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In today's special episode, Fares and Josh reflect on the best moments from this past year in the UFC, highlighting their top picks in categories such as Fighter of the Year (3:20), Fight of the Year (9:31), Knockout of the Year (15:36), Submission of the Year (20:11), Moment of the Year (24:57), Favorite Rivalry of the Year (30:01), Favorite New Fighter of the Year (35:32), and the Most Anticipated Fight heading into 2025 (40:43) https://www.instagram.com/thehbpod_/
BLUES CHEWS TEE PRE-SALE HERE: https://dailyblueweekly.com/Support the boys on Patreon for bonus episodes: https://patreon.com/dailyblueweekly?u...This week on Daily Blue, Weekly: Smash room therapy session, Blueys pissed off a food franchise, Watching bands on mushies, Rob Whittaker has played a shocker, NRL ruining the game & Selling butt plugs at op shops.-If you need help with organising a loan get in contact with our friends at PK Mortgages:https://pkmortgages.com.au/For all car audio needs vist out mates at Nuclear Car Audio: https://www.nuclearcaraudio.com.au/USE CODE: 'DailyBlue' For 10% off at Papa Macros! https://www.papamacros.com.auUSE CODE: 'DailyBlue' For 15% off at Solkatt!https://www.solkattdesigns.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Welcome to Episode 50 of the MMArcade Podcast! Join Robert Whittaker and Jonny as they react to UFC Fight Night Cannonier vs Caio Borralho and predict UFC Fight Night Gilbert Burns vs Sean Brady. Plus, the state of the UFC middleweight division, Belal Muhammad wanting Shavkat Rakhmonov to fight Kamaru Usman, Alex Pereira vs Khalil Rountree, Star Wars Outlats, Black Myth: Wukong, Call of Duty Black Ops 6 beta and more!
Robert Whittaker is in the house to talk about Khamzat at UFC 308, Borralho's big win, DDP's submission over Izzy, why Dricus is a bad fight for Alex at 185, DDP/Strickland 2, his retirement plans at 36 and your fan questions! Manscaped keeps Submission Radio running, don't forget to use code "SUBMISSION" at Manscaped.com for 20% off, FREE shipping and to keep the show going!
Welcome to Episode 49 of the MMArcade Podcast! Join Robert Whittaker and Jonny as they react to UFC 305, including Dricus Du Plessis vs Israel Adesanya, Kai Kara-France vs Steve Erceg, Mateusz Gamrot vs Dan Hooker and Tai Tuivasa vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Plus, our breakdown of Jared Cannonier vs Caio Borralho, Black Myth: Wukong and more!
Welcome to Episode 48 of the MMArcade Podcast! Join Rob Whittaker and Jonny as they predict UFC 305, including Dricus Du Plessis vs Israel Adesanya, Kai Kara-France vs Steve Erceg, Mateusz Gamrot vs Dan Hooker and Tai Tuivasa vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Plus, Borderlands movie reviews, viewer questions and more!
Happy Tuesday! Coming up on today's show, I talk about Tony Ferguson's loss to Michael Chiesa and the three things he did wrong during and after the fight. Then, I talk about the emergence of "Shara Bullet" and how high his ceiling is. Plus, I explain why Kamaru Usman should get a crack at Belal Muhammad, question whether Khamzat Chimaev will actually show up to fight Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi, and I put all the Olympics boxing controversy to rest.The following time codes are approximate:My concerns for Tony Ferguson (00:00)Shara Bullet (09:42)Will Khamzat Chimaev show up? (18:30)Back-and-forth between Kamaru Usman and Belal Muhammad (27:52)The Olympic boxing drama (38:02)To support this program, please leave a 5-star review on my Apple Podcasts page or on my Spotify feed.Our Sponsors:* Check out Mint Mobile: mintmobile.com/chael* Check out Shopify: shopify.com/chaelAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Today on the podcast, we preview some of UFC 303's biggest fights, examine Rob Whittaker's resume, what UFC 306 at The Sphere might look like and more. This is episode 210 of The Luke Thomas Live Chat.
Max Leali started his martial arts training in Hong Kong and has since traied in the USA and Thailand. He has a passion for training, people and teaching, and is looking to add an Eternal MMA Australian title to his resume. Interview Details below:00:00 Introduction00:24 Training at Bangtao MMA in Thailand and Syndicate MMA in the USA01:15 Differences between the gyms (including Versus in Hong Kong)04:16 Ties with Hong Kong07:07 Versus and Coach Quinton in Hong Kong08:20 Eternal fight against Anthony Drillich for the title11:07 Start of training martial arts in Hong Kong13:07 Hong Kong/Macau gyms and gangster connections15:53 Hong Kong Muay Thai scene and gyms19:24 Legend FC in HK/Macau, Kai Kara France, Rob Whittaker and Dan Hooker22:55 Goals and connections27:10 Conclusion
Welcome to Episode 42 of the MMArcade Podcast! Join Rob Whittaker and Jonny as they react to the fight announcements around UFC 304, including Leon Edwards vs Belal Muhammad, Tom Aspinall vs Curtis Blayde, Bobby Green vs Paddy Pimblett, Muhammad Mokaev vs Manel Kape and Arnold Allen vs Giga Chikadze. Plus, Khalil Rountree Jr. is out of his fight with Jamahal Hill at UFC 303 due to taking a banned substance.
Welcome to Episode 41 of the MMArcade Podcast! Join Rob Whittaker and Jonny as they recap UFC 301, including Alexandre Pantoja vs Steve Erceg, José Aldo vs Jonathan Martinez, Anthony Smith vs Vitor Petrino, Michel Pereira vs Ihor Potieria and Paul Craig vs Caio Borralho. Plus, Helldivers 2 controversy and more!
Welcome to Episode 37 of the MMArcade Podcast! Join Rob Whittaker and Jonny as they discuss the eye poking controversy at UFC Atlantic City. Plus, Rob's fight vs Khamzat Chimaev at UFC Fight Night: Saudi Arabia, Dricus Du Plessis possibly fighting Israel Adesanya at UFC Perth, Georges St-Pierre saying he would beat Khabib Nurmagamedov, Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, Dragon's Dogma 2 and more!
Welcome to Episode 32 of the MMArcade Podcast! Join Rob Whittaker and Jonny as they recap UFC 298 and UFC Fight Night, including Rob Whittaker vs Paulo Costa, Alexander Volkanovski vs Ilia Topuria, Merab Dvalishvili vs Henry Cejudo and more!
Ep 108: UFC 298 recap It's a painful episode this week, as we do our best to regroup and rally after an emotional UFC 298. Our man Volk sadly didn't get the victory, but nonetheless, he has done us all proud. We recap the event, including Rob Whittaker's crazy fight with Paulo Costa, and then welcome Jacob from Aussie MMA organisation HEX to preview their huge event coming up on March 2! Hit the download button and step into the cage! Presented by Delgado's Tequila Soda.
Fletch and Missile are back for Monday on the Run Home and the boys review the week 1 of trials and look at Fletch's Sin City Vegas show. Plus Mark Zuckerberg is a big old nerd at the weekends UFC event. Our NRL 2024 Season Preview continue with the Trent Robinson led Sydney Roosters in the eyeline of Fletch and Missile! Missile and Fletch get into all the sporting action from the weekend including the UFC for Volk and Rob Whittaker, England getting flogged in the cricket, Jimmy G getting stung for PEDs and more. Morning Glory Host Matty Johns joins the Run Home with Fletch and Missile to chat week 1 of trials, the Sin City TV Special, rugby away trips, Missile's fun weekend, the upcoming Vegas games and PVL. Mat Rogers and Jason Matthews from Sportsday joins the Missile and Fletch on the Run Home to chat the NRL Trails from week 1, The NRL Hottest 100, Only Fans and streaking in New Zealand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Missile and Fletch get into all the sporting action from the weekend including the UFC for Volk and Rob Whittaker, England getting flogged in the cricket, Jimmy G getting stung for PEDs and more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In today's epsiode, Fares and Josh share their thoughts on the recent news regarding UFC 300 Main Event. Then into the banger of a card, UFC 298 didn't disappoint. Opening the talk with some of those early prelim fights that caught our eyes, performances by Zhang Mingyang, Danny Barlow & Amanda Lemos. Then into the main card. Merab's dominance over Henry Cejudo, what is next for them both? Rob Whittaker returns in prime fashion with a decision victory over a game Paulo Costa. Did Rob earn himself another Title Shot? Ilia shocks the MMA community by putting arguably the greatest featherweight we've seen away in the second round in impressive fashion becoming the NEW CHAMP!Follow the Podcast on IG: https://www.instagram.com/thehbpod_/
In today's episode, Fares and Josh break down the Main Card to upcoming UFC 298. Opening up the show with the main event Alexander "the Great" Volkanovski looking to defend is featherweight championship against Georgian's own Ilia "El Matador" Topuria. Then into the co-main with former Middleweight champ Robert Whittaker taking on Brazil's Paulo Costa. What is ahead for the winner? And Picks from the rest of the main card.Follow the Podcast on IG: https://www.instagram.com/thehbpod_/
Welcome to Episode 27 of the MMArcade Podcast! Join Rob Whittaker and Jonny as they talk about Brendan Allen vs Paul Craig at UFC Fight Night, Sean Strickland vs Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297, Alexander Volkanovski vs Ilia Topuria at UFC 298, Sean O'Malley vs Chito Vera at UFC 299, the Heavyweight title drama between Tom Aspinall, Stipe Miocic, Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane, and more!
Welcome to Episode 26 of the MMArcade Podcast! Join Rob Whittaker and Jonny as they talk about Jiri Prochazka vs Alex Pereira & Sergei Pavlovich vs Tom Aspinall at UFC 295, the result of Jailton Almeida vs Derrick Lewis at UFC Fight Night, Islam Makhachev vs Charles Oliveira rumors and more!
When Rob Whittaker reaches age 37, he is done with fighting. Rob Whittaker is a professional MMA athlete and former UFC Middleweight Champion ranked no.3 in the world and was the first Australian UFC Champion. Known as ‘Bobby Knuckles' & ‘The Reaper', the father of 5 children is dedicated to the craft and discipline that is MMA.Outside of fighting, he also owns two businesses: his gym in Gracie Smeaton Grange/Camden Valley Wrestling and Alchemist Xtracts: www.alchemistxtracts.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Welcome to Episode 19 of the MMArcade Podcast! Join Rob Whittaker and Jonny as they review UFC 293: Israel Adesanya vs Sean Strickland, Tai Tuivasa vs Alexander Volkov, Justin Tafa vs Austen Lane, Starfield and more!
We're thrilled to welcome Richie 'Vas' Vaculik to the show. A multi-talented individual, Richie is a former UFC fighter, a big wave surfer and a proud member of the Maroubra-based surf gang, the Bra Boys. Richie shares his journey from making his UFC debut at a time when MMA was still an underground sport in Australia to eventually fighting across three different weight classes. He also delves into his experience on Ultimate Fighter Season 16: The Smashes, where he shared the house with a future Australian MMA star, Robert Whittaker. In Maroubra, being a Bra Boy is more than just a label, it's an identity. Richie delves into what it truly means to be part of this surf gang. Not to be missed, he also reveals how the 2007 Bra Boys documentary film not only put Maroubra on the global map but caught the eye of Hollywood superstar Russell Crowe. We dive into the adrenaline-pumping world of big wave surfing, discussing the best and most dangerous breaks he's conquered. We end the episode by discussing his post-career transition into mentoring and coaching for the next generation of fighters.RIchie Vas (IG): https://www.instagram.com/richievas/?hl=en(18+) Sign up to Dabble: https://dabble.onelink.me/cUev/dndxwvo6or use code: CASTPATROLSign up to TBC Live: www.tbclive.comMake NRL Predictions! Free to Play, Open to All Ages.Aussie Footy Shorts: https://www.footy-shorts.com.au/High Quality Footy Shorts with POCKETS!0:00 Introduction0:55 Maroubra Beginnings 1:53 The Bra Boys 4:15 Inside "Bra Boys" Documentary 6:40 Meeting Russell Crowe 7:50 Big Wave Surfing 9:40 Riding Monster Waves 12:40 MMA: The Starting Bell 16:15 Vas's Training Routine 22:28 Pre-Fight Rituals & Superstitions 23:12 Ultimate Fighter S16: The Smashes28:58 Sparring with Rob Whittaker 31:42 Fighting at Different Weight Class Battles 33:32 UFC: Inside the Cage 36:49 Beyond the Ring: PCYC Volunteering 41:10 This or That 45:10 Richie Vas Quiz49:36 Go to Maccas OrderFollow us @TheCastPatrol on all social media platforms to keep up to date with all things CAST and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Welcome to Episode 18 of the MMArcade Podcast! Join Rob Whittaker and Jonny as they breakdown UFC 292: Aljamain Sterling vs Sean O'Malley, more Diablo IV drama, Starfield and more!
Welcome to Episode 16 of the MMArcade Podcast! Join Rob Whittaker and Jonny as they speak about who Robert Whittaker's next opponent could be, predictions for UFC 291: Dustin Poirier vs Justin Gaethje & Jan Błachowicz vs Alex Pereira, a recap of UFC Fight Night: Tom Aspinall vs Marcin Tybura, and more!
Welcome to Episode 15.5 of the MMArcade Podcast! Today, Robert Whittaker speaks for the first time since his fight against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 290. We also speculate on who Rob could be fighting next and more!
