Tough Talk

29/09/2021

Some mates made this epic video for Mental Health Awareness Week.

If you're experiencing a breakdown then the first thing to do is call a mate for a jumpstart 🤙

22/09/2021

Kia ora koutou

It's been a while since I've posted anything on Tough Talk, but if you're still following along then here's me talking on a podcast.

There's also a new Tough Talk doco in the works, so stay tuned.

Does it Hurt When You Do That? Don't Do That. · Episode

21/02/2021

What's this?! Something new is in the works!

01/07/2020

"In this episode, Sam and I discuss masculinity, the patriarchy and some of the trends that impact and affect men online, including gym culture and po*******hy."

Lucy Frances from Selfie Reflective Podcast

What is masculinity? Is all masculinity toxic? How does the patriarchy affect all genders? How does po*******hy impact men? How does gym culture affect men? With Sam O'Sullivan, a clinical psychologist and founder of Tough Talk (a documentary series about men's well-being and platform which provides

07/06/2020

Photo cred:
Tashy H'ng

The other morning I walked out my front door and a kereru dived from the redwoods and soared by in front of me. I was instantly brought out of my waking haze into a feeling of profound appreciation for the world around me. Check out our latest Story for videos of everyday life on the farm.


Every mission on the farm feels like an adventure. On this particular morning I decided to go and feed the animals. I jumped on the quad bike with a bucket of scraps and a basket of floury apples, turned the key, hit the ignition, revved it up, and kicked it into gear — it’s on!

My first point of call was to drop off some apples to our adorable calves. They formed a semi circle around me as I approached them. They began licking their faces, eager for my sweet juicy treats after several days of boring old grass. I gleefully fed them apples, throwing some on the ground and placing others in the mouths of those confident enough to come close. Piwakawaka flew playfully from calf to calf as they munched happily on the apples. I felt immense joy witnessing the animals eat and play.

I soon ran out of apples and decided to move on, but the calves had a different idea. They began to try and reach for the bucket of scraps in the basket on the quad, stretching out their long leather-like tongues they knocked it over. I hit reverse, but they surrounded me, blocking all escape. Feeling anxiously amused, I decided to hit the gas and drive right through them, knowing they would get out of the way. Upon escape I sped along the paddock, laughing with glee, but quickly realised that they were in hot pursuit. I didn’t know how I was going to get through the gate to the orchard without the calves following me.

I stopped the quad by the gate and the calves began shoving me with eagerness for the bucket of food, which I quickly placed over the other side of the gate. Backed into a wall I thought, “I’m not going to take this” and began instinctively making aggressive noises and waving my arms. The calves absolutely freaked out and gapped it, leaving me feeling satisfied at discovering how to regain a sense of control as I interact with these meddling beasts. “Damn right, I’m a big bad predator,” I thought.

My next point of call was the piglets who eagerly gobbled down the scraps with snorting appreciation. I gave them some butt and belly scratches, which they love, and swung by the hot house to pick up some mizuna for brekkie. I zoomed back on the quad taking a different route to avoid another run in with the calves, smiling to myself and feeling lucky for my beautiful existence.

27/05/2020

You might have seen Adam David Rohe reading bedtime stories on Tough Talk Live. What you probably didn't know about Adam is well...many things, but you can totally learn more about him and his gender transition by watching this film when it's released.

You can even support him by making a donation!

Join us, and together, we will learn the toughest lessons known to man…MAN LESSONS.

17/05/2020

I woke up in the morning with my work done for the week, feeling free as a bird. Some would say I was feeling rather chipper... As I was taking a p*e by the pond and admiring the ducks, I heard an almighty roar. “Oh that’s right, the chipper is here” I thought, and at that moment I knew it was going to be a day of hard physical mahi on the farm. A message came through on the bubble chat — “available hands asap plz”. Casey Kami (our newest farm member!) and I scoffed our hashbrowns and eggs, geared up, and headed on down to face the machine. Check out our footage from the day

For over a month now Dave has been waxing lyrical about wanting mulch for the gardens, but COVID-19 had deprived us of access to a chipper. Finally, with Level 2 in place, we were able to hire a chipper and make that sweet mulch laden with delicious biology, carbon, and other useful properties. We had cut down two different types of trees — alder and macrocarpa. The mulch from alder is great for compost because of the biology it contains, creating a cosy home for fungi, whereas macrocarpa is perfect for garden paths as the chemicals it contains suppress weeds.

