Pulling Threads

Alex Cleary
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Mostly shit talking, occasionally to great people...

  1. 5h ago

    The Banker Who Quit His Job To Run A Backyard Ultra Empire

    Charlie McKenzie flew from London, quit a decade in banking, and built a running events company with his brother that does everything the old blokes won't. He sits down with Alex and Troy to pull apart the backyard ultra scene, where the rules are written on the back of a f*g packet and a bloke got disqualified at yard 54 because a stranger filmed herself running next to him. This is the business of the sport laid bare. Who actually makes money, why the money is in the broadcast not the tickets, and why LSU just upended the whole thing. In this episode:- Charlie leaving a decade in mergers and acquisitions for a career break that turned into a business- Why the backyard ultra is a legal grey area and the rules are all down to interpretation- The runner disqualified at yard 54 for a morale boost he never asked for- Why the money is never in the ticket sales, it is in the broadcast and the sponsorship- How LSU spent a fortune and basically forked the whole sport apart- King of the Hill selling 155 tickets live off the broadcast with a cowbell- Why most running events are dog shit and the generational gap behind the AI posters- The Aussie starter pack for a visiting Pom, from the Bunnings snag to the balls club parmy Timestamps:(00:13) Flying a guest in from the UK and the zero beers on the desk(01:00) Who is Charlie McKenzie and what is Backyard Events(01:42) Ten years in banking and what mergers and acquisitions actually is(04:04) The career break, 32 with no kids, and going for it now(04:54) What Backyard Events runs and building events for the misfits(06:38) The backyard ultra as the Wild West with no real governance(08:30) The yard 54 disqualification for outside assistance(11:00) Why affiliation would rip the soul out of their events(14:23) BPN, LSU and Kim upending the whole sport(18:17) Soul races and getting bought out without realising it(24:36) Why there is room for every flavour of event(26:50) Survive the loop and the drop-off format they built at a festival(32:36) 25 percent no-shows and the money people waste not turning up(46:49) Why the money is in the broadcast, not the tickets(57:01) The gap between pros and amateurs and no money in running(01:08:20) Charlie going head to head with his brother in a backyard(01:10:16) King of the Hill risking it all and selling tickets live on stream(01:18:17) Slamming beers on the broadcast and doing it the opposite way(01:30:00) The Aussie starter pack, Bunnings snags and the balls club parmy(01:40:56) A proper Melbourne crawl and working with your brother Full episode out now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Follow the pod on Instagram: @pullingthreads

  2. Oct 25

    He Turned Down The Australian Team To Run Our Race

    King of the Hill is two weeks out and Liam Henderson is back in the studio. Alex reckons it is the hardest race in Australia to win, and the reason is the hill that gives you nowhere to make up time once your pace drops. They get into who is going the distance, whether anyone would actually dope for 25 grand, and why a bloke turned down a spot in the Australian team just to be on that start line. In this episode: - Why King of the Hill is the hardest last one standing race in the country - The 25 grand on the line and whether anyone would bother doping for it - The gap between being fit enough and being ready operationally and mentally - Troy's first crack at it and why physical fitness is the easy part - The GoPro theory and why your Strava footage always looks slow - Building weirder events, from a heart rate last one standing to a hybrid ultra - Who the big dogs are and who Liam and the boys are tipping to win - Why someone dropped their whole year for one race, and what that tells you Timestamps: (00:36) Liam Henderson back for round two (01:13) What King of the Hill actually is, explained properly (03:04) Why Liam keeps coming back to the most brutal challenge (05:24) Shepparton and Ballarat, cooking his nutrition at 35K (17:59) Would anyone dope for 25 grand and how you would even test it (24:24) The park run doping experiment nobody asked for (29:19) The GoPro theory and why fast running looks slow (42:00) Troy on nerves, migraines and going operational for 30 hours (45:00) Why the big dogs always win, and it is not the legs (65:50) Why the hill makes it the hardest race to win (84:18) Turning down the Australian team to run King of the Hill (94:55) Why last one standing is the ultimate format (52:00) The picks, Blaine, Piotr and the dads who go long Full episode out now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Follow the pod on Instagram: @pullingthreads