Welcome to Episode 15 of the MMArcade Podcast! Join Rob Whittaker and Jonny as they share their thoughts on UFC Fight Night: Vettori vs Cannonier, UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs Topuria, Nintendo Direct Announcements, Final Fantasy 16 and more!
Welcome to Episode 14 of the MMArcade Podcast! Join Rob Whittaker and Jonny as they share their thoughts UFC 289, Amanda Nunes vs Irene Aldana, Charles Oliveira vs Beneil Dariush, UFC Fight Night Predictions for Marvin Vettori vs Jared Cannonier, announcements from the Xbox Game Showcase/Ubisoft Forward and more!
Welcome to Episode 12 of the MMArcade Podcast! Join Rob Whittaker and Jonny as they share their thoughts UFC Fight Night: Kai Kara-France vs Amir Albazi, Street Fighter 6, Diablo IV and more!
Welcome to the 11th episode of the MMArcade Podcast! Join Rob Whittaker and Jonny as they share their thoughts on the announcements from the PlayStation Showcase 2023, Rob's preparations for his UFC 290 fight against Dricus Du Plessis and more!
Welcome to episode 10 of the MMArcade Podcast! Join Rob Whittaker and Jonny as they share their thoughts on the UFC returning to Sydney, Australia with UFC 293, UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs Almeida, our review of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and more!
Welcome to the 9th episode of the MMArcade Podcast! Join Rob Whittaker and Jonny as they share their thoughts on UFC 290's main card, UFC 288: Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo, Belal Muhammad vs. Gilbert Burns, Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs Jailton Almeida and more!
The boys are back with another huge one! This week we sit down with UFC phenom Carlos ‘The Black Jag' Ulberg! As handsome as he is dangerous, we chat about his upcoming fight, training at City Kickboxing, learning and maturing each time he steps inside the octagon, taking inspiration from Israel Adesanya, and heaps more. Don't miss this chat with one of the nicest guys in the sport. We also recap Tank Davis vs Ryan Garcia, Sergei Pavlovich's path of destruction, Max Holloway's recent victory, Rob Whittaker news, and a whole bunch more. Hit the download button and step into the cage! Follow us @whothefookpod
Welcome to the fifth episode of the MMArcade Podcast! Join Rob Whittaker and Jonny as they give their reactions to UFC 287, Alex Pereira vs Israel Adesanya, Gilbert Burns vs. Jorge Masvidal and more!
Welcome to the fourth episode of the MMArcade Podcast! Join Rob Whittaker and Jonny as they place their predicitions on UFC 287, Alex Pereira vs Israel Adesanya, Gilbert Burns vs Jorge Masvidal and more!
UFC is in Perth next year we caught up with Rob Whittaker in the lead up. Xav and Michelle Back January 9See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This Episode we interview Rob Whittaker, JD Duenas, Garrett Stoller about their take on being a Gym Owner. Welcome to the Gym Lords Podcast, where we talk with successful gym owners to hear what they're doing that is working RIGHT NOW, and to hear lessons and failures they've learned along the way. We would love to share your story! If you'd like to be featured on the podcast, fill out the form on the link below. https://gymlaunchsecrets.com/podcast
This Episode we interview Rob Whittaker, JD Duenas, Garrett Stoller about their take on being a Gym Owner. Welcome to the Gym Lords Podcast, where we talk with successful gym owners to hear what they're doing that is working RIGHT NOW, and to hear lessons and failures they've learned along the way. We would love to share your story! If you'd like to be featured on the podcast, fill out the form on the link below. https://gymlaunchsecrets.com/podcast
In this episode the boys recap last weekends UFC Paris event where Cyril Gane beat Tai Tuivasa and Rob Whittaker dominated Marvin Vettori. They talk about some fight announcements including Michael Chandler v Dustin Poirer and they breakdown this weekends UFC 279 Card where Khamzat chimaev faces Nate Diaz in his final UFC fight. SPONSORED BY: @SHINEDRINK
Sport Today is a weekday sports news podcast and newsletter that puts sports lovers ahead of the game.NRL Finals fixturesGane v Tuivasa highlightsSign up to the Sport Today newsletter here.Follow Don't Forget Your Tips! on Apple and SpotifyFollow Sport Today on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
In this episode Cal and Wade go through the past 3 UFC event results including Jamahal Hill win over Thiago Santos, Chito Vera KO win over Dom Cruz and Leon Edwards history making head kick KO over Kamaru Usman. They also breakdown this weekends historic card, the first time the UFC is in France and even better that its headlined by our Aussie kings Tai Tuivasa and Rob Whittaker. PROUDLY SPONSORED BY - SHINE DRINK
Steph is joined by a very special guest and fellow thoughtboter, Rob Whittaker. ngrok (https://ngrok.com/) Time Off Book (https://www.timeoffbook.com/) Rob's Codespace Setup (https://github.com/purinkle/codespace) Rob Whittaker on Twitter (https://twitter.com/purinkle) Become a Sponsor (https://thoughtbot.com/sponsorship) of The Bike Shed! Transcript: STEPH: Hello and welcome to another episode of The Bike Shed, a weekly podcast from your friends at thoughtbot about developing great software. I'm Steph Viccari. And today, I'm joined by a very special guest and fellow thoughtboter, Rob Whittaker. Rob has been in the software business for the past 15 years and spent the last five and a half years at thoughtbot. Rob is the Director of Software Development for our Europe, Middle East, and Africa team and, in his spare time, likes to hunt down delicious beers and coffee. Rob, welcome to The Bike Shed. It's so lovely to have you on the show today. ROB: Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be here. Yeah, thank you for that lovely introduction and my far too complicated job title. It sounds more serious than it actually is. STEPH: Well, you do have a fancy job title, yeah, Director of Software Development. [laughs] ROB: Yeah, it's the added on bit where it's Europe, Middle East, and Africa where I feel like there's about 20 of us maximum. But that sounds more grandiose than it actually is. STEPH: Yeah, that's something that Chris and I haven't dug into too much on previous episodes are all the different teams that we have at thoughtbot. So the shorter way of saying that is Launchpad II, but not everybody knows that. But I'm going to circle back to that because I would love to talk a bit more about that specific team and the dynamic. But before we do that, I'm realizing I'm not familiar with your origin story as to how you came to thoughtbot and then how you became this very fancy grand title of Director of Software Development for Europe, Middle East, and Africa team. ROB: Yeah, there's a bit of history about thoughtbot London as well that kind of ties into this. So before thoughtbot Launchpad II, it was thoughtbot London before we went remote. And initially, we had the plan of setting up a new studio in London to help expand thoughtbot outside of the Americas, but that plan fell through. But he knew some people from another agency called New Bamboo, and so we merged with or acquired that agency, and that agency then became the thoughtbot London team. I'm actually the first hire or...not the first hire, that's not true, the first development hire for the thoughtbot London team that would then become launchpad II. I was at the Bath Ruby Conference six years ago, I guess. And there was just an advert up on the hiring board that Nick Charlton, who's a Senior Developer and Development Team Lead at Launchpad II now, had put up. And I saw it, and I was talking to somebody who was my mentor at the time that I'd worked with at a previous job at onthebeach.co.uk, a guy called Matt Valentine-House who now works at Shopify who, actually, fun fact, his face appears at the top of Ruby Weekly this week. If you open up this week's Ruby Weekly, you can see Matt Valentine-House, who said to me, "Yeah, apply for it, why not? You see what happens." And I was like, "Okay," and just kind of took the leap. So I thought, thoughtbot, why would thoughtbot want me? Which is something I think a lot of people think when they want to join thoughtbot. They think, well, I can't do that. But I would implore people to apply. And so, from there, I never really wanted to move to London. I'd always lived in the North West of the UK. I made that leap to London because I wanted to work at thoughtbot. And then, gradually, over time, the London team expanded, and we needed to split out the management roles, and the development director role came up. And I've always enjoyed the coaching side of software development. It seems that you gain more experience as you help people with less experience, and I've always enjoyed coaching. And that was a big part of the role for me. So I was fortunate enough to be allowed to do it. And then, from there, things have grown. Yeah, so it's been a really interesting journey as a development director. The London studio went through a pretty tough time at one point where not long after I became development director that two-thirds of the team, in the space of two weeks, decided to hand their notice in and unbeknownst to each other. And so, all of a sudden, we didn't have a very big team. We didn't have very many prospects, and so it was a tough time. And so it's really nice to look back on the last three years and go, okay, we came through that. We're now one of the stronger teams at thoughtbot. And somebody actually asked me in an interview the other day, somebody we actually hired, not just based on this question, but he said, "What is your proudest moment of working at thoughtbot?" And I was like, that's one of the best questions I've heard from a candidate. And I said, "Hmm, that's interesting." It's not anything development-related, but it's that I can now look back on this team and say this is the team that I have grown in my image and all these people apart from Nick, who was the person who put the advert of it at Bath Ruby. I've hired all these people, and so the buck stops with me really because if anybody isn't able to perform, then it's kind of my fault because these are the people that I want to grow into being the team and see be a successful product design team or product development team, which brings us to modern-day I guess. So yeah, that was a long origin story. That's pretty much my whole thoughtbot biography. And I apologize. STEPH: That was perfect. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing it. And yeah, that's an awesome question. What's your proudest moment, like, part of a team? That can yield so many insights. I love that question. And I love your answer as well in terms of this is the team. We've pulled through a hard time. And then we've built everybody to the point that they are now, which kind of leads in perfectly to my next question. So being the software development director, could you walk us through a little bit of like, that's one of those titles I feel like a lot of companies have, but they can be very different from company to company. Would you mind walking us through a bit of the day-to-day in the life of being a development director? ROB: Yeah, sure. It's one of those things where I think this is something that I'm not sure if it's unique to thoughtbot, but you end up taking on a lot of hats at thoughtbot. So I know you're a team lead. So you have to balance your responsibilities as an individual contributor, which is a term I don't like, but I haven't got a better way to say it yet, and your development team lead roles. And I have similar sort of responsibilities where I have to do my individual contributor work. I have to do my director work. I'm also on our DEI Council. So I have to add that work in too, and make sure it's balanced out. So the start of my day is very much about prioritizing things. I know you and Chris, a few episodes ago, had quite lengthy discussions about productivity systems and what tools Chris wants to use. And I'm a big fan of Things, and I've been using it for maybe ten years, if not more, that I've now got my system down that I'm able to prioritize things in the way that I can pick up the right task at the right time. So a big part of my day-to-day is figuring out what is the most important thing to work on? So I have my client work, and then it's about supporting the team from that point. And the big part of my idea of what a manager is is that my job isn't to tell you what to do; my job is to find out what you want to do and direct you in a place where you can find the answer. Or I can give you some guidance about where to find the answer. And I feel like I'm doing a bad job as a manager where if I have to act as a middle person. Because if somebody comes to me and says, "Oh, I want to do this thing," And I say, "Well, I'll talk to that person for you," and then come back, I have failed. And my job is to say, "Oh, you should talk to that person about this." And to some extent, it's about being lazy. I don't want to be doing too much stuff because I have other things to do. But I want to make sure that those people have the right frameworks and guidelines in place so that I can point them in the right direction. STEPH: I think the fancy term for that is just delegating. [laughs] ROB: Yes, thank you. [laughs] STEPH: But I like lazy. [laughter] I like that one as well. I love that framing of a manager where you're not telling someone to do, but as your job, you are helping that person figure out what they want to do and then supporting them. I've been chatting with Chris recently and some others because I've been reading the book Resilient Management by Laura Hogan. And it's really helped me cement the difference between mentorship, coaching, and sponsorship. And I realized that I'm already falling a lot into the coaching and sponsorship because mentorship can be wonderful, but it is more directive of like, this is what I've done. And this is what has worked for me, and you should do this too. Versus the coaching and sponsorship, I think aligns far more perfectly with what you described as management, where it is my job to figure out what brings you joy, what brings you energy, and then how to help you progress to your next goals and your next steps in your career. ROB: Yeah, I think Laura Hogan is a great resource like her blog posts and books. I haven't read Resilient Management. But I know that the team leads on my team had been on her training courses, and they say how great it is. And there's also a blog post of hers that's about managing in tough times. It has a much better title than that. But it's about how do we be good managers in such uncertain times when there are a lot of things going on around the world right now that we all have to deal with? And helping people deal with those situations. Because at the end of the day, work isn't the most important thing; the most important thing is living. And it's something I say to my team, especially when people feel like...it's something that I say to my team when they're not feeling well. The most important thing is that you get better. And thoughtbot is still going to be here. The most important thing is how you live your life and how you look after yourself, and everything else is secondary. STEPH: Absolutely. Well, and everybody needs something different from work too. Some people may be in a state where they really need more stability and predictability from their work. And some people may be in a space where everything else outside of work is very stable and calm, and then they want work to bring the challenge and the volatility and the variety to life. So I remind myself very often that not everybody wants the same thing from work and to figure out what it is that someone wants from work. And then your seasons change. You may be in a season of where you want stability, or then you may be in a season of like, I'm ready to grow and push and take some risks. So helping someone identify which season of work they're in. ROB: Yeah, I 100% agree. What people can't see is me nodding vigorously on the other side of this call. It's very much about understanding because everybody is different. And that's what we want from a good team; it's understanding everybody's different approach to things. And so sometimes people want the distraction of work because they don't want the time off to think about other things. They want to be able to sit and concentrate on something. And it's understanding different people. STEPH: Yeah, that's a great point. I'm curious; you mentioned that as part of being development director, you are also, in addition to managing the team and being part of DEI then, there's also your day-to-day client work. I think you've started a new client recently. Could you tell me more about that? ROB: Yeah, I'd recently been working for a client for two and a half years, which is a very long time to be working with one client at thoughtbot. And it came to the time where I was ready for a new challenge, and it was stable enough for me to move on. So I've been working for a company in the UK. They allow customers to buy and sell cars, not between customers, the customers like companies like Auto Trader but customers to dealers and back and forth. And primarily, they worked with buying cars. And they've launched a product in the UK where people can sell their cars as well because they found that 70% of people who are buying cars also want to sell their cars. And from there, they're now looking to expand into Germany and Spain, so we are helping them to do that. And it's an interesting project, not necessarily from a technical point of view, but I might come back to that but definitely from a cultural point of view. The product at the moment allows you to put in a license plate or a registration plate for a car. And there's then a service in the UK that will allow you to pull up the maker model and the service history of that car. But you can't do that in Germany because it's against the privacy laws to find something from registration plates. And so it's interesting these different cultural aspects that you have to take into account when expanding into other countries that you aren't from and that you have less knowledge about. Because I'm also aware that credit cards aren't a big thing in Germany either. So you have to think about how they pay for things in different countries. And the previous company I