Pulling Threads

Alex Cleary

Mostly shit talking, occasionally to great people...

  1. 9 HR AGO

    The Job Perks That Make You Never Want to Leave Mining

    Mining perks are a different animal entirely. Free tools, supplier kickbacks, box seats at State of Origin, Lady Gaga tickets, and flying anywhere in the world on the company's dime — Alex and Troy break down the wildest job perks they've ever had, and some of them are genuinely unbelievable. Plus Troy's coworkers found the podcast, someone shit themselves on a run, and David Gatt just did 168 kilometres and 14,000 metres of vert in the Dandies for the Black Dog Institute. In this episode: - Troy's coworkers found the podcast and some of them are salty about it - The universal mine site tradition of blaming every other crew - Tim Kaprazi's training plan breaks Troy at the 6K mark of a pyramid run - Harry of the Week: David Gatt's 168km, 14,000m vert Mega Saw Loop for the Black Dog Institute - Listener story: shitting yourself on a run, waddling into a cafe, and finishing the last 4.5Ks with no jocks - The great debate: cable ties vs zip ties, and the bloke who DM'd to call Troy low IQ - Southern Cross tattoos — are they gone forever and is that a national tragedy? - Crib time stories: the greatest job perks Alex and Troy have ever had - Troy rebuilds his truck in a mine workshop for a year, completely unregistered - Alex travels all of Western Australia for free with Emmanuela during COVID - Free flights anywhere in the world from working in Africa — and the tax dodge that came with it Timestamps: (00:17) Welcome back — Troy's coworkers found the podcast (01:03) Mine site tribalism and which crew is actually useless (08:03) The leadership trainer who nailed mining culture in one line (10:03) Tim Kaprazi's training plan — Troy's pyramid run blows up at 6K (15:43) Lucky 13 workout puts Troy into a migraine for 24 hours (19:30) Harry of the Week: David Gatt's 168km Mega Saw Loop (28:12) Listener voice message — shitting yourself on a run with a witness (35:21) Cable ties vs zip ties and the bloke who DM'd Alex to call him low IQ (41:27) Southern Cross tattoos — where did they go and is Australian culture coming back? (50:16) Crib time stories begin — the greatest job perks ever (54:01) Troy rebuilds his truck in a mine workshop for a whole year (57:14) Lady Gaga tickets and golf days from suppliers (01:01:24) Traveling all of Western Australia for free during COVID (01:09:00) Free flights anywhere in the world — the Africa perk (01:25:02) The tax dodge that let Africa workers travel the world and barely pay tax Full episode out now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Follow the pod on Instagram: @pt.pod

    1h 31m

  2. 8 MAR

    Tim Kacprzak: Your Kids Don't Hear What You Say They Watch What You Do

    Tim Kacprzak grew up with a rough family environment, was 25 kilos overweight at 29, and couldn't button his shirt at a mate's suit fitting. Now he's one of Australia's most decorated ultra endurance athletes with a 37% career podium rate. This one goes deep on fatherhood, breaking generational patterns, and what it actually costs to build a life worth admiring. In this episode: - Tim's upbringing and how Rachel saved his life - Losing 15kg in 12 weeks for a mate's wedding suit - The World Tough Mudder disaster that left him crying on Skype - Why your kids copy what you do, not what you say - Forgiving your parents for their mistakes - Sport as the biggest educator for children - Tim's insane stats: 69% top 10, 37% podium rate, 1055 career race hours- Sydney backyard ultra predictions and the push for 100 loops Timestamps: (00:16) Welcome and intro (01:12) Introducing Tim Kacprzak (07:05) How Tim and Rachel met (13:58) How your upbringing shapes your parenting (22:51) Forgiving your parents for what they got wrong (34:13) Do your kids need to suffer more? (36:42) Sport as the biggest educator for children (38:18) Having kids young and unsolicited advice (48:33) Tim's weight loss origin story (56:40) The World Tough Mudder failure (01:03:06) Board of directors vs NPCs in your life (01:05:07) Tim's race stats breakdown (01:12:47) Finding your limit in a backyard ultra (01:22:06) Sydney backyard ultra predictions (01:33:48) Pushing into injury and what you gain from it (01:42:38) King of the Hill and what's next Full episode out now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Follow the pod on Instagram: @pullingthreads

    2h 2m

  3. 1 MAR

    AI Just Did Two Days Of My Work In 10 Minutes

    AI agents just did in 10 minutes what used to take days of research, and it scared the shit out of both of us. This week we also break down a 12,345 pull-up world record, a family who scammed a $600 steak dinner with an armpit hair, and a Norwegian Olympic medalist who confessed to cheating on live TV. If you reckon AI won't touch your life, this is the episode that'll change your mind. Check out the AI article here

    1h 5m

  4. 22 FEB

    #064 - Can You Have Friends of the Opposite Sex?