  3. Oct 18

    The Old Blokes Who Know Everything And Still Service The Wrong Machine

    Troy turns 35 and celebrates by getting invited to an underground invitational trail race on the same course as Down Under 135. Pissing rain, waist-deep river crossings, a bloke who fell 15 meters off a ridge and was somehow the least hurt person out there. Then the brothers get into the stuff that actually grinds them down. Old blokes who carry deep institutional knowledge and still bring the wrong machine down to be serviced, their old man and his undefeated I-told-you-ya record, and the French backpackers who drove 34,000km around the country in an unregistered van and came out $50 in front. In this episode: - Troy's birthday race through flooded trails on a Down Under 135 course - What a pacer actually does and why they do it for a free race entry - Clinton Duke Elliott, the sparky turned engineer turned doctor who skydives and boxes - Bobby and Folksy and the two-way street of old blokes at the mine - Dad's I-told-ya record and the trade he was right about all along - The Nike After Dark debate and whether three blokes should have been there - The French backpackers who did a full lap in an unregistered van - Seatbelt cameras, phantom fines and the camera every tradie should be scared of Timestamps: (00:17) Troy's birthday and the gray hair chat (01:49) The underground invitational race in pissing rain (04:40) A bloke falls 15 meters off a ridge and lives (05:30) Tim's voice note on the run (14:08) The handicap race, hunting and being hunted (23:54) What the hell does a pacer actually do (24:35) Clinton Duke Elliott, the generational lock-in (34:14) Crib time and the fuel cap that got ripped out again (35:51) Old blokes, institutional knowledge and the wrong machine (41:02) Dad and his undefeated I-told-ya record (44:35) The Nike After Dark half marathon blows up (53:08) Male privilege, running at night and the strange look (62:35) The French backpackers and the unregistered van (67:53) Seatbelt cameras and the fine burden of proof (72:00) Selling a bus with no roadworthy across state lines Full episode out now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Follow the pod on Instagram: @pullingthreads

  4. Oct 11

    Nobody Chooses Their Trade. Your Mum Does It For You

    Nobody actually chooses their trade. Your old man did it, your mum signed you up, or a mate said the cash was good. This week the brothers pull apart how every tradie really ended up on the tools, then build the ultimate family out of six trades, argue about whether an auto sparky beats a mechanic, and cop a voicenote about a gold mine that fooled its own investors with a pile of fool's gold. In this episode:- Why Troy left his running shoes at home and Immanuela drove two and a half hours to save his King of the Hill training- Falling asleep on top of a bogger underground at 2am and the painted gumboot punishment for getting caught- The Congo mine with water cannons, spears through windscreens and shift bosses getting run over for dobbing- The fool's gold con that kept a rural Victorian mine open a couple more years- Big parts win hearts and Parkinson's law ruining every reno- Building the perfect family from three blue collar trades and three white collar ones- Auto sparky versus mechanic versus heavy diesel, settled once and for all- Why Australian council permits and CFMEU rain days make us soft Timestamps:(03:15) Troy leaves his running shoes two hours into the drive(05:00) Immanuela saves the day and the back-to-back 40k and 25k(09:30) Falling asleep on the bogger underground(10:35) Mount Isa, the kilometre-deep drive and sleeping in the back of the Cruiser(13:30) Painted gumboots and solar panels on night shift(16:45) Congo water cannons and the spear through the windscreen(23:13) The fool's gold con that kept a mine open(27:30) The first time we saw pyrite underground(28:55) Nobody actually chooses their trade(34:40) Troy's first year underground on 60 grand(43:26) Going from the dumbest kid at school to feeling like a G at TAFE(47:34) Why install work is dog work(52:20) Building the perfect family out of six trades(01:25:30) Council permits, CFMEU rain days and why we're going soft Full episode out now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Follow the pod on Instagram: @pullingthreads

