Andy White, Wombats & Bikes

Tommy: The Daily Talk Show.

Josh: It's a Daily Talk Show episode 412, and it's Fat Fridays, and we got Andy White in the building.

Andy: Hello, good morning.

Tommy: Uh, happy, uh, organised August.

Andy: Uh, did you just make that shit up?

Tommy: No, no, no, no, no.

Josh: Yeah, I mean, that's— it was actually 2 days ago that he made that shit up, and now we're amongst August.

Tommy: Well, no, yesterday was like a trend. Yeah, well, yesterday was the first, and I, um did Organised August, which was organising my wallet, which was great. But anyway, we won't get bogged down. But if you want to get involved and get organised in August—

Josh: Andy, I sent you a message last night and I said, what's your favourite food? I actually am meeting your text messages with how you present them, which are minimal, sometimes coded.

Andy: Yeah.

Josh: You once sent me a timecode to our own podcast and I literally was like, Amy, This is fucking— I gotta, I gotta work out what this is. It's Seth Godin's episode, and he— and, and Andy said 14:01.

Tommy: Well, I mean, Andy, you've got Melbourne Roubaix, and so it's almost like orienteering through text message sometimes.

Andy: Yeah, the way that you do it. Well, it depends, uh, when we become better friends, Tommy, my text messages will become longer, more explicit. It's really just a short form novel. It's a level of our friendship, but I feel that we could go from strength to strength.

Josh: I mean, I feel like we've, um, taken that next step in our relationship.

Andy: You've let me wear wear—

Josh: you've let me wear your helmet.

Andy: Well, you didn't take it off my head.

Tommy: Yeah, you won't let me do it because of my folliculitis.

Josh: Look at that thing.

Andy: It's safety and warmth first, always.

Josh: So is it actually a snowboard?

Andy: It is a snowboard helmet. It does not meet Australian safety standards for a bicycle.

Josh: Okay.

Andy: Because they haven't played the licensing, but other than that, I'm sure it's fine, mate.

Josh: I would trust my helmet, my head in this, over a fucking Melbourne $10 helmet from 7-Eleven that you can get.

Andy: Yeah, I agree. I would never compromise on safety.

Josh: All right, I'm back.

Tommy: And so do you reckon it is actually—

Josh: there we go.

Tommy: I mean, what is it designed for? What are people using?

Andy: Your head warm? Well, like snowboarding impacts, I imagine. You don't want to— we should ask the Canadian, really.

Tommy: Yeah, when would you—

Mason: I've never actually snowboarded, but I've had—

Tommy: what?

Andy: Get out!

Mason: I've had friends that have been in snowboarding accidents, and it's because you're hitting the snow, you risk hitting ice.

Andy: Yes.

Mason: So you can hit ice, a tree, rocks.

Andy: Oh, trees.

Mason: When you're going down a hill at like sometimes you get 80 k's an hour, it's not ideal.

Josh: So that would be highly safe then for a bike riding effect. We got to address the elephant in the room.

Tommy: Which one?

Josh: The spread that's in front of us.

Tommy: You did sort of—

Josh: Oh no, mate. No, no, you just—

Tommy: You look like you're pointing to me.

Josh: We've got an amazing spread, 3D deal. Do you want to just share with Andy how you've come across this this morning?

Mason: So this morning I went out to Queen Victoria Market went on a nice early morning walk and, uh, just picked up a bunch of Italian-themed foods and stuff like meats, uh, spreads. We've got 3 different types of dips, olives, uh, 2 different types of breads, 3 different types of cheese, 2 variations of salami.

Tommy: I can eat now.

Mason: And they actually, the people at the— I can't remember the name of the—

Andy: What, the opportunity to plug?

Tommy: They gave us a deal. You literally said that they were going to be— But the idea of a deal is you got to know where the fuck you got it from.

Josh: Andy, this is actually something. What do you feel about going to somewhere like the Vic Market in a place like Melbourne, Australia, and actually trying to barter with these, you know, delicatessens?

Andy: I think food's one of those things Bartering. Hmm. Can I pay less for that? I come from a long line of hagglers. My brother is probably one of Australia's greatest negotiators when it comes to folded. But the food, I suppose if you're going to buy 100 kilos of cured meat, I would probably say, can you do something less for cash, etc., etc.? But I mean, McDonald's.

Josh: Well, he asked for a discount.

Mason: Oh, I didn't ask for a discount. I said, this is going to be for a podcast. We're going to be filming it.

Josh: Oh, he's flexing. Give the guy a sticker.

Andy: In lieu of the old influencer hole, oh, asking for a cop-out because you're in a basically— look, let's just face it, I have a small Instagram or social media following. I would never ask for a cop-out and say, oh, I'll post, uh, can you give me a half-price rent on this?

Josh: And it's— I'm glad that he's forgot the name of it because we can't be linked back really to it.

Mason: Yes, I never asked for the discount. He said, oh yeah, if like If you want 3, if for the dips per se, said, if you want 3, I'll give you 3 for $10.

Tommy: I think that's a standard deal.

Andy: The upsold deal. That's the reverse.

Josh: You make them feel like you're getting discount, but you're actually selling them more.

Mason: $5 each for those dips.

Andy: How long has the Canadian been in Australia?

Tommy: Like 3 months.

Andy: Oh, so my wife's been in Australia 10 years and she's finally, now she's coming out with some Australianisms and she's getting a hang of the lay of the land.

Mason: Yeah.

Andy: How things are dealt. She's a very crossing the T's, dotting the I's, which I love about her and is very important in a dynamic where I'm very far at the other end of the scale. So I think we can forgive Dyl.

Tommy: Yes, because look at the spread. He's done a great job.

Josh: It's unbelievable.

Mason: He's got Geo's money.

Tommy: Yeah. When you have a podcast, it just does come up in conversation. It's one of those things. It's sort of, it's, it's one of those things I think where it's like, don't you think? Oh no.

Josh: Well, I mean, you lead with it. I mean, it's all I've got. Josh Jensen hosted the Daily Talk Show podcast. It's all I've got. Andy, you've got something. You've created a movement. We shot a video for Quad Lock that was about you and the Melbourne Roubaix, the event that you put on every year.

Andy: Bloody awesome, can I just say.

Josh: Thank you. And fucking, we had no real idea about—

Andy: $2 in the swear jar—

Josh: Melbourne Roubaix or what it is or the movement that it is. And we filmed the interview first, maybe 2 months before the event. And so we're leading up, so we didn't really have an idea. And then we get there, 3D Deal, Josh and I, we get there on the day and we're just, what the fuck is happening? We can swear.

Andy: I'd say that the same. I mean, on the day, it's—

Josh: there was—

Tommy: we just literally had to point that. I mean, the thing with a video like this is you literally point the camera anywhere and there's something interesting fucking going on.

Andy: It's wild. It's wild. And it was wild the first year when we had 100 people. I remember the night before, I was on the SEN radio with Matthew Keenan and Dave McKenzie, who now, uh, SBS Cycling Tour de France commentators. And I was saying, look, I don't know how many people are going to turn up, maybe— oh, spitballing, oh, imagine if 100 turn up. And they said, we think 100 people are going to turn up. I'm like, I don't know. And 100 people turned up. I was blown away at the response. But one, I think it's one of those things, if you build it, they will come. People are looking for a reason to get together and have a great time, but It was pre-social media then, pre-Insta. Back in the day, I printed out flyers and I would go around to cafes and bike shops and say, do you mind if I put this up in your window? If they said no, I just put it up anyway.

Tommy: And any tips on that stuff? So I did a sticker bomb. I don't know how you feel about sticker bombs.

Andy: It's like an earlier version of hashtagging, really. It's a physical, in real life version of hashtagging. Like, you put it on a sign, it's a hope to get people's attention when they're actually doing something totally different.

Tommy: Yeah. But my concern is that I walked the other day and I'm guessing it's the council has gone through and removed all the stickers.

Josh: Or is it a little nasty other podcast?

Tommy: I don't know, but I just, I'm curious as to what is the standard protocol of sticker bombing. I feel like you would know.

Andy: Oh, where?

Josh: Because I put it on a Mercedes-Benz.

Andy: Your cars? I would be—

Tommy: No, I put it, I put it on a, um, like a pole where you press the button to cross the road.

