Give It A Nudge

The Nudge Group
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  • Entrepreneurship
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We're not here to talk about business. We're here for the madness. Give It A Nudge is for the people who looked at a safe, predictable life and walked the other way. Every guest gets one question: when did you grab life by the collar and give it a nudge? From there, anything goes. Expect chaos. Expect honesty. Expect to laugh at things you probably shouldn't.

  1. 1d ago

    Peter Hillary on Everest, the Poles and a Life on the Edge

    Peter Hillary, mountaineer, polar explorer and son of Sir Edmund Hillary, shares stories from Everest, K2, the North Pole and the South Pole on Give It a Nudge with Steve Grace. What's it really like on the world's most dangerous mountains? Peter describes K2 as being inside a commercial freezer at minus 30, with a jumbo jet engine blasting wind at you on a 60-degree slope… then someone turns out the light. He takes us from flying to the North Pole with his father and Neil Armstrong, landing on ice just a metre or two thick above an ocean 4,000m deep, to skiing to the South Pole by a new route across the white silence of the Antarctic plateau. He also opens up about a 10-month traverse of the Himalayas with no tent and no stove, the 16 years he's spent sleeping in tents, and what his father and Tenzing Norgay's 1953 Everest ascent proved about human limits. Peter also shares why he loves climbing with his children, why he'd skip a trip to Mars, and his work leading the Himalayan Trust and taking travellers to Antarctica. 🎧 Listen to Give It a Nudge on https://open.spotify.com/show/2Pe3FhB9MInIowEWlWwIsB?si=abc0289c8dc64901 📸 Follow us: @thenudgegroup 🔔 Subscribe for more conversations with extraordinary people. #PeterHillary #Mountaineering #Everest

  2. Oct 14

    How an Incurable Disease Made Him a World-Famous Speed Painter

    In this episode of Give It a Nudge, Steve Grace sits down with world-renowned live speed painter Matteo Charles for one of the most unique episodes yet. While chatting through his journey, Matteo paints a live portrait of Steve right in the studio. From an old-school signwriter and Sydney club DJ to collapsing with severe ulcerative colitis, Matteo opens up about spending five years in and out of hospitals and surviving a near-fatal heart attack during an iron transfusion. He shares how picking up a sketchbook in a hospital bed sparked his philosophy that "Art Heals," leading him to bet on himself, develop his signature rapid live painting style, and turn a life-altering illness into a global career. Today, Matteo performs around the world, creating high-energy portraits in under ten minutes to music, sometimes completely upside down. He talks about performing at the Playboy Mansion for the Grammy Awards afterparty, opening for Tony Robbins and Kevin Hart, painting for Bruce Lee's family in Hong Kong, and staying grounded while working in rooms with billionaires and A-list celebrities. Watch the episode to see Steve's live reaction to the final portrait reveal. Episode Highlights Chapters 00:00:00 Painting live in the studio and Steve's reaction to being painted 00:03:19 The diagnosis: Surviving ulcerative colitis and hospital battles 00:10:45 How art became medicine: Finding purpose in the darkest moments 00:21:06 Developing the speed-painting craft on an old garage door 00:23:09 The breakthrough: From Sir Michael Parkinson to the Playboy Mansion Grammys afterparty 00:32:42 Studio secrets: Why Matteo avoids painting teeth and the mechanics of upside-down art 00:43:33 Betting on yourself, tuning out the noise, and navigating elite rooms 00:45:54 The final portrait reveal and Steve's speechless reaction

  3. Oct 1

    Dr. Jemma King: Human Behavior Specialist & Author | Moscow Nightclubs to Training Special Forces

    In this episode of Give It A Nudge, host Steve Grace sits down with human behaviour scientist, performance expert, and author Dr. Jemma King to explore what it truly takes to thrive under extreme pressure and adapt in a rapidly changing world. Dr. King breaks down her remarkable journey of leaning into discomfort and backing herself, taking her from managing a mafia-frequented nightclub in 1990s Moscow during perestroika to conducting research and teaching emotional regulation to Australia's elite Special Forces. Together, Steve and Dr. King unpack the science of stress and explain how reframing anxiety as excitement can turn cortisol into fuel for peak performance. They dive into the mechanics of brain health and recovery, revealing how deep sleep physically sweeps out toxic proteins and why short-sleeper genes exist. Finally, they cover actionable biohacks like strategic napping, humming, and sauna protocols, while discussing why emotional intelligence and human connection will be the ultimate differentiators for future leaders in the age of AI.

