, when everyone's tense with conflict, it can just make everyone feel a bit better.

SPEAKER_01 9:17

Do you remember the first time you uh stepped up on stage to do stand-up?

SPEAKER_00 9:22

Yeah, yeah. Um so during COVID, uh, I think as I was saying, it was it's a trauma response. So I was online just doing a lot of jokes and stuff. Everyone was very anxious and tense. So it was um probably I, you know, because I'm shy, I'm not sure if I would have gotten up on stage if I didn't get a huge push like that. So when I did that, it got the attention of some famous comedians in the world who s would send me a private message and go, Hey, that's really funny. You should um you should pursue comedy.

SPEAKER_01 9:51

So this suddenly started in in lockdown.

SPEAKER_00 9:53

Yeah, yeah. And I did I didn't go on stage then because of COVID, but once it sort of started wrapping up, then I gave it a go.

SPEAKER_01 10:02

So, like on stage stand-up, I've done facilitation, I've coached a lot of footy, and I still remember the first day uh coaching AFL that I um had the whole club around me. I go, I'm there about to talk and prepared. And I go, what the what the hell am I doing here?

SPEAKER_00 10:20

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

Did you have that feeling?

SPEAKER_00 10:24

Yeah, I I still don't like talking on stage.

SPEAKER_01 10:27

It's how do you do it? Does the ultra ego jump in or something?

SPEAKER_00 10:31

Um, yeah, sort of pretending you're a character can help. But I just try to, I don't know, just I suppose what are we worried about? So when we're on stage, I think um our subconscious is looking for social danger, which we can interpret. I think it has the same effect on our parasympathetic nervous system as like physical danger. So there's a bit inside you that might be um trying to say you're in danger. So you just need to do that logic rationalizing, being like, but I'm not, you know, and I'm safe and I'm fine, and then bring it back. And uh also if you know what you're saying, you rehearse it a bit, you just do it like a script.

SPEAKER_01 11:06

And obviously rely on a bit of uh the crowd participation if they start getting into you.

SPEAKER_00 11:11

Yeah, yeah, if they're hopefully they're doing it in a positive way, which it's good they're on age. So uh a lot of the time they they do it and you think of a good response and you you've messed that one up, but then the next time they're likely to yell out the same thing, so you've got a good response the next time.

SPEAKER_01 11:26

Let's get into the uh military and veteran connections. You've uh closely you've become closely connected with the the veteran community. What what first um drew you toward that space?

SPEAKER_00 11:38

Well, um I was doing comedy up in Cannes. This is early in the career, so I wasn't really that funny. Uh I was just at an open mic night, and I did a joke that had something to do with the military in it, just a quick one. Uh then during the break, this uh man came up to me. He was a bit elderly, um, and he told me he was a Vietnam veteran. And then he told me a story, and it was it was really bad. It was a horrific, horrible story, um, which I didn't really have time to unpack in the five-minute break. But I was like, yeah, I'm really sorry that happened. Um, you know, I've heard some of these stories before, sort of like that. But when I looked over his family, we're all like their jaws were open. It was grandkids, you know, kids, sort of, I assume. And they were all shocked. And I said, Oh, what's what why are you reacting like that? And they said, He is never talking about the he's never spoken about the war ever. This isn't the first time we're hearing of it as well. And I was like, Wow, that is really powerful. Um, and then I thought we um we should do something for veterans because if one not funny joke, it was probably 30 seconds of talk can cause that, uh, and make them feel seen and make them feel heard and uh how it feels safe, I guess, to express something that they have either not felt safe to express or felt like they shouldn't for some reason, whether they're protecting their family, whatever reason it is, um, but they were able to. Uh, what else can we do? Um, and there were a few other comedians who had served, so we started uniting and got together. So it was just meant to be fun at um the start, plus um helpful to the veteran community, which uh, as you probably have seen in the news, the suicide rate is incredibly high. So that was also on our minds. Uh, we have all lost people and have it's been a while, like it's been 10, 20 years for some people, and it's still going. So we're like, what can we do to help your ability?

SPEAKER_01 13:30

We're not really well that educated of the questions we ask people, and I'd love to do more in that that space. And I see where you're doing it, you're on a stage getting it with humour, dropping the big lines with laughter, which is enabling them to come out. I get it.