was working for they're based in the Middle East. And so we had to take into account how we would do right to left design in a mobile app, which is really interesting from a western point of view that you get so used to swiping through an experience from left to right. But then it's not just the screen that's right to left. The journey moves from right to left. So you have to get used to the transitions of the screen going the other way and not thinking of that as going backwards. It's one of the best things about working in this region is that we get to deal with so many different cultures and how they expect to use applications. It's really satisfying. STEPH: That's fascinating. Yeah, I haven't gotten to work on a project like that that has those types of considerations. I think the most relatable experience I have is more working in healthcare because that's one of those areas that I'm certainly not proficient. I've become more proficient because of the type of projects that I've worked on. But I'm curious, for expanding into other regions and cultures, do those teams typically have an expert on their team that then helps guide the development process? Or, as you mentioned, the process of buying a car could be very different in some of the legal aspects that you're up against. Is there someone that you can turn to that's then helping mentor or be aware of that process? ROB: Yes, the current client they have a team based in Germany, people who are from Germany that are advising us on different cultural aspects or legislative things. They are doing a lot of data analysis for us because we need a new service that we can use for looking up car details. Because there is a service that you give different information to to get information about the car back from. So yeah, we do have that team there. But that's not always the case because every client is different. The company that we're working for in the Middle East didn't have a team. They had two developers who were helping us. But we have to figure things out just from their cultural background to ask them questions about things and allow them to advise us, but nobody who was really a specialist. But that's an interesting thing as well, not just the cultural aspects of the customers but the cultural aspects of the company that you work for. We definitely found that the company in the Middle East was more hierarchical. And so that's another challenge that you have to work with because we tend to work in quite a flat way where we tend to default as on thoughtbot projects, of not having a point person on a project. Everybody is there to answer the questions. But some teams or clients want that point person. And so, we adapt and change to allow for that to happen and work in that way. But it is interesting to work in different companies as well as working as an agency. STEPH: Yeah, you bring up a really good point of something that I don't reflect on very often, but it's something that I really appreciate about our thoughtbot culture is that we do try to strive for a very flat hierarchy. But also in working with clients, we purposely will avoid like, if there are two or more thoughtboters on a project, we don't want one person that is then the primary contact between the client and the thoughtbot team. The goal is that everybody shows up. Everybody is part of the process; everybody is part of meetings. And we do have an advisor for projects, but otherwise, we work very hard to make sure that there's not just one person that's then responsible for communication. We want everybody to have opportunities to be part of meetings, to lead meetings, to take on initiatives versus having that one person. That is something that I really appreciate that we do. ROB: Yeah. And it's more noticeable when you go to places where that isn't the norm, and you appreciate it more. And I think a big part of that is how much we are trusted. And we trust people to trust us, I guess. STEPH: Yeah. And I think it fits in nicely with circling back to the management conversation is that when people have access to those opportunities, that makes my job so much easier as a team lead where then there are more opportunities to sponsor someone or to coach someone as to how they can then be the person that then takes on a project or if they want to lead a particular meeting, or if they want to help a team introduce retrospectives into their process. So it gives more opportunities for me to then coach someone into expanding their skill set in those ways. ROB: Yeah, that's interesting to think about, allowing yourself to coach other people in that role. Because as we gain more experience and become senior developers, we naturally fall into that role of taking the lead on projects, even when we're not asked to. But then, when you gain other responsibilities in the management track, so you as a team lead and me as a team lead and a development director, it could be better for you to not take that role and allow somebody else to come into that role so you can coach them. That's been playing on my mind the last couple of days. Josh Clayton, who's the Managing Director for one of our teams in the Americas, raised it on our pull request in our handbook where we were talking about team leads having a dedicated day to concentrate on team lead things. It's one of those things where somebody says something, and it's like, oh yeah, that really clicks. Maybe that's why we have been having certain struggles on projects where we need to rearrange things and learn from that and so we can be better on projects in the future. So that's something that really resonated with me, and it's flying around in the back of my mind at the moment. STEPH: Yeah, that really resonates with me because while the predominant part of being a team lead at thoughtbot is having one-on-ones with folks, I find that when I have more time, a lot of the work also falls outside of that one-on-one where it's following up on conversations around hey, this person mentioned they're really interested in growing their skill. How can I help them? How can I help find opportunities? Or I know that they're currently stretching their skill set right now. If I have some extra time, then I can check in with them. I can pair with them. I can see how things are going. So I find that while the one-on-ones are the staple thing that happens every two weeks, there's a lot of other behind-the-scenes work that's going on as well to make sure that that person is growing and feeling really fulfilled by their work. ROB: I know we've spoken a lot about the product side and the client side of working on the new project that I'm working on. There are some interesting technical sides to it as well. The client has found that they have had some issues with Haskell and running on M1 Macs. And so, they've decided to take the leap and use GitHub Codespaces as their primary development environment, which has been interesting. I had heard about it but only in the background. I hadn't read anything about it or hadn't had any direct conversations. I just heard that there was a thing. So it's been quite interesting to play with that. It's interesting the way the client is using it as well because they're using a Dockerized environment effectively inside Docker by using Codespaces. So you start the Codespace, which very basically is a Docker instance somewhere on GitHub's infrastructure. It's built very much for Visual Studio Code, and so you can just directly attach your Visual Studio Code session to the Codespace and go from there, but I'm a Vim user. I've started to feel like a bit of an old guard or a curmudgeon recently where I've been like; maybe I need to use Visual Studio Code. Maybe I should just unlearn my Vim key bindings and learn the Visual Studio ones. And people say, "Oh, you could just use The Vim key bindings in VS Code." I'm like, that's cheating. I spent the time to learn the key bindings for Vim. I will take the time to learn the key bindings for Visual Studio Code and use it for the way it's intended. So it's been interesting to understand how Codespaces works, not necessarily in the way, it's intended. So you can still SSH into a Codespace session, but then you lose all the lovely setup stuff that you might have on your local machine. So I did spend half a day porting my dotfiles which are based off thoughtbot's dotfiles, into something that Codespaces can use and made it publicly available. So if you go to github.com/purinkle/codespace, you can see what I use to set up my Codespace environment. And once that's set up, it becomes a bit easier because then you have all the things that you're used to running locally. It is very much early days for how the client is using it. And so they're really open to saying like, okay, let's find out what's not working, and let's work and figure out how to get it up and running properly. So one of the things we do find is that Codespaces do timeout after a while. And then you might lose, like, even if I've created a tmux session, that tmux session disappears. And so I have to go in and create it again. I'm not sure what the timeouts are. I haven't had time to look into what those timeouts are yet. But that's definitely the main pain point at the moment of it being used as a development environment. It's been interesting. It's been kicking around in the back of my head like the difference between developing locally and deploying locally. And it's something that I wanted to talk to people at thoughtbot and outside of thoughtbot as well to understand that more. Because I don't think you need everything running to develop locally, but you might need it to deploy locally. It's interesting to me to understand how different companies work on their products from that point of view. STEPH: Yeah, I'm selfishly excited that you are using Codespaces for a client project because I have kept an eye on it, and I'm very intrigued by it. But I also haven't used it for a project. And it sounds really neat. I'm curious, have you found that it has helped them with onboarding or if you need to switch from working on one application to another? Have you found that it has helped them with some of those? I'm guessing that's the problem that they're optimizing to solve is how do we help people run everything quickly without having to set it up locally? ROB: It's an interesting question because I don't have the comparison of trying to set up the environment as it was before. It was smoother. The main thing with access tokens because once you can set up your SSH keys and your GitHub tokens, it's just a case of running a script and letting it run. So yes, from that point of view, I can imagine if I tried to set up their previous environment, that it'd be a lot more challenging because they were using Vagrant and running things that way, which I know from experience would not be fun. And I know that my Mac fans would just be spinning all the time. It would be like an aeroplane was trying to take off. So I'm thankful for that, that I don't have that experience anymore that my machine is going to slow down all the time. We've had on a previous client who had a Dockerized environment, but you have to have it all running on your machine. There are pros and cons to everything with these things. And it's like you said, what is the problem they're trying to solve with introducing this setup? STEPH: Yeah, I can't decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing. But I'm also intrigued by the idea that if a team is using Codespaces, then that means everybody else is using VS Code. And you can still customize it so you can still have your own preferences. But that does set a standard, so everybody is using the same editor. There's a lot of cross-collaboration in terms of if you do run into an issue, then you can help each other out. Versus when I join other teams, everybody's using their preferred editor, and then there you may have a day where someone's like, "Oh, I'm really stuck because my particular editor is suddenly having a problem and can't connect." And then you have less people that are able to help them if they're not using that same editor. And I can't decide if I like that or if I hate it [laughs] in terms of taking away people's ability to pick and choose their editor. But then the gains of everybody is using the same thing which is nice and would be really great for pairing too. ROB: Yeah, that's an interesting point. I was talking to...I have a management coach. He's a PHP developer, and I'm a Rails developer. And we were talking about the homogenization of things nowadays. And is that good, or is that bad to use with stuff like RuboCop that lints everything, so it's exactly the same? Does that stifle creativity? But then, at the same time, the thing I like about Codespaces is I think we're biased coming at it from the point of view of Rails developers. And if you look at how you can use Codespaces in the browser directly from GitHub, that's quite interesting because now you're lowering the barrier to entry to get started and saying you don't need to have an editor. You don't have to set up everything. You can just do it from your browser. A few years ago, I used to volunteer or coach at an organization called codebar. They help people who are less represented in the tech community get represented in the tech community. And we would see a lot of people coming for sessions using...I forgot what it's called. What was it called? Cloud 66 or something. There was some remote development environment that people would come and say, "Oh, I've been using this," because they didn't know how to set up the necessary infrastructure to just get a Rails server going or things like that or didn't know how to set up Sublime or Atom or editor of choice. And it's really interesting if you remove your bias of 15 years of professional software development and go okay, if I were starting today, what would the environment look like, and how would I get started? I'm lucky enough that I've grown up with the web and seen how web development has changed and been able to gain more knowledge as it's appeared. I don't envy anybody who has to come into the industry now and suddenly have to drink from this firehose of all these different frameworks, all these different technologies. Yeah, I started off by just right-clicking and viewing source on HTML files back in 1998 or something ridiculous like that. And CSS didn't even exist or wasn't used. And so it's a much different world than 24 years ago. STEPH: That is something that Chris and I have mentioned on previous episodes where people are coming into software development, and as much as we love Vim and it sounds like you love Vim, our advice is don't start with Vim. Don't start there. You've got so much to learn. Start with something like VS Code that's going to help you out. And you make such a great point in regards to this lowering the barrier to entry. Because I have been part of a number of classes where you have people coming in with Macs or with a Windows machine, and then you're trying to get everybody set up. You want them to use the same browser for testing. And we spend like a whole class just getting everybody on the same page and making sure their machines are working or then troubleshooting if something's not. But if they can just go to GitHub and then they can run things seamlessly there, that's a total game-changer in terms of how I would teach a class, and it would just be far easier. So I hadn't even considered the benefits that would have for teachers or just for onboarding teams as well. But yeah, specifically for leading a class, I think that is a huge benefit. GitHub did some pretty cool stuff around when they were launching that as well because I went back and watched some of their GitHub Universe sessions that they had where they were talking about Codespaces. And one of the things that they did that I really appreciated was how they went about launching Codespaces. So initially, it was how fast can this be? Or what's our proof of concept? And I think when they were building this, they found it took about 45 minutes if they wanted to spin up an application and then provide you a development environment. And they're like, okay, cool, like, we can do this, but it's 45 minutes, and that's not going to work. And so then their next iteration, they got it down to 25 minutes, and then they got it down to 5 minutes. And now they've got it to the point that it's instantaneous because they're building stuff in the background overnight. And so then that way, when you click on it, it's just all ready for you. But I loved that cycle, that process that they went through of can we even do this? And then let's see, slowly, incrementally, how fast can we get it? And then, to get feedback, instead of transitioning their own internal teams to it right away, they created this more public club. I think they called it The Computer Club, something like that. And they're like, hey, if you want to be part of Codespaces or try out this new feature that we have, delete all the source and the things that you need locally, and then just commit to using Codespaces. And then, if you are stuck or if you have trouble, then your job is to let us know so then we can iterate, and we can fix it. I really liked that approach that they took to launching this product and then getting feedback from everyone and then improving upon it. ROB: Yeah, that sounds like an Agile developer's dream where you just put something out there that's the bare bones, and you're given license to learn from that experience and how people are actually using that tool. That's something we've actually tried to do on the client project at the moment is adding all the...now that there's a different flow in Germany, there are different questions we need to ask. And so that could be quite a complex thing to put into place. So what we said is what we're going to do is just put in the different screens, and all you have is one option to click. So you click that option, you go to the next one, go to the next one, go to the next one. Then we have something that the customer can click on and play with and understand, and then we can iterate on top of that. But it also allows us to identify areas of risk because you can go; oh, where does this information come from? But now we need to get this from a third-party service. So that's the riskiest thing we've got to work on here, where this other thing is just a hard-coded