Andy: Yeah. Oh, perfect.

Tommy: Yeah. And it was, it was gone.

Andy: I mean, are we talking about like 5-foot height?

Tommy: Well, this is a problem because I'm always fucking panicked when I'm doing it. They're always in the worst position.

Andy: Wrong. You need to look like it's totally legitimate.

Tommy: Yeah.

Andy: And you were there, you were just actually paid to work for the daily talk show. I'm just, this is just my job. Hey, don't shoot the messenger.

Tommy: Yeah, that's a great idea. Do I need high vis?

Andy: I'm not gonna talk about my experience with high-vis.

Tommy: What is your experience?

Andy: You can do anything with high-vis.

Tommy: What have you done? What have you done with high-vis? I'm not gonna say.

Andy: Well, I mean, you talk about the origins of street art and graffiti, and I know a lot of artists that— I mean, Melbourne, we have this hypocrisy where one of the most celebrated points where tourists come to take photos is Hosier Lane.

Tommy: Yeah.

Andy: Now it's graffiti, it's vandalism.

Josh: Yeah.

Andy: At what point does that vandalism become art and cherished?

Tommy: Yeah. Well, I think the stickers—

Andy: Well, the stickers, at what point does it like, is someone going to put something around that sticker? The first one. Where was the first one placed?

Josh: Perfect example. I think it's in between San Francisco and Los Angeles. There's some laneway that is now Bubblegum Alley. And it's been—

Tommy: Oh, it's Chewy's.

Josh: Look it up. It's nice.

Andy: Just sounds like the Lovelock Bridge in Paris.

Josh: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So like, who was the first? Person to stick a piece of chewy there. They were just being a gronk. And then I'll take it up there and then there and then just lit it. It's colourful and people take photos there.

Tommy: Do you think that the councils like Melbourne on South Bank, they've actually got one of those bridges now that have the cable that allows for it?

Josh: I don't know if it allows for it.

Tommy: Are they trying to make it a thing?

Josh: No, no. Because they had to—

Tommy: what Andy's saying, that bridge in Paris, they have to remove it every 6 months. They have to remove all the locks.

Andy: It's the weight.

Josh: So all the, all the gypsies are selling locks over in Paris trying to get you to go and do it.

Tommy: Yeah.

Josh: So Melbourne Roubaix, it's, it's not a race.

Andy: God, no, it's—

Tommy: it was picking at this point.

Josh: Yeah, go for it.

Andy: And I just decided I can see— look, uh, one thing I'll say about— I used to race a lot, I used to enjoy it. Um, races involve ego, and it's amazing, once you take out ego from an event, the vibe changes drastically. And I found that from my own experiences of going to bike races when everyone's trying to win. One, there's only one person happy at the end of the day, and that's the person who wins. Everyone else is less than happy. And just the, the encouragement and the vibe when you can't compete and flex in a physical manner. And it— I just found it, it was a, it was a definitely a light bulb moment of making, uh, putting the bucket of water over the fire of competing physically. Because the other thing is there's so many opportunities in life to do that. There's not so many opportunities to just be silly, cavalier, and hang out.

Josh: Yeah, there was people dressed up. These dudes had built this, um, like this platform with these Mardi Gras floats, yeah, with these, um, exercise bikes that then—

Tommy: stationary bikes that were then connected to actual wheels that could make it move.

Josh: And we followed them for the whole day. Somehow we just ended up bumping into them at all points.

Andy: They don't go very fast. Yeah, there was a wheel hanging off on the back, and I thought, is that part of the aesthetic? And they said, no, no, that's a spare wheel for if and when one breaks.

Josh: So at the start of the race, they said to us, uh, we don't know if we'll make it.

Tommy: You said race.

Josh: Oh, sorry, sorry. At the start of the event, they said, we don't know if we'll make it.

Andy: It's genuine. And so last year, uh, Oscar made a bicycle with a trailer and the barbecue on the back and did up as a moving Bunnings snag station and was serving snags. And each— I thought, there's no way I can top that. Yeah, no way. And then they do. So I love that people— and because we reward it and people do it, I think they do it just for the fun and for the visual and to entertain others. But we've also given prizes away. But every year I think people are thinking, how can I stand out and be silly and fun? And I love that. That's a distraction from the day-to-day. Yeah, you know, the monotony of a lot of our lives is something to think, oh, what can I do for that big party that happens in the middle of winter?

Josh: I always see some people who have found success in something, and you've definitely found success in this being this huge event— not race, event— now. Do you look back on it with a storey that you articulate that's about you know, getting into it and you had the vision of exactly what you wanted? Or is it what I more think about looking back on success is you're kind of just in the moment, not really hoping it sort of takes off. Did you have the vision at the start or just, you just started?

Andy: I can't look past next week. And actually I had my wife and I had our, because we worked together.

Josh: I mean, so do we, my wife.

Andy: Part of our success is purely because she keeps me on track and she has a better plan, but I hate to plan. And we were talking about, you know, planning for Fixo, and it's like a— I don't know, boner killer. Like, I just don't like to plan. I like my agility of— if I say, yeah, yeah, I see you guys, and I go— so when I— the first one was just like, oh, just put it on an event and let's see what happens.

Tommy: So what is Roubaix? What does Roubaix actually mean?

Andy: So Roubaix is the town the city in the north of France, which Paris-Roubaix, of which our event takes the piss of, is based on.

Tommy: So that's a serious event.

Andy: It's the longest and oldest bicycle race in the world, Paris-Roubaix. And it doesn't actually start in Paris now— in Paris, it starts in Compiègne, but it still rides over rough cobbled farm roads which is unchanged. And that's part of the unique aesthetic of that race. It makes it really tough and grueling.

Tommy: It's like cyclocross. Is that a thing? I don't know much about cycling. It's just like a regular Tour de France or whatever. Like, is it the exact same sort of thing?

Andy: And they've had stages where they've gone over the same roads.

Tommy: That sounds so fucking bogan when I said that. No, no, Tour de France.

Josh: Hey, um, did you see the guy who jumped on a, uh, just a dirt jumper?

Andy: It's like the third time, yeah.

Josh: Jumped over the road as the cyclists on the Tour de France were going underneath. It's so crazy.

Tommy: Anyway, it's the this epic—

Josh: watch, look it up on YouTube.

Tommy: So the cobblestones, the roughness of that ride.

Andy: And the only reason that Melbourne Roubaix came is because this city, the majority of the back alleys in the inner suburbs had a cobblestone back alley which was originally used for the shit carters to come and collect, you know, the rubbish and the trash and etc., to clear the streets. And in planning the event, when I'm looking at doing— everyone's like, oh, where's it going to go next year? And you find new sectors. It's really depressing when I go somewhere and you're expecting to see a cobbled alley and they've paved over it.

Josh: It's like, well, Albert Park, I used to live there, and it's older. All the, all the sort of behind the houses, they're old cobblestone laneways, and it's so nice.

Andy: It's cool. Like, it's an aesthetic that it's very— it's hard to create and easy to pave over. It's like that, you know, is it, um, Pave Paradise? To put up a parking lot. Oh yeah, that line in the song. It's a good song. It is a good song, but it's—

Tommy: I'll put it in my Spotify playlist. One of the Organised August is creating a fresh Spotify playlist. I'll add that song.

Andy: We can never go back to that visual of the beautiful buildings that are easily torn down or thrown up like a townhouse, multi-story, etc.

Josh: So did you grow up in Melbourne?

Andy: I did, born and bred northern suburbs. I've actually got our first house now and it's very close to where I grew up.

Josh: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, it's always home, but you've travelled the world, you've lived all across the world. Yeah, you quit your marketing job.

Andy: Yeah, to the much disappointment of my dad. I actually have a pro— I'm going to share this on my Fixo account, but I shared a photo of me in my office at Hewlett-Packard, my marketing job that I quit.

Josh: Oh wow, you worked—

Andy: My dad was very disappointed. Disappointed.

Josh: God, what kind of computers were they rocking back then?

Tommy: Was it printers then?

Andy: This was just pre-Millennium Bug. If you, uh, yeah, sure, you can imagine, you know, the world was about to end, what are we going to do when the calendars roll over, etc.

Tommy: So were you almost— did the Millennium Bug come into your decision of quitting? No.