  5. Oct 4

    We Super Glued His Light, Siliconed His Toolbag And Fed Him A Reaper

    Two brothers, a crib room full of degenerates, and years of workshop warfare. This week we pull the thread on the best stitch-ups we've ever seen underground, from a wobbulator that doesn't sound real to a bloke who walked out to his missus in his jocks. Plus the dad move that may have fed Mount Isa's hottest chilli to a tuna thief. In this episode: - Why Last Soul Ultra going global could kill the backyard ultra world championships - The glass milk bottle with a three dollar deposit that actually makes you bring it back - One meal for life. One fruit, one dinner, one breakfast, no lunch allowed - Why dried Australian apricots beat every fresh fruit going - The apprentice sent for a wobbulator and a long wait who got one back - Super glue on a hard hat light at one in the morning and the silicone revenge - A seventy dollar Carolina Reaper bet and the worst night of Alex's life - Dad injecting habanero oil into his chillies to catch a thief Timestamps: (03:05) Last Soul Ultra goes global and why it could become the real world championship (14:40) The glass milk bottle with a three dollar deposit done properly (21:29) One meal for life, one fruit, one dinner, one breakfast (31:05) How dirty supermarket fruit really is and whether anyone washes it (50:10) Crib Time Stories begins, the best apprentice stitch-ups (54:46) The wobbulator and the long wait (2:01:08) Alex's hard hat light super glued the night of a one am breakdown (2:08:08) The siliconed and bolted toolbag revenge (2:16:46) The seventy dollar Carolina Reaper bet gone wrong (2:20:40) Dad's habanero oil chilli trap and the tuna thief (2:24:34) The new bloke told to yell firing into the stinger (2:29:31) Bearing blue in the boots the day before Europe (2:31:42) The manager who thinks he can't weld anymore Full episode out now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Follow the pod on Instagram: @pullingthreads

  6. Sep 27

    The AI Knows Where I Work, What I Drive And Where My Dogs Went

    Alex asks his AI what it actually knows about him and it spits out where he works, what truck he drives, that his dogs got picked up by the rangers, and where the material for his jobs is stacked at the workshop. Then it gets creepier. We get into how Walmart worked out women were pregnant before they knew themselves, why your flybys card is a dossier not a discount, and whether targeted ads are a con or exactly what you asked for. Plus a HYROX disaster nobody can unsee, the Sydney Sweeney betting ad, and a $1500 heated bidet seat Troy reckons changed his life. In this episode:- The AI that knew Alex's award, his renovation, and where his dogs ended up- How supermarkets figured out you were pregnant before you did- Why your flybys card is a tracking device dressed up as a discount- The HYROX shit-yourself-and-still-win saga and whether we'd stop her at our own event- The Sydney Sweeney gambling ad and whether it's genius or just slimy- Troy's $1500 heated bidet seat and the figure-eight spray- Cabinet makers, dodgy walls, and why every touch makes it worse- The mine-site cable that got wiped out four times because nobody would run it underground Timestamps:(00:17) Welcome back and Hannah's lamb and cheese pie(04:22) Respect for cabinet makers and why houses are dog shit(11:29) Two workplace stories from definitely-not-my-workplace(14:32) The mine cable that got wiped out four times(22:32) Fuel cap isolators and truckies blaming the vibrations(24:28) HYROX and the follow-through that made the news(33:38) The Sydney Sweeney gambling ad breakdown(46:42) Why gambling companies are slimy and how they justify it(54:20) New segment: Troy's $1500 heated bidet seat(02:02:44) That's Interesting: what AI knows about you(02:16:10) Where the AI knew Troy worked, drove, and lost his dogs(02:18:37) How Walmart marketed to pregnant women before they knew(02:22:46) Flybys, tracking, and being the product when it's free Full episode out now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Follow the pod on Instagram: @pullingthreads

