Automatically transcribed, so expect the odd wrong name or word.
Good morning everyone. This is another episode of the Virtus Podcast. My name's Simon. I'm coming to you on a rainy Friday morning after just having had an amazing conversation with Mr Marcel McCarthy. Marcel is a creative. He runs a design agency called One2 and he's someone that we've recently connected with and it's been a pleasure to get to know him. He's got some wonderful insights. He speaks very well and the conversation today ranged from the projects that he's currently working on based here on the peninsula. We spoke about how he lives and the beliefs that he lives by and it was a really, really fun conversation.
So I hope you enjoy. Lockie joined us. We co-hosted together and had heaps of fun. So enjoy and this is the Virtus Podcast. My personal and business goal is to be just a little bit better every day. I believe everyone especially normal people have a story to tell. The Virtus Podcast exists to help us all find small ways of consistent improvement by discussing the journey and experiences of each of our guests. Marcel, good morning. Good morning. Good to be here. It's just good to have you. It's good to have Simon Cooper here as well. It's a pleasure.
Special comments. Of course. Do you call it a GIF or a JIF? It's a GIF. Marcel? But I call it a GIF but there is debate on the internet about what it's actually called. I don't know who's debating JIF but they're wrong. It's one guy versus the internet. That's how most movements fail, isn't it? Yeah, it's just a lot of angry people on the internet and someone who's a bit sad. Are you an angry person on the internet? No, I'm not a keyboard warrior. I tend to avoid it. I think I avoid conflict in real life.
I don't want to just have it online. It's a safe way to live. Conflict's underrated anyway. Yeah. Just need to follow your love. Speaking of love. Love is the way. Speaking of love Marcel, what gets you out of bed in the morning? How's that for a segway? Oh, love. Love. Love gets you out of bed in the morning. Love? Your answer doesn't have to be love. Love keeps you in bed in the morning. I don't know. I was thinking about this question because I struggle with this question. I gave it to you ahead of time and I don't usually do that.
I know, you've prepped me and I'm still failing at it. I think if you were to take it back into what you might really be asking, cause I think that's what I have to do is like, like why am I here or what am I doing? And I think like if I was to sum it up in some way, it would be like, I feel like I'm here to help people and build things like that would be my thing. And like, I don't want to build things apart from people cause then it's kind of like, eh, that's just you just doing stuff.
It's like, that's cool, just got a certain cap on it. It's like, ah, like, uh, there's a, you might've heard of a guy named Solomon, King Solomon. Please continue. Have heard of, carry on. Supposedly the wisest man to have ever lived. Uh, one of his little proverbs was basically like the meaning of life, like everything under the sun has been done before, but basically just like have food, drink wine and like hang out with your friends was like, that was the meaning of life. Um, and that's a very crude summation of kind of probably what he spent his whole life trying to work out.
But I think for me that there's something simple but also very beautiful in a life together picture around a table, um, doing things together. It's like bougie boys Fridays. Oh, shout out. Shout out to, so a couple of weeks ago, all the lads, our little group, everyone's kind of like gone through some stuff at the moment. Everyone's got some sort of struggle. And we just grabbed a few of us and just went and sat and drank wine in the sun. Yeah. So we're doing exactly that. And it's taking off. Bougie Boys Fridays, it might be the new R&B Fridays.
It's becoming a thing. It's a movement. What, what is it about helping people? What, why is that kind of you go to? I'd have to say like on one level, like I wouldn't know why for some reason, like it is. And I mean, whether, you know, maybe I'm just like need the feedback and I'm like, Oh, when I have people, people like me and you know, maybe I'm desperately in need of being liked, you know, and that's one end of the spectrum. But then on the other end, it's like, Oh, like, um, what, like what is, what is the highest virtue?
Right. Um, and you know, again, apparently I'll just bring all the biblical quotes this morning, but like Jesus says, like no greater love exists than one who would lay down his life for his friend. Right. And obviously to die for someone is quite incredible in terms of an act of love, but even just to take that, maybe turn it down a little bit into, um, other scented love. Right. We live in a very individual self-centered kind of world where it's the focus is on you, um, and making sure you're okay. But I think there's something that's quite amazing when you're able to focus your love towards others.
