The Growth Concept With Keoni Upton

Episode 4 of On the Streets of Perth. My open mic series where I sit down with guests out in the wild and just talk. No studio, no script. Just a real conversation.This one's different though. Sam G is back for round three, but Sam and I go way, way back. Macca's days, both of us at 15. So before we touched any of the business stuff we got into how we actually met, the dumb things we got up to as teenagers, and why neither of us would take a second of it back.Sam G is a 20-year-old online fitness coach in Perth. He helps skinny guys put on muscle and get the structure most of them never had on their own. He came up through a Sport & Business diploma with the Perth Wildcats, then went from eight clients to twenty-six in under a year by coaching blokes through the exact same road he walked himself.Connect with SamInstagram: @samggymConnect with The Growth ConceptWebsite: thegrowthconcept.com.auSponsored by: Growth Concept Media growthconceptmedia.com.au

Episode 3 of On the Streets of Perth a open mic series where I sit down with guests out in the wild for unfiltered, real conversation. No studio, no script.This week I caught up with Levi out in Freo. What most people don't know is the story behind it at 11 he was diagnosed with leukemia, spent years in daily chemo, and walked into high school as "the cancer kid." Instead of breaking him, it built the emotional intelligence he leads with today.We get into where his ability to read people comes from, how motorbikes became his escape during treatment, why he reckons genuine connection only gets more valuable as AI takes over online, and some real talk on relationships and look within yourself.If you've ever felt like the thing that was supposed to hold you back is actually what made you, this one's for you.Connect with LeviInstagram: @levi.surjanLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/levi-surjanConnect with The Growth ConceptWebsite: thegrowthconcept.com.auSponsored by: Growth Concept Media

Episode 2 of On the Streets of Perth a open mic podcast series where I sit down with guests out in the wild to capture unfiltered, real stories and experiences. No studio, no script, just honest conversation.This week I caught up with Christian Rusli on the streets of Fremantle a self-taught photographer and videographer who's carving out a name in the automotive and sports space here in Perth. We get into how he went from growing up around cars in his grandpa's Indonesian showroom to recently shooting the United Cup, one of the biggest pro tennis events of the year.We dig into the messy middle of building a creative business: finding a system that actually works, the tension between studying engineering and going all in on the camera, and the family pressure that comes with choosing the "less safe" path. Chris also shares his take on whether energy and confidence can outweigh experience (spoiler — I tell the story of how I bluffed my way through my first real estate shoot in full auto focus). We close with the card game and two questions that hit harder than expected — what you want but are afraid of, and the last time you felt deeply happy.If you're in that in-between stage of trying to balance the safe path with the creative one, this one's for you.About the Series On the Streets of PerthAn open mic podcast series bringing unfiltered, real stories and experiences from creatives, founders and everyday people out on the streets of Perth. No edits to the truth — just real conversation in real settings.About ChristianChristian Rusli is a Perth-based photographer and videographer specialising in automotive and sports content. Self-taught, currently studying engineering, and building his media brand on the side. Recently shot the United Cup pro tennis event in Perth.Connect with ChristianInstagram: @christianr.mediaPortfolio: christianruslimedia.mypixieset.comConnect with The Growth ConceptWebsite: thegrowthconcept.com.auHost: Keoni Upton — Growth Concept Media

In this episode I sit down with Chad Aziz a 20-year-old engineering student about to attempt something most people wouldn't even let themselves think about. On Wednesday, Chad is lacing up and running 4,000 kilometres from Perth to Sydney, aiming to become the youngest person ever to run across Australia an official Guinness World Record attempt while raising $100,000 for Zero2Hero, a Perth-based youth mental health charity. That's roughly 65 kilometres a day. Every day. For 62 days straight.We get into how this idea was born (and why he kept it a secret for so long), what it took to tell his parents he was deferring his engineering degree, and the real reason youth mental health is the cause he's putting his body on the line for. We also dig into Australia's drinking and party culture, why Chad chose a different path coming out of high school, and what it actually feels like to be 11 days out from the start of something this big.This one isn't just about running. It's about doing hard things on purpose, breaking free from the pressure to follow the crowd, and inspiring the next generation of young people to get outside, challenge themselves, and find a healthier way to live.Back Chad's mission & follow the journey: 📲 Instagram – @chadazizz 🌐 Website – chadaziz.com 🎗 Charity – Zero2Hero (Youth Mental Health) 💰 Donate via MyCause (Zero2Hero) – mycause.com.au/events/chadazizrunacrossaustralia 🙌 GoFundMe (support the run) – gofundme.com/f/chads-run-across-aus-for-youth-mental-health 🏃 Strava (live tracker coming soon) – strava.com/athletes/132163803

This one was recorded live at Curtin University, and it did not disappoint.Declan Edwards flew in from the other side of Australia — partly to visit family and to run a guest lecture at Curtin on the skills and science of happiness. We'd connected on LinkedIn about 18 months prior and had been meaning to sit down ever since. This was that moment.Declan is one of Australia's leading voices in Positive Psychology a happiness researcher, speaker, and educator who has spent over a decade helping individuals and organisations build science-backed skills of happiness. He founded BU Happiness College in 2017 with a vision of making the skills and science of happiness more accessible to individuals, organisations, and the world as a whole. His work has been featured globally in the Harvard Business Review, Psychology Today, and Thrive Global. BU Happiness College + 2In this episode we go deep on some real stuff impatience, identity, the masks we wear, why adults forget how to play, and a line that genuinely stopped me mid-conversation: why are you in such a rush to get through life when the finish line is death?We also get into introspection as a skill, why fear yells while intuition whispers, and what it actually means to show up as the same person no matter the room you're in.This is a conversation I'll come back to.CONNECT WITH DECLAN 🌐 Website: declanedwards.com.au 🎓 BU Happiness College: buhappinesscollege.com 📺 YouTube: BU Happiness College 📸 Instagram: @declanedwards_bu 💼 LinkedIn: Declan Edwards