list of three-door or five-door cars. And so that's an easier problem to solve. So allowing yourself to put something that could be quite complex like GitHub Codespaces and go okay, we're going to put something out there. It takes 45 minutes to run-up. But we're telling you it takes 45 minutes to run it. We're not happy with it, but we want to learn how you're using it so that we can then improve it but improve it in the right direction. Because it might be that we get it to 20 minutes to start up, but you need it in half a second. That's a ridiculous example. Or it might be that you need to be able to use RubyMine with it instead of VS Code, and that's where the market isn't. That's the thing that you can't learn in isolation that you have to put something out there for people to use and play with. STEPH: There's one other cool feature I want to highlight that I realized that they offer as well. So in the past, I've used a tool called ngrok, which then you can make your localhost public so other people can access. You can literally demo what you're working on locally, and someone else can access it. And I think that it's very cool. It's come in handy a number of times. And my understanding is that Codespaces has that feature where they can make your localhost accessible. So your work in progress you can then share with someone, and I love that. ROB: Oh, that's really interesting. I didn't know you could do that. I know you could forward ports from your local machine to that. But I didn't know you could share it externally. That'd be really cool. I can see how that can be really helpful in demos and pairing. And it makes sense because it's not running on your computer. It's running on some remote architecture somewhere. That's interesting. STEPH: Well, that's the dream I've been sold from what I've been reading about GitHub Codespaces. So if I'm telling lies, you let me know [laughs] as you're working further in it than I am. But yeah, that was one of the features that I read, and I was like, yeah, that's great because I love ngrok for that purpose. And it would be really cool if that's already built into Codespaces as well. ROB: ngrok is really interesting with things like trying to get third-party services to work. So from, the previous client, they wanted an Alexa Skill. And so, if you're trying to work with an Alexa Skill, you have to sign in from Amazon's architecture onto your local machine. You have to use ngrok as the tool there. So I wonder if that could potentially solve a problem where if there are three developers trying to develop on this if you could point to one Codespace that you're all working on rather than... Because the problem we had was if me or Fritz or Rakesh was working on this, we'd have to go and then change the settings on the Amazon Alexa Skill to point to a different machine. Whereas I wonder if Codespasces allows you to have this entry point, you could point to like thoughtbot.codespace.github.com or something like that that would then allow you to share that instance. That's something interesting that I think about now. I wonder if you could share Codespace instances amongst each other. I don't know. STEPH: Yeah, I'm intrigued too. That sounds like it'd be really helpful. So circling back just a bit to where we were talking about wearing different hats in terms of working on client work, and then also working on the team, and then also potentially some sales work as well, I'm curious, how do you balance that transition? How do you balance solving hard problems in a codebase and then also transition to solving hard problems in the management space? How do you make all of that fit cohesively in your day or your week? ROB: The main thing that somebody said to me recently is that you can only do so much in a day, and it's about the order that you approach those things. And just be content with the fact that you're not going to get everything done. But you have to make sure that you work on things in the right order and just take your time and then work through them. I read a really good book recently that was recommended to me by my coach called Time Off. And it's all about finding your rest ethic, which sounds a bit abstract and a bit weird. But all it is it's about understanding that you can't be working 100% all the time. It's not possible. As developers, sometimes we can forget that we're creative people, and creativity comes from a part of your brain that works subconsciously. So it's important for you to take breaks throughout the day and kind of go okay; I use the Pomodoro Technique. So I have an app that runs, and every 25 minutes, I just take a little break. I don't use it in the way that it's supposed to be used. I just use it to give me a trigger to have a break every 25 minutes. And so in that time, I'll just step away from my computer. I'll walk to the kitchen, grab a glass of water. I usually have a magazine or a book next to my table. So I have a magazine here at the moment. I'll just read a page of that just to kind of rest my eyes, so they focus at a different level but also just to get my brain thinking about something else. And it seems counterproductive that like, oh, you're stepping out of what you were doing. But then I find like, oh, I suddenly have a little refresher to like, oh, I need to get back into what I was doing. I know where I've got to go. That thing that I was thinking about now makes a little bit more sense. And even if it's a bigger break, give yourself the license to go for a walk and just kind of clear your head. And a big thing about going for a walk is not to concentrate on completing the task of walking but to concentrate on the walk itself and taking the things that are happening around you. And let your mind just kind of...you'll sometimes notice that oh, I can hear a bird. But that bird's been chirping for five minutes, and you didn't notice because your mind's kind of going. And if you concentrate on, I just want to complete this walk, that's what I'm out here to do, then you lose that ability to let your mind reset. That's a big thing that I'm working on personally to concentrate on the doing rather than the getting done. And it ties into the craft of being a software developer because if you concentrate on the actual writing of the code and the best practices that we all believe in, you end up with something better that you don't then have to revisit at a later time. Where if you just try and get something done, you're just going to end up having to come back to it or have to revisit in some other way. I've actually got a blog post coming out soon about notifications on phones. I'm a big believer that your phone belongs to you and that if your work wants you to have work notifications on your phone, then they could buy you a phone just for that purpose. The only thing where I kind of draw the line is I have notifications for meetings on my phone because I can't think of another way to get those things to ping up at me. And I understand that there are jobs where you do need to have those sorts of notifications, especially things like where you're on call; it's a big thing. But when it comes to things where a manager wants to get a hold of you straight away, from a trust point of view, that's where I think things fall down. And you're questioning, like, okay, why does this person need to get hold of me at 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:00 o'clock at night? And should I be available? We build by the day at thoughtbot. And so when I find, not when I find but when I talk to people, and they say, "Oh, I was still working at 7:30, 8:00 o'clock," I will say, "Why? You're devaluing your own time at that point because we're not billing any extra for that time. So you're making your craft and your skill...you're cheapening it. And I want them to relish the skills and competencies that they have. That's a big thing for me. We're very lucky at thoughtbot that we can draw a boundary at the end of the day and go, okay, that's it. There's no expectation for me. It is much more difficult at product companies. But yeah, I think it's something that as an industry, and it's a bigger thing as a society, especially with younger people coming into the industry who have never worked in an office and may never work in an office, that idea of where is the cutoff? For so much of the pandemic, the people I would get concerned about the most are the people whose beds I could see behind them because I'm thinking to myself, you spend at least 16 hours a day in that same room. And that's going to become the norm for people. And if people don't have those rest periods and those breaks and aren't given the opportunities to do that by their managers, then it's not going to end well. And happy people and fulfilled people do the best jobs from a business point of view. But that's never the way I approach it, but that's what I say to people. STEPH: I think that's one of the biggest mistakes that I made early on in my career, and even now, I still have to coach myself through it. It's like you said, we are creative people and people in software and in general and not just developers, but it's a creative craft. And I wouldn't step away to take breaks. I just thought if I pushed hard enough, I would figure it out, and then I could get done with my work because I was so focused on getting it done versus the doing, as you'd highlighted earlier. I haven't really thought about it in that particular light of focusing on this is the thing that I'm working on. And yes, I do want to get it done, but let's also focus on the doing portion of it. And so I wouldn't step away for walks. I wouldn't step away for breaks. And that is something that I have learned the hard way that when I actually gave myself that time to breathe, if I gave myself a moment to relax, then I would come back refreshed and then ready to tackle whatever challenge was in front of me. And same for keeping a magazine that's near my desk; I have found that if I keep a book or something that I enjoy...because, at some point, my brain is going to look for some rest, like, it happens. That's when we flip open Twitter or Instagram or emails or something because our brain is looking for something easy and maybe a little bit of like brain candy, something to give us a little hit. And I have found that if I keep something else more intentional by my desk, something that I want to read or that I'm enjoying, then I find that when I am seeking for something that's short that I can look at, that I feel more relaxed and fulfilled from that versus then if I go to Twitter, and then I see a bunch of stuff, I don't like, and then I go back to work. [laughs] And it has the opposite effect of what I actually wanted to do with my downtime. I love the sound of this book. We'll be sure to include a link in the show notes because it sounds like a really good book to read. And I've also worked on improving the setup with my phone and notifications, where I have compartmentalized all the work-related apps into one folder, and then I keep it on the third screen of my phone. So if I want to see something that's work-related, it's very intentional of like, I have to scroll past all of the stuff that matters to me outside of work and then get to that work section and then click in that folder to then see like, okay, this is where I have Slack, and Gmail, and Basecamp, and all the other things that I might need for work. And I have found that has really helped me because I do still have the notifications on my phone, but at least putting it on its own screen further away from the home screen has been really helpful. ROB: Do you find that you still get distracted by that, though, when you're in the flow of doing something else? STEPH: I don't with my phone. I am a person who ignores my phone really well. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, [laughs] but it is a truth of who I am where I'm pretty good at ignoring my phone. ROB: That's a good skill to have. If there's any phone in the room and a notification goes off, my head swivels, and I pivot, and I'm like, oh, yeah, some dopamine hit over there that I can get from looking at somebody else's notification. STEPH: I have noticed that in the other people that I'm around. Yeah, it's that sound that just triggers people like, oh, I got to look. And even if you know it's not your phone like you heard someone else's phone ding, it still makes you check your phone even though probably there's a part of your brain that recognizes like, that wasn't mine, but I'm still going to check anyways. And I have worked hard to fight that where even if I hear my phone go off, I'm like, okay, cool, I'll get to it. I'll check it when I need to. And I'm that person that whenever apps always ask me, "Can we send you notifications?" I'm like, no, you may not send me notifications. [laughs] Something else you said that I haven't thought about until just now is the idea that there are some people who have never worked in an office or may never work in an office because we are leaning into more remote jobs. And that is fascinating to me to think about that someone won't have had that experience. But you make such a good point that we need to start thinking about these boundaries now and how we manage our remote work and our home life because this is, going forward, going to be the new norm for a number of people. So how do we go ahead and start putting good practices in place for those future workers? ROB: One of the things, as we've hired people from a remote point of view who've only worked with thoughtbot remotely, is the idea of visibility. And I don't mean the visibility of I want to see when somebody's working but maybe the invisibility of people. Because you can't see when people are taking breaks, you assume that everybody is working all the time, and so then you don't take those breaks. And so this is something we saw with people who we hired in the first six months of being remote. And they were burning out because they didn't realize that other people were taking breaks. Because they didn't know about the cultural norms of how we worked at thoughtbot. But people who had worked in the studio would know that people would get up and have breaks. People would get up and go get a coffee from a coffee shop and then have a walk around. They didn't know that that was the culture because they bring the culture from other places with them. But then it's much harder to get people to understand your way of working and how we think that we should approach things when you are sat in isolation in a room with a screen. And that's something that we've had to say to people to break that down. And even things that we took for granted when we worked in a studio where somebody would get up and ask somebody if they could pair with them even if they weren't on the same project. Somebody might have more Elm knowledge or React Native knowledge, or Elixir knowledge. And you'd get up and say, "Hey, can I borrow some of your time just to go over this thing, to pair?" And everybody would say, "Yeah, yeah, I can find some time. If not now, we can do it later." And recently, we've had people saying, "Oh, is it okay if we pair across projects? Is it okay if we pair with other people?" It's like, "Yeah, pair." One of the big things we say is that we have this vast amount of knowledge across thoughtbot, across the world that we can tap into and that you can use. And that's just one example of how do you get those core things that you take for granted and help people understand them? Because you don't know what people don't know. And it's all about that implied knowledge. So that's something that we learned. And we try and say to people and instill in them about yeah, take breaks. You can pair with people. There are people who bring in culture from other places with them. But then, to go back to where you started, how do you start with people who have no culture with them or have the culture of coming from maybe from school, or university, or from a different industry? How do you help those people add to your culture but also learn from your culture at the same time? Big people problems. STEPH: Have you found any helpful strategies to normalize that take a break culture? ROB: One thing we tried, but it doesn't last very long because people are lazy, is putting it in Slack saying, "I'm going for a break." And you can do that, but it's so artificial. After a week or two weeks, people just stopped doing it. It was through conversation. We have a regular retrospective as the Launchpad II team where we talk about what is working, what isn't working. And we have such a trusting environment where people will say things along the lines of this isn't working for me, or I feel like I'm burning out. Then we will talk to each other about it and figure out where it comes from. And it's a good point to raise that I don't think we have explicitly addressed it. But it is something that we will address. I'm not going to say could address; we will address it. I will talk to our latest hire, Dorian, who I have a one-on-one with next week, and to kind of talk to him about it. And we should maybe try and codify that in our handbook somewhere so everybody can learn from it, at least start a strategy and a conversation. Because I don't think it is something that we do talk about. It's the problem of being siloed and being remote and time zones as well. A lot of stuff that Launchpad I knows Launchpad II doesn't necessarily know because we only have three, maybe, hours if people are based on the East Coast where we overlap. I have meetings with Geronda, who's our DEI Program Manager, and she lives in Seattle. And so sometimes I'll talk to her at 5:00 o'clock, and it's 7:00 o'clock in the morning for her. And you have different energy levels. But yeah, so we spend time to try and figure out how we work together. STEPH: Yeah, I like that idea of highlighting that we take breaks somewhere that's part of your expectations as part of your role. Like, this is an expectation of your role; you're going to take breaks. You're going to step away for lunch. You're going to stick to a certain set of hours in terms of having like an eight-hour workday with a healthy lunch break in there. I think that's a really good idea. On the Boost team, I have found that people have adopted the habit of not always but typically sharing of, like, "Hey, I'm stepping away for a coffee break," or "I'm having