    If you’re in a relationship, where’s the line between “we’re mates” and “this is getting a bit too close”? We get stuck into the best-friend boundary, the situations that look innocent on paper, and why the door being “slightly open” is still a problem. From there it turns into the usual Pulling Threads chaos: anonymous accounts talking big without putting their name to it, why that’s a bitch move, and why accountability feels like it’s disappearing in real life too. Plus Harry of the Week is a different species: Man Sharma doing the world’s first burpee broad jump marathon (yep… a full marathon), the maths on how cooked that actually is, and a yarn about someone trying to beat it. And we finish with a proper list: top things that make you irrationally angry (parking out front, Facebook Marketplace fuckwits), sparky beef like “zip ties vs cable ties,” and a surprisingly solid breakdown on why cheap LEDs flicker and why 50Hz can literally kill you.

    1h 16m

  5. 15 FEB

    #063 - “Public Figure” in Your Facebook Name Is Criminal

    Someone out there is deadset calling themselves a “public figure” on Facebook, in their actual name. Not the bio, not the grey little tag, the name. We saw it, nearly threw up, and had to unpack what kind of person does that, and why it feels so criminal. Before we get there though, we kick off with the post-challenge slump, Strava tax drama, and Troy getting absolutely rinsed for butchering the Swiss Army Knife “doctor’s ABCD”, so we made him an AI jingle like the petty blokes we are. Then we go on a proper tangent about trailers, jet skis, and the weird things men think make you useful or pathetic. Harry of the Week is unreal, a 13-year-old swims 4km and runs 2km to save his family, and it turns into a full reality check on what you are capable of when it’s life or death. We also talk crewing at MVP, how everyone looks fine but feels cooked, and why backyard ultras are way more tactical and mental than most people realise, especially if you want to go deep. Then we finish with “stingy or smart” from Reddit, including the bloke stealing single-ply toilet paper from work as his share house contribution, mine site food theft, and what people get sacked for vs what they get away with. You’ll either agree, argue, or feel personally attacked.

    48 min

  6. 8 FEB

    #062 - “It Worked.” The Moment We Realised This Event’s Bigger

    There was a moment mid-event where the ticket sales just kept popping off, and the fear flipped into this one thought: holy shit, it actually worked. Not just “the race went well”… but the whole idea of what we’re building. We talk about how the livestream turned king of the hill into proper background test cricket. Something you chuck on in the workshop, get distracted, come back, talk shit, then get sucked back in. It wasn’t just athletes running up a hill, it became this weird little community where people at home are messaging, coffees are magically appearing, and you can feel how invested everyone got. Then we zoom out on the bigger stuff: paying the winner, what sponsors actually want, why this thing feels like a startup win you don’t get in normal jobs, and why hardcore harry’s is starting to mean more than just one brutal weekend. If you’ve ever wanted to build something real, or you’ve wondered why certain events hit different, this ep will make it click.

    2h 15m

  7. 1 FEB

    #061 - Yorkmania: Cape York to Tassie with a Hammock and a Trailer

    Merlin didn’t just “go for a run”. He dragged a little trailer from the top of Australia all the way to Tassie, slept in a hammock on the side of the road, and woke up every day to do it again. We talk the real logistics and the real shit parts: 126 days, about 5,700km, what he ate, how he found water, what happens when the trailer breaks, and what it’s like camping in croc country with mozzies chewing you alive (plus a wild boar popping up before the run even properly started). But the best bit is the mindset. How you keep moving when your body is cooked, your training wasn’t perfect, you’re alone, and the only job is “get it done” for months straight. If you’ve ever thought “I want to do something big” but you keep talking yourself out of it, go listen to #061. This one will either light you up or call you out.

    1h 56m

  8. 25 JAN

    #060 - The Swiss Army Knife Every Man Should Have

    Most blokes reckon they’re “capable”… until something actually goes wrong and they’re standing there like a stunned mullet. In this episode we rip into what makes you a “bitch” when shit hits the fan and what the bare minimum should be if you want to be a dependable man, not just a loud one. We build out the “swiss army knife” list, the skills every bloke should have in his back pocket for work, home, the road, and real life. Then we get into harry of the week, harry’s last one standing, plus running chat, strava tax, and why chasing hard things is still the quickest way to sort your head out.

    1h 6m
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About

Mostly shit talking, occasionally to great people...

Information

  • Creator
    Alex Cleary
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    67
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Alex Cleary
  • Show Website
    Pulling Threads

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