Jason Weber (00:13)
Good day and welcome to Two Coaches and a Coffee. My God, after a month or more away, finally we're back. And who have I got on line with me? None other than the great Darren Burgess. How are you my friend?
Darren (00:31)
I'm doing all right, but I know this is a podcast, but for any sort of visual people, there's, yeah.
Jason Weber (00:36)
We might publish this. Where, where we're to put
this. We'll put that bit. We'll put that bit on social media, mate. You're sitting, talk us through it. You're sitting where?
Darren (00:46)
β I'm
in a place called Bodo, is pronounced Buddha in Northern Norway, which is about as far north as you can get. It's on the coast. β We had a Champions League game last night, which we fortunately got the chocolates 3-2 in the last minute. So I'm now in the suit, which is how I roll these days, Jason.
Jason Weber (00:52)
Buddha.
Yep, saw that.
I was going to say,
β all right, so you're cutting a great figure in an Italian suit. How has everything been? mean, everybody that listens to us, I think β probably at this stage, given we haven't spoken for a month or more, we've spoken, but just not on a podcast is like, have you found it? Talk us through the landing. Has it been all right?
Darren (01:36)
Yeah, it's...
I'd like to do it in positives and negatives. that, because people, I think, we'll go with the negatives first because you get, you know, people sort of have been really complimentary and congratulations and all that sort of nice stuff, which is great. know, I'm really appreciative of our community, Jason and the performance community, because we are that and.
You and I have been around a while, so you get a lot of friends and contacts in the community. β But it's not the easiest of transitions to come to a different country. So there's a whole range of things around Italian bureaucracy to everything from getting an apartment to getting your residency to visas and all kinds of things. So I would say I'm spending.
Jason Weber (02:13)
Yep.
Darren (02:33)
I've been here five and a half weeks and I would say I've averaged an hour a day just like that. So that's okay, that's part of moving to another country. So then there's the language stuff where I get two language lessons a week of which are 90 minutes each plus all the revision that you have to do for that. And then you've got driving on the other side of the road and then know,
Jason Weber (02:42)
The life admin mate.
Darren (03:02)
tiny little β roadways and all that sort of stuff. And just getting directions and the staff, they're all Italian staff, there's not a non-Italian amongst the staff. So all of those things, right? And people will be saying, yeah, first world problems, you're at a big club and all that sort of stuff. But they are legitimate β hurdles that you need to navigate. And there's probably another 50 that I haven't mentioned. β
Jason Weber (03:05)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Darren (03:30)
My wife would probably jump in and give you another 50 more so β We're in temporary accommodation, and you can't get a visa until you get a farm until you get an apartment you can't get a visa and All the stuff that we packed up from Adelaide is just sitting there waiting in a Crate to come over Which cannot be released until you get a visa and you can't get a visa until you get an apartment
Jason Weber (03:33)
Don't worry.
Darren (04:00)
β So it's just this vicious circle that keeps going. so at this stage, looks like we've got an apartment anywhere, the stuff will arrive about March. So that's the bad stuff.
Jason Weber (04:14)
Well, my look, I hope like I got to say like, yes, the moving stuff is crazy hard and I won't begin to.
Like say that I understand the language barrier except my military experience in the Middle East. However, that being said, I hope for you that you get enough time there once you've settled to enjoy a bit more. guess that's a crazy five weeks. And mate, I would say not many people, not many pros in our line of work actually do this level of stuff. I think there's some folks going to work in Japan.
Darren (04:31)
Sure.
Yeah.
Jason Weber (04:54)
I think do some tough stuff, but that's some real yards you've done there.
Darren (04:59)
Yeah, when you go to England or America or something like that, obviously the language is pretty good and my experience in England is similar. My experience in England was that moving was incredibly simple, like it really was compared to this. So that's the bad things and that's okay. This is not me saying, oh, it's been awful or anything like that. That's just what happens. Now, I arrived on a Saturday and we proceeded to play seven games in 21 days.
Jason Weber (05:03)
Yeah. See you tomorrow.
Yeah.
Darren (05:29)
starting on the Sunday and in that included a sacked coach after eight days who spoke really, you know, starting to get a relationship with and his English was fantastic so that was helpful and was replaced by a coach whose English is not great but I'm getting along with well. β But you know, you then have to reestablish relationships. β So you know, all those sorts of things. β But.