SPEAKER_00 13:45

Yeah, sure. Yeah, no, well it's great where people open up to you, obviously sensing a genuineness and uh that you probably have, you know, displayed vulnerability first so they feel it safe that they can as well. Which is not even not easy to do because you're the one that has to take the first step.

SPEAKER_01 14:00

Yeah, um, I think that's I don't know, in my nature, and I've always I've you know, I said to my dad and I've said to my partner, go, what the have I got a target on my head? So I meet someone for two minutes and they're telling me their life story. So it is, it's it's vulnerable, and I think more people need to relax, get in the present. Life's pretty good, eh? Right, Brisbane, listen up. If you want a proper night out, not the we'll see how we feel type. This is it. One night, one room, big laughs. You've got Nick Cody headlining at Cara Robertson hosting, April 23rd, doors open, 6 pm, Hoppers Crossing Brewery, Albion. And this is not your quiet little comedy night. This is loud roar and full send comedy. The kind where you laugh hard, forget everything else, and walk here going, that was bloody unreal. Plus, you get dog tag, whiskey involved, the show shot comedy crew, and a room full of legends ready for a big one. Now tickets, don't stuff this up. Jump on Instagram, Cara Robertson Comedian, the links in the bio, or search Spirit of Brisbane on Event Friday. That's it, no excuses. Grab your mate, lock it in, because this one's got sellout written all over. And Brisbane, don't be the person hearing about it the next day, be there. Tell them buzz center.

SPEAKER_00 15:34

Yeah, yeah, definitely. That's what I was talking about with the Papua New Guinea thing. Obviously, we're not saying their society's perfect at all, but they do have more of an openness. And then you see the the Western culture, and particularly men, very closed off and very reluctant to speak at all.

SPEAKER_01 15:50

Yeah, and you see the we're talking these days about masculinity and femininity, uh femininity and the and and getting those back to an even balance again. And there is lots and lots of laughter. So for people that haven't spent time around veterans, what's the human like in those circles?

SPEAKER_00 16:08

Um, it's very dark. Um to the point where when I first started doing comedy, um, I thought it was very toned down, and people were like, that's really dark. And I'm like, is it? I didn't even know it was that bad. But um Yeah, quite dark, but uh very sometimes it's a bit we all tease each other a lot, so um, but that's affection.

SPEAKER_01 16:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:29

So if you call someone a name, it usually means you like them, you know, that sort of thing. Uh yeah, a little bit like that. And then um, you know, just being silly, I think. It can get a bit out of hand, so we try and rein it in. The show shouldn't be humiliating anyone or hurting anyone, it should be um, you know, bringing people together.

SPEAKER_01 16:48

Yeah, I think we got over the next question. What what do you think humour plays such a big role in coping with difficult experiences, a bit like what I'm doing, what you're doing, you're uh ex exuber expelling it from them with humour, like that story you just told earlier. And I got goosebumps when you uh said that, because I've got an uncle that's Vietnam veteran. Yeah, right. And uh yeah he's alcoholic and trying his best and he's still alive, but he's told us nothing.

SPEAKER_00 17:15

Yeah, okay, right.

SPEAKER_01 17:16

Just and you just think, what what are you h what what's sitting inside you, mate? Just you know but uh it's it's exactly what you're working on there. Um have you had moments in shows when when someone's come up and shared you've you've just talked about the exfection. How how often does this happen? Like they come up and share something really powerful with you?

SPEAKER_00 17:39

Um, every now and then, and usually you're not expecting it, so kind of nowhere, and a lot of the time just not at the show. People might message me or talk to me. Um but I have done quite a lot of sort of interventions for people as well, which I'm not trained to do, and I don't know how to do them. I usually try and pass them on to the correct person. Um the ones that have been happening because of the comedy, so this is new to me, isn't actually the veteran themselves, but it's a wife or a child. And um these are people I hadn't really met in the community before, and the show's just it's for them just as much. And so I've been hearing a lot of stories from a lot of wives, and that's been um great to have them talking because I think they're almost can feel invisible in the whole thing.

SPEAKER_01 18:26

Absolutely, and I'd love to promote as you say that on on this show and been talking to the the veterans and people that have got themselves out of drug addiction or something like that, ex-defence, or ex anyone that's had uh res resilience in their life. We often forget the person that's stuck beside them.