lunch. Maybe like a late lunch, but I'm taking it," Or "I am stepping away for a walk." You often see later in the afternoon where there are a number of people that are then saying, "Hey, I'm going for a walk." And I feel that definitely helps me when I see it every day to reinforce like, yes; I should do this too because I already admitted I'm bad at this. So it helps reinforce it for me when I see other people saying that as well. But then I can see that that takes time to build that into a team's culture or to find easy ways to share that. So just putting it upfront in like a role expectation also feels like a really good place to then highlight and then to reinforce it as then people are setting that example. ROB: One thing that Nick Charlton tried to introduce was a Strava group. There's a thoughtbot Strava group. So you can see if people are members of it that they've been walking and things like that. It was quite an interesting way to automate it. I think it fell off a cliff. But it was something that we did try to how can we make the visibility of this a little bit easier? But yeah, the best thing I've seen is, like you say, having that notification in Slack or somewhere where you can see that other people are stepping away from their keyboards. STEPH: Well, as you mentioned, solving people problems is totally easy, you know. It's a totally trivial task although I'm sure we could spend too many hours talking about it. All right, so I do have one more very important question for you, Rob. And this goes back to a debate that Chris and I are having, and I'd love to get you to weigh in on it. So there are Pop-Tarts, these things called Pop-Tarts in the world. And I don't know if you're a fan, but if you were given the option to eat a Pop-Tart with frosting or a Pop-Tart without frosting, which one do you think you would choose? ROB: That's an interesting question. Is there a specific flavor? Because I think that the Strawberry Pop-Tart I would have with frosting but maybe the chocolate one I have without. I know there are all sorts of exotic flavors of Pop-Tarts. But I think I would edge towards with frosting as a default. That's my undiplomatic answer. STEPH: I like that nuanced answer. I also like how you refer to the flavors as exotic. I think that was very kind of you [laughs] other like melon crushed or wild flavors that they have. Awesome. All right. Well, I think that's a perfect note for us to wrap up. Rob, thank you so much for coming on the show and for bringing up all of these wonderful ideas and topics and sharing your experience with Codespaces. For folks that are interested in following your work or interested in getting in touch with you, where's the best place for them to do that? ROB: Yeah, thank you so much for having me. It's been fantastic to have a chat. If people do want to find me, the best place would be on Twitter. So my handle on Twitter is @purinkle which I understand is hard for people to maybe understand via a podcast, but we'll put a link in the show notes so people couldn't find me more easily. And that's probably also a good time to say that I am actually trying to find a development team lead to join our Launchpad II team. So we are looking for somebody who lives in Europe, Middle East, or Africa to join our team as a developer and manager of two to three people. There's more information on the thoughtbot website, and I do tweet about it very, very often. So feel free to reach out to me if that's of any interest to you. STEPH: Awesome. We'll be sure to include a link to that in the show notes as well. On that note, shall we wrap up? ROB: Yeah, let's wrap up. CHRIS: The show notes for this episode can be found at bikeshed.fm. STEPH: This show is produced and edited by Mandy Moore. CHRIS: If you enjoyed listening, one really easy way to support the show is to leave us a quick rating or even a review on iTunes, as it really helps other folks find the show. STEPH: If you have any feedback for this or any of our other episodes, you can reach us at @_bikeshed or reach me on Twitter @SViccari. CHRIS: And I'm @christoomey. STEPH: Or you can reach us at hosts@bikeshed.fm via email. CHRIS: Thanks so much for listening to The Bike Shed, and we'll see you next week. ALL: Byeeeeee!!!!!! ANNOUNCER: This podcast was brought to you by thoughtbot. thoughtbot is your expert design and development partner. Let's make your product and team a success.
If life is beginning to take a toll on your heart and mind … this edition of Be Inspired will be a breath of fresh air. Taking his cue from King David in the Old Testament, Rob Whittaker reveals what may be the most powerful tool we have to fight discouragement and despair.
Chad interviews Kirsten Hurley, Managing Director of thoughtbot's Launchpad II team. The Launchpad II team covers the EMEA area: that's Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. She talks about working remotely for almost the entire time she's worked with the company, her approach to talking with potential customers when she knows she's never going to meet them in person, and what she sees happening to the different geographies that thoughtbot is selling and expanding into. Follow thoughtbot on Twitter (https://twitter.com/thoughtbot) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/150727/) Follow Kirsten on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hurleykirsten/) Become a Sponsor (https://thoughtbot.com/sponsorship) of Giant Robots! Transcript: CHAD: This is the Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast where we explore the design, development, and business of great products. I'm your host, Chad Pytel. And with me today is Kirsten Hurley, Managing Director of thoughtbot's Launchpad II team. Kirsten, thanks for joining me. KIRSTEN: Thanks for having me on, Chad. CHAD: So I've now talked with a few managing directors at thoughtbot about the new team that they're leading. So I think listeners are probably expecting what's coming next which is, you know, why don't you give people a little bit of an overview of what the Launchpad II team, which has a slightly different name than the other teams we've talked to so far, do? KIRSTEN: Sure. So I guess maybe to remind some folks, so Launchpad I refers to the Americas. So you've already spoken to a few of the managing directors who head up different teams across the Americas. You have different propositions. Over in Launchpad II, which historically was the London studio when we were working in a physical office environment, we are a smaller team than everyone else who was based over in the Americas. So we didn't quite scale out to be able to have individual teams working on particular propositions. But I think what the team had been successfully doing anyway was working across everything. And we still do work on Ignite-style projects, Lift Off, and Boost engagements as well. So yeah, that's where we've got to. And I think maybe the changes for us is that since we've gone to fully remote working and officially called ourselves the EMEA Launchpad II team, we've started hiring folks from further afield, which is really exciting for me. CHAD: So not everyone may be familiar with the acronym, although it's fairly common, EMEA. So what regions does that actually cover? KIRSTEN: [laughs] Sorry. So that's Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. And I should say we were already working with clients pretty much fully across the region anyway. It was just never really official. But I think the more global terminology is Europe, the Middle East, and Africa or EMEA. But because we're thoughtbot and we like to do things a little bit...well, we like to own our things. So we've called it Launchpad II to go with the rocket theme that we had in our rebranding. What was that? The end of last year I think we came up with it all. CHAD: Yeah. So what has it been like to go from a team of people that were...[laughs] actually, as I ask this question I realized that you joined a week before the pandemic started, and we had to go remote. So I was going to ask you what it was like to go from a team of people that were going to a studio every day all based in London to a remote team. [laughs] But you never really experienced the alternative. KIRSTEN: [laughs] No. I think the most time I spent with the team as a whole was actually in my interview process [laughs] before I even started in person I should say. That was a pretty interesting week. You had flown over from Boston [chuckles] to spend some time getting me all set up and running. And I think it was the Wednesday where you and I had a bit of a chat, and we were concerned about this virus that was going around and the duty of care that we actually had to our teams across the world from a point of view of them commuting to work, and it didn't feel right. And so I think we made the decision that day that from the following week, everyone would start working from home. And I think we thought it would just be for a few weeks, and we'd see how it went. So yeah, it was interesting for sure. [laughs] CHAD: Right. And I remember what happened is I went to...I usually leave on a Friday when I visit, but a few of us, I think, went to a pub or something on...we were planning on doing that on Friday. So I was going to leave on Saturday morning, and I did. But I woke up on Saturday morning ready to catch my flight to the news that the U.S. had shut down all flights from the UK or from Europe, was what the headline said. And I was like, oh no, [laughter] I might be stuck here. And then when you actually read the article, it said actually the UK is exempt and also U.S. citizens were exempt, so they can get back. I remember waking up that morning and having a fright that I was going to be stuck there and made it back safely, thankfully. So the U.S. then went remote that following week if I remember the timeline right. It was an interesting time. And like you said, we thought it was going to be temporary, relatively short, but it wasn't. And then, at the end of last year, we decided that we would be going completely fully remote, and that was pretty exciting. I think for folks, it was obviously...unexpected is probably the wrong word because we couldn't be in person anyway. But it wasn't what people were necessarily expecting when they joined thoughtbot. People join because we often, or at least they have the expectation that we're in an office together. But it's been exciting for Launchpad II because it means that you can now and are hiring people much differently and further afield than you were in the past, right? KIRSTEN: Yeah, and even actually working with partners further afield as well. So we have some great partnerships still in the UK but actually working with some of your cohorts from AgencyU, your coaching program, Subvisual over in Portugal, and a couple of others as well. That's been really great to work with those teams as well. CHAD: Having come into a new team as in a leadership position and being, basically as we've said, entirely remote almost from day one, how has that been for you? KIRSTEN: Certainly, it wasn't the plan. [laughs] So I think my last few roles were very much working based in an office. And so my background is commercial and sales, account management. And I was very used to building rapport with teams and clients in person. So I had joined thoughtbot and joined the London studio as it was then but Launchpad II with a remit to grow the business. So I think you had been looking after the team for about a year, giving us a great foundation to then really grow. And coming in, this black swan event had happened in the world, so the priorities changed overnight. And it was okay; how do I keep this team safe? Is everyone set up to be successful in their role? And also our existing clients and our existing projects, are they supported in the right way? This is a shock to them as well. I think, at thoughtbot, we're very lucky that from a point of view of asynchronous communication and remote working practices, being a global company, it wasn't such a shock to the system, but for some of our clients, it was. So we had to make sure that they were supported. And in some cases, we showed them what good looks like. But rather than focusing on new business and growing straight away, it was really a period of stabilization, I would say, for about three to six months while everyone got used to what was an evolving situation, but we came through it. And I have to say a huge thank you to the team actually for their kindness and patience with me and learning remotely everything about thoughtbot that I was so excited to become a part of. But also, learning a leadership style over Zoom wasn't really what I thought I was going to be doing. CHAD: Well, you mentioned selling a lot of what you had done previously was relationship building with clients in person or potential clients in person. Is there anything that stands out to you in terms of how you've needed to adjust either your style or your approach when talking with potential customers when you know you're never going to meet them in person? KIRSTEN: I'm not sure you can really change your personality per se because I am always interested in building rapport through understanding an individual's motives and what they're passionate about. And quite often, those conversations can be things outside of work, so talking with clients about maybe going up for runs and things like that and personal bests and things just because that's a natural thing to talk to someone about. I still very much make room for those kinds of things in calls. Because I think in a consultancy relationship, people buy people, and people want to work with people who understand them. And while the majority of that is obviously people understanding your job and the product that you want to be building as well, I think you need to have that personal element. So while it felt a bit stilted over Zoom to make that time, I think that it's worth it in the long run. CHAD: That's a really good point. I think if you're not careful about it, it's very easy to just get right to business in a call as opposed to when you're meeting someone in person you need to walk to a conference room or something, and it naturally lends itself to some small talk. KIRSTEN: Exactly, that bit where you're riding in the lift together. CHAD: And I think that that probably applies to sales as much as it does our team members too. KIRSTEN: Absolutely. Funnily enough, I was talking with our Development Director here, Rob Whittaker, the other day about one-to-ones should not be really that much talking about your client project. It's obviously important to make sure that someone is happy and they're being successful in their work. But actually, what's going on behind the scenes and understanding that within your team is probably just as important, if not more so, like you say. CHAD: So tell us a little bit about some of the interesting work that's happening in Launchpad II. KIRSTEN: Well, we've got a couple of flagship clients that keep on growing for us, which is really great, actually. They're effectively partnerships, really at this point. And so, one of those clients is a large financial service institution where we were building APIs for all of the COVID loan schemes. And I think the last I checked, the amount of money that had flowed through that system and the loans approved was something over £75 billion. So for a pretty small development team, it's really impressive what they've achieved over that time. So that's a team of three developers in a Boost-style engagement, so like Josh's team over in the U.S. working on a Rails project and working alongside business analysts from the team and other stakeholders there as well. And so over in the Middle East, we have a food delivery client, so they're actually a huge brand over there. And we had started working with them nearly two years ago now on creating a mobile app for their customers. So we've been adding to features, getting that released. And obviously, with what's happened in the last 18 months, food delivery is a sector where you've seen huge growth. And that's even led to us recently looking at re-engineering the platform and making sure that we're still managing to delight their customers as well with their user experience. And we've even been working on some Ignite-style projects too. So there's a lot of startups, a lot of folks have been at home thinking about what is this new business? What's the impact I'm going to have on the world? And most recently, we've been running some product design sprints with a wellness brand who are looking at bringing a different type of wellness to the market. And again, that's a mobile app which we're really excited to be working on. CHAD: Have you seen the different geographies both from the U.S. and UK...what do you see happening to the different geographies that you're selling into and expanding into? Are there any notable differences you would call out? KIRSTEN: I think the biggest difference that I see between clients in the Americas and over here in Europe, the Middle East, Africa would be the funding levels for startups and the expectations around that. It seems like a more mature market from a point of view of being able to get a decent budget to really build a meaningful platform for first release over in the Americas, whereas over here, it's a bit leaner definitely [laughs] on the startup side of things. So I think that's probably the biggest challenge we have when talking with clients and making sure we can give them the bang for the buck, as it were. So making sure that the research that we did, that the designers do, for example, is focused on the right thing and really gives them the insight that they need to have the confidence to progress and invest in that build. Or whether they actually need to go back and do more before they actually start spending on the development side of things. CHAD: I would definitely second that. And one thing that I noticed not only were the amounts different in the U.S. and the UK, but it seems like in the U.S., when you're talking with a founder, there's more often than not other people they need to check in with in order to make a decision. And when I was talking to founders in the UK and beyond and in Europe, what I often felt was that there was actually someone that they needed to check in with and get permission from or that was holding the purse strings or something. And that