Jason Weber (05:33)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Darren (05:58)
The good things are, we played Champions League last night in a country like Northern Norway, which I would never have been to, had this position not come up. The club is fantastic, the staff are amazing, the new coaching team that's come in have been really welcoming and really collaborative and you're living in a magnificent city β like Turin, which really is a stunning city to live in.
Jason Weber (06:06)
Nah, that's unbelievable.
Yeah.
Darren (06:28)
road you go down you see a view of the Alps which for an Aussie is you know I'm sure that any Europeans listening would just get you a big deal at some mountains but for an Aussie it's um yeah for an Aussie it's pretty good so so there's um there's some good things like that.
Jason Weber (06:36)
Just another thing.
all right, mate.
Let's let's talk a bit of let's go with a few specifics. Right. This new role you're in, like it's not it's not super operational. It's very much management. What's what's day to day look like? Like what's like I know it's only just started, but what you're building a relationship with a coach. But how operational is that?
Darren (06:59)
And yeah.
Yeah, it's a good question. It's probably what the on the job description it says β overseeing all aspects of performance in medical. For anyone listening, Jason's just pulled out a little Vino there to β help with the conversation. You're having the wine.
Jason Weber (07:24)
Well, he's in Europe, I'm in Perth and it's well past
coffee time for me.
Darren (07:31)
Exactly. yeah, the roles are overseeing all aspects of medical performance and data and psych and nutrition and all that sort of stuff for the β men's, women's and both academies. So it's just over 100 staff β that are in that section of the club. β So a day-to-day operational, a day-to-day diary looks something like, I won't take game day, I'll take
my last day before we traveled here to Buddha. β In the morning I met with the commercial team about some potential pre-season tours and the logistics around that. Then we spoke with, I met with the Adidas who sponsor Juventus about some of the products that they've got coming out for next pre-season to talk about how we can integrate them into the squad for both the Adidas and
players and the non-Adidas players, presented to the players around aspects of recovery. Then we had training sessions which I watched a little bit of, but came in and had meetings with, we've got about four or five different data providers. So it's for me to get in front of those and find out what sort of data they provide and how we utilize it throughout the club.
And then I went to the Academy, which is about a 15-20 minute drive from where the club is and met all of their directors for each of the teams. Our under-23 team, which is our next-gen team, plays in the third tier in Italian football. And our women's had a Champions League game that night against Lyon, who one of the best teams in the world in the women's game.
Jason Weber (09:23)
Yeah, yeah, of course.
Darren (09:24)
So
that was sort of a typical day. So it's not necessarily sitting down with a coach and planning training, but it is speaking to the fitness staff that do that each day about, what are the potential dangers of training too hard, too low? Who are the players that are in any kind of zone? So I still look at that, but it's not necessarily the role to be at the coalface having those training discussions.
Jason Weber (09:47)
Yeah.
All right.
So continuing the interview style of doing this. Mate, my observation at the moment in Australia is we've got a lot of people calling themselves or being named high performance manager when in fact they're the fitness manager. That's all they're doing physical. They're not doing medical. So we're talking about another tier. You're another level up plus because you're not only where you were at
Darren (09:57)
Yeah, it really is.
Jason Weber (10:22)
pros and your other roles say Melbourne, because you've now got academies, you've got women, you've got the whole bit. So how are you finding it? Like you worked in the trenches, mate. You did the yards back in the day at Swans and Australian soccer and all that shit. But now you're up. Are you enjoying? Do you like the management perspective? Because you've got a bigger oversight.
Darren (10:50)
Yeah, do I like it? β Yes, so far. There's good parts and bad parts about it, Jason, and we speak a lot, So, yeah, and your ability to directly influence a training session is limited because you're not speaking to the coach about what the session might entail. And so,
Jason Weber (10:50)
Do you you enjoy it?
Yeah, yeah, everything. Everything. There's always good. There's always 80-20, right?
Darren (11:20)
And as you know, β in global football, what happens is β a club has a philosophy and then the coach comes in with his or her coaching team and β sometimes adheres to that philosophy, sometimes doesn't. β Yeah, yeah. And yeah, that can happen for sure. And β this coach brought in a fitness coach who's really good and really open and β
Jason Weber (11:34)
Pancakes it. Lips it. Flips it over.