Um, and like, I guess like, what would be, yeah, like where would you want to go in, in life? Like what kind of person would you want to become in that? Yeah. Like, do you want to become it? Yeah. I mean, here's a funny way of putting it. Like old people generally they're like amazing or terrible. Like at the end of, at the end of life, like you're either like, I want to be like you or like you are the furthest thing from where I want to be when I'm like in my seventies. And that's
because over a lifetime of living either self has become a compounding and they've compounded into something that's actually quite unattractive and like, I want to avoid that. And then you have the other people who are just like, I'm just free and I can just love you. And you're like, I just want to be around you. And it's like, why like that isn't by accident. It's a fork in the road during your life and you choose one and. Yeah. But it's almost as well, like it's the fork every day. It's like this system of living that you've like, you've always chosen to go left over right.
And every time you come to a decision, you are like programmed to go a certain way. It's almost like every decision you make just decides whether you're going to move left or whether you're going to move right. Every decision, Simon Cooper. If you just go left and right and left and right, you just go straight. Yeah. If you keep going left, you probably end up back where you started. Yeah. Maybe so many hard lifts. I think like that's a really interesting idea around like, Oh, you know, actually it was in your email this morning on some level.
Shout out. Shout out. Well, this is weekly wrap. Get around it. Get around it. Great stuff. But share and subscribe. Yeah. Can it taste? Um, but you had mentioned about like, what would you want to be when you grow up? Right. And he had this idea and like if we were to play off that now, um, like often the question as society asks at kids, but also each other is like, what do you want to be? Like, who do you want to be? And oftentimes we can throw out these ideals or, you know, uh, on some level they're like, um, yeah, let's just say they're ideals or like desires or maybe even things we think we could be.
Um, but if you had take one, I guess a moment to reflect on that and ask like, who am I actually becoming right now? Cause you're actually going to become who you're becoming now and not who you think you should become. And so it's like, yeah, then it's like all of those decisions when they start stacking on one another, that's when you kind of at the end of life, it's really dramatic. Like here, you know, in our twenties it's like, it's kind of hard to tell on some level, but it's like you have kids and then they leave home and then you know, you're retired and you're like, what am I doing?
I'm just playing golf. Next thing you know, you're either that like vibrant, excited, like full of life, 70 year old or you're the person that doesn't like existence. Yeah. And I think the thing about that is like, like it's really clear who you want to be around, right? We want to be around the like loving grandma who just making scones and just like, it just makes you feel special. You're like, Oh, scones and cups of tea on a rainy day. You're like, yes, thanks grandma. Just like a, like a transcendental thing when it's just like, I'm, I'm thankful that you exist.
Yeah. You know? And it's just like, wow. Like, yeah. And I mean the other thing is like, who do you want to be? Like, I want to be around that type of person for me. Like I don't want to be like a grouchy, hateful dude. Cause like as much as people would experience that, like just in social settings, interacting with me, it's like I have to deal with me. It's like I have to deal with the person who's eternally pessimistic or hateful or angry or bitter. It's like, and that, that's the scary part. Yeah. It is scary because some people will get a, I don't know, like a sadistic kick out of being miserable and freaks me out.
I think it comes back to like, they've got a chip on their shoulder about something or they've had this experience in life, which is just like eaten away at who they are. And now they're just jaded, they've got this jaded lens that they look at the world through. But I think like a big element of this is like this generosity thing where people like the thing that you're talking about in helping people and making a, like a contribution to make others people, other people's lives better. And even later in life, like the scones and like, it's just this generosity that people want to keep giving and offering themselves to others.
You're being useful. And if we're all useful, then everybody wins. Yeah. I think, I mean, this is like, I don't know if this is too hardcore for like Friday morning, but even Nietzsche's thing where we had this proclamation that like God is dead. Right. And a lot of people take it as like this triumphant statement, like God's dead, like God's dead. But it's actually like a warning and that God's dead. And now like, what's going to give you meaning in life? Right. And that's actually in Western society is, is it's been like, ah, actually, um,
regardless probably on your, on your perspective of faith is it's like it actually provided direction for life and it gave you a context in which to live and it gave you a ideal to aim towards. And then it's like on the flip side of that, you can run into nihilism and it's like, what is it? Everything's meaningless. And then like, why should you try and become a person of love just because for 80 years or something, you know, and it's like, that isn't really other centered cause it's like, you're just trying to be nice for yourself.
And I think that's kind of like, it's kind of trippy when you get into it like that. Yeah. I personally find it incredibly empowering that there is absolutely no point to all of this. I don't think there's a point to all of this. And I kind of follow that stream of thought, which means that, okay, well I can either be a miserable sack of shit or I can create my own meaning around the things that bring me joy. If I create my own meaning around the things that bring me joy, then hopefully I can attract and surround myself with people that I want to hang out with.