SPEAKER_00 18:47

Yeah, yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 18:48

Yeah. So it's it's a great point that and that's that's uh awesome news that you're getting a lot of um partners and that type of thing reaching out to you saying, Thank you, I'd like to get more of them on the show, actually. It'd be great to hear their version of events and they must be holding a fair bit uh inside them. So you talked about you're starting with uh during COVID just on online sort of stuff. So what really inspired the creation of shell-shocked comedy?

SPEAKER_00 19:19

Um well, I guess that that story I told you, but um it has a store it's developed over a few years. So uh the co-producer I do it with um is named Michael Albrecht, he's an Afghan vet. So it was just originally meant to be fun, um, and we did it at the sit-down comedy club. But what we didn't think was we didn't realize the veterans are rightfully quite I don't know, paranoid's not the right word, but guarded with the space because there's money in it. There's uh the Department of Veteran Affairs giving out, you know, medical things and stuff, so they need to guard that. So it took a little while to get trust. So the first one, um, you know, it went pretty well. And then after that, it started to get sold out. So we sort of had to prove it first. We were turned down by a lot of people, you know, even if we just wanted to put a poster in an RS cell, they're like, no, we don't want that in here. And you can imagine why we've come in here with comedy about a war. Like that, of course they're gonna be guarded about that. They don't know what we're gonna do. Um, we could be absolute idiots who are just gonna, you know, do something that's not not very good. Um, so after that, um, it started to uh get bigger, and then last year was the big year where it sort of had been proven now that it was helpful, that we had the right intentions, um, you know, we weren't doing it to whatever uh, you know, things people think you're doing it for money or to build your own profile in a big way. Uh and we could see it really was helping people to the point where um, you know, the government and everything are starting to say, yeah, you're doing well. And not that they're, you know, we're not affiliated with the government, but um, we're not getting turned down by everyone anymore. Um and people seem to have a really good time, sort of said it was the you know, event of the season. I think because uh because of the comedy removing a lot of the corporate rules.

SPEAKER_01 21:00

Um there are moments in these things where you can see the room change when they realise they're not alone and trust you.

SPEAKER_00 21:06

Uh yeah, well, probably it's not me as such. That would be the MC's job. Uh, which we've heard, we had Jared Gowlandry, the first one, and then we had um Mark McConville. Um, and the third one was Mickey D. And Mickey D was phenomenal because he has to get them to trust him, but now the group's gotten huge. So it's not a hundred people anymore, it's hundreds of people in the room. Yeah, well, not all, but a lot of the drinking and everything. So I I told him, don't let heckling happen. Like just shut it down straight away. And he said he felt really guilty because he had go really hard at the first heckler, but he did it great, and they all ended up trusting it like you know, you could see why later, because he's not a veteran himself. Um, he's done a lot of work with veterans. Um went hard at that first heckler, and um, yeah, then you could sort of start to see people trust and relax and um, you know, feel like they can talk to each other as well. They don't need to just talk to us, they can talk amongst themselves and That sort of thing, which is great.

SPEAKER_01 22:02

And going hard at the first um hecklow makes a lot of people think about doing it themselves, eh?

SPEAKER_00 22:08

Yeah, hopefully they don't do it, you know. We um don't get we don't want people scared to do the show either.

SPEAKER_01 22:14

Yeah. So every good story has a few battles in it. What have been some of the challenges that have shaped you who you are today?

SPEAKER_00 22:22

With Shell Shocked or in general? Well Shell Shocked. Um what I did at the start with Shell Shocked was it wasn't supposed to be about us, it was supposed to be about the veterans. So that is probably a reason why the show has some success, but it also without us realizing it created an issue where no one knew who owned Shell Shocked. So it was right for someone to just claim it or take it that wasn't part of it. So we had to fight a lot to keep it uh as ours and have people not take. We didn't realise that was gonna happen. So we've had to trademark it and get legal stuff involved, and then we've had to uh put more money into you know making it proper business, uh a not-for-profit, make everything registered. Um but to do that, you have to get information. We don't know who's doing what. So that was a huge challenge. I I wasn't really that connected with the veteran space, is in the the organization, so I had to get to know people, try and figure out who's doing what, uh, and try and stop it. So um that was uh like a very confronting thing because we didn't think that would happen when we had really good intentions and life and life, uh so challenges in life. Um well I guess uh for me I grew up in a like Papua New Guinea was fairly violent, um and then as I grew up uh in a low socioeconomic area, my brother got involved with um drug dealing and things, so that you know we had the police raid the house. I've talked about it in other podcasts and things like that. So my biggest goal in life was to break uh trauma uh what's it called? The trauma patterns. Um and I really wanted to have my kids not experience or the best I could um try and spare them that sort of thing. So the obstacles there obviously are going the first one's gonna be financial. You can't really you want to have the right resources and things for your child. And then the second obstacle which sort of can hit you when you've had children is your own mental health and problems that you have and patterns you have. So um it's nice that you've if I can create an environment where it's comfortable and things, but you still need to uh figure yourself out a bit if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 24:40