Andy: Okay, it was the monotony and just working with it.

Tommy: So what do you do, like, if you're working in HP marketing in the '90s What does that actually, what does that look like?

Andy: I was organising the promotional giveaways for the company, so I would have all these reps come and basically what you would go to AliExpress now and when you find stuff that you want to get branded, you'd have reps come to you and say, oh, here's some pens and we've got some water bottles and all this just garbage and we'll just throw the HP logo on it and da da da da da and then other groups within the organisation could buy it, and they'd send me cost centers. It was just boring, boring as hell.

Tommy: How long did you do that for?

Andy: Ah, I don't think I lasted a year. I'm—

Josh: I don't—

Andy: yeah, I don't think I lasted a year.

Josh: So you did your marketing degree and then you did—

Andy: got your job and I threw it in the bin.

Josh: I'm going overseas.

Tommy: And so there's Melbourne Roubaix, but then all the other 364 days of the year, Fixo. How do you describe Fixo? Because from my perspective, it's, it's one of those like lifestyle brands that sort of you don't necessarily— the first thing you do isn't necessarily put a product to the name. I think I put you to the, to the, to the name.

Andy: This was a discussion Melody and I were having. She was like, okay, we're going to have a— we could have a plan and we could sell it. I'm like, can't sell it. It's me.

Tommy: Yeah.

Andy: And there's lots of great examples of brands where someone, a personality, is intrinsically weaved into that brand. And look, it's not my goal, it's never been my goal to build it up and sell it. And if people that have known Fixo or me over the journey of what I've been doing will see that it's evolved, like I've grown up, I'm marginally more sensible, I'm a dad now. That's really exciting.

Josh: Yeah, I can tell with the helmet, mate. Yeah, that's got dad vibes all over it. And that's why I gravitate. Let me put it on.

Tommy: Cool dad vibes, definitely.

Andy: And now big thing is creating— and Melbourne Roubaix, as you would have seen, is creating an event where parents can hang out with their kids and do super cool stuff with their kids and share a moment that their kids can enjoy, the parents can enjoy, gets people together. I love that. And I want to share my passion with my daughter. And look, Fixo is related to bikes, but it's really just an expression of my own personality and what I like doing. Being outside, having fun, talking shit, and making people feel really good.

Josh: Josh informed me about the wombat.

Tommy: Yeah, I keep seeing the wombat on your Instagram.

Andy: Oh, we've got a wombat living in our house. We've been treating it for mange, and he's decided to take residence. Where?

Josh: In a hole?

Andy: Or right next to our bedroom window. Yeah, between a rock.

Tommy: Yeah, because I was thinking, I was like, fuck, I'd love to— because 3D Dill, we've sort of done the rounds. We went to Lysterfield, like Churchill National Park, and we went and saw kangaroos and all that sort of thing I thought. Like, you were actually patting, like you actually touched the wombat.

Andy: Like, my daughter's patted a wombat, echidnas, the tiger snake. She's seen a tiger snake, like she basically walked over it. I mean, that was the highlight of parenting.

Josh: Don't pat. If you see a tiger snake, fucking run.

Mason: I'm aware.

Andy: Like I said, I basically live where I grew up and at my front door, it's the wilderness area and we have deer, we have eagles. I love, and that's one of the things I love sharing with my daughter. We go for a walk, see some wombats, see echidnas. You know, it's a really special thing. I love that. And I love, because I have a global audience, I love sharing that because people on the other side of the world, kangaroos, no big deal. Well, it's no big deal for me, but sometimes you think, well, what about the people in Russia? I reckon they would trip out seeing—

Tommy: Absolutely.

Andy: The stuff that I see and take for granted every day.

Josh: So I don't take it for What is it about cycling and really strong, solid communities? Because we're friendly with Maven, Cycling Maven, who's built a good thing online through cycling and the people—

Tommy: Quad Lock and all these different brands and people that have— yeah, it's definitely— there's— it feels like that community building.

Andy: Sometimes I think, is it because we're outcasts and we've chosen a transportation alternative that doesn't fit the norm of there's— I think there is a part of it. I think it's people that like being outdoors, like being active. There's— I think there's a lot of commonalities about what brings people and bikes together. I don't know, it's not, it's not just one thing because when we say bikes, there's people that only ride road bikes, there's people that only ride mountain bikes, there's people who just use a bike just to get to work and back, and outside of that they don't ride a bike.

Tommy: Yeah. So do you feel like you sit in the middle if there's all those communities? But I think Melbourne Roubaix has sort of put you in that position.

Andy: It's definitely— well, I was a bike courier, so I was using it. I loved riding bikes and I was using it as a, as a tool. And that helped me meet lots of people that use bikes in so many different ways. And you're right, Melbourne Roubaix is one of those events that pulls together all people that ride bikes, but it's not a— it's not for one subset.

Josh: So have you seen the— I think it's Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the bike courier.

Andy: So my friend Austin Horse was the stunt double.

Josh: Oh wow.

Andy: And my other friend Kevin, or Squid as he's known, he's a bit of a godfather type in New York messengers, because I worked in New York. Yeah, he was the creative consultant, I would say, to get the look right. And it was one of those movies that bike crews would look at and go, "Ah, that's— Ah, you would never do that." Yeah. Not so much. It's actually pretty good representation. But there has been a lot of movies of Quicksilver, for example, where they're switching between scenes and one second they're in San Francisco and then they're in New York.

Josh: Yeah.

Andy: But you've got to be a total nerd to pick up on those little things as a movie watcher.

Josh: You wouldn't. No, I definitely— That's why I was wanting to know, is it a genuine representation of what it was like because you're working.

Tommy: No, you did 3 months in New York.

Andy: Yeah, I used to, uh, so the reason I went to Canada, I got a working visa for Canada because I knew I would never get a work visa for the States. Yeah, I just ducked across the border. I worked illegally 3 months.

Tommy: I may have defamed you, yes, on, uh, yesterday's show because I, I switched 2 storeys up where TJ's mates—

Josh: You got it right.

Tommy: Were you an alien? No, but did you work illegally in New York? Are you saying that?

Andy: Okay, good.

Josh: All right, you got it right, but you Because I know another guy that went there and works.

Tommy: Was an alien in New York. So I just didn't—

Andy: It was what year?

Josh: '80s? '90s?

Tommy: Can you go to fucking US?

Andy: Like, is there a concern there now? And do it? Absolutely.

Tommy: You could do it.

Andy: Absolutely. Do it tomorrow. Do you think that there'd be any— I've got family here.

Tommy: From a customs point of view, do you reckon that fucking— they're not—

Andy: Well, I mean, when you enter the States, I hope the NSA isn't watching this. Well, maybe they should. That'd be good for ratings, right?

Tommy: Yeah.

Andy: When you enter any country, you say, why am I here? I'm here as a tourist.

Tommy: Yeah, sure.

Andy: I was basically, and in the grand scheme of things, the pittance that I was making.

Tommy: Yeah.

Andy: I was a tourist with the coolest mechanism to see New York inside and out.

Tommy: Yeah.

Andy: Really.

Mason: That's what I was doing.

Andy: Sleeping on couch at 13 Division above a Chinese restaurant, making deliveries during the day. At night I would deliver food, which I thought would never catch on in Australia.

Tommy: Wait, so it was like, this is Uber Eats back here?

Andy: I was an Uber Eats, yeah. Absolutely. It was one of the best jobs I had in New York.

Josh: What kind of food?

Andy: Chinese food? It was Mama's. So it was, no, it was really good restaurant in the East Village. It was really wholesome pastas and what do they do? What else do they do? Just really home style, good Italian style cuisine.

Tommy: What were the companies that you were working for?

Andy: One was called A to Z, affectionately known as Gay to Z because the owners were gay.

Josh: And no better place, New York, baby.

Andy: They'd smoke crack in the basement. It was wild. And my friend, Macker, who's a world-renowned artist, got me the job. And this is one of the things that he taught me. He's a mega hustler, but it's who you know. And he basically said to the dispatcher, this is my mate Andy from Australia, give him a job.

Tommy: They don't ask questions. Is he fast?

Andy: He goes, he's fast.

Tommy: What sort of bike is it? Like, I'm imagining some form of like BMX or something.