And then, you know, we can find Friday afternoons or Friday mornings to watch the rain dripping down the window and drink coffee and talk about why the world is the way it is. I think it's a pretty cool way to be, or yeah, it can send us over the edge if we're the other way inclined. Yeah. I think as well, like it's on some level, we only exist in the moment. Do you know what I mean? And so like, it's an experiment that's playing out over time. And if I like one thing that I've been kind of really contemplating recently, which I guess is in the same sort of vein as like this idea of busyness.
Yeah. And I mean, Cooper, you're talking about like generosity as an ideal being like this would be a better state of being or acting in the world, but like, you know, and we can do that with money or food or kindness. Like we can be generous with all those things. But I think one thing maybe that I definitely struggle with and I think generationally probably is a struggle even not even generational, just like across the Western world right now is this thing of being generous, but being generous with time. And I think it almost I would almost be saying like being generous with time to the point where it actually hurts you.
Because there's something good about the sacrifice of that being like, Oh, like, I don't really want to have to give up an hour to just sit down and chat with you. But I'm going to do it because I know it's good to and you know, I mean, what do you guys think like attention now is almost a currency, where if you give your full undivided attention to something, you're giving up effectively a part of yourself. And I think I don't know if I wrote about it, but it's like, this is the thing about saying yes and no to things.
So as soon as you say yes, to one thing, you say no to everything else. And as soon as you say no to one thing, you say yes to everything else, because everything else becomes possible when you say no to going not going to a party you don't want to go to or saying yes to this podcast means that we can't do anything else for this hour. But that also means it. So I get it. I was just I was playing jokes. Serious poker. Serious. Yeah, no fun. Sorry, sorry. I just carry on. I was like, I was being Facebook in the background.
Yeah. Just taking all your attention, giving context. I think it's don't get it. I've been doing a lot of work lately around like boundaries. And this kind of ties really closely in with like managing your resources and like resources being time and energy and like physical things as well. But and again, it also like closes the loop with saying yes or no, because as soon as you if you create boundaries around how you live, then you're essentially you're managing your how you spend your resources. Like if if you are committed to doing this one thing, then you're saying no to everything else.
But you are giving your like effort or like willingness to to this one thing. Our resources are finite. So like we only have limited time to spend on things. So I guess in order to reach our goals or like ideals or whatever we're sort of building toward, we have to manage our resources effectively. Where do you think the busyness trap comes from? Do you think it's an expectation? Do you think our expectations external or internal? I think on one level, like, it's like, it's, it's definitely playing out on a social level in that, like, Oh, this guy's busy.
They're busy. They're doing things I guess I should be busy. This is like, it's a social reference around a way of being. And often you look at successful people when you're like, Oh, they're busy. Like maybe I should just get busy and do stuff. Um, I think too, like it's probably a belief that on the other side of busy is success or productivity or some ideal state. Like, um, but I think sometimes we definitely do things, uh, and we don't know why we're doing them. Like we just kind of mostly do that. Yeah. And, and ultimately like you live up or down to your beliefs depending on which way they're orientated.
But yeah, I think, I don't know. And whether as well, like, uh, technology, culture, um, all of that is kind of playing out into things as well. Like, I mean, I heard the other day that apparently it's like the average American spends two hours a day on Facebook products. Um, I think it could be more than that, but like, it's like, Oh, like that's two hours. Like it's not like you have, you know, you spend eight hours sleeping, say, and then it's like ideally, yeah, that's what Virtus recommends, right? Um, and it's like, wow, like we have to have time and like by the nature of like, you know, call it teen years ago, this didn't exist.
Like where was that two hours being spent? It's like you're going for a walk or you're reading a book or you're just chatting with your loved ones or you hang out with friends. Um, but like that time has been taken. Like it's not like we have more time than we had 10 years ago. It's just replacing the things that we were doing. Yeah. Yeah. And so, but now it's like we've got less time to actually do the things we need to do because we're being sucked into things, but also things that aren't life giving. Do you know what I mean?
Like I never like walk away from Instagram. I'm like, Oh man, like thank you. I'm just so inspired. Yeah. Like I don't feel, you know, I'm like, you know, I just walk around like, Oh, that person's done some cool designs. Why can't I do it? Cool. Oh, that's a cool holiday. Like I never leave those things feeling uplifted. Um, who are particularly inspired. Um, obviously not following coop then. Yeah. Maybe that's my problem. So give us a follow. Please give us a follow. Please. I don't know. Like I think, like this is a thing that like, so this is, this is for real.