might be a cultural thing as well, far less likely to just make a decision with you in the meeting saying, "Yeah, we're going to work together." There was always, for me, a lot more back and forth, and checking and permission getting around decisions that are being made. KIRSTEN: Yeah, I would agree with that. CHAD: Is that something that you've seen too? KIRSTEN: I think so. It's interesting because what we've started doing recently actually...sometimes through the product design sprints but even in the sales process, if a founder does know or does realize in those conversations that they're going to need to find an additional source of money to be able to fund it, conversations have gone more into how can we help them with their pitch deck as well? And I think I've seen this with the Ignite team over in the Americas as well, to be fair. The prototypes that we build, very early-stage prototypes, where we're testing and doing the user research those go into the pitch decks now to give potential investors greater confidence as well if that's the route that they go down. MIDROLL AD CHAD: I wanted to tell you all about something I've been working on quietly for the past year or so, and that's AgencyU. AgencyU is a membership-based program where I work one on one with a small group of Agency founders and leaders toward their business goals. We do one-on-one coaching sessions, and also monthly group meetings. We start with goal setting, advice, and problem solving based on my experiences over the last 18 years of running thoughtbot. As we progress as a group, we all get to know each other more and many of the AgencyU members are now working on client projects together and referring work to each other. Whether you're struggling to grow your agency, taking it to the next level and having growing pains, or a solo founder who just needs someone to talk to, in my 18 years of leading and growing thoughtbot I've seen and learned from a lot of different situations, and I'd be happy to work with you. Learn more and sign up at thoughtbot.com/agencyu CHAD: What do you think is next for Launchpad II? As you look ahead, what do you see, and what do you want to accomplish? KIRSTEN: Well, so it's budget season [chuckles] at thoughtbot at the moment. So we've just gone through our first iteration of what that might look like. And we are super keen to make the most of what we've built over, certainly in my time, the last 18 months. We've had great commercial success, and we've grown existing clients. We've brought on a couple of new ones. And we've really matured our team as well from the point of view of what we think works for our clients and what we get the greatest fulfillment in as well. So I think in that first card, we would like to grow the team by an additional ten folks, and that's working across design, development, and product management as well. So that's something new that we brought in this year. We had our first product manager join the team, and that's been a huge success as well. It's something that everyone at thoughtbot working on projects had assumed responsibility collectively for, but actually, some projects really need that nominated person. So I'm excited to grow that team as well as the other ones. And I think looking ahead for our hiring as well building a more geographically diverse team as well that better reflects our client base. So we currently have clients in the Middle East; as I mentioned, we've got France, Germany, and a few more UK-centric ones as well. So it would be great to build a more diverse team from a point of view of life experience. Because as we well know, the more diverse a team, the greater the empathy for a broader range of human experience, and that leads to great products as well. CHAD: Well, speaking of hiring, you do have a bunch of open positions in Launchpad II now. And we probably can't stress enough that those positions are open to anybody, anywhere in Europe, the Middle East, Africa. And we'd love for people to apply from across all of those places and including an apprenticeship opening, right? KIRSTEN: Oh, absolutely. I would also encourage people to reach out to me as well if they're not sure whether they would maybe qualify for the role. I think we do a lot of work on our job descriptions to make sure that they are as approachable as possible. But nonetheless, if someone isn't sure, then please do just reach out to me. And we can have an informal chat before the more formal process starts. I'm more than happy to have a 15-minute call with someone and just answer any questions too. CHAD: Well, on that note, I'm interested in your perspective, especially as someone relatively new to the team. Coming in externally, you have a perspective that maybe someone who's been here a long time doesn't have quite as fresh a perspective. But what do you think makes people a good fit for thoughtbot? KIRSTEN: From what I've learned from the team over the last 18 months or so, there's obviously a passion for creating great software. But I think what really seems to resonate with folks is feeling like they're a part of something bigger, so open source contributions, contributing to potentially clients who've got some social good agenda. Those kinds of things are pretty important to people. And working with even people who have empathy for each other and who envisage those values we have around earning, imparting, and summoning trust. I think we've all been through a pretty tough time over the last 18 months. And the level of compassion that everyone has shown each other has been incredible. And the patience, as I've mentioned before, is great. And I think everyone just wants to pull together for positive outcomes, whether it's within the team, whether it's for clients. What would be your old school view then, Chad, as a founder of what, 18 years ago? [laughs] CHAD: Yeah. I think the other thing that I would call out that maybe isn't explicitly in the values, which people can read about at thoughtbot.com/purpose, is designers, and especially developers at thoughtbot, are not what you might typically envision a developer to be in that developers at thoughtbot are expected to be able to talk directly to clients and work directly with clients. And that's not an expectation everywhere. So, people who like talking with people about problems and collaborating to solve problems, not everyone is a fit for that. And one of the things we look for in the hiring process is those communication skills, and the ability to have those conversations, and to weigh trade-offs, and be a consultant, and all of those things. So someone who enjoys doing that in the process of building a great product is something that I would call out. KIRSTEN: Yeah, I think that's a really good point. Collaboration is huge for us, always has been. And obviously, the way that that works has changed slightly with the move to remote working. But I think thoughtbot is the least hierarchical consultancy that I've ever worked for in that everyone is encouraged to give their opinions and discuss challenges with clients very openly. Everyone is encouraged to contribute. It's not just the senior developers or the team leads who are making decisions. Everyone makes a decision together. And I think that's incredibly empowering for people maybe who haven't had that opportunity before. Sometimes it takes folks a little while to grow in their confidence and believe that it's true. But it's really nice to see when people who join us start coming out of their shells and really get a sense of satisfaction from genuinely being a part of a really constructive team. CHAD: And the other thing that I often say is really important, not necessarily to being hired at thoughtbot but being really successful here, is being able to lift your head up from the particular client project that you are on right now and to see and get excited by the bigger picture of what's going on. So that might be noticing patterns in the way that we're implementing something that will lead to the creation of an open-source project or a product to solve that need. It could be if you really love thinking about engineering or design best practices and getting the chance to experiment with them in your work, that's going to make you really successful at thoughtbot over the long term. Because we do great work on clients' projects, but our actual product that we're selling goes far beyond the lines of code or the design that we produce. You said it yourself earlier, people buy our people, and our process, and our culture. That's what people are making decisions about whether to work with us or someone else over. And so we have an opportunity to be working on improving the company, and our processes, and our engineering practices, and all that stuff, and it makes us a better company. So the people who are able to do that tend to be very successful and grow into leadership positions and those kinds of things. KIRSTEN: Yeah, I would agree with that. So I was actually going to ask you, Chad, what are your hopes and dreams for the Launchpad II team? We obviously have a few conversations here and there. But it's good to know from your experience, having worked with the team before I came along, maybe it's interesting for people listening what you think the potential is. CHAD: I think that there is a lot of potential, and I think that it's probably no surprise that I think that, to be honest. [chuckles] I'm very excited by the ability to expand throughout a larger region and to bring new team members on as well as new clients on, and the way that that's working now is really great. It's not that the way that we were working before wasn't good. There are pros and cons to every way of working. And the pros now are being able to hire people no matter where they live and to have the expectation that we're able to work with these clients remotely everywhere. And we're getting the chance to be involved in a lot of really cool exciting things and with cool, exciting people because we're doing that. And I do this and have done it for so long because of the cool, exciting things that we do with the cool, exciting people that we do them with. So that is what I'm really excited by. And the thing from a business perspective and a team perspective that I keep on reminding people of and pushing people towards is the team structure that we have in the Americas was created at a certain point because the number of people in the Americas made sense to have a breakdown and have some focus. And that focus is proving very positive. It's not that in Launchpad II, we're not doing a good job on our client work. It's not that people aren't fulfilled in their work. But what we see is when people never know what kind of project they're going to be on next, or are tasked with going from a project where they're doing huge scaling and architecture, and the timelines on things are months, not days, and then you rotate on a project where it's the complete opposite. You're bringing your product to market super quickly. The timelines you're operating on...a ticket you're going to work on now is going to go to production a few minutes later. It's a different skill set. And not that the people at thoughtbot can't do all of those things, but there is a benefit to being able to excel in the moment of that kind of project that you're on and to be able to raise your hand and say, "You know, I really like this kind of work," and to be able to focus on that. So that's down the road for Launchpad II. That's something that we have to look forward to is the team will eventually get big enough where we're able to say, "Hey, what kind of work do you want to focus on?" It's a transition we've been through in the Americas. Hopefully, we've learned from that. And the other thing that will be the case for Launchpad II is that it won't necessarily all happen at once. In the Americas, we did it as a reorganization, and it all happened at once. But in Launchpad II, it can happen more organically where we say, "There is enough work in this area and enough people now," that we start to focus a little bit and we create a team of people that focuses on Boost-style projects or a team of people that focus on Lift Off-style projects and without worrying about also needing to create those other teams at the same time. So we should do it more organically. I'm excited. I'm looking forward to that process. I'm not exactly sure when it will happen. But I think it will be an indicator of the growth and success that we've had in Launchpad II. KIRSTEN: We're certainly watching all of the great experiments that are happening over in Launchpad I in the different teams, looking at the learnings that are coming out of all of the different things. And yeah, I think it's giving us a lot of food for thought right now as to how will that work for us and how will it work for the clients that we work with as well? Because that's the other thing we mentioned before about the maturity of the startup market, et cetera. So we may need to organize ourselves a little bit differently to be able to serve them. So it will be interesting, as you say when we get to the scale, that that's appropriate, which I hope is going to be sooner rather than later. [laughs] So yeah, it's going to be an interesting challenge. And I agree with you on the organic thing as well. I think it might be a case where some folks want to actually try out some different types of things. Maybe the newer folks who join us next year may not know what gives them the most fulfillment. But that's also another great thing about thoughtbot generally is that nothing is permanent. [laughs] And if we find a better way to do something, then we'll always twist rather than stick. CHAD: I like that saying. That's cool. You're right to call out that a lot of the improvements that I've talked about are from a team perspective and an individual perspective. But a big driver of that was from the client-side, and we see lots of benefits there too. And you called out that we have project managers now. And that's been successful in a way that project management at thoughtbot has never been successful before. And part of it is when everything was the same in all of the individual studios, not every project would benefit from a project manager. And if we only have one project and that happens to not be a full-time project for a project manager, it wasn't enough work. But when we can coalesce a team together and a client base together that needs a certain kind of thing consistently, then we're better able to support that which makes our work for the clients better as well. And so that's also been a really good area of improvement for us. KIRSTEN: Yeah, I think it's interesting to consider product management in the industry as well. I think it's matured quite significantly whether thoughtbot was doing that or not. I think product management generally is a far more important role than it ever used to be because clients themselves invest in those roles a lot more than they used to. CHAD: Yeah, and I think that I realized...I just caught myself in a mistake. Was I saying project management before? KIRSTEN: [laughs] I should have corrected you. I wasn't entirely sure if I'd misheard you across the pond here. CHAD: [laughs] Okay. That was a mistake. KIRSTEN: I think a few of us still make that mistake. CHAD: Yes. Actually, that's a really good thing. I caught myself doing it just because they're similar words. But I totally meant product management and not project management. And there are two different things, two distinct things that I think it's important to make that distinction clear. So what is the distinction between those two things, Kirsten? KIRSTEN: [laughs] And now it's my turn to tie myself in knots a little bit. It's because product management; I think the first thing you go to is thinking about someone who's responsible for maintaining a product roadmap. And I know that that's a spicy conversation to get into sometimes because you don't want them to be so resolutely set at the outset of a project. But you need someone who's got one eye on the end goal. And sometimes, when you've got a team of developers and designers working to some pretty aggressive timelines, and deep in technical problems and solving challenges, that person who helicopters out and looks across everything and retains the broader context of the overall program or the overall client objectives, and can hold the team true to that is really important strategically for the success of a project. But I think; actually, you also need to be flexible and listen to the designers and developers when something that was on the roadmap is disproved somehow or is not viable for whatever reason, whether that's because of end-user research or just technically [chuckles] it's too challenging for the budget available to the clients. So then being able to talk with the client as a whole team but lead that discussion and help them understand the recommendations that are being made. I think we've seen that work really well in our team here this year. CHAD: And I think an important distinction as well is that some of our clients look to us to make those decisions on their behalf, not all of them but some of them. And that's one of the things that distinguishes a product manager and someone who's making decisions about what the product even is versus a project manager who it's much more about the day-to-day tasks, making sure the backlog is organized, tickets are clear, things are moving along, meetings are scheduled, that kind of thing. And it's much less about the product actually being built. KIRSTEN: Absolutely. CHAD: Well, I think that brings us at about time. If folks want to get in touch with you, apply to those positions, where are the best places for them to do that? KIRSTEN: Well, my email is kirsten@thoughtbot.com. And I am on LinkedIn, Kirsten Hurley, pretty searchable,I think going Kirsten Hurley in thoughtbot. Those are the best ways to get ahold of me. CHAD: And I think people can check out all those jobs and apply at thoughtbot.com/jobs. You can subscribe to the show and find notes for this episode at giantrobots.fm. If you have questions or comments, email us at hosts@giantrobots.fm. You can find me on Twitter @cpytel. This podcast is brought to you by thoughtbot and produced and edited by Mandy Moore. Thanks, Mandy. And thank you for listening, listener. See you next time. Special Guest: Kirsten Hurley.