  4. Oct 1

    From MAFS Chaos to Australian Women’s Advocate: How Lauren Dunn Gave Life a Nudge

    We’re keeping the momentum going for our new launch with another epic episode! Steve is joined by the delightfully outspoken Lauren Dunn for an in-depth, wild ride through reality TV, viral fame, and life post-MAFS. Trace Lauren’s story from the moment producers spent years sliding into her DMs, to sitting in front of an Endemol Shine panel, and using the show as a radical "line in the sand" to finally break free from a toxic six-year relationship. She breaks down the harsh realities of filming - from strict drink limits and isolation to navigating fake personas, wedding day strippers, and an unopened mountain hotel honeymoon designed to make couples turn on each other. Lauren reflects candidly on the brutal aftermath of reality TV: returning home with no clients, no income, and an Instagram account locked by the network, before turning her chaotic life around to build a thriving brand. She shares her rules on brand deals, turning down massive payouts for gambling ads, helping small female-led businesses, and transforming her personal trials into powerful advocacy for women across Australia.

  5. Oct 1

    Giving Life a Nudge: Author & Environmental Leader Natalie Kyriacou OAM

    Another incredible episode to kick off our new season launch! In this episode, Steve sits down with author, social entrepreneur, and global environmental leader Natalie Kyriacou OAM. Natalie reflects on her journey from begging for unpaid volunteer roles and cleaning animal enclosures at the RSPCA to founding organisations and advising on global policy. Following the international release of her book Nature’s Last Dance, she breaks down the intersection of environmental policy, corporate accountability, and why true impact must supersede financial return. Steve and Natalie explore the future of environmental storytelling, global conservation, and why humour and hope remain our most powerful tools for driving systemic change. Watch the full episode now!

  6. Jun 3

    The Carbon Fiber Armor Built For Elite Special Forces

    In this episode of Give It A Nudge, Steve sits down with David Pysden, Co-Founder of Chiron Global Tech, the company behind a revolutionary full-body protective armor system called the Chiron X1. David shares the seven-year journey of bringing the X1 to life, including five grueling years of research, development, and testing with Tier 1 Special Forces, military units, and law enforcement. Inspired by a co-founder training with elite forces in Bangkok, the suit solves a massive training flaw, instead of slowing down strikes or avoiding vital areas like the head and throat, operators can train at full speed with real weapons strikes. David walks Steve through the incredible engineering behind the patented head and neck protection, which distributes concussive forces down into the chest cavity, allowing a user to take a full-force blow from a baseball bat or rifle butt to the head without injury. They discuss how a defense composite expert with a background in designing stunt and movie armor helped optimize the carbon fiber plate structure, balancing absolute mobility with total protection. From being invited onto classified military black sites to testing the gear against point-blank shotgun blasts, this episode gives you a look inside the future of protective defense tech. Timestamps Chapters 00:00:00 Shotguns and bats: Testing the extreme limits of the Chiron X1 armor 00:00:58 Intro and the relief of talking about a physical product instead of software 00:01:36 The five-year R&D journey and linking product branding back to Achilles 00:02:42 Gaps in traditional protective gear and training with real weapons in Bangkok 00:03:54 Eliminating bad muscle memory by allowing full-force head and throat strikes 00:04:12 The patented head and neck protection distributing concussive forces away from the spine 00:05:34 How a movie stunt armor designer helped optimize fluid plate movement 00:06:34 Redesigning the chest plate so law enforcement can draw pistols smoothly 00:07:25 The multi-layer material breakdown including Kevlar, elastomeric foam, and cooling tech 00:08:21 Carbon fiber strength-to-weight ratios and Formula One crash cage comparisons 00:09:17 Point-blank shotgun testing and shooting at the suit with training munitions 00:11:01 Weight distribution and moving freely enough to do a cartwheel in 14.5 kilos of gear 00:11:42 Pitching the U.S. Army Rangers and landing an paratrooper instructor to jump in the suit 00:12:10 Meeting a Vodafone executive at lunch and jumping into a massive market gap 00:13:09 Raising $2.5M to mass produce low-cost injection-molded training and riot control versions 00:14:32 Reducing officer panic, de-escalating threats, and lowering litigation risks in riots 00:16:08 Testing with the UK National Tactical Response Group during real prison riot training 00:18:10 Getting peppered with non-lethal rounds without a single bruise or cut skin 00:19:20 Using a 30x manufacturing capacity boost to target 400,000 U.S. corrections officers 00:21:19 Getting invited to test armor on classified, top-secret Special Forces bases 00:22:14 Navigating the fundraising roller coaster and building an optimal customer feedback loop 00:24:30 Flying on an empty plane during Covid to run an East Coast U.S. roadshow 00:25:51 Geopolitical tailwinds driving the global need for next-gen protective equipment #ChironX1 #MilitaryTechnology #BodyArmor #DefenseTechnology #SpecialForces #LawEnforcement #MilitaryTraining #TacticalGear #Innovation #DefenseIndustry #GiveItANudge #Podcast