Hurry sickness is being diagnosed. It's a new, it sounds ridiculous. It's like, how are you saying this? Like grow up here or something. But like it's a thing that doctors are prescribing and it's like not prescribing or diagnosing rather. And it's like you have hurry sickness and it's like, what? So it's like, um, barely one of the couple of the three signs that you might have hurry sickness. And when I heard it, I was like, yep, I've got all these things. One of them was, uh, when you're at like you're driving along and you're at a traffic light or whatever and you change lanes to get into the quicker lane.
Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Been there this morning. Uh, I mean this is very similar about like you're at the supermarket and you're like changing lanes depending on what, which is the quickest. Yeah. Why do I need to get out of the supermarket so quickly? And then the last one was when you're constantly doing like you're multitasking and you're trying to do stuff and you're actually doing so many things, you've forgotten what you're actually doing. I'm like, yep. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. Like, Oh, um, and what's the, uh, what's the cure? I think wine with friends on Friday.
Busy boy Fridays. It's the answer to everything. Yeah. I think, I think everyone needs that. Like everyone needs that space. And like one thing that, um, Sophie and I are really protective of is Friday night pizza. Like we do Friday night pizza, we invite friends around, we have a bottle of wine, it's a new wine or something every other week, but like we're just trying stuff for fun and watch a terrible movie and just like we protect that because the, the world, if you will, as a system maybe, um, and we're talking about attention as well.
We try and draw us away from that. But it's like you actually need those places where every week you know what's happening and you're like, Oh, these are my people. I can just sit down and enjoy pizza. Like I don't need a process things deeply, but I can just be, it's like you just need a place to be. It's like turn your phone off and just be slow down. We've created something similar on Fridays. We all go hang out with Johnson and just, just be, just be together. And it's, it's now, I couldn't imagine my week without it.
There's a, I don't know if it's like a Buddhist thing or something, but then it's a, it's a very, before I say it's very simple, um, look at something that's incredibly multifactorial and complex, but it basically says that if you're, if you're depressed, you're living in the past. If you're anxious, you're living in the future. If you're living in the present, you're going to feel peace and be rabbit hole on the topic. But the simplicity of that, I love if you're not worried about what's going to happen in the future or if you're not regretful or frustrated, what's happened in the past, you're going to be living in the now and you're going to be somewhat content.
Do you feel content? Yeah, I think, I think it's, stop changing lanes to try and go faster than this thing. Like literally like I obviously like a little task for myself and maybe, maybe we can touch base and eat in like a year's time and see how the experiments gone or something. Uh, but like busy, like I don't want it like, like at the moment is accurate of how I'm living in terms of describing life. But I like, I don't want to just, when people ask how are you being or what you're up to, I
don't want to just lie and be like, uh, not busy when I actually am, but I just want it, I want to come to a place where it's no longer accurate in describing my life. Um, and sure there's lots of things and there's significant things as well. Like I'm totally one for like, let's do significant things that change things and are meaningful, but just not doing it in a spirit of busy-ness. Um, and so to answer your question, like I would say it's at the moment where like it's seven 30 on Friday and I'm having a glass of wine with the people I love.
I was like, yeah, that's content. And it's, but when it's like, Oh yeah, it's like, uh, all these demands and all these things that I feel the pressure of having to deliver for that, then it's like, ah yeah, like this is not the ideal state of being. Um, but a lot of that like is formulated just in your thinking. Obviously you're receiving the environmental cues and you're pulling that in and kind of interpreting it and trying to make sense of it. But it's like, Oh, that exists in your head. Like, do you know what I mean?
The world around you, it's like, it's people that are busy. Let me put it to you like that. The world's going to keep spinning. It's how we like, it's the perspective that we approach the world. Everything that we have, we put our best perception of it, the cover of it. So if we're internally, if we're anxious or feeling like we need to rush and we're busy, then the whole world is going to seem busy. But as soon as we take a breath and allow ourself to relax, then it will seem like the whole world takes a breath with us.
But we know the world ain't changing. It's us that is changing. Yeah. I think, yeah, just a big breath. It helps, right? Yeah. I think one thing that that's again, like, I mean, you guys would see it just in your friends and relationships and families, that fervor of busyness. And I guess like what prompts maybe like, do you know what I mean? Like on some level we're choosing to live the life that we're living, right? You're not a victim of it. Definitely. Right. And so like, again, this is some language that I've seen pop up at like becoming like a non anxious presence.