Andy: Doesn't matter what you ride. And honestly, the, the, the, the best thing you can offer any company as a bike courier is just turn up every day and just shut your mouth and do what you're told.

Tommy: How do you see, because you've had those experiences, when you see what's happening with Uber Eats and you see all that sort of stuff, what do you, um, empathise or do you see it as a different time? Have they bastardised the whole experience?

Andy: Uh, I think they've marginally— it doesn't sound like they're making very good much money, but what the restaurants aren't anyway from what I've But the early days of— there were some companies in San Francisco building their own version of Uber to deliver to clients. Yeah. So it's— the origins are quite not old, but I think Uber has branded and packaged it the best of all of them.

Josh: There's another brand, starts with E, yellow. There was a flock of them at Melbourne Roubaix. Who are those?

Andy: Food delivery? Yeah, I think so. Eats. Look, that's all, that's, it's like there's Ola, there's a rideshare app.

Josh: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Andy: Oh, it's now it's becoming a competitive space. Uber just led the way. Um, back to your question, do I think like Uber's got an opportunity to connect more people with the people delivering it? So in a way there's more opportunity. I just think the days of it being able to make heaps of money in the early days of the '90s when people pre-faxes and emails and more things were delivered, bike couriers made solid bank. And same within New York, like you can make good money. When I worked in New York, I primarily delivered garments and portfolios, photography portfolios for agencies to photography studios and garments.

Tommy: So you're doing Dropbox really?

Andy: Like, yeah, you know, it's true. It's so Dropbox has alleviated the need for those. And I remember I delivered to the West Village once, and over my shoulder I saw a guy with massive camera lens, and he's all dressed in black. I looked over my shoulder after delivered, and, uh, I know before I delivered, I said to him, hey, what's your problem? Yeah, I'm not that good looking. He said, oh, that's, uh, Sarah Jessica Parker's house. I'm like, bullshit, guys, cheque the bag. And it was a bag from Oscar de la Renta, and on the bag it said SJP. I'm like, hmm, probably is her house. And I delivered to, you know, celebs all the time. They're just there, but they're people, they just live in New York.

Josh: Do you become friends with any of them?

Andy: No.

Josh: Or just never, just knuckle buddies? No, no, no, no.

Tommy: Well, you had walk-ins.

Josh: You're still on, uh, one message text.

Andy: Yeah, exactly.

Josh: Delivered with a time code.

Tommy: The walkie-talkie.

Mason: I love that.

Andy: So that was the Nextel era. Yeah.

Tommy: And so what years were you there? Were you there pre-9/11? Like, what was it?

Andy: So I started as a bike courier a month after 9/11 in London, and that was the walkie-talkie era. And when I worked in New York, it was Nextel. So it's one way, you don't have an open channel. The thing that I— and when I worked in Melbourne, we had open channel walkie-talkies, which was just the biggest hilarity every day because everyone had their own personalities. You would call over the radio if someone would fuck up. My thing was the monthly, like, like, and just the banter was amazing. And so podcast.

Tommy: So fucking, yeah, if you recorded the walkie-talkie, like CB radios back in the day, I'd spend hours just listening to people having conversations.

Andy: One of my mates, Alvaro, 5 o'clock, like on the dot. Oh, he would say it's just about time for burgers because he would be in South Melbourne at 5 o'clock. Time for burgers. And people would just cue in visuals from what's going on in the street. But once that's taken away, so you've got your job where you're in isolation, but you don't feel it because you've got all these voices. Yeah. Community.

Tommy: Yeah.

Andy: People, community. People would call on, some people would call on with a song in the morning. So, Kirk was the Bee Gees, Stayin' Alive. So, you've been in elevator and all of a sudden the Bee Gees will start playing. I love that. That was a really special time. But once So we're talking now Uber. There's none of that.

Josh: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Andy: It's lifeless.

Tommy: Could Uber maybe manufacture some of that shit? I wonder.

Josh: I don't think it's scalable. Like it's, it's too disruptive. Think about the executive that would be pissed now if he heard that from Uber and then it's this big company.

Andy: It's like the romanticism has died.

Tommy: Yeah. I mean, that's— I think you do that so well. I think of like Australiana and nostalgia and romanticism. Like, I feel these are the things that I associate with you. When it comes to Australiana, what do you think that people miss? Like, I find it hard to describe Australia to international people, but what do you love about Australia?

Andy: Oh, I love the open spaces. I love the wildlife.

Tommy: I love—

Andy: I think we still have a relatively laid-back nature. And but one of the things I mean, obviously a big part of my job is living online. And I don't like the way the portal that we're all looking is homogenising the world. So, you go overseas and you're like, "Oh, we've got that back home." There's less of a— When I travelled South America in the early 2000s and other parts of the world that weren't exposed to that, you really get a sense that it's a different way of life. But I think as this technology evolves, we're all kind of becoming less diverse in the cultural, you know, way of life.

Josh: So you're not a guy to go to a restaurant but have already gone through Instagram looking at the meals?

Andy: No, no, no, I like— I don't want to know. I want surprise. Yeah, that's one of the things about, um, what I was saying with our event is there's very few opportunities to have total surprise. Like, Google Street View has mapped the world. Yeah, if I want to know what your joint looks like, I can put in your address and I can do that for the Grand Canyon, which is one of my favourite places in the world.

Tommy: You don't have to go there anymore. You got Street View.

Josh: I was in a building in India. They've sent a guy with a pack and I was like literally walking through the building. It was like abandoned. Crazy.

Tommy: Wait, what's it? So, there's benefits to it?

Andy: There are benefits.

Tommy: Gets people curious.

Andy: To talk about that India, you don't have the smells, you don't have the oral sensations. It is a visual cue to what it might be like, but it's not the same. It's not the same. And I think, uh, to come back to your question, what do I love about Australia? Hmm, wombats.

Josh: They're creepy creatures, man. I, I was on school camp once and I just heard this and this thing, this heavy beast, 60 kgs or something, ran past me.

Andy: And they're fast.

Josh: I was scared.

Andy: Fallacy. Is it, uh, they've got little teeth.

Tommy: Would you like—

Josh: Yeah, you can.

Tommy: Yeah, but would you like hug it? Like, would you So, like patting it's one thing, lifting it, you would never lift it up, obviously.

Andy: Well, it's a wild animal, but I think if it was domesticated, you totally could. I've seen ones that are like little dogs and they run around.

Tommy: Yeah.

Josh: They're all cute when they're young.

Tommy: I guess domesticated animals. Do you have any pets?

Andy: Yeah, I've got a dog.

Tommy: Yep. Yeah.

Andy: I've always had a dog.

Tommy: I wonder what the like— The laws? Or not the laws, you're not allowed to.

Josh: Not allowed to.

Andy: No, actually. So, I joked about that with this, the ranger. How we've got a wombat that wants to adopt us as pets.

Tommy: Never joked with the rangers.

Andy: That's so true, right? I said, it's got mange. Oh, you think you should contact Wildlife Vic and DELWP about that? I said, well, actually, we are treating it for mange at the moment. And like, obviously the sarcasm didn't come through. A little longer text because I actually know this ranger really well.

Tommy: Fuck.

Josh: What did he do? What did he do to get in the long text range?

Andy: Yeah. And I actually thought for a while having a fox as a pet would be amazing.

Tommy: I love—

Andy: I'm torn. I love foxes. Obviously, I don't like what they do to native wildlife, but then I bring it back to think, what is the most invasive, detrimental thing that Australia has ever introduced?

Josh: Frogs?

Andy: White people.

Josh: White people.

Mason: Yeah.

Andy: Yeah.

Josh: No, you're right.

Andy: Yeah.

Tommy: Right.

Josh: You think about— They beat foxes.

Tommy: Let's just think about it.

Andy: Like on a high level. You know, people—

Tommy: We fuck shit up.

Andy: Correct. And it is the biggest tragedy. So, I think some people get on their high horse about deer's an invasive species. I love deer.

Mason: Yeah.

Tommy: And so, I think we should maybe just open it up a bit more.

Andy: I don't know what the answer is, but I think people just need to have just a good look hard in the mirror and go, actually, what are the bigger things that we can actually stop and change?