Darren (11:49)
Yeah, he's been fantastic to work with, so β that can be a challenge, and it has been in the past, but here it hasn't been. β they're the parts about it which I miss a little bit, like the dealing with the coach and planning each training session. β I still have oversight on all of that, but it's not necessarily my job to go into the coach's office. Where I do speak with the coach a lot is around individual player management and...
Jason Weber (11:56)
Yeah, yeah,
Yeah.
Yup.
Darren (12:18)
you know selection and not that I influence selection but it's more okay these are the players that are at risk these are the players that are flagging these are the players to be wary of because there hasn't been a week yet where we have gone Saturday to Saturday or Saturday to Friday we've played three games a week every single week
Jason Weber (12:41)
So, so,
mate, you're just to be clear. So you're doing the threat analysis where the fitness guy is not.
Darren (12:49)
That's right, and I'm certain that the manager speaks to his fitness coach also. β But we meet each day to talk about those players. And I'm confident that we're all giving the same message. β The manager might see it as a different way coming from me, I don't know, but he's been fantastic. He's won two skidettos in the last five years, so he clearly knows what he's doing.
Jason Weber (13:16)
Quickly, quickly explain
the skedaddle.
Darren (13:19)
two titles, two Premiership flags in the AFL lingo. β
Jason Weber (13:21)
Two titles, two big bits of silverware. Silverware, yeah. well, we got
some folks in America too. Like it's a bit of a NFL, yeah, yeah. Got a Vince Lombardi.
Darren (13:30)
Yeah exactly, so two Super Bowls with two different clubs.
Yeah, exactly. So β I oscillate between sitting on the bench or sitting upstairs in the director's box depending on the game, the stadium, the game, the stadium, you know, that sort of thing. it just, well, know, at the BernabΓ©u, which is Real Madrid's home ground in Madrid, that was my...
Jason Weber (13:45)
who's around.
β Who's in the box?
β wow.
Darren (14:03)
fourth day on the job and I'm sitting in the directors box with all these incredible Madrid legends. So that was an interesting experience. β
Jason Weber (14:14)
You've got to say,
like journey wise, like to be able to do what you just said, to be able to go to, you know, world leading grounds, like the best in the world, the most like have meet some of those legends and be around them. That's like that's got to be part of the payoff, doesn't it?
Darren (14:38)
Yeah, I'll put it in context. β Yes, it is, but, and as a kid, and I'm getting deep here with you, Jase, but as a kid I had pictures of Hugo Sanchez and Jean-Pierre Papin and Marco Van Basten on my wall because I was a soccer loving, cricket playing Aussie kid, you know, so yeah, yeah, so I had those on my wall, so to sit there and.
Jason Weber (14:50)
Well...
Mad kid.
Darren (15:07)
It's not lost on you, but by the same token, I got asked yesterday in What's Your Career highlights and what motivates you now? And it is purely working with athletes and staff to improve them. you and I have been lucky enough to play or to be part of AFL Grand Finals, to...
World Cups, FA Cups, know, all those sort of things. So going to the BernabΓ©u was great, but I was disappointed that we lost. Going to places like Botto, yep, they're great and they're new and exciting, but I get motivated by seeing a staff member get promoted to a role or...
Jason Weber (15:37)
Nah.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, good.
Darren (15:58)
Seeing a couple of young kids that we put on the park last night do pretty well that I've started to get to know, know, that's the exciting part. to use Adelaide Crow's, watching Dan Curtin do so well, you know, after the work that you and I put into him. They're the things that excite me way more than sitting in a director's box with people that I don't know.
Jason Weber (16:11)
Ugh.
Well.
Yeah. So that's,
but that's where it's a challenging bit when you're not on the tools as much, you know, because you don't get as close. But tell me this, here's this, I've got a cute, again, the interview thing, right? So medical staff, like we know the fitness guy that's come in is good. We're happy with him. He seems okay. How are the medical staff? Are they communicative? Are they open? How you find them?
Darren (16:47)
Yeah, they certainly are. Again, it's five and a half weeks. But they've been really, really good to deal with and they β are seemingly, they have been seemingly β crying out for somebody in this role. they couldn't be more enthusiastic.