And that being something that people want to be around to me, because you're like, you're drawn to it. You're like, you're not like, freaking out or you're not running around going crazy. Like, and people will go like, I want to be around that. Yeah. I look at it as you look at some people who have that, and they it's almost as if they're okay with how the world works. That's how I look at it. There's a peacefulness that comes with I've never been so okay with it because there's some of the people like I think
of three or four people that come to mind when I think of that, that term, they're people that are changing the world in different ways. But they're doing it in their own way. There's always going to be an element of like dissatisfaction with how things are now. So they're creating the change that they want to see in the world. But it's kind of like it's on their terms and they're doing it their way. Yeah. And their timeline or their cadence. Yeah. It's really cool. Yeah, I think that's like a really interesting idea. Like whose timeline are you working on?
Yeah, like it'd be great if plastic straws weren't a thing, but they are so let's not put my hair out about it. So God gave us aluminium straws. Sorry turtles. Yeah, the turtles. What are you busy? I had to use the term busy in quotation marks, but what are you working on at the moment? What's your thing? A few little things. One thing to give context to what I do. That might be helpful. So yeah, I ran a little, I guess marketing and design agency for one too. And yeah, just, I don't know, work with lots of local businesses on the peninsula.
Yeah. We've designed is a big piece of that. Yeah. Anyway, so that's kind of what we're doing. Helping people building things like who and being creative, like that's, that's what I love. So yeah, helping businesses. I think that's really fun. I'm like, this is a fun project and it's like, cause that'll affect communities and people and families and it's like, ah, yep, I can rally behind that cause. But yeah, one thing that we're working on at the moment, which is getting close, it's been like this project for like so long. I wouldn't tell you cause it's a bit embarrassing how long it's been going on for.
But the timeline you're working on, I don't think any timeline. I think it's just the absolute chaos. That's what it feels like. Carry on. Yeah. It's called the niche. So basically the niche at the niche underscore on Instagram. I don't run it. The team runs it good. How good having people, how good team, how good to team team? Just shout out to teams. Yeah, I think that's appropriate. Like you know, like you just can't do stuff by yourself that you can do with the team. Like I think teams are amazing. I wrote something about team. I don't want to butcher someone to read it.
Yeah. Team is critical to building a thing that is bigger than yourself. It's easier said than done, but imperative if you want to do anything on scale. Yeah. Yep. Agreed. Tell us about your team. I was going to tell you about the niche. Tell us about the niche first. The niche is a project we're working on. Uh, yeah, it's going to be awesome. Yeah. It's going to be awesome. Get around it. We're going to launch the website soon. It's been, I spent cup day making the navigation. It's fixed. It's fixed. It's beautiful. I'll get you guys to be guinea pigs for it.
You can tell me if the UX is good or if it's super crap and you're like, I don't understand how do I use this? I love the concept. So it fills in. Yes. So basically, uh, think like website online lifestyle blog type thing, but covering the culture of the peninsula. So all the great restaurants, bars, cafes, like I think for me like gyms. Yeah. Well one day, you know, uh, but like I just believe and maybe it's like, who knows? Maybe I'm crazy. I probably am, but I just believe you guys need to like look that up beforehand.
Yeah. Who's going to say that the catch prices, but I just believe the peninsula has just got this potential over it. Like when I see the peninsula, like I just go, Oh, potential. And I'm like, this place could be a place the world looks to and maybe it's idealistic, but I'm just like, Oh, like we have wineries and we have some of the best coffee going around and we have the best people and beaches, gyms, this, uh, progress, not progress straight. Talk to Terrace, come on down. Um, Johnson electrical headquarters. Yep, exactly. Um, there's just like so, so much good things, right?
Pretty special place. Could not agree more. And I'm just like, Oh, like, but on one level, like interacting with the businesses that I see and just kind of in some ways getting a bit of an oversight of where the peninsula is at. I'm like, Oh, like we're not living up to our potential, right? I think in some ways we're kind of like, we're not the city, right? We're kind of got our own little thing going on, but also when we're talking to the city or outside of ourselves, we kind of use brand peninsula and I'm like, Oh, brand peninsula is kind of not cutting it anymore.
It's like, it's part of it, but it's like you can't build a brand or anything deeply meaningful. It's going to cut through to the world around peninsula and it's like to the city, it's like, yeah. And it's like, you know, Italy is a peninsula. It's like maybe we have a peninsula better like who's got the best peninsula. Italy is not bad. Do you think we're not living up to the potential because we're not, can someone's networking for lack of a better term, because networking can be construed as a negative thing at times, more of like a connection thing.
