Better Bloke

In this episode of the Better Bloke Project Podcast, we sit down with Cooper Chapman - ex-pro surfer turned motivational speaker - who’s become one of the most relatable voices in youth mental health, resilience, and personal values. Cooper doesn’t preach fluff or psychological jargon. He breaks down a science-backed, real-world approach to feeling better: 1% changes, focusing on what’s going right (not just what’s wrong), and learning how to live in a way that actually matches your values... not the version of “success” you were told to chase.
We go deep on what young people are facing right now in 2026 from social pressure, identity, attention, anxiety, comparison, to a world that moves faster than their parents ever had to deal with. Cooper sits in a rare lane: he can speak to youth in their language, while also helping parents and adults understand what’s really happening beneath the surface. If you’ve ever felt like there’s a growing gap between generations, or you’re trying to raise a strong, grounded young human in a chaotic world, this conversation will hit hard.
Keep up to date with Cooper: https://www.instagram.com/cooperchapman/

This one’s a little different... it’s just Rob and Matty on the mics, no guest, no script… just the kind of yarn we normally have off-air, shared with the world. It’s fast-moving, opinionated, and honest, bouncing between big-picture stuff and the everyday realities blokes are dealing with right now.We dig into what AI is doing to the way we consume content... how hard it’s getting to know what’s real, what’s staged, and what’s straight-up manufactured for clicks.
From there we get into the rise of the tradie as the new backbone of the middle class, and why the “uni or you’re behind” storyline is starting to look outdated. Rob shares about how his son is already primed for that pathway, and we unpack the uncomfortable truth: school isn’t built for everyone, and that doesn’t make you broken.
We hit the stuff that lands close to home: would you take a pay cut to protect your mental health, and where’s the line between “toughing it out” and burning out? We talk about mates who vanish when they ditch social media, and settle an important debate: can a cat ever qualify as a bloke’s best mate? We wrap by looking back at our favourite episodes so far and throwing it to you... do you want more experts, more epic guest stories, or more of these chaotic, real-world chats?

Jeremy Van Akerlaken, better known as Clown Repellent, has gone from relatively unknown to impossible to ignore in a matter of months. In this episode, we sit down with the man behind the name to unpack the rise to “infamy,” the heat that comes with having loud opinions, and why he believes woke culture has been used to justify or protect some genuinely ugly behaviour in recent years. It’s not a highlight reel... it’s a look at what drives the rage, what he thinks is true, and why he keeps stepping into the fire.
Before all of that, Jeremy was an entrepreneur who took an exit, and that reset gave him the space to rethink what he actually wanted to build next. We get into business, mindset, identity, and the shift from chasing wins on paper to chasing something that feels meaningful. He shares what surprised him most about putting his voice out there, and how relatability can open doors you never expected... for better and worse.It goes deeper than “hot takes.”
Mr Repellent tells stories of conversations with followers that go way beyond likes, views, and yelling at a camera... moments that hit hard, challenge assumptions, and show what’s really happening under the surface for a lot of everyday people.
See more from him at: https://www.instagram.com/clown_repellent/
Help us help the blokes who need it: https://www.betterblokeproject.org/pages/donate-now

Another Australia Day has just passed, and as a topic that affects us all politically, mentally, and as a community, it's time to talk about it. We unpack our experience at the pro-Australia march in Brisbane & chat about the other side of the fence...
We discuss why the whole thing keeps turning into a cultural tug-of-war every single year. From flag burning and the stuff that feels like an attack on Aussie pride, to the way people get labelled “racist” for having a different opinion... we dive into political correctness, free speech, and the way so many groups are choosing to have modern discourse.
Nobody is pretending we’ve got all the answers, but it's just an honest chat about how we get back to a country that can disagree without hating each other, and what it might actually take to find some common ground.

Lets rip into a deceptively simple question that’s been lighting up convo's everywhere: is life genuinely harder… or are we just getting softer? Modern life is packed with creature comforts, convenience, and safety nets, yet blokes are still stressed, burned out, and feeling like they’re carrying the world. So what gives?
On this episode we compare today’s pressures to what our dads and grandads dealt with, and unpack the myth of the “tough old-school man” who never complained. Not because life was easy, but because talking about it wasn’t really an option. We dig into whether “soft times create soft men” is wisdom or just nostalgia, and whether we’ve lost resilience… or we’re simply facing a different kind of hard.
If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking “man up” and “I’m cooked” in the same week, this one’s for you.