You you broke broke the cycle or are still breaking the cycle. So trying to always start with a little bit of gets and know you, and it's that these podcasts can't all be talking about that sort of shit. So, what's the funniest moment in your short career on stage have you had during a comedy show? All right, Brisbane, listen up. If you want a proper night out, not the we'll see how we feel type, this is it. One night, one room, big laughs. You've got Nick Cody headlining Akara Robertson hosting, April 23rd, doors open, 6 pm, Hopper's Crossing Brewery, Albion. And this is not your quiet little comedy night. This is loud roar and full send comedy. The kind where you laugh hard, forget everything else, and walk here going, that was bloody unreal. Plus, you get dog tag, whiskey and bowl, the shell shock comedy crew, and a room full of legends ready for a big one. Now, tickets, don't stuff this up. Jump on Instagram, Cara RobinsonComedian, the links in the bio, or search Spirit of Brisbane on Event Pride. That's it, no excuses. Grab your mates, lock it in, because this one's got sellout written all over it. And Brisbane, don't be the person hearing about it the next day, be there. Tell 'em, buzz sent you.

SPEAKER_00 26:17

Oh gosh, for when I was performing or Well, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:22

Um Have you had something that's that comes to mind?

SPEAKER_00 26:26

Um, I don't know, not really, but I've got things that because I do sometimes have things that are really funny by accident. So um for a little while I was getting a reputation for accidentally ruining first dates. Completely ruining them. I was just asking ordinary questions, and usually the the man in it would say something really stupid, and then the woman would leave. And it was happening all in a row, and people thought it was a bit that I was doing, and I was very psychologically clever to work it out. And I'm like, no, I was just like, I'm not even meaning to do that.

SPEAKER_01 26:56

That's uh that's hilarious. Have you ever told a joke and made me and thought, yeah, that one died?

SPEAKER_00 27:04

Yeah, all the time. Like, because it's you don't get to it's not like playing the guitar where I can practice 20 times at home and then go on stage. The first time you do a joke, you're in front of a live audience and definitely can misjudge what's funny, particularly for particular crowd. So um, and it's funny if you get it wrong sometimes, they can turn like angry and aggressive. So it can go really bad, like you know, where you feel like I need to leave, this is going really poorly. So there's a few things I learned. Uh one of them was more no one finds animal stuff where animals are you know getting hurt or something funny, they're never funny, never do anything about dogs, horses, or anything like that that where the atmosphere is not doing well. Uh no matter how whatever you're funny you think it is, it's not going to be. And then the second one was just misjudging the audience. Like I did a joke about the Catholic Church, which, you know, I'm not I don't really care about the religious stuff, but it's just a joke. But they did. So they just would, you know, they turned on me to the point where I told the uh MC that I'm just gonna go. I think they're like furious. Oh really? Yeah, so often new stuff, they were sort of wealthy, um, you know, it's the baby boomer age, so I just think that particular group were not happy about anything to do with the church being attacked.

SPEAKER_01 28:16

You know, and I had Mark Dejong on and he's it's going into a professional gover here and he's got this new thing and he sort of contemplated suicide and did his back and spinal it was all over a medical problem he had. Here's now a thing when people are talking when you go, but did you die?

SPEAKER_00 28:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:34

Out of the movie The Hangover.

SPEAKER_00 28:36

Yeah, the um yeah, the the Chinese actor, I can't remember his name for that.

SPEAKER_01 28:40

Yeah, but did you die? And if you're gonna die, you know, and have a little bit of a think about what you're gonna do. Yeah. If your life was a song, a pop song, what would be the best song that could play to understand who you are?

SPEAKER_00 28:55

Oh, that's interesting. Um hadn't thought about that before. Maybe uh the first one that popped into my head was that dumb thing song by Paul Kelly, but I reckon every veteran would say that.

SPEAKER_01 29:05

That's probably I've done all the dumb things. Yeah, that maybe that one part um That's a good song.