Do you think we're not connecting business to business as well as we could be? Yeah, I think on, I mean, you guys have probably heard that a lot of people would say the peninsula is 10, 20 years behind the city. Never heard that? Never heard that. Sounds like something someone from outside the peninsula would say. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, people call us the insular peninsula. I've heard that. Yeah, it was like, that's terrible. But I think what I'd probably say is that a lot of it's to do with people actually choosing to be down here and run businesses.
And so I'm seeing this change quite quickly from my perspective. So things in, like I'd have to say, like the guys at common folk have made a huge impact on that. And then guys at the nook as well next door. And there's bits and bobs of people in the mornington industrial state who are saying, Hey, we want to be down here and work down here and run businesses down here and do it well. Not just be like, Oh, I'm just going to settle for like average coffee shop, but I'm actually going to try and do something.
Remarkable. Yeah. And I see that now in dramatic, dramatic industrial state, like the guys at JD road. Then there's to base like to base. I don't know if you've heard they're like a gluten free brewery, but they're like, nationwide and doing things and like just gluten free beer. They're like, I, you know, they're like, pushing what gluten free beer is like in the world like, yeah, yeah. And I think it's like, Oh, there's people here doing stuff and then obviously wineries and just like, there's a lot of world class professionals down in particular. It's pretty exciting.
And I think really exciting. And I think what I'm seeing too is like for probably for a long time, a lot of people, especially when they're looking for creative services and marketing stuff would look towards the city. But now a lot of people are going, Oh, there's actually people down here who can do this just as well. Hopefully it's not better. And they're choosing to choose local. Yeah. And I like, I just love that because it's like, and like we like to work relationally. So it's like, it's like, let's get a coffee at common folk
and we'll talk about your project and like, you don't need to have this pretense of trying to be something which potentially might feel like you have in the city. It's Yeah. When we first, because I grew up in Carrom Downes and then Piersdale and went to Frankston High School and when we were looking at opening a gym for the first time, I was like, okay, where are all the people? We started doing all the market research around like population densities and growth corridors and all that kind of stuff. And then we almost opened a gym in Casey, in like Cranbourne, Dandenong South kind of area.
And then it got to a point where it was just like, well, actually, where do we want to work? Where do we want to be? And Mornington was like the resounding only place we wanted to be. Yeah. And that was four years ago. And from a business perspective and a growth perspective, it's probably, probably wasn't the right decision, but from a culture and community and where we want to be decision, my lifestyle, I don't think I've ever made a better decision. Except for getting engaged with KP. But carry on, we'll talk about that later. And it's just now, like with the common folk community and almost all the Progress Street and talk of terrorists now, we're starting to get that.
Yeah, we're going to take on Progress Street, weren't we? Opening will beat them in a fight. Yeah. We're going to have a street brawl, probably out of Morning's Tide Road, we will win. Well, like no one's getting buff at the coffee shop. That's true. Exactly. They're just, they're just getting wired. Which is scarier. Yeah. It's scarier when you go from one to the other. Yeah. You hit five. Saying that I wouldn't want to face the badger. The badger? I don't think the badger could fight. I think Peacock would fight. I don't think badger could. Yeah, we've got Peacock though.
That's true. We're climbing. Badger too. But where do you see the growth or improvement or, you know, let's stick with those two words. Where do you see that coming from? To the peninsula. To the peninsula, yeah. Yeah, I think, I think in part, like it's just people, like on one level, like the grassroots-y-ness of it, where people are choosing to actually care and take place and actually be proud of the peninsula. Like, a good friend of mine, Sam, is one of the Mornington Tri Councillors. And like, he's just a dude who went to Mornington secondary and been around, but really cares for people and cares for this place.
And he's like, why not run for Councillor and why not try and serve in the community, make it better. And it's just like, it's just a dude who has a vision for what it could be and just wanting to be a part of that. I'm like, okay, that's cool. And it's like the ninch. It's like, okay, well, on some level it's like, things have been done maybe digitally and it's kind of maybe a bit naffed or like it's a bit, like for me, like one of the things that's really important about the ninch is that it's design-led and it's beautiful and it's thoughtful.