  7. Sep 20

    The Top 5 Servo Foods That Prove Australia Has Culture

    Two brothers who've done more nine-hour drives across outback Queensland than they can count settle the only debate that matters. What is the greatest servo food in the country. Troy also drops off a sample at the fertility clinic and finds a USB stick full of surprises in the male room. Alex breaks down the Domino's versus Pizza Hut search trick that gets you 30 percent off, they run the numbers on making your own gels for a buck thirty a serve, and Camille Heron's Wikipedia scandal gets a proper going over. In this episode: - Ranking the top 5 servo foods, from Chico rolls to garlic balls - Troy's day at the fertility clinic and the leather chair situation - The Domino's search trick that gets you 30 percent off pizza - Making your own running gels for 1.30 a serve instead of 10 bucks - The elite ultra runner caught editing rivals' Wikipedia pages for years - Why our old man's shed is one goat track from front to back - The First and Last shop in Mount Isa and a free packet of garlic balls - How to actually eat a dim sim, and why soy sauce is a crime Timestamps: (00:17) Cleaning the shed and the deck that never got built (04:05) Our old man's shed and the one goat track to the lathe (08:30) Troy's trip to the fertility clinic (15:23) Sperm racing as an actual gambling sport (20:00) The Domino's versus Pizza Hut search trick (24:16) Making your own gels for a buck thirty a serve (28:54) Potato gels, maple syrup and drinking straight cordial (34:47) Camille Heron and the Wikipedia editing scandal (44:00) Why social media feeds you what you love to hate (50:06) List of the week, top 5 servo foods (52:51) Australia has culture, it's just deep fried (60:42) The crumb sausage and its holding power (64:50) How to eat a dim sim properly (68:34) Garlic balls, the goat (75:32) The curried egg and lettuce honourable mention Full episode out now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Follow the pod on Instagram: @pullingthreads

  8. Sep 13

    The Council Took Our Dogs And Held Them Ransom

    We left a gate open, both dogs bolted, and the council scooped them straight into the system. What followed was a two-day nightmare of hold music, an animal rescue place that wouldn't answer the phone, and a council rule that forces you to desex your dog at three months before you can get them back. Add in the emotional cost of telling our wives their children were in dog prison, and you've got the most expensive open gate in history. In this episode: - How Veda and Donny ended up in dog prison and what it took to get them out - The Brimbank three-month desex rule and why every vet reckons it's too young - Why the animal rescue place never answers the phone (and why we understand now) - The tire-change call every bloke prays for, and why it was her fault - Korean billionaire investors, karaoke on a dirt runway, and an old bloke who shit the bed - A remote operator smashing the wall with the batwing right in front of the investors - Gazza in Perth saving $2,500 a year on free Bunnings EV charging - The Bunnings trade account hack that lets you walk straight past the checkout Timestamps: (02:03) We're allowed to keep our podcast equipment (06:29) Setting the scene, Donny comes over to a mud pit backyard (10:33) The gate's open, the dogs are gone (13:44) The council took them, four youths to grab Veda (23:59) Held to ransom until they're desexed (24:59) The Brimbank three-month desex rule (31:25) The demographic at the lost dogs home (41:08) The final bill, $900 and the emotional toll (42:40) The flat tire call every man wants (43:53) Why you can't trust a mechanic (49:00) Crib time, investors on site and cleaning the workshop (51:33) Korean billionaire investors and karaoke on a dirt runway (56:24) The remote operator who smashed the wall on cue (63:55) Robots, AI and losing your johnson (73:51) Stingy or Smart, Gazza and the free Bunnings charging Full episode out now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Follow the pod on Instagram: @pullingthreads

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About

Mostly shit talking, occasionally to great people...

Information

  • Creator
    Alex Cleary
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Alex Cleary
  • Show Website
    Pulling Threads

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