Tommy: What's your view on conservation? Because you talk about, say, like the cobblestones or things like that. Are you constantly— because I've got to say, I don't have— my nostalgia metre goes to things like fucking Nickelodeon or stuff like that. Like milk bars. Oh, milk. Yeah, definitely milk bars and stuff like that. But I don't— maybe architecture isn't necessarily super high on the list. But as I get older, I start to appreciate— when you go to other places, you go to Europe and all that sort of shit, you're like, oh, why the fuck are we getting rid of all these things?

Andy: Well, what you bring up a good point, and I think I think it's unusual for younger people to have that appreciation of architecture and cultural things, values to preserve until they get to their 30s and their 40s. Like, hang on, we should really protect— because my youth is— or reminders to my youth are getting erased. And there's— but it's too late, right? Because you're right. There was something about the old corn and milk bars. It's dying. Well, you can see why, because everyone goes to Coles.

Tommy: Yeah, absolutely.

Josh: Well, also 7-Eleven.

Tommy: We're in the fucking I quit sugar era. It's like you can't fucking have green frogs anymore.

Josh: You know, do you remember the time they could just have green frogs guilt-free? Licorice guilt-free without fucking looking at the back with the red tip on them?

Tommy: Absolutely. Fireworks. TJ had a few hookups with firework.

Andy: You probably ride your bike to the shop to get your bag of, in the white paper bag, and you get your like a dollar of mixed lollies or your frogs, whatever your favourite was. And then you go hang out with your mates and you'd run around after school. Whereas kids now, they're having those frogs and then they're looking at their phone.

Tommy: They're Uber Eatsing the frogs. Probably.

Josh: Oh God, one of the weirdest things, I got home the other night and my wife had ordered Uber Eats and she says to me, oh, there's some left in the fridge. I said, what'd you get? I got arancini balls, arancini balls and chicken wings.

Tommy: I was like, what a weird combo.

Josh: What a weird package.

Andy: So you can get it, is it basically just Uber Eats is just someone who goes out and get anything for you. Is it?

Josh: No, I mean, this was from a place. So this specifically, there is those services, but you can— there's like, um, they've set up like Uber Eats.

Tommy: No, this is good.

Andy: I, I've used Uber twice, once in Canada, and I actually used it recently when I had to go, um, have my hernia op because I thought, okay, I'll take the train in, but the train line was under construction. I'm like, okay, what else to do? Could I drive in and So I just thought, I know, I'll just get an Uber because I had to get at 4:30 in the morning to get to the hospital for like 5:30. I'll just get an Uber. And it was amazing. It is a fantastic service.

Tommy: I can see why. What was the banter like in the Uber? Zero.

Andy: No, no, I didn't look for it. You know, Ravi was the guy's name and I didn't go that, oh, so how long you been doing this?

Josh: It's—

Tommy: So you don't even ride Uber, but you fucking know the script.

Andy: No, I said to the guy, I said, mate, you can put on whatever you want to listen. I'm just going to just zone out in the back. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Tommy: You're preparing for an operation as well, which is a whole nother thing.

Josh: But it seems like you've done a bunch of stuff in life that you're not looking for the financial reward, it's the experience that you're being rewarded with.

Andy: I think I've always, always been chasing experiences and things that, uh, or for example, when I was in London I was on the corner of Regent Street and I think I forget where the alley was, but I was talking to this guy called Robin Superkid and he told me about how he'd worked in New York. And Superkid was his nickname, Robert. And I'm like, you worked in New York? He's like, oh yeah, just went over there, got a job. And that blew my mind. And then I thought, hang on, I'm an Australian, I'm in London, I'm working as a biker, how hard can it be? I've done this before in London. New York is just another place to do it. And, uh, and I always— and a few things I thought, I don't never want to be that granddad that— I want to have real life experiences, say, yeah, when I was a kid, this is what I did. I didn't know, like, I don't want to have regrets about, oh, I wish I'd— like, I just don't want to regret something because I chased some meaningless you know, a job that paid better. And I'm like, I'm sure I could get a job paying better.

Josh: And so that's how you're gonna— you've got a young daughter.

Andy: Yeah.

Josh: Is that something— because there's— I mean, your parents, like you said, you quit your marketing job and they were like, oh shit, you know, there's the anxiety argument about it.

Andy: Yeah, I remember crying.

Tommy: Well, last time I quit my job to go full-time working for myself, I called my mum and said, I've quit my job and I'm starting my own thing.

Josh: I could imagine the excitement in your voice.

Tommy: I was very excited. She goes, oh well, this is something I don't want to hear. Let's fucking hang out.

Andy: You know, I think part of that stems from parents wanting to have their child have security and the best for them. And my parents had a very different path and set up a wonderful foundation for my brother and I. But we are unemployable, is what my dad calls us. But, you know, we have made our way and And I'm thinking, but when my daughter, she will challenge me and she'll say something and I've just got to think, you know what, you'll work it out. You'll work it out. We all work it out. Look at you guys, you're working it out. I'm working it on the fly as a lot of people do, and that's really exciting. We all kind of work it out, you know. Maybe if they were going seriously off course or you were pissing all your money up your nose or da da da da da, then—

Josh: I know he looked at me when he said that. There's nothing there.

Tommy: Have you seen the spread? We haven't fucking eaten it yet.

Andy: No, I think, um, you know, and it's very difficult for parents to imagine walking a life different to your own.

Tommy: So how do you take that on if you've got parents or family that you find aren't supportive in that moment? How do you reconcile it? What's the— yeah, I'm curious.

Andy: Well, I just did what I wanted anyway.

Josh: Yeah.

Andy: And my brother is the same. Um, it, uh, look, I wasn't doing anything reckless, but that's the thing, right?

Tommy: But if you're not feeling— if, if you believe in your heart that you want to do something, but then you also feel like you don't have the support of the people who should be supporting, that's got to— like, I know personally it takes a toll where I'm like, oh, I haven't felt supported on certain things, and people can say, uh, the bigger picture, their family or whatever. But it's also like, oh, am I going to be a better person? Am I going to be better if I just like let it go and allow it to sort of happen? And how do you reconcile all that?

Andy: I suppose I'm lucky, like, I knew my parents would get on board. They would have to get on board. I just would have preferred if they were more excited, like your mum. You were excited about doing something adventurous with your life. And like my mum in her 20s, She travelled around the world with a little Leica camera with her brother, and she had her own version of that. And I was looking to do my own version. I think it's just coming from a place of love, of wanting your kids to be safe, knowing where they are at all times. The other thing is, I remember this thing I said, I'm going to South America, and my mum's like, oh, it's very, very, very dangerous there. And why don't you go to America? And so the most dangerous things— I remember the first night I got on a bus in Seattle and I had these two guys fighting with knives and they almost fell on top of me. And it's this perception of one part of the world is dangerous and one isn't. And I found that in Colombia, a wonderful place, very dangerous if you want to find trouble. But you know where I reckon the most dangerous place is other than the road?

Josh: Abbotsford.

Tommy: Yeah. Victoria Street.

Josh: The Daily Talk Show office.

Andy: Well, I was going to say King Street at 1 o'clock at night, like central, like Melbourne. Like it's It's wild. And like, well, you guys can obviously relate to inner city Melbourne. You know, if you want to find trouble, it's right here.

Tommy: Yeah.

Andy: I think it's one of those things that as we get further away from our home base, people think, oh, it's dangerous because we don't have a way of easily relating to it.

Josh: For someone who has a similar approach, I don't want to plan, you know, I want to find experience, which doesn't always equate to stability. What do you— I mean, you're someone who I think has found a level of success in that, which is probably not as common as what most people would expect.

Tommy: You've got a consistent event that you've been doing for how many years is it now?

Andy: 14.

Tommy: 14 years.

Andy: I do say to Melody, I'm like, it's— I'm very grateful. We've worked at it, but the events come and go. Yeah. My brother said to me, remember Summer Days? Oh yeah, you know, like events come and go.

Josh: It was huge.

Andy: And if you look at a bell curve, a lot of these things, they go 1, 2, 3, peak, and then bam. Then like, so I'm very grateful to be doing and working for myself effectively for this long.

Josh: But what about someone who's not finding the success? What do you think in terms of what would you say to somebody who's doing a creative endeavour or, you know, trying to chase something that doesn't make make that much sense?

Andy: What would I say?

Tommy: Yeah, what have you said to yourself if they don't have that, a yearly event?