  7. May 21

    Leaving Deloitte to Build A Tech Startup

    We’ve got a fantastic episode of Give It A Nudge today as Steve sits down with Brittany, the founder of Nevam. Brittany has had an incredible trajectory over the last two years, moving from a comfortable corporate consulting career to launching a highly scalable customer experience platform. Brittany shares her journey of leaving Deloitte while on maternity leave to pursue a vision she had been treading on for a decade. She opens up about the realities of corporate life, noting that becoming a partner often just makes you a baby partner all over again, and contrasts that with the un-fast-trackable lessons of the founder journey. Steve and Brittany discuss the massive validation of pitching at a Propeller event and walking away with 72 direct warm referrals to Chief Marketing Officers at major enterprises. The conversation gets highly entertaining as Brittany shares her unconventional personal operating systems. She explains why she programed a male-voiced AI to give her confidence boosts in the morning, how she runs a strict, post-it note family strategy session on New Year’s Eve for her three and six-year-old kids, and why there is a non-negotiable bottle of Fireball in her house for parenting emergencies. They also tackle the mental side of being a founder, navigating loneliness, and what happens when winning a major innovation award doesn't change your daily reality of needing to get back to work. Timestamps Chapters 00:00:00 Intro and the Malcolm Gladwell inspiration behind naming Nevam 00:01:43 Digital transformation and the frustration of corporate consulting at Deloitte 00:05:21 Turning mirror boards and screen grabs into an automated tech platform 00:09:33 Google mapping Deloitte and entering a massive corporate ecosystem 00:12:18 The myth of making it and the reality of the baby partner concept 00:13:23 Tinkering with a startup idea on maternity leave and budgeting a one-year runway 00:14:54 Moving from the Stride program to Techstars and closing an investment round 00:17:21 Scoring 72 direct enterprise referrals through the Propeller community 00:21:05 Building custom crawlers and automating live journey maps for marketers 00:25:54 The isolation of leadership and preserving a small circle of transparency 00:29:46 Using Claude for goal tracking and programing a male AI voice for confidence boosts 00:33:30 Switching off your brain by watching reality TV and learning Swedish on Duolingo 00:38:34 Why Nevam targets messy global enterprises instead of simple websites 00:42:07 The future of customer experience tracking and moving past reactive metrics 00:45:30 Winning an innovation award and realizing you still have to go make money 00:47:19 Steve's daily phone notes ritual for keeping a positive mindset 00:49:51 Running corporate style strategy sessions for toddlers on New Year’s Eve 00:51:52 Banning Fireball from the office and keeping a stash for tough parenting days

  8. May 7

    Fired Twice to Building a $7 Million Real Estate Empire

    We’ve got a great episode of Give It A Nudge today as Steve sits down with Nima Kermani, the founder of Kermani Capital. Nima’s business has seen exponential growth over the last year, but the road to building a $7 million property portfolio wasn't exactly a straight line. Nima shares the story of how getting fired from his last job was the final push he needed to go all-in on his own business. We dive into his history as a hyper-productive paperboy at age 13, and the brutal life lesson he learned at 17 when he lost $10,000, his entire life savings at the time, to an online scam. The conversation also touches on the patterns in Nima's career, including the time he tried to work two full-time finance jobs simultaneously, his brief stint as a model, and the terrifying transition from being a solo operator to hiring his first staff members. To wrap things up, Nima puts Steve in the hot seat to talk about the hardest lessons he’s learned about ego and leadership. Timestamps Chapters 00:00:00 Intro and the exponential growth of Kermani Capital 00:01:14 Getting fired and why Nima finally decided to give it a shot 00:05:24 The wealthy parents banter and the guarantor loan shortcut 00:07:15 The 13-year-old paperboy hustle and losing his savings to a scam 00:14:53 The secret to landing jobs: Applying for 1,000 positions at a time 00:16:46 The pattern of getting fired and working two jobs at once 00:18:54 Addressing the rumors: Nima’s history in modeling 00:23:18 The fear of the first hire and the reality of founder responsibility 00:27:02 Future plans for Kermani Capital and launching a property fund 00:30:35 Renting by the room: Solving the housing shortage while boosting yield 00:32:29 Steve's hardest lesson: Dealing with internal turmoil and ego

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About

We're not here to talk about business. We're here for the madness. Give It A Nudge is for the people who looked at a safe, predictable life and walked the other way. Every guest gets one question: when did you grab life by the collar and give it a nudge? From there, anything goes. Expect chaos. Expect honesty. Expect to laugh at things you probably shouldn't.

Information

  • Creator
    The Nudge Group
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    161
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © The Nudge Group
  • Show Website
    Give It A Nudge