SPEAKER_00 29:11

Yeah. Trying to think of a song that's more like, you know, more like a Nike slogan, just do it. Is there a song?

SPEAKER_01 29:18

Um I'd uh Black Eyed P's did one, Tonight's gonna be a good night, that's a pretty positive one. It's sort of you know, kick out the floor, uh dance. But I I like that I've done all the dumb things because we often talk on this show that if you haven't been, I suppose, borrowed to the devil for like I'm not religious or anything like that, but let's not use the devil, let's go to the dark side, or you've done some dumb things. There's so much time in your life to repair that because I think the dumb things are learning.

SPEAKER_00 29:50

Sure, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:51

You know, it's why it's why you can stand up and and get the trust with veterans, because you'd probably take the piss out of yourself a fair bit on stage, I'd imagine, would you?

SPEAKER_00 30:02

Yeah, most j most of the jokes you should probably make yourself the victim. Unless there's an agreed you know, warranters are normally the agreed enemy of everybody, but you've got to remember there's probably warrant officers in the room, so you don't want to go too hard on them.

SPEAKER_01 30:16

I'd see the humour in that, would they? Because it's that's the not What's that say again? War Warren officers take it a little bit seriously, you're saying.

SPEAKER_00 30:24

Yeah, they're sort of the ones because they're the highest ranking non-commissioned officers. So the officers don't like them because well, they're probably really experienced, and an officer can come in as a 20-year-old and outrank them. So there's some and then we don't like them because they outrank us, you know, they're just telling us what to do. So it's the authority, I suppose, they have that um people don't like, uh, which is fine. Um you've got to find a way to attack them, I guess, without them actually feeling completely disrespected, because they're veterans too, and they've probably got lots of experience and lots of deployments and are worthy of a lot of respect as well. So have you got any tips um in 2036?

SPEAKER_01 31:00

What what do you think men need to comprehend? And you know, I play a bit of golf to stimulate the mind and get out of the house. And do you think that's a good game?

SPEAKER_00 31:11

I feel like men need, in particular, men need something in their hand. Like you just give even if you're in the lounge room, just give them a fishing rod. Yep. And they'll probably be more likely to talk. Like when I first saw golf, because I came from the third world country, there's no golf in Papua New Guinea that I know of, anyway. Not in Islands. Um, I remember got just seeing golf as the weirdest thing ever. I'm like, what what is this? This what in the name of white people is this sport? This is just men walking around. You're just using it as an excuse. You want to go on nature walks and you want to look at little swans and stuff, so you've got to build this golf course around it so that it's socially acceptable. Um, yeah, I think that that's a great idea to do it uh because that's probably what it's for, to connect everybody and in an environment that's not too hectic, you know, like football and things where you're running back and forth.

SPEAKER_01 31:55

Yeah, man. Look, it's full of old footballers and full of old rugby players and full of old AFA.

SPEAKER_00 32:00

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 32:00

And then you've got uh 15 and 70-year-old males playing in the the tournaments on on Thursdays and Saturdays, but they might be playing with a 70-year-old maybe ex-businessman or ex-ADF. Okay. Um, and I never thought of golf this way. Like I used to play on the on the fundraiser days and that down in Melbourne with the footy and just get on the piss and by the eighteenth hole you're hitting sideways.