Jason Weber (16:54)
Yeah, yeah, but it's a starting point,
Right.
Darren (17:15)
had some amazing discussions with the physios, doctors. We've got two RTP specialists who were outstanding at their roles there.
Jason Weber (17:23)
So without
going into detail that you can't, but what's an amazing discussion? Talk to me. What are you getting from them that makes you so pumped? Because clearly, again, I can see you're enthusiastic about it. What was, again, the broad brush of the conversations?
Darren (17:30)
So yeah, good question.
Yeah.
So I've been watching some rehab sessions that the staff have been doing with players that are pretty close to returning to play. I then called a meeting in my office with the two RTP specialists and we just got the whiteboard out and said, okay, what are you, how do you progress, what are your key variables, what are your tests, what are your, and those sort of discussions, okay, have you considered
Okay, you love axles and decals, but have you considered where to place those in a rehab session? Don't always put them in the same spot, know, put them in the start. Can we make it more football specific? How can we structure a session? Okay, with this particular player, we've got a Brazilian defender who's one of our most important players who's about to come back into the team. Okay, how can we make sure he's ready to go? What are the things that we can tick off? Those sort of discussions, which people have all the time, by the way, but...
I'm learning a different way of doing things. And as an example for our viewers, listeners, β let's take the old faithful Nordic hamstring. β There wouldn't be many Italian soccer teams that have ever done a Nordic exercise, right?
Jason Weber (18:57)
cool.
love that eccentric hamstring.
I'll count to that, but okay, go on.
Darren (19:12)
β
I know the one that you're referring to, that's why I changed from there wouldn't be our team to there wouldn't be many teams. Yeah, and β is that a good or a bad thing? Well, the last I checked the injury rates in Italian football are no different to anywhere else. β should we be rethinking? β No, I still believe in eccentric.
Jason Weber (19:19)
There's just one.
to anywhere else.
Darren (19:40)
hamstring exposure, but there's many ways to get that exposure. If I walked into AFL club X tomorrow and said we're scrapping Nordics, the S &C staff would, and physios potentially, would probably lose their shit. β Yeah, yeah, and so it's a different, it's just a different philosophy of doing things and β that's okay, there's more than one way to do it, but if you look, and we've spoken about this on this podcast, if you look at β
Jason Weber (19:54)
I would have babies. Yeah.
Darren (20:10)
The β musculature of the football players that I'm dealing with, are equally as impressive as the musculature of AFL players. It's just been built up in a different way. So I've been seven years in the AFL system, so it's just recalibrating a little bit and learning from these guys and girls in the staff as much as what they're learning from me. So that's the exciting part about it all, and that's what gets me.
I love having those discussions as much as I love talking to Adidas about their latest compression gear.
Jason Weber (20:45)
I'm sure you just said, hey, send me some samples. I'll get them on and I'll show I'll see how they're going.
Darren (20:50)
While you're sending
me the compression kit, can you send me these shoes and these jackets for the kids and all that sort of stuff?
Jason Weber (20:55)
Yeah,
can tell you what that would be a big fail for me going I'm putting compression gear on not happening. All right. An argument a touch more serious, mate. Do you walk in the door and is there anything you go? Wow, that's a gaping mist is a gaping hole right there. Did you see that or were they were the staff overall pretty pretty good?
Darren (21:05)
Yeah.
Jason Weber (21:24)
Or did you just go, yeah, I can tweak some things or did you go, there's a few things that we need a major recalibration that.
Darren (21:33)
I know that in my opinion, and I've got to be careful how I frame this, yeah, there's a few gaping holes that no, that we have started to address. And I won't go into specifics what they are, but yeah, there are. the staff have wanted to make those changes, but have probably never had the mandate to do that. Whereas I've been given that
Jason Weber (21:39)
Yeah, yeah. Don't say it too loud. Yeah, yeah.
Good.
To do it. Yeah.
Darren (22:02)
and that involves communication pathway as much as it does doing β exercise A, B and C. And there's a lot of environmental things as well. It's an unbelievable setup. It's one of the few clubs that completely owns their stadium, but we also have a hotel that we own which is next to the stadium. We have a hospital which we part own which is on the other side of the stadium which...
