Back of House Luke Butler & Mike Rodrigues

R U OK? is a public health promotion charity that encourages people to stay connected and have conversations that can help others through difficult times in their lives.



Our work focuses on building the motivation, confidence and skills of the help-giver – the person who can have a meaningful conversation with someone who is struggling with life.



R U OK? contributes to suicide prevention efforts by encouraging people to invest more time in their personal relationships and building the capacity of informal support networks – friends, family and colleagues - to be alert to those around them, have a conversation if they identify signs of distress or difficulty and connect someone to appropriate support, long before they're in crisis.

“This episode of Back of House features restructuring expert Morgan Kelly and founder of Sumo Salad, Luke Baylis. Morgan and Luke discuss the challenges facing the hospitality sector and ways operators can position their business to not only survive these challenges but reposition to thrive. Luke also shares his personal views and experiences of experiencing financial distress, going through the voluntary administration process and emerging from voluntary administration.”

Raised in Melbourne Australia, Adrian started his hotel career in Canada at the iconic luxury Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. He has 30 years’ experience in hotel operations including a range of senior executive roles with the global hotel group, Accor. Adrian has demonstrated a range of skills managing a large decentralised team across Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and French Polynesia, working with global project teams and developing strong relationships with investors, owners and industry consultants. Adrian has built market leading capability in commercial performance, guest experiences, restaurant and bar concepts, hotel distribution, hotel openings and takeovers and business integration.

He is a passionate advocate for the Tourism Industry and has a long history of active board participation on a range of industry organisations across the Pacific.

The story of Sam Young is one that’s been pressure-cooked, flash-fried, and is now braising on a low, gentle simmer. Inspired by the taste of his travels to Italy, Canada, Hong kong, Vietnam and Malaysia to name a few, he has worked in Sydney’s top restaurants like Mr. wong, Ms.g’s, Queen chow, Totti’s and more recently as Lotus’s head chef. As one of Australia’s top chefs, he believes that it takes more than just flavours to elevate food from good to great – it’s the complete experience that comes with it.

Currently, Sam Young hosts exclusive dinners as a private chef and is a creative collaborator with the industry’s brightest talents and go-to eateries. Moving from planned menus into curated dining experiences, he loves delighting diners with his #bsyexperience twist – often with shavings of truffle or dollops of caviar. His specialities include sourcing only the finest australian produce, innovating crowd favourite dishes, and pairing his dining experiences with his one-of-a-kind big personality.

Meet Michael Rodrigues, the state's first 24-Hour Economy Commissioner.

Michael launched the Time Out brand in Australia under license in 2007 and in his time at the helm grew the audience across print, digital and social channels to in excess of 1,000,000 Australians monthly.

In recent years and prompted by the challenges facing Sydney's night-time economy he launched and chaired the Night Time Industries Association which was instrumental in lifting the lockout laws, and shaping the State of NSW's 24-Hour Economy Strategy.

In February 2021 Michael was announced as the state's inaugural 24-Hour Economy Commissioner, a role he commenced on 29 March 2021.

Antony Jones - CEO
Ben Collis - Head of Commercial & Marketing

Michael Rodrigues & Luke Butler discuss the journey of two industry stalwarts, taking the reins of an iconic Sydney based hospitality group.

About The Boathouse Group;

The Boathouse Group is a collection of unique and iconic hospitality venues located in picturesque locations around Sydney and on the Central Coast of NSW, Australia.

The Boathouse journey began in 2008 with the opening of The Boathouse Palm Beach café, the group now comprises of ten beautiful venues with offerings including dining, accommodation, weddings, events and homewares.

Our mission at The Boathouse has always been to create experiences that people love. From great coffee, high quality fresh food, friendly service and inspiring interiors including an abundance of plants & flowers that have started many a great conversation.