SPEAKER_00 32:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:26

But I never thought of golf like you just said. It's it's a lot and there's a lot of women at this club too doing the same thing, but getting out, I mean it'd be great if you could ground yourself in bare feet and play the game and just wander past all the lakes and greens and hit this club and get your frustration out. It's a very, very good um I want to say, mental health game. Well, some days it could I don't give a shit. I don't give a shit what my score is, but god blind me, there's some blokes there that foof, golf clubs go flying and and and everything. But no, it's really good. Yeah, right. Okay. Well, legends, what a chat that was. That was Carl Robinson on Who is Your Hero. And I tell you what, that one had a bit of everything. Humour, art, resilience service, and a real reminder that sometimes the people doing the most powerful work in the QI aren't the loudest people in the room. They're just the ones quietly finding a way to help others heal. And that's exactly what Kara is doing. She's not just getting up on stage for a few cheap laughs and heading home. She's creating space. Space for veterans to breathe, for them to laugh, space for them to reconnect, and maybe most importantly, a space for them to realize they are not alone. And if you've listened to this episode properly, you'd know that's what hit me the most this isn't comedy for the sake of comedy. It's a comedy with meaning. This is humour being used as a bridge between pain and healing, between silence and conversation, between carrying something alone and finally feeling safe enough to let a bit of it out. And for anyone who has had veterans in their family, makes disturbed, or just even blokes and women around them who have seen a bit too much and say a bit too little, you'll know just how important that is. Because the truth is, legends, not everyone opens up in a counselling room. Not everyone wants a clinical version. Sometimes people open up over a laugh. Sometimes they open up in a room where the pressure is off. Sometimes they open up because someone on stage made them feel seen without putting a spotlight on them. And that is why what Kara is building with Shell Shot Comedy matters. It matters for veterans, it matters for their families, it matters for the partners and kids who are often carrying their own version of the battle. And it matters for communities who need more connection, more honesty, and a hell of a lot more laughter. So, Kara, if you're listening back to this from me and from the Who is the Hero tribe, thank you. Thank you for caring, thank you for showing up. Thank you for using your gift, your humour, your stage presence, and your heart to do something that goes far beyond entertainment. Because veteran support shouldn't just be a slogan, it shouldn't just be a ribbon once a year, it shouldn't just be a post on social media when it suits. It should be action, and you're taking action. You're out there doing the work, building trust, creating rooms where people can let their shoulders drop for a couple of hours, and just bloody laugh again. You know that's powerful. That's what's needed, and that deserves a massive amount of respect. Now, Legend, if you love this conversation, and I know a lot of you will have, then here's the important bit. It's a huge event called Spirit of Service. A collaboration between Dog Tag Whiskey and Shell Shock Comedy. It's headlined by Nick Cody, 23rd of April 2026. Doors open at 6 pm at the Hoppers Brewing Company, Albion, Brisbane. And let me tell you now, this is not just another night out. This is gonna be one of those nights where people come together, have a laugh, forget the weight of the world for a few hours and walk out feeling lighter. A proper night, a meaningful night, a funny night, and a night that supports something bigger than itself. So if you're anywhere near Brisbane, or you know someone in Brisbane, get around it. Support Cara, support Shell Shot Comedy, support the work being done for the veteran community. You can grab your ticket to Kara's Instagram at Kara RobinsonComedian. Just head to the link in her bio. Or go searching Spirit of Service Brisbane on Event Ride. That's Spirit of Service Brisbane on Event Rise. Don't muck around, don't leave it to the last minute, and don't be the first day next week. I was gonna do that. Get on it. Because nights like this matter. And I really want to encourage the Who Is Your Hero tribe, if you're in Brisbane, to show up. Back good people doing good things. Now as we wrap this one up, I just want to touch again on what we spoke about today. This episode wasn't about stand-up comedy. It was about what humour can do. It can break tension, it can open doors, it can build trust, it can help someone say the first sentence they've been holding on to for 20 bloody years. That's no small thing. We also spoke about resilience, about childhood, about trauma patterns, about trying to break cycles and build a better life for not only yourself, but for people coming after you. And I know a lot of listeners have had heard parts of their own story and Kara's story, because that's what this podcast is about. It's not perfection, it's not polished people pretending they've got it all together. Just real humans doing their best, taking their knocks and trying to turn what they've lived through into something that might help someone else. And Kara Robertson, without doubt, fits that mold. So once again, Kara, thanks for coming on, thanks for trusting me with your story, and thank you for the work you're doing for veterans, their families, and the wider community. We need more of it, we need more people willing to lead with courage. And we definitely need more people willing to use laughter for something deeper than just entertainment. Alright, legends, if this episode spoke to you, share it, send it to a mate, send it to a veteran, send it to someone carrying a bit too much, or send it to someone who just made the bloody good conversation between two real people. And don't forget, this show was called on one simple question. Who is your hero? Tell them all they're here, tell them before the eulogies, tell them what they mean to. Because small moments, honest words, and human connections can change more than we realise. I'm Bud. This is Who is Your Hero? Go look up Kara Robinson's Go Support Shell Shock Comedy, and if you're in Brisbane, get to the Spirit of Service on April 23 at Hopper's Ruin Company LBM. Take us through Cara Robinson Comedian on Instagram or by searching Spirit of Service Brisbane on Event Site. Until next time, look after yourselves, look after each other, and keep bloody Sean up. Hey, and don't forget, tell them I think you're gonna be able to do it.