Jason Weber (22:10)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Darren (22:31)
all of the best Italian athletes. talking from Yannick Senna to all of β the famous Italian, and obviously I don't know their names, but the famous Italian snowboarders and skiers and all those sorts of athletes that are getting ready for the Winter Olympics, which are held in this region in February. They all go to this hospital to get all their testing done. So β plus a school, plus the stadium, plus the training ground, two training grounds. So the facilities are incredible, but...
Jason Weber (22:34)
Wow.
Yeah
What?
Darren (23:01)
β They need updating both from a cultural point of view, so when you look around, β it doesn't feel like it's Juventus' home and β everyone talks about Forza, Juventus, and the history of the club, but when you go in the facilities, that's not reflected anywhere. So I'm working with a psychologist on how we can do that and how we can theme the area to make it more our own.
Jason Weber (23:14)
Yeah.
Not evident, no.
Darren (23:30)
So it's things like that as well as, okay, do we need a hyperbaric chamber? Do we need a, you know, this and that? So there's some other things which we're looking at now to put in. So there's a few things from a equipment point of view but also a communication point of view.
Jason Weber (23:42)
Oh, it has.
I had some really interesting discussions with a coach I work with at the moment who's an Olympic medalist in kayak and he's 60 62 and the guy trains like a beast and does these periodic hyperbaric blocks of training and he cannot speak highly enough. And I've been really interested. This guy is almost like a genius on
Darren (24:08)
yeah. Yep.
Jason Weber (24:18)
how to promote testosterone legally in a human, in a male. But when you look at it and you just go those, they're not one percenters probably, they're probably a bit more than that. But when you've got the capacity, the financial capacity to do it, you're kind of like, well, it changes the scope of things, doesn't it?
Darren (24:22)
Yep. Okay.
Yeah, I think so.
It does, it's still, the process is still the same, but it's still, what is the β opportunity cost of getting, let's use a hyperbaric family, because it might be 200 grand, but it's not just, okay, here Darren, here's 200 grand, go and get one. It's, you tell me why we need one, you tell me what else we could buy with that 200 grand, you tell me where we put it, you tell me what needs to go down to the academy or the women, you know.
Jason Weber (24:50)
Yeah, yeah, changes.
Yeah,
right. What's the flow on? What's the flow on effect?
Darren (25:12)
How do they get benefit out of it? So the process yeah, the process is
still the same whether you're talking about some Norma text or a hyperbaric chamber so But yeah, it might be discussion for the next podcast because there's some really good research around this place and Yeah
Jason Weber (25:29)
Oh, it's awesome.
But when you start looking at the investment these clubs are making in their academy, let's say you did nothing, nothing with the first team, but you amped up that academy to come through. And instead of paying, you know, a hundred million euros, they've got a kid in their academy that they paid four million euros for that comes through and plays first.
That's a massive, massive gain for the club, let alone any sale ability of those players. yeah, the scope that you have is, and like I said, it probably leads to what we said earlier. Your impact is now so much broader than like you're now going to, you're going to influence the business, the businesses chain of production because the players are coming through.
Darren (26:04)
for sure.
Yeah, I liken it a bit to β the Kahneman, when we spoke about this, when we spoke, yeah, the thinking fast and slow, you know, there's some immediate things.
Jason Weber (26:29)
yeah, we talked about this the other day. Yeah.
We might need a book reference.
We need a book reference there for folks on the street. I don't have it on my bookshelf immediately, but Daniel Kahneman, Thinking fast, thinking slow, yeah. Worth a read.
Darren (26:45)
Well, it's Daniel Kahneman, β Thinking Fast and Thinking Slow, I think is the book. Yeah, I it's called
it. So yeah, it's a long read, think it's a plus 500 pages, so it's not an easy read. β But... β
Jason Weber (27:00)
Quiz quickly, just quickly,
read the book, don't do the chat GBT review, read the book.
Darren (27:06)
Yeah,
yeah. Thanks, Dad. β
And all clubs have this, right, and all staff should have this, but in actual fact, β we are more thinking fast than we are thinking slow. I'm lucky enough or β whatever found myself in this position where β we, for example, we kind of had to win last night, right? So a lot of my thought process and what can I do to influence the result to get the win last night, but.