Josh: I guess they don't have the success yet because I think, you know, you can be doing something, a grind for 4 or 5 years before it actually works.

Andy: Um, before my wife officially became involved with Melbourne Roo Bay, I didn't make anything. It was not— it was successful in terms of people had a good time, but it was not slick to the level that you guys are seeing it now.

Tommy: Yeah.

Andy: Certainly it wasn't financially viable. It was just a thing that I did, and I had a very expensive hobby before my wife came involved. And she left her job working in corporate Melbourne and decided to focus to work with me. And that was a real turning point, and that's the point where we started to sell more things online. Customers— like, I was just terrible at customer service. Yeah. Just timeliness, where she came from a background in retail. Timeliness, good attention to detail, strict processes, you know, protocols and things like that. And that's why I think Fixo works, because it's that marrying of our two skill sets.

Tommy: It's people. Have you gotten better at those things, or has your wife just sort of taken—

Andy: I definitely got better at those things.

Tommy: Yeah.

Josh: I think it's by osmosis, right? It's, it's going to happen. It's— there's— Josh has got strengths that I don't, and I'm picking up on those things and learning from him, and he's vice versa. And I think that's a— I think within that, what you said is you can think doing it alone is like, I've got to— no one understands my shit. And it's hard to find that person, right? Like, it's—

Andy: this is your wife, it is who you trust.

Mason: It is.

Andy: Yeah, it would be very hard to find someone to employ, to have that level of trust. And, um, yeah, if it wasn't— or just going through LinkedIn or whatever, how people recruit these days. I should— Malcolm look at— well, so, uh, ZipRecruiter. There you go. Malcolm always— I love Malcolm.

Tommy: First podcast integration. Malcolm's a quirk. Yeah, ZipRecruiter, they're doing a lot of advertising.

Andy: Podcast. Yeah.

Tommy: Well, in Melbourne, I feel like you're You also got that sort of good local knowledge. Like, I grew up in, in Dever Hills and stuff like that.

Andy: I like my knowledge of it.

Tommy: And so, I'm curious, I feel like you know a lot about also like the north or whatever, but also like inner city and all that sort of thing. What are some of those local knowledge things, whether it's places to eat or rules to live by, if you just spend some time in Melbourne?

Andy: Hmm, it used to be a lot better. And one of the things, like I was saying about when I worked in New York and San Francisco, I had— I was working, but really I was getting to know an intimate level of detail of the city, the buildings, the people, where to eat, areas and districts, and where was dodgy, where was not. And in Melbourne, it's changed a lot because I was a bike courier in, you know, the mid-2000s. Now I live in the burbs and I focus a lot on living out there and doing my thing out there. I'm amazed at how rapidly Melbourne is just changing, particularly Docklands, inner city, and the vibe is— it's still a big country town. I love that about Melbourne. It kids itself that it's a big city, but I think we should try and just stay true to who we are and not try and be a global or massive city. I love that because part of— that's my phone. That's okay. Um, but to, uh, I would say just walk around. That, and that's the thing I loved about bicycles. When you see the world by bicycle, it's a certain speed.

Tommy: Yeah.

Andy: And exploring, like when I go to a city I don't look up like best places to eat. I just go randomly walk and let my just organically things happen. I might meet someone on the street and just talk. It might have already become quite clear. I like talking.

Tommy: Yeah.

Josh: Yeah. Just not texting. Or that's just me.

Andy: All right. So, for example, a DHL delivery driver dropped something off the other day and he said, what's in the box? I said, oh, it's a bike. Oh, my grandson rides bikes. I'm like, oh yeah, da da da da da.

Tommy: Does he?

Andy: And it turns out I kind of know his grandson just through bikes. Obviously, that's not because I know a lot of bike communities, but Brunswick Cycling Club. But I will talk to anyone on the street and I can find out more about them in 5 minutes than most their probably partners know about them.

Tommy: And what do you think that is?

Andy: I just, I'm curious. Yeah, I'm curious. And you never know what you're going to learn from someone that you can take away. Like, oh, that's really interesting. Maybe, maybe there's something in that, or maybe I might do that, or that's— but, you know, maybe I know someone else, or they'll steer me in a way like, oh, that's really good advice, I'll cheque that out next time I go down Brunswick Street.

Josh: Is the smartphone curbing our curiosity?

Andy: Um, oh, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. Well, you can't, you can't be curious if you're looking down.

Tommy: But you also, I guess you also have curiosity and fear, right? Like, we're trying to protect ourselves or whatever. And then so the smartphone is the pacifier for the fear, right? So we're listening to— And so then it— We end up creating these loops where it's like when we're in a situation that we're— Rather than actually being tapped in and looking and making eye contact with people, we're fucking scrolling on.

Andy: What's interesting, because it's— You say you're removing— You're trying to remove fear, but think about how much fear is projected through that portal, right?

Tommy: Yeah. I mean, it's this loop that we're creating.

Josh: I was driving along the highway that runs along the ocean in California, and we pulled up. We were in this little town, and I pulled up next to this girl, and we had a fucking Mustang convertible. She would have known that we're Australian from a mile away.

Tommy: Anyway, on the rental.

Josh: Yeah, the rental. And we said, where's a great place? Where's a bar around here? Something like that. And she goes, oh, up here, my favourite place up there. And we went, it was so cool. This rooftop bar looking down to the ocean. You could see the surfers. The sun was going down. It's like doing that kind of shit, living and actually being curious to ask people.

Tommy: Yeah.

Josh: Take someone's lead. You know, someone's experienced something before.

Andy: I think that's a trained skill though. I don't know if you've listened to Malcolm Gladwell's 12 Rules for Life, but he talks about because it was Jordan Peterson who developed the first one, but he was saying other people have subsequently come up with their own. And he nitpicks from other people and said curiosity is a skill that, or is something that requires training. And every time you use an example of someone, say, every— they go out for dinner, choose something from the menu that you would just not even wildly think. And sometimes it might be great, sometimes it might be not. And it's one of those things is getting curious. Is one of those things that obviously I've trained to the point where I'm totally curious. And my daughter, oh my God, is like, hi! She just randomly shouts at people, hi, nice bike! Yeah, she sees it in me. But it's one of those things that people say, oh, it comes so easily to you. It's because I've done it for so long, and my job effectively was, as a bike courier, was meeting random people, delivering stuff to them, and And then I would just strike up a conversation in elevators.

Tommy: Yeah.

Josh: Did you, do you remember the time that you were forcing it because it needed to be trained?

Andy: No, it's always come.

Tommy: So, can introverts be curious?

Andy: Absolutely. Yeah, they can.

Tommy: Well, because I guess it's what you're describing is the action. I think that we all are curious. I feel like a lot of us are curious, but the fear overpowers the curiosity. So for instance, it's like, oh, I'm curious about what that food is, but the fear of having a bad meal— like, if we remove the fear of, like, as you said, it's okay to, uh, have a shit meal sometimes, right? Uh, and the reward then is you'll try things that you never tried before. But it's definitely, I guess, a different posture to be in the world in that way.

Andy: It's It's true. And look, it's probably like someone saying to me, it's not that hard to be organized.

Tommy: Yeah.

Josh: Yeah.

Tommy: Well, with Organized August.

Andy: Yeah, I think. And I would say, speak for yourself. It is, it is a— yeah. So it's, look, it's just one of the things that has come easier for me. And it's one of those things that once it's rewarded, it's momentum.

Tommy: Yeah.

Josh: So I'm curious about what that doorbell was before. Was there some kind of delivery that's come along? Patisserie? You have a microphone, Mr. 97?

Tommy: It's, um, they're like desserts.

Josh: Who sent these?

Tommy: I have no idea.

Andy: There's no secret admirer.

Josh: Okay, we'll bring them over. This is amazing.

Mason: I can't remember his name.

Josh: Oh, the sounder?

Andy: Yeah, Alex.

Tommy: Oh, that was nice.

Josh: Amazing.

Mason: Yeah, he wants to say thank you.

Josh: So, Alex, what a legend. Well, now we've got dessert around microphones.

Tommy: This is perfect.

Josh: He returned it?

Mason: Yeah, he brought the microphone back.

Andy: Great.

Josh: Amazing. Oh, that was him at the door. Yep.

Andy: So he brought canolis.

Tommy: Oh, I love that.

Andy: Oh my God, this is the perfect—

Tommy: it's like he's—

Josh: how's that?

Tommy: That's amazing. Thank you, Alex. Thank you, Alex.

Josh: You got us.

Andy: I don't even know you, Alex, but thank you.

Tommy: You were talking about the, uh, being organised and lacking it. I have— there's been my biggest struggle, I think, in life is especially— I started freelancing when I was 14, and I was, um, I would always be up late, like up late, up early, because I was terrible with dead— like working with deadlines. I was always cramming and all that sort of thing. But I feel like it's one of those things where it needs to be productive to be happier. I'm happier when I'm organized, right? When I've got shit happening. Um, so I— this is the list. I've written 12 things that we're going to get organised with in August.

Andy: My wife loves lists, and it does help me. The days that she makes lists for me, I find that I'm so far more productive.

Tommy: Yeah, it feels good, doesn't it?

Andy: Yeah, yeah. Well, at least you can look back on the day and go, oh, I did stuff.

Tommy: Yeah, yeah.

Josh: Well, you know, if you're not like— a list is just a form of measurement, right? And so you're seeing what can be capable. Otherwise you're just doing shit, not really— you just reel a list off in your head.

Tommy: Exactly. Well, a list is the same. You could align having a list with being an HP marketing manager, right? Like being in that hell.

Andy: I'll just say, look, one of the things that I know I learned in that corporate life, very brief window. So there were contractors, subcontractors, and actual employees. It was the first— I mean, I wouldn't say first actual discrimination that I kind of felt, because they got perks and benefits, and there was a real divide, and I could sense that in the company.

Tommy: Were you an employee or a contractor?

Andy: Contractor. God, no, because Yeah. And it wasn't a superiority thing, but I would say that the employees probably felt slightly more superior to—

Tommy: secure.

Andy: But in a— and I'm wary of this in any dynamic. If you create an us and them, it's divisive and it just derides what can be better.

Tommy: We can no longer be curious, I think, to your point as well, right? Like if it is the us and them, all of that stuff, But I know like having worked at tech companies, that happens within remote staff. Like, so when you have people who work remotely, there's a different culture there too if you're in the office and all of that. But I want to go through the list, the 12 things for the first 12 days. So yesterday was sort out your wallet.

Andy: Okay. What do you do for the rest?

Josh: You got a wallet?

Tommy: So have you got a wallet? I do have a wallet. So it's got to be quick and easy. So like for me, Here it is. I'm organizing, like, I've organised them. I'll look at yours.

Josh: It's a bike map. Oh, it's Manhattan.

Andy: It's Manhattan.

Josh: Is it a legit bike map?

Andy: No, it's, it's the subway map.

Tommy: Yep. Oh, that's sick. Where did you get that from?

Andy: eBay.

Tommy: Where, yeah, yeah, where all good things come from.

Andy: It's just paper. It's Tyvek. So the first experience I had with Tyvek was for one of our manifests for Melbourne Rebay. It's basically waterproof, highly durable paper, and it's super thin, super light. Look, I'm— and all My primary credit cards are in my phone now. I love—

Tommy: yeah, I love that story. I love that like everything that you fucking have has a story. Yeah. So the, the other things that we're doing— so today, uh, what I'm doing tonight is no phone in bed. That's one thing I'm organizing. So I'm moving the charger from on the side. Yeah, of the bed.

Andy: Good one.

Tommy: So that's— have you— where do you keep your phone at night?

Andy: But I don't, uh Yeah, I try not to. I mean, I already look at my phone way too much, so it's—

Tommy: yeah. Do you— but when you're in bed, you still scroll? You're scrolling? No, no, no, no.

Andy: Oh, that's good. I've had plenty.

Tommy: Yeah.

Andy: And bed is for sleeping.

Tommy: Yeah, sure. Um, do you have a TV in your bedroom?

Andy: Gosh, no.

Tommy: Okay, we're discussing that.

Andy: My TV— so with our new joint, the layout, they engineer the house so the TV goes in the the main area. And I just thought, I do not want the central shared space of the house with the TV to be the focus. So it's not, it's like around the corner.

Tommy: So what's in the focal point now?

Andy: I'm waiting to get like a mad piece of art, something. So there's a huge painting that my wife, is it of a deer? That is by one of her friends who's an amazing artist, Andrew Salgado.

Tommy: I feel like you really love deer. What's, is there a relationship with deer or?

Andy: Ah, there's not.

Tommy: It Well, they think you wanted to import, you wanted to allow deers in Australia and stuff. I don't know if there's some sort of deer agenda that we're not aware of.

Josh: Oh, did you say deers were imported?

Andy: No, they were brought in. Yeah. So there were deer farms locally and then they just released them all. And that's why it's the same with rabbits.

Tommy: Why do you know so much about deer though?

Josh: Just curious.

Andy: So the first time I saw a deer in the gorge where I live and spend 90% of my time, I'm like, did I see a deer? No way.

Josh: Yeah.

Andy: And then I got curious and then I was seeing them all the time and now I can take you right now to a part of suburban Melbourne and there will be a herd of stags and they're just an amazing creature.

Tommy: A deer killed someone the other day, though. Did you see that storey in the news? What, with—?

Josh: In reports, a white man killed thousands of deer. Yeah, exactly.

Tommy: No, but it's pretty crazy. Anyway, let's reel this list off. Yeah. All right. Drink 2 litres of water a day. How's your drinking?

Andy: Do you drink water? 2 litres. Does it count if it's got coffee in it?

Tommy: No, no. Well, it's a diuretic, so you're probably pissing butter. You need to fix that. Yeah. Update your passwords. To what?

Andy: All the same?

Tommy: No, no, no, no. You need to use like a password manager. Like, you should update them periodically. Periodically? Yeah. Yeah. Um, anyway, what else? No, uh, get a haircut and schedule the next. What do you like with, with that? You're always shaving, shaving your hair. You do it every day? Yeah.

Josh: Razor shave, 30 seconds in the bath. Yep, in the bath. In the bath.

Tommy: It's like super smooth.

Josh: Oh mate, we're on next week moving places.

Tommy: 3 more words.

Andy: I couldn't grow hair, and even when I had hair, I was a ringer, so that— yeah, I loved it. And I had short hair for a very long time, and then towards the end of my follicle days, I had a Hare Krishna hairdo. So I had all basically shaved on top. This is when I worked in New York and I had like the back was like the mullet starting from the top to the back. Oh no. Yeah.

Tommy: I feel like you, that's a peak move. I feel like you would have scared me in the street. Probably. Yeah. Yeah.

Josh: I think that's what he would have been saying.

Tommy: Hey mate, how are you? What's up? Being really curious. You Australian too? What else is there? Donate blood. That's a great one. Yeah. So that's on the on the list. If you're in England during— was that about Mad Cow? You can't do it and all that sort of shit. Anyway, meditate for 10 minutes a day. Do you— have you meditated ever?

Andy: No. Uh, no, I'm gonna say no, but I do enjoy going for peaceful walks in the morning to start my day, even if it's listening to music and podcasts. Does that count? Probably not. Writing—

Josh: you're doing some form of like— I mean, you, you wrote— how long did you— did it take you to get here?

Andy: Uh, oh, I like drove into, um, Prova Cycles, my mate Mark, in Fairfield. Then I rode the last 10 minutes.

Josh: Yeah, but I think it's, it's, it's meditative.

Tommy: Yeah, I'm thinking about getting a bike trainer. What do you think about them? Why?

Andy: I'm just curious what I think about it. Yeah. Oh, this is good. This is gonna hurt to tell people. It's like that thing of going to the gym to ride a bike inside. Yeah, I look, when I was half serious about going fast, I had an indoor trainer. Yeah, what about the trainer?

Tommy: I'm worried about getting hit by—

Andy: I can't think of anything worse.

Tommy: I'm worried about getting hit by a fucking car.

Josh: It's because you use your phone, you're looking down at your phone.

Tommy: Look, that's a very—

Andy: look, one of the great things about indoor training is you're removing the risk of— and the weather and things like that, but actually listening to I don't know if you listen to Tony Robbins. Yeah, a little bit.

Josh: Recently Conor McGregor and Mike Tyson have been on.

Andy: I say Mike Tyson, yeah, and he talked about getting up at 2 o'clock in the morning and going running in the snow because he knew that whoever he's fighting wasn't going to do that. He was willing to do sacrifice.

Tommy: And I haven't listened to any other podcast by Tony Robbins, but I need to be willing to be hit by a car. That's a good one. In some ways I've got to like let go of it and be like, if it happened, it's—

Andy: No, honestly, Now in this age, like I say, I worked for 10 years solidly all around the world riding a bike. It's very dangerous now, and I would consider myself pretty highly experienced in managing myself in traffic. Wouldn't do it now. It's mental. People are not looking. You wouldn't—

Tommy: what wouldn't you do now? Ride bike courier? Yeah, just bike courier. Okay, sure.

Andy: It's safer in the CBD because You have to kind of pay attention more in the CBD. Cars aren't moving as fast. About suburban roads, forget it.

Josh: On their phones and shit.

Tommy: Do you clip in? Do you have like—

Andy: Yeah, I've got all that stuff.

Tommy: But I'd try bike paths. Bike paths. I think bike paths is where it's at.

Andy: And we've got awesome bike paths in the city.

Tommy: The next thing, fill water in windscreen wipers. Have you done that in your car lately? Yep. Okay. Update social media profile pics. What's your profile pic at the moment? Is it even a—

Josh: It's your brand. Fix up.

Andy: Fix up.

Tommy: Yeah, uh, I can take a new—

Andy: you know, I can tell you the last time I updated the logo, I changed it to pink for the Giro of last year's.

Tommy: Oh really? So you probably need to update it maybe.

Andy: Why?

Tommy: I don't— well, it's on the list. It's a personal list, so—

Josh: oh, okay, it's his— oh, that's his list that he's doing.

Tommy: No, but this is what everyone else— this is what the community have organized.

Josh: Oh, it's what you're doing, and if people want to get on board—

Tommy: only a few more, uh, run 3 kilometers, do you run it all?

Andy: I used to love running. I would love to get back into it, actually.

Tommy: Well, let's organize.

Andy: Yeah, let's do it. We can hold hands.

Tommy: Create up— create an updated Spotify playlist. Are you into Spotify?

Andy: Do you listen to Spotify? I do listen to Spotify, not premium, but okay.

Tommy: Yeah, you can still have playlists in non-premium. No, that was a question. So create them.

Josh: I don't know if you can maybe create—

Andy: I noticed on the desktop version you can listen to albums chronologically that it, but in the phone version it's like a random shuffle.

Tommy: I had premium and then downgraded because I like did a complete wipe of like a lot of expensive—

Andy: Yeah, because you were out of control. I was, but that was fucked.

Tommy: Imagine how rich you could be.

Josh: You should still bring us the number now of your subscription, monthly subscription. Then it's like, if it's a big number, imagine what it would have been.

Tommy: Yeah, well, I mean, but the thing is I ended up having to get— well, I didn't have to, but premium Spotify I feel like is one of those things that's worth it because like it's a $20 out—

Andy: like imagine what we used to spend on CDs, and then your car gets broken into and they steal all your CDs.

Tommy: And so, um, what's that, 11? Uh, no, so it's 10. Uh, create— oh no, that was 11, you're right. Uh, sort out undies drawer and buy new undies and socks. I did that, uh, 2 weeks ago. Buy all the same brand. Do you do— is it, um, more or less?

Josh: Is it because they're so tattered?

Andy: Look, I don't— unlike you and your previous career, I don't walk around in my undies, but I like— and it's not It's like one of those things like you gotta wear just— you walk my wife. Yeah, it's like your partner goes to great lengths to look amazing with their underwear, right? It's a simple thing. You sort your junk out. Yeah, I mean, and it's nice, like nice undies, putting on—

Tommy: what's your brand of choice? Bonds or— no, no, um, let's see, what are they?

Andy: I don't know, they're just like—

Josh: no, Alpha.

Tommy: Fuck, you are Alpha.

Andy: Yeah, one of my mates who has a big blog, I think he made some joke about my my undies have an alpha on it. Really? No.

Tommy: Well, okay, that's because undies and socks I think is a big one. I did a big Happy Socks order like a few years ago, which, uh, lasted a while. But the problem is they don't look great with, um, shorts, like long socks. Anyway, we're getting—

Andy: I like the Explorers. I like— I haven't— warm feet is like my primary need. So, you know, and they're just work socks, you know, like, you just—

Tommy: and they're very thick, aren't they? Yeah, I like thick socks. I like warm feet. How often do you change your shoes? What shoes you got?

Andy: I got some, uh, come on, you should know the reference. Jordans. Yeah, Jordans. They're sick. They're Cement 3s, man. I don't know anything about shoes.

Tommy: The Cement 3 is good.

Josh: Andy, thank you so much for coming on, mate.

Andy: It's a pleasure talking shit.

Josh: It's, uh, now we're gonna feast on this. Great company.

Tommy: Yeah, we would, uh, yeah, we'd love to have you back on. But so Instagram is where I feel like I see most of your stuff. Is that where you're spending most of your time? Yeah, yeah, I think so. FYXO. Yeah. On Instagram.

Andy: Someone asked me, does that stand for fuck you and then a kiss and a hug? I said no, it is an abbreviation of the first brand name.

Tommy: I've really— what was the first brand?

Andy: Fixamatosis. Oh yeah, yeah, I see why you shortened it.

Tommy: Is it, uh, is it related to Fixies? Is it relating to like Fixie bikes? Uh, yes.

Andy: So I wouldn't say bragging, but if you are riding or if you see someone in Australia riding a fixed gear you can trace it back to me. Really? Yep. Why? Because I started it.

Josh: Was it not a thing?

Andy: I mean, it was definitely not a thing. I used to go walk into bike shops and people will tell me I'm a fucking idiot.

Josh: What, because you want— because you're wanting a fix?

Andy: No, because I was riding them on the street before any— well, not before anyone, because it's not a new thing.

Tommy: What were people using them for? Like, what was the— no one was using in Melbourne.

Andy: There was two other people, Old Ron, who was a bike courier, and, um, that's all he got for me. And Alvaro had a Repco conversion painted pink and it was called the Bastard. And he was one of the most colourful characters in Melbourne, fantastic guy. And I'd come from London and that's where I discovered track bikes and no one in Australia. And so people would see me riding mine like, oh, what's, what's with the bike with one gear? Yeah. And no breaks. Well, I had a break for a while, but then there was no breaks. And, and I just started sourcing. That's really the, the origin and the genesis of Fixo as a brand. I was just buying and selling track bikes, really, so that buying everything in Australia— I rang up every bike shop in Victoria, I said, you got any old track bikes? I'd make a list, and then I ran around Victoria, I scooped them all up, and I sold them to people all around the world.

Tommy: Can you break a—

Andy: and that phone bill was fucked up. Well, back then on my mobile—

Tommy: well, the, um, can you break Like, can you—

Andy: you can stop? You can, yeah, you can slow down.

Josh: People putting their foot in the tyre?

Andy: No, uh, yeah, there wasn't— there was on the top, there was a Ted Shred. There was a DJ in San Fran called Ted Shred who used to brake like Barney Raffle style. Yeah, actually I saw a guy today on a really pimped out track bike and I looked at him like, that's fucking dangerous. Yeah, because it could go fast. Oh no, it's just, uh it's a highly skilled version of riding a bicycle with very little margin for error. And when I was doing it day in, day out, I could do it without thinking, right? And I was really good at it. And but bike couriers who do ride their bike day in, day out get really good at it and you don't have to think about it. But then it was marketed to people who aren't real cyclists as a fashionable thing.

Josh: It's dangerous being a hipster.

Andy: It is very dangerous being a hipster. You gotta watch your wallet, man.

Tommy: I'll take it. It's the Daily Talk Show. Andy, thanks for coming on. My pleasure. Would love to get you back on. I feel like there's probably hours and hours hours of stories. Yeah, if I can get you on for a weekend, that'd be good. Uh, it's a daily talk show. We'll see you tomorrow when, uh, Mr. 97 will have bleached hair, which we're, uh, which we're very excited about. So this is the last time we'll see you with cute little brown curls. It's been great. He's so cute, isn't he? Ride safe. See you guys. See you guys.