And that's something that I've felt has been missing down here. And as much as it is hopefully going to be a good business and a good business model and sustainable, like I'm actually just stoked to have this resource that people can access. And they were like, yeah, I'm stoked, like check out this place, it's awesome, let's go, let's check out, you know, what are we going to do with the ninch? Like, oh, we'll just go to the website and see what's happening. It's a one stop shop for Bougie Boy Fridays. Two boxes. Two boxes. But like, it's because I'm proud of it that I'm doing it.
Like if I was ashamed of the peninsula, I wouldn't be doing it. It would be a terrible move. It's like, all it's done so far is just cost me money. Do you know what I mean? And time. And it's been like this thing, but it's like, why am I doing this? It's like, I actually believe in this. I actually believe that it will be good for the people here. And it'll be good for the businesses. And even if, you know, maybe the ninch is an absolute failure, but some businesses get something out of it. And I'm like, okay, cool.
Well, good. I think the only way it'll be a failure if you pull the pin and stop doing it. Because it gives it, one, a place for people to explore the peninsula from a digital aspect. And then hopefully from a physical aspect after that. And it gives it a go-to for businesses to connect with each other. And people to connect with businesses and people to connect with people. Yeah. Yeah. I think as well, there is really this new generation of people, kind of like the badgers of the world, if you will. And yourself as well, that are wanting to do stuff and wanting to do it well.
And kind of don't want to settle for the second rate. And I think almost like those are the stories we want to tell because they're not being told. But I'm seeing it in the undergrowth. Do you know what I mean? Like I'm just, for whatever, maybe it's chance that I'm just connected with people like yourself and these guys and being exposed to it. But I'm like, oh, like something's happening here that's not really being seen or talked about. But this is going to be the thing. Like I guess our generation, like we're going to be the people who make the peninsula what it is in 20 years.
Yeah. Like what we're doing now is going to be what people conceive of it. And from the simplest, most basic aspect, I look at it as like where we're doing cool things with cool people because it lights us up inside. And that allows us to, when we're doing things, why not make it as exceptional as we can and share it with people? Yeah. Because if we can do that, then we're going to almost unintentionally become world-class in everything we do. And that just makes everyone better. Yeah. It's like better for our communities and for people.
And I think that excites me when, and it's like 100% like at the moment, we're not working at a scale where there is a societal impact. But you know what I mean? Like some of the crazy things, like say, particularly on the east side of the peninsula, like Hastings, Western Port kind of way, like teenage birth rate is super high. It's probably, I think it's the highest in the state, maybe in the nation, I think. Don't quote me on that, but this is a few years ago when I heard this, but it's like, oh, like these are people like, you know, in our community.
And it's like, there's people who are homeless down here and there's, you know, there's these things. There's like, I think the weird thing about the peninsula on some level is it's also the place where there's the greatest inequality in Australia, I think. Where we've got people who are absolutely like, bazillionaires and like port cities are in terror, helicopters and all sorts of things. Yeah. And then there's, but there's also like some of the less unfortunate people like in the state and it's like, wow, why? Like how, how can these things coexist? Obviously they do, but it's like, does this have to be the case?
And like, like what would a better peninsula look like? You know, and occasionally throughout history you have these times where you have these cities that for whatever reason, you know, call it the hand of God. It's just on these cities and there's just like, there's just not that suffering. Like, I think Geneva in Switzerland was, was one of these cities at some point in history. But there was just abundance for everyone. And it's like, what? That's what we should be striving for. Yeah. And we kind of, on some level it's like, we don't believe that it could happen.
We go, oh no, there will always be inequality. And on one level there will be, but it's like... If we can bridge that gap, why not? Yeah. And, but it's not even making equality of outcome as it is equality of opportunity. But also like, I don't really care if the rich get richer, but it's like the people who are struggling also need to get richer. We want, we want everyone to struggle less. Yeah. We want, yeah, we want to struggle at the right things. We don't want to, we don't want people to be struggling to eat every day.
We want people to be struggling to like, find purpose and create meaning in their lives, which is like a worthy struggle, right? We get alternate Maslow's hierarchy of needs up, then we want people to be self-realising. Actualising. Actualising, I think I said the wrong word. Damn it. We should have got it up. We should have put it on the wall. A video podcast. Yeah, that's true. We could have put a little animation in there, we could have made a gif. We could have, you could have mixed Joe Rogan. No. Well, that's probably the best compliment he's ever received.
Oh, that's so good. But do you know what I mean? Like, you're talking about like, food. Like, I know there's like, so many like, food based charities on the page that like, people use these services differently because they don't have enough food. Yeah. It's like, what? How's that? How's that happening? But it is like, it's happening. And it's like, is it happening under your nose and you're choosing to ignore it? I think it's probably a little bit about people choose to ignore inequality, but because partly they don't feel that they can actually make a difference. And then a lot of it, you don't know it's there.