Jason Weber (27:15)
Ha
Absolutely.
Darren (27:45)
We've got to set up this club for five years, for the next five years to be a powerhouse again in, you know, as quickly as we possibly can, but that is not overnight or we go from playing. So as a logistical thing for you, we're stuck in this. were supposed to fly an hour and a half ago. Where now it looks like we're going to be about three hours late, which means we get back into
Jason Weber (27:48)
Yeah.
No.
Darren (28:15)
into Torino β or Turin at about 7.30, 8 p.m. We were gonna have a light training session when we got back. β Now that's obviously off and we play Saturday against Caliuri in a must-win home game in the Serie A and then we play Tuesday night and then we play Saturday away in Naples in a blockbuster. So and these are all kind of must-win games and this delay has put a...
you know, put a bit of a spanner in the works in terms of our loading and all that sort of stuff. So we've got to think around that. Yeah, yeah, all that. And that's okay. This is, I'm not saying this is good or bad. This is just what it is.
Jason Weber (28:47)
I'm flying the ointment.
Listen.
It is. Look, let's, let's throw the fact that you brought back up Daniel Kahneman. I'm just going to throw you, and you, you bagged me for saying dad, you know, read. We had a staff meeting with my staff today. And one of the things we brought up, there was a, there was a comment made about my staff meetings that, we've done lots of workshops and we do workshops every week to be honest. But one of the things I came up with today, I just said, right, we're going to start a book.
club. I want you to tell me what, what you're reading professionally and what you're reading personally. I think, and this is up for discussion and debate, but the younger, there's a younger generation at the moment that are too quick to read, like listen to podcasts like this shift and, and read reviews on chat GPT and not read the book. Right now.
Darren (29:26)
Nice.
Jason Weber (29:54)
Darren brought this up the other day when we were chatting, Daniel Kahneman, and Darren brought it up in the context of how he was talking to his boss and think fast, slow to the CEO. And I'm like, right, I'm on that. I've read it. Done. Great. I'm not saying everyone should read this book in particular, but I think the wide ranging ability to read many things outside of just S &C, particularly and performance.
gives you ability to move up. what we're talking about this whole conversation podcast Darren has been about you moving to a level above 99.5 % of you know, the performance population to be honest, right. And that's important.
Darren (30:38)
Well, it's different.
I appreciate you saying that, but it's just a different aspect of performance.
Jason Weber (30:43)
No, dude, it is like it
is. Yes, I get it is different, but it's different. It's different to 99.5 % of people. Right. But what I would encourage, and if there's a takeaway from this, if you're listening to this and you've got an aspiration to do something like Darren's done, listen to what he said. Right. It's not just, yes, you have to study. Darren's got a PhD, but he's read Daniel Kahneman. He's read a bunch of other stuff. He started in management.
What I'm saying is I think people, the plug and play thing is not your education. You're going to have to work hard at reading and doing other stuff to get stronger views on a broader aspect of how you interact with people and how you create performance. That's all. I want the young bucks to get back on reading.
Darren (31:32)
Well, I guess I'm,
Well, we're well into our half an hour, so I'll stop it here. what's it, true. What I will say is, I read a quote, I've gotta be wary of how I say this, but speaking, I went to a conference, which is a great conference. It was in Monaco, which makes a conference a lot easier.
Jason Weber (31:39)
We are, but this is thrilling Darren and we've been off for over a month.
As you do.
Darren (32:02)
and speaking
to some great people like Tom Little and Martin Bishite and β those guys around β these types of roles, right? And I read a quote which said, wants the lifestyle but nobody wants the process or something like that. I can't remember β what it is about it. And they were talking about like a Taylor Swift, right? And you're,
Jason Weber (32:21)
NAN!
Darren (32:30)
advice around absorbing, I'll call it content, because that's what it kind of is, but absorbing content that is relevant to what you're doing. it doesn't, like you said, it doesn't have to be what's the latest recommendations on tendon loading, β which is important, and it really, really is. β But you've got to try and absorb information around how
Jason Weber (32:49)
Meh!
Okay.
Darren (33:00)
how to deliver that content. And that doesn't have to be books. It can be podcasts, can be audibles, it can be things like that, depending