Between Two Beers Podcast

Paula George – or Georgie as she’s commonly known – has a story that will blow you away.

She has lived the most remarkable life – with the most inspiring mindset – and she’s our favourite type of guest, a humble legend. Georgie is a very private person – and her story, till now, has largely gone untold.

Her life started on the back foot in Wales. Georgie wasn’t just the only person of colour in her village, but also her family. She was abandoned by her mother, forced into foster care and experienced a childhood filled of prejudice and hurt.

But she found safety in sport, where she became a star.

She played netball and rugby for Wales, then switched to England and became the first black captain of the England Red Roses.

She was one of the first professional women’s rugby players and eventually went to six World Cups in two sports.

She then became the digital content creator for the All Blacks, married a Kiwi and became a Kiwi, had twins, and a cancer diagnosis.

Five years ago she was given four to six months, with survival chances at 25% - but Georgie’s still here.

And now, she’s doing incredible work with the Tania Dalton Foundation where she helps Kiwi kids build their own resilience and happiness.

And most recently she’s become a part owner of The Northern Kahu: the first all-women owned franchise in New Zealand.

Georgie doesn’t seek the limelight, she had a taste of fame during her rugby days and hated it. It took a lot for her to share her full story with us and we’re so grateful she did – it’s a story that will help, inspire and entertain.

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Steve and Seamus discuss all the best feedback from their blockbuster interview with Matthew Ridge, they reveal who the special friends will be at their live gig in Auckland, the best bits from their live Q and A with Emma Twigg and how they reconnected with Zion Armstrong.

As some of you will know – this year we created a second podcast channel called Business in Between.

It’s a channel that documents our journey as business owners – and where we also host long-form interviews with NZ’s most interesting business leaders. And we’re sharing one of our favourite interviews on the Business in Between channel – with you here on Between Two Beers.

It’s the story of how a Kiwi entrepreneur turned an idea for a fitness goal setting app into a global business with customers in over 150 countries and revenue exceeding $80 million a year.

His name is Adam Al-Agez and his app is called The Conqueror.

Adam started his fitness goal setting app in 2012 after 10 years of being an entrepreneur with limited success.

The idea was relatively simple…instead of ‘just’ going for a run, walk, a ride or swim, you’re working towards a virtual fitness goal, immersed in community and with a tangible race medal delivered on completion.

But after six years and hundreds of thousands of dollars, the app was floundering.

All the signs were pointing to giving up all together and he even started getting his CV together and applying for jobs.

Then in a bizarre series of events, in 2019 he ended up hiring a marketing wiz who lived in Romania, to run the digital marketing.

Raul the Romanian immediately started growing sales and from an annual revenue of under $100k they grew to $2m in the first year.

The next year they did $40m and $75m in the following two, having secured licensing agreements with the Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Star Wars and Harry Potter

The business has now expanded globally with around 70 staff in 6 countries with customers in over 150 countries.

Adam’s story – and the growth of his company – is insane and the story will blow your mind - and it’s the first time it’s been told.

Come for the storytelling and stay for Adam’s brilliant business lessons at the end.

This is an ep not to be missed.

If you enjoy this pod – please go and follow and subscribe to our Business in Between channel, where there are plenty more like this.

This episode is brought to you by TAB, download the new app today and get your bet on!

Listen on iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcasts from or watch the video on YouTube.

Enjoy.

Matthew Ridge is a Kiwi sporting legend.

He was one of NZ’s top rugby union players then made a stunning switch to rugby league as a 21-year-old in 1990. Over the next decade he played 122 times for the Manly Sea Eagles, 25 times for the Kiwis and 37 times for the Warriors before he became a part-owner of the club.

After retiring from league, he became one of New Zealand’s most popular and successful TV stars – before enjoying success in the business world.

In this episode we talk about his bromance with Marc Ellis and how they created TV magic, 90s rugby league, Warriors regrets, the taxi incident which shaped his outlook on life as a teenager, mental resilience, relationship breakdowns and the realities of being NZ’s biggest star for a decade.

Matthew was an open book in this one and we also talked at length about his relationship with drugs – and his reflections on many of the most difficult chapters of his life.

It was a gripping chat, full of incredible insights into one hell of a life.

This episode is brought to you by TAB, download the new app today and get your bet on!

Listen on iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcasts from or watch the video on YouTube.

Enjoy.

Steve and Seamus get excited for their fifth birthday celebration in Auckland, discuss all the best and worst small talk with former guests at the recent Auckland FC game, reflect on recent episodes with Andrew Mehrtens, Cassie Roma and Jackie Van Beek and reveal next week's guest.