Working on the farm has got me thinking about my experience of community. Dave really wanted the mulch and that alone was enough for me to go out of my way to support him. He’s also stewarding the hot-house, so his desire for a thriving garden supports all of us on the farm. Recently, I’ve been working on a little home for myself and every single person here has supported me to make it a reality. I’ve experienced communities of friends and colleagues before, but being within a community in a place feels like a different experience. Our lives are incredibly intertwined. Just as we give love to the garden and it loves us back with delicious kai, supporting each other brings shared abundance for our community.

The farm is also proving to be incredible for my physical health. I find it satisfying to spend a day cutting down a tree and pruning branches and then another day chipping those branches. It’s especially fun doing it with friends as we learn to communicate without words - whistles, eye gaze, and gestures can always be heard over the roar of machinery. As we steadily work in this beautiful natural setting, our bodies get stronger, our relationships grow, our spirits lift, and our personal and collective wellbeing increases. True holistic health comes from collaboration that brings together the cornerstones of wellbeing.

It’s incredible to see energy being cycled through a farm system - the trees that we mulched were grown here, taking energy accrued over millennia from the soil. We rapidly transformed the trees into a form to grow other plants in another location that yield food. The icing on the cake is seeing the beauty that the mulch brings to the gardens — practically, aesthetically, and through love as Dave smiles, witnessing his vision become a reality.

11/05/2020

I’ve been feeling overwhelming appreciation for the abundance of life surrounding me. Not a day goes by without the many plants and creatures present here bringing me out of my head and grounding me in place through their beauty and antics. Check out our latest Story to witness a diversity of life on the farm.

Sharing lunch with a kereru on the daily is simply magnificent. Watching Baby the pig strut around the property with a “you can’t touch me” attitude gives me great joy. Seeing the determination of ants creating highways to our kitchens is impressive. One time I shed a tear as a bee buzzed inside a purple flower. Experiencing calves being their adorable selves is cuuuute (often with sheep watching on awkwardly). Seeing deer in wilder parts of the property is deeply peaceful. I feel a fatherly love for avocado trees as I nurture them in the nursery. I’m increasingly feeling a sense of energy emanating from trees. I feel comforted by them.

Today a friend of mine introduced me to the idea of species loneliness, which I understood as an experience of loneliness that comes from a lack of connection with the different species of life that surround us. I imagine many people have this experience, with no idea why. Living in the city was so different from my life now. Connection to other species was mostly with cats and dogs and the insects that I discovered with friends.

On the farm it’s almost as if I can sense the entire place surrounding me as a whole. I experience its living form through the ways I observe it evolving every day as I move across its landscape. Different birds and insects come and go with the seasons, trees fall down, cow poo appears, ponds dry up and return, leaves change colour and fall. Constant change brings many opportunities and challenges as we seek to gradually facilitate the land here into its most flourishing potential. Because I’m regularly observing a diversity of animals, plants, and insects, I feel a togetherness with other life. A knowing feeling that I am part of something greater which we are all contributing to. My empty feeling of loneliness is filled in these moments — I feel fulfilled within myself and in awe.

11/05/2020

Workouts with Nach coming today at 5pm 💪

Live 45’ full body routine!

08/05/2020

Workout with nach postponed today. He will be back on Monday at 5pm

Thank you and have a good weekend!

05/05/2020

“Workout with Nach” this week will be happening on Wednesday and Friday 5pm due to weather conditions.

Thank you.