Today's episode tackles a topic that can be … and has been … very divisive. Rob Whittaker asks and answers the question: Does God Really Talk to People? His teaching style dials down the emotion, respects the various viewpoints, and still delivers a definitive talk that will hopefully broaden your thinking and understanding of how God […]
So does God still talk to people? If so, how do you know if what you are hearing is actually from God? Rob Whittaker pulls back the curtain on this often misunderstood topic and brings a fresh perspective for us to consider.
Listen back to what was an action packed show this morning. We were back to full compliments with both Adam and Nick in this week. Plenty of guests on the show today Bharat Sundaresan to chat IPL. The boys caught up with Rob Whittaker to chat all things UFC, and the talk around the Paul Gallen fight. Nick McArdle called into the show to talk Rugby Union. we chatted Aussie Olympian Bernadette Wallace as she prepares for Tokyo later this year and Ed Chisholm from Sporting News gave us an update with all the news in the NRL.
Currently serving his 3rd quarantine in the space of 12 months. Rob Whittaker called into the show following his points decision victory against Kelvin Gastelum. The boys find out what Rob's plans are for the future, with a title shot looming. The boys couldn't resist but talk about a potential fight with Paul Gallen. Rob also clears up a common misconception about Menai not being apart of the Shire.
Paul Gallen vs. Rob Whittaker? | The Former UFC Champ Reveals ALL! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Paul Gallen vs. Rob Whittaker? | The Former UFC Champ Reveals ALL! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
UFC 261 once again hits us with 3 TITLE FIGHTS all in one card! The rematch between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal for the Welterweight Title is one surrounded in bad blood and plenty of shit talk between the two. Zhang Weili looks to defend her Strawweight Title against former Strawweight queen Rose Namajunas. And Valentina Shevchenko might be facing her toughest Flyweight challenge to her title in Jessica Andrade. But before we jump into all that goodness, we need to recap the awesome fight that Robert Whittaker put on against Kelvin Gastelum, and we’d imagine that sets Bobby Knuckles up for a rematch with current Middleweight king, Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya. Oh and that Jake Paul vs Ben Askren boxing match… yeah we have some words on that too. Have fun with us as we look back at the events this past weekend and look forward towards UFC 261! GET 20% OFF + FREE SHIPPING ON MANSCAPED with code ITP at https://www.manscaped.com/ In The Pocket MMA is sponsored by MANSCAPED, The Official Electric Trimmer of the UFC! From the Lawnmower 3.0 ball trimmer, to nose hair trimmers, to other great products keeping you feeling fresh down under - Manscaped products do it all. Both of us love their products, and we think you would too! You saw that right, that’s 20% OFF + FREE SHIPPING using code ITP at https://www.manscaped.com/ Get 10% OFF EGG WEIGHTS with code “itpmma” at https://eggweights.com/, or use the link https://eggweights.com/?ref=itpmma In The Pocket MMA is partnered with Egg Weights, the handheld weights that conform to your body’s natural motion and are PERFECT for your shadow boxing routine! Joe Rogan shouted them out in his podcast, and In The Pocket can confirm that these little guys are perfect for increasing your punching speed and burning extra calories! Let’s get looking good for a fun summer of 2021! Once again, that’s Get 10% OFF EGG WEIGHTS with code itpmma at https://eggweights.com/, or use the link https://eggweights.com/?ref=itpmma Thanks for watching – please like and subscribe if you’re enjoying the daily MMA content! SUPPORT IN THE POCKET: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/INTHEPOCKETMMA Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4O739ct... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Website: https://www.inthepocketmma.com FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram: @in_the_pocket_mma Twitter: @InThePocketMMA Artist Credits: Dominic Figuro | dominicfiguro.com | Thumbnails Audrey Zheng | Instagram: @compaudrey | Intro Card Alex Vuong | Channel Art Justin Sun | Music
Episode 50!!! To celebrate were bringing you a stacked episode where we talk about the 3 title fights this weekend at UFC 261 Usman v Masvidal 2, Weili v Thug Rose, Shevchenko v Andrade. We also recap last weekends wacky boxing card and give our reaction to Jake Paul 1st round KO over Ben Askren and where he should go from here. We also talk about our boy Rob Whittaker earning a shot at the title in a massive rematch against Israel Adesanya. Some fight announcements and news in there including some title fight announcements with Amanda Nunes and Jan Blachowicz booking their next title defences. Were doing 2 GIVEAWAYS so check out the episode to find out what they are. Thank you to our SPONSORS. Fat Boy Fight - https://www.instagram.com/fatboyfight.australia/ - Promo Code ( couchcriticsmma ) 20% off storewide iQBrew - https://www.instagram.com/iqbrew/ Enhancd CBD - https://www.instagram.com/enhancd_official/ - Promo Code ( couchcritics ) 10% off storewide Head over to our socials for more content like this - https://www.instagram.com/couchcriticsmma/
As chaos unravels around the rest of the sporting world (who on earth wants a Super League?), come join us in the safe haven, for only one week, that is MMA. Ben and Jack marvel over Robert Whittaker, chuckle at Ben Askren and tackle the key questions heading into UFC 261. Will Usman defeat Masvidal once more? Can Andrade upset the odds? Will Namajunas, defender of freedoms, usurp Zhang Weili? All this and more - enjoy!
In this episode we breakdown the return of Robert Whittaker this weekend against Kelvin Gastelum, winner gets a rematch with Adesanya? We talk about the news circling around especially the Conor McGregor vs Porier donation beef and the trilogy, some news on Sean Omalleys call outs, Rose Namajunas and much more. We touch on ONE Championship this week, Bellator and Jake Paul v Ben Askren. We give our take on where Kevin Holland and Marvin Vettori go from here after their fight last weekend and much more. We also announce our newest sponsor joining the team ENHANCD CBD. Promo Code [ COUCHCRITICS ] for 10% store wide no limit and worldwide shipping. Head over to there Instagram for more info - https://www.instagram.com/enhancd_official/channel/ And thank you to our two other main sponsors iQBrew - https://www.instagram.com/iqbrew/ Fat Boy Fight - https://www.instagram.com/fatboyfight.australia/ - DISCOUNT CODE 20% OFF STORE WIDE [ couchcriticsmma ]
The pubs are back open but the Knockout Podcast still remains! On the latest episode, Jack and Ben discuss what's next for Kevin Holland after another defeat at the hands of Marvin Vettori. They also discuss the futures of Arnold Allen and Mike Perry after their contrasting fights last week. Finally, the guys look forward to the fights this week as Rob Whittaker looks to seal another title fight with a win against Kelvin Gastelum. Enjoy!
This episode we recap last weeks controversies in the UFC Fight Night with the Leon Edwards eye poke and where his and Belal Muhammads future lies. Also touch on some buzz around the MMA world inc. the return of crowds at UFC 261, Paulo Costa pulling out of he's bout with Rob Whittaker and much more. Lastly we breakdown this weekends fight night Kevin Holland VS Derek Brunson. We had some fun with this episode i hope you guys enjoy. Thanks as always to our sponsors for letting us do what we do, support those who support us. - https://www.instagram.com/iqbrew/ - https://www.instagram.com/zaccritchertiling/
Blended families are more common than ever, but that doesn't make it any easier to navigate the love and guilt associated with being a stepparent. In today's episode, Rob Whittaker joins Diana to talk about their experiences, and the lessons they've learned as parents. They share their biggest mistakes, greatest lessons, and vital advice for anyone currently navigating their own journey with blended families. Whether you've been a stepparent for twenty years, or have just started dating a single parent, you'll want to hear this episode. Episode Highlights [1:43] Rob tells us about himself and speaks about his experience becoming a stepfather. [5:20] “I realized what an awful, selfish thought that was.” Coming into a blended family caused Rob to feel a lot of pressure and unexpected feelings that he had to process early on. [7:10] Rob and Diana discuss the surprising and somewhat extreme statistic that details how blended families experience love. “I went into this with unrealistic expectations.” [10:38] “I can now see why she hesitated.” We learn about the lessons Rob learned early on as a stepfather and how he navigated the start of his blended family. [12:15] After 11 years as a stepfather, Rob has learned a lot and shares his biggest lessons for anyone getting into a situation with stepchildren. [15:07] “It's an impossible balancing act.” Rob and Diana share the challenges they faced in their marriages, and the guilt associated with being a blended family. [21:43] Rob shares a key piece of advice for anyone starting their journey with a blended family, and how you can ensure everyone feels loved well. [27:00] “That's something you have to watch out for, because it hurts." We hear what Rob and Diana would tell their younger selves before getting into a blended family.
This week Billy and Parker discuss:Rob Whittaker's big win at UFC 254Khabib's status as the GOATThe state of MMA's lightweight divisionGegard Mousasi regaining the Bellator titleAnderson Silva's legacyThiago Santos vs. Glover TeixeiraStylebender's move to light heavyweightAnd more
Two days after Khabib Nurmagomedov announced his retirement, DC tells Ariel all about Khabib's difficult UFC 254 training camp, if he believes Khabib will fight again, his Sunday phone call with the lightweight king and much more. And, with a vacant lightweight title on the horizon, how should the UFC proceed? Plus, the guys also talk about Khabib's place in the GOAT conversation, Rob Whittaker's worthiness of another shot at Israel Adesanya, Anderson Silva's upcoming fight and the crazy backstory behind the Dec. 19 Leon Edwards vs. Khamzat Chimaev bout.
This week Parker and Billy discuss:Rob Whittaker's win over Darren TillDerek Brunson derailing the Edward Shabazyan hype trainDerrick Lewis becoming the UFC Heavyweight KO kingSuga Sean continuing his meteoric rise against Chito VeraDaniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic in the battle for the best UFC Heavyweight everJDS vs. Bigi BoiPaige Van Zant to Bare KnuckleCody Garbrandt's Title ShotTyron Woodley vs. Colby CovingtonAnd more
On Episode 12 of the Musashi R&D Sessions Podcast, Ross and Dhiren dig into one of the more prominent sports topic in contemporary dieting – Keto. The guys compare the keto diet to other diets, its advantages and limitations for specific athletes, and how to most effectively implement it into an everyday routine. We also explore the concepts of ketogenisis and ketosis their effects, how they're activated and how they're measured. In sports news, the guys discuss topical updates in the AFL and NBA isolation hubs, the most recent Formula 1 race mayhem, and the outcome of Rob Whittaker vs Darren Till on Fight Island. This episode we finish with a pair of listener questions on the benefits of exercising in the morning versus the afternoon, and our own tics or rituals performed in the gym. R&D manage to guess the origin of a famous athlete quote pitched by Hal the Intern, and Dhiren applies the philosophy of Miyamoto Musashi to the topic using the quote: “Perceive that which cannot be seen with the eye.” Remember to comment and leave a review and we'll get in touch to send you a free Musashi T-shirt! Scientific References: – Foods that are high in potassium: https://www.webmd.com/diet/foods-rich-in-potassium#1 – Difference between ketosis and ketogenisis: https://wikidiff.com/ketosis/ketogenesis – Nutritional Ketosis for Weight Management and Reversal of Metabolic Syndrome: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6472268/ – Nutritional Ketosis with Ketogenic Diets or Exogenous Ketones: Features, Convergence, and Divergence: https://journals.lww.com/acsm-csmr/Abstract/2020/07000/Nutritional_Ketosis_with_Ketogenic_Diets_or.4.aspx – The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance Jeff S. Volek, Stephen D. Phinney – Study Dhiren was in: The effect of an 8-week low carbohydrate high fat diet on maximal strength performance, body composition and diet acceptability in sub-elite Olympic weightlifters and powerlifters: http://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/handle/10292/9080
What does it really mean to grow in Christ? Join host Richard Dahlstrom as he discusses "an evolving faith" with Pastor and Bible professor Rob Whittaker. Rob served as Senior Pastor of Calvary Christian Fellowship, a church he and his wife planted in 1974 in Lostock Hall, a small mill town to the south of Preston. In 1998 Rob joined the Capernwray Missionary Fellowship of Torchbearers and in 2001 became Principal of Capernwray Bible School. Rob officially “retired” in June 2017, but preaches extensively throughout Europe in churches, Bible schools and conferences, and his travels have taken him on numerous occasions to Australia, Canada, and the U.S. He and his wife Barbara have two children, Zoe and Abi. They also have two delightful grandchildren, Evie and Will, who regularly mentor them without even realizing it! Find more of Rob's teachings on Capernwray's YouTube Channel.