Yeah. And whether that's a choice or not, I'm not sure. Yeah. I think this is, I mean, if we tie back a little bit, it's like, hey, maybe you're too busy. Hey, we've just gone full circle. We're closing loops. This isn't the dream. Yeah, perfect. But yeah, do you know what I mean? It's like, oh, like if we're too, if we believe we're busy and we live a busy life. We don't have time to help. We don't have time to help. It's like, I'm not asking for everyone to like, give a million dollars to something,
but it's like, actually it's like, maybe getting alongside some teenager who's kind of struggling and not really, you know, again, you, who are you actively becoming right now? Like who are these kids actively becoming? It's like, and not to put this on you, this is not what I'm doing, but like you often hear of kids coming out of gangs or things or just struggle town. They find themselves in a local gym and just something to spend their time and they get mentored and they get shown how to be men and how to live life. And
it's like, oh, like where are the, I mean, I know there's like community services as well that are doing that kind of work, but it's like, oh, like what if everyone had time for someone else? What if we all put down our phones for two hours and put that two hours towards something productive and like something that we can contribute powerfully to our society? How are we going to keep up with Facebook? I'm going to delete it right now. No you wouldn't. I can't. Yeah, that's the thing, bloody Facebook, they've trapped us. But then Facebook can be a bridge to connecting people, mentors and mentees.
Yeah, it's like, this is the thing, there's a guy, I mean, if you're interested in this kind of stuff, there's a guy called Tristan Harris and he's done a lot of work. He's a, I think he was a design ethicist at Google, but basically he's kind of come out against big tech and kind of said they are, like what Facebook does, it offers enormous value for free. Right. It's like you can connect with anyone more or less in the world and you can chat and you can hear about all the news. It's like it's actually great utility.
Right. But there's a cost. Right. You get exposed to stuff, you get formed by the thinking that's put on there. They actually maximise the platform. So they have the same measures as drug dealers. Facebook HQ. So like how often are you coming back and how often do you use? Or how long do you spend on platform? There's an interesting comparison. Yes. And so that's what they're trying to do. And what maximises it? So they've got the algorithm, right? What maximises time on platform and how often you come back? Any guesses? What maximises it? Yes. Like engagement or?
Dopamine. Yeah, what maximises engagement? The number of followers you have or the number of likes you get or? Outrage. So they've made a choice to create a system that creates outrage to sell you more ads where they could have designed a system which facilitates streaming connection. So yeah, like they could have said, hey, like, let's get the dinner button. But they didn't. Anyway, Zuckerberg, let's hope the niche is what Facebook should have been. Yeah, I like it. We got to wrap this up. One last question for you. What are you most excited for? I would say life together, I think.
Like, yeah, I think pizza and wine with friends, I think, and just things like this. I don't know. I think if you take life away from people, it's pretty sad. In Facebook, it turns out we're just like anti-Facebook. On some level, it takes away from real connection and gives you a false sense of connection. But it's like, oh, don't message me. Just give me a call. Let's get a coffee. I think that's what I'm most excited about. A life where I get to live with people. Awesome. Thanks for coming on Friday morning. Appreciate you. Time to be alive.
Thanks, guys. Fushiboy Fridays. Fushiboy Fridays. Shout out. How can people get around? One, two. And the niche. Oh, so many things. Time for plugs. Our website is one, two. So O-N-E-T-O-O dot com dot au. We're also on Instagram. Yeah, it's like I can't say the things I say and keep it on these platforms to be honest, can I? I need some integrity. But yeah. One, two. Or the niche. Yeah. The N-I-N-C-H dot com dot au as well. So keep an eye out for that. We will be launching very shortly. It's exciting. Yeah. Can you give us like an estimate of the date?
I want to say like two weeks. So let's say launched by the end of November. So like before. Yeah. Before summer, I think I think it needs to get out before summer. And yeah, I think the people need to know about what to do for the summers. You know, give the people what they want. Exactly. And it's going to be a wild experiment. It's going to be a great experiment. It's going to make a little better place. Oh, yeah. Well, hopefully it makes the niche a better place. Building things and helping people. Yeah. Maybe that could be my business card.
Absolutely. It should be. But can it be like a little origami house that you build from a business card? Like one of those snap out ones where you push the pieces out and put it together. You're welcome. Send me the invoice.