On Episode 9 of the Musashi R&D Sessions Podcast, Ross and Dhiren are joined by David Young from the NSW Institute of Sport to discuss this week's topic – Building Muscle. David is the Senior Strength and Conditioning Coach at NSWIS, and the senior S&C trainer for NSWIS's rowing and cycling programs. The guys thoroughly explore the concept of building muscle mass and strength, touching on the types of training programs, training to failure, and the impact of cardio on muscle gain. David provides his professional recommendations on how often to train, quantity of sets and reps as part of volume, order of exercises, workout duration, and rest between sets. R&D also chime in on stretching before exercise, activation warm ups, and pre-fatiguing for compound exercises. With the revival of Australian sports, the guys discuss the first rounds of NRL and AFL, and Musashi's own Rob Whittaker announcing his upcoming fight against Darren Till on Fight Island. We also address the anticipation of fans being allowed back into stadiums, and the outcome of crowd-less games and canned cheering. This episode we finish with a few listener questions about how often to change up your routine, how many meals a day is best for muscle gain, and the best sports for building muscle. R&D manage to guess the origin of a famous athlete quote pitched by Hal the Intern, and Dhiren applies the philosophy of Miyamoto Musashi to the topic using the quote: “The path that leads to truth is littered with the bodies of the ignorant.” You can find out more about Strength and Conditioning at NSWIS at: https://www.nswis.com.au/services/strength-conditioning/ References: Rest Interval Between Sets in Strength Training https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19691365/ Maximizing Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review of Advanced Resistance Training Techniques and Methods https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6950543/ Resistance Training Volume Enhances Muscle Hypertrophy but Not Strength in Trained Men https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6303131/ The Mechanisms of Muscle Hypertrophy and Their Application to Resistance Training https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20847704/ Strength and Hypertrophy Adaptations Between Low- Vs. High-Load Resistance Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28834797/ The effect of training volume and intensity on improvements in muscular strength and size in resistance-trained men https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4562558/ Remember to comment and leave a review and we'll get in touch to send you a free Musashi T-shirt! For more product information, nutrition and training advice, visit www.musashi.com
On this Episode of the Musashi R&D Sessions Podcast, the guys discuss one of the more prevalent questions regarding training and nutrition – How much protein do we need? Ross and Dhiren dive into the different types of proteins, the suggested amount for various types of athletes, and the timing of protein consumption, among many other questions. The guys also recap the latest news in sports, including the events of UFC 248, the NRL's most recent ad campaign, and the global effect of COVID-19 on professional sports competitions. We also touch on the Women's T20 attendance record, Chinese swimmer Sun Yang's doping scandal, and Musashi ambassador Rob Whittaker announcing his next fight against Darren Till in Dublin, scheduled for August 2020. We rap up with a listener question regarding the trade-off between cardio and muscle-building exercise, and the guys try to guess the origin of a famous quote picked by Hal the Intern. Dhiren applies the philosophy of Miyamoto Musashi to the topic using the quote: You must understand that there is more than one path to the top of the mountain. Be sure to comment and leave a review, and we'll get in touch to send you a free Musashi T-shirt or hat! Latest News in Sports: UFC 248 Romero vs Adesanya: https://bit.ly/3a1suT1 NRL Ad Campaign Criticism: https://bit.ly/2wixCTZ Italian League Suspended Due to COVID-19: https://ab.co/2Wq0Smg Women's 20/20 Cricket Attendance Record: https://bit.ly/2QtVRW2 Chinese Swimmer Doping Scandal: https://bit.ly/3db5Yck Check out these articles: Importance of Protein: https://bit.ly/2Ukn2no Banned Substance Testing: https://bit.ly/2vxc8lT Plant Based Protein: https://bit.ly/33uZCQu Post Training Recovery: https://bit.ly/38XSAEV Ideal Consumption of Protein: https://bit.ly/3bdC717 https://bit.ly/39ZXQJG https://bit.ly/2Qpm9sM
Today on the show - Crygasim, why you're a long weekend loser, Rob Whittaker, All Blacks talk back reactions, Dr John, Taika Waititi, John Day live from Japan RWCSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
From City Kickboxing Mike Angove joins D'Arcy in studio with special guest MMA fighter Rob Whittaker.
Listen in as Justin talks about growing up with a NRL Premiership winning father and brother, learning skills to be able to teach them, gymnastics training and its application to athletes programs, training Rob Whittaker and much more. Instagram: @hyperformancepodcast Email: oscarbradley3@gmail.com
In this episode the lads talk Chelsea and their plans with Sarri, Rob Whittaker being pulled from the main event in Melbourne and the All Star Weekend Predictions.
This week we get to enjoy the sun and record another podcast in the great outdoors. Hugh calls in from Thailand and has a fight booked for late January. We jump into discuss of Manny Pacquaio vs Adrien Broner, David Pennimpede vs Jake Lund and we talk about Craig Jones upcoming grappling schedule and him training with Rob Whittaker coming up to Whittaker vs Gastelum.Support the show (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BA3mqnfgbPBgjDeqNNkSg)
UFC 225 in Chicago has a heavy Aussie flavour - Rob Whittaker, Tai Tuivasa & Megan Anderson - and Fox Sports UFC presenter Bre Holden helps with the build-up to the Main Card, which starts around lunchtime on Sunday.
One big show today, UFC middleweight champion Rob Whittaker is live in studio chatting to the guys and Kyle asks Intern Pete to take his shirt off in front of him. Also we catch up with Bluey the guy from Brisbane who had a bit of a situation with Malcom Turnbull in a pub. Not to mention a big plot twist today with 'Am I The Best Sex You Ever Had?'. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Isla Fisher calls in to the show & Aussie UFC superstar Rob Whittaker joins the show for some Fitzy and Wippa therapy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
This week hosts Kacper Rosolowski and Denis Shkuratov have on the show: - Mackenzie Dern: 7:34 - Artem Lobov: 29:55 - George Sotiropoulos: 50:24 - Kevin Lee: 1:10:23 - Robert Whittaker: 1:28:52 - Elias Cepeda: 1:51:02 - UFC Middleweight champion Robert Whittaker returns to Submission Radio to discuss his title rematch fight against Yoel Romero at UFC 225: Whittaker vs. Romero 2, Romero's win over Luke Rockhold at UFC 221, the post-fight antics with Yoel kissing Rockhold, if Whittaker sees improvements in Romero since they first fought, having to withdraw from the Commonwealth games wrestling team, his recent gaming accomplishments, trash talking and trolling opponents online and more! - Kevin Lee returns to Submission Radio to discuss his fight against Edson Barboza at UFC Atlantic City, the intense but awkward staredown at the Sixers game in Philly, not having an emotional connection to Edson like against Tony Ferguson, the improvements Lee's made over the last five months, why staph won't be an issue this time, Khabib Nurmagomedov saying Lee has a "small heart", wanting to beat Edson worse than Khabib and then wanting Khabib in Russia, Lee's prediction for Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223, being offered a fight at UFC 223 and more! - Artem Lobov returns to Submission Radio to discuss his fight against Alex Caceres at UFC 223, how close he was to retiring after the Andre Fili loss, on thinking he was going to be cut from the UFC, receiving big offers from other promotions, how important this fight is for his career, how he matches up against Bruce Leeroy, his undeterred title aspirations in the division, the "Choo Choo Motherfuckers" weigh-in moment, fans calling him The GOAT, if Conor McGregor will be in his corner at UFC 223, his prediction for Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov and more! - Mackenzie Dern makes her first appearance on Submission Radio to reflect on her win at UFC 222 and her upcoming fight at UFC 224 against Amanda Bobby Cooper, Amanda saying she'll "derail the hype train", fighting in Brazil, the comparisons to Ronda Rousey, her favourite BJJ accomplishments, where she keeps all of her medals and trophies, being humbled when she first crossed over to MMA, the secret behind BJJ practitioners having success in MMA and more! - Australian UFC legend and MMA pioneer, George Sotiropoulos makes his first appearance on Submission Radio to reflect on his UFC career, his huge win at UFC 110 and the mainstream media getting behind him, flying the flag for Australia in a time when Aussies weren't on the big stage, The Ultimate Fighter 6, TUF Smashes and Robert Whittaker, the tough losses he suffered towards the end, his brand new MMA gym and more! - Elias Cepeda returns to Submission Radio to discuss the aftermath of UFC London, Brad Scott's UFC pay woes, as well as issue a challenge to fight CM Punk in Chicago! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This week hosts Kacper Rosolowski and Denis Shkuratov have on the show: - Mackenzie Dern: 7:34 - Artem Lobov: 29:55 - George Sotiropoulos: 50:24 - Kevin Lee: 1:10:23 - Robert Whittaker: 1:28:52 - Elias Cepeda: 1:51:02 - UFC Middleweight champion Robert Whittaker returns to Submission Radio to discuss his title rematch fight against Yoel Romero at UFC 225: Whittaker vs. Romero 2, Romero's win over Luke Rockhold at UFC 221, the post-fight antics with Yoel kissing Rockhold, if Whittaker sees improvements in Romero since they first fought, having to withdraw from the Commonwealth games wrestling team, his recent gaming accomplishments, trash talking and trolling opponents online and more! - Kevin Lee returns to Submission Radio to discuss his fight against Edson Barboza at UFC Atlantic City, the intense but awkward staredown at the Sixers game in Philly, not having an emotional connection to Edson like against Tony Ferguson, the improvements Lee's made over the last five months, why staph won't be an issue this time, Khabib Nurmagomedov saying Lee has a "small heart", wanting to beat Edson worse than Khabib and then wanting Khabib in Russia, Lee's prediction for Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223, being offered a fight at UFC 223 and more! - Artem Lobov returns to Submission Radio to discuss his fight against Alex Caceres at UFC 223, how close he was to retiring after the Andre Fili loss, on thinking he was going to be cut from the UFC, receiving big offers from other promotions, how important this fight is for his career, how he matches up against Bruce Leeroy, his undeterred title aspirations in the division, the "Choo Choo Motherfuckers" weigh-in moment, fans calling him The GOAT, if Conor McGregor will be in his corner at UFC 223, his prediction for Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov and more! - Mackenzie Dern makes her first appearance on Submission Radio to reflect on her win at UFC 222 and her upcoming fight at UFC 224 against Amanda Bobby Cooper, Amanda saying she'll "derail the hype train", fighting in Brazil, the comparisons to Ronda Rousey, her favourite BJJ accomplishments, where she keeps all of her medals and trophies, being humbled when she first crossed over to MMA, the secret behind BJJ practitioners having success in MMA and more! - Australian UFC legend and MMA pioneer, George Sotiropoulos makes his first appearance on Submission Radio to reflect on his UFC career, his huge win at UFC 110 and the mainstream media getting behind him, flying the flag for Australia in a time when Aussies weren't on the big stage, The Ultimate Fighter 6, TUF Smashes and Robert Whittaker, the tough losses he suffered towards the end, his brand new MMA gym and more! - Elias Cepeda returns to Submission Radio to discuss the aftermath of UFC London, Brad Scott's UFC pay woes, as well as issue a challenge to fight CM Punk in Chicago!
15/3: Michael Morgan, Luke Keary and Ash Taylor - Fox League journo Nathan Ryan provides updates ahead of Round 2, plus UFC presenter Bre Holden helps discuss details of Rob Whittaker's middleweight title fight with Cuban Yoel Romero. Host: Phil Prior
Fox Sports journo Nathan Ryan discusses Rob Whittaker's world title claim, plus all the other UFC talking points. Hosted by Phil Prior.
Rob Whittaker is an Australian professional mixed martial artist of Māori descent currently competing in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2009, Whittaker was a contestant on the first installment of The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes and won the Welterweight tournament. As of April 2016, he is #6 in the official UFC Middleweight rankings. In this podcast, we delve a little more into Rob’s start in MMA, his strongest fighting style, and game plan inside the Octagon. The convo moves towards discussing his next opponent, Stephen Thompson and how he’s training for and adapting to the new division he’s in. We also discuss a bit of the upcoming US elections peppered with a bit of Game of Thrones. So much more for you in this podcast guys! We hope you enjoy it! This podcast is supported by Audible. Audible is home to the widest selection of digital audiobooks, including best-sellers, new releases, exclusives and much more. Listen anytime, anywhere on your tablet, mobile or desktop with our free app. Audible is offering listeners of AdventureFit Radio a free audiobook download with a free 30-day trial to give you the opportunity to check out their service. To download your free audiobook today go to audibletrial.com/advfradio. This podcast is proudly supported by AdventureFit Travel. AdventureFit Travel is an adventure travel company for the fitness community. Head over to www.adventurefittravel.com to check out all our trips, all our blogs from our blogging team, special offers and more. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
This week we look at the aftermath of the return of the king Jon Bones Jones, and we take an impromptu flashback to our very first interview with Rob Whittaker, way back before his TUF Smashes Finale fight against Brad Scott.
Sunday morning sermon from 21st June 2015. Preacher Rob Whittaker, Principle of Capernwray Bible School. Title: Tell me your view of God
01. feb 2015 | In Honour of a Friend | Rob Whittaker by Misjonssalen Oslo
Walking in the mist, 2
Seeing God through Jesus
Walking in the mist
Frihet til å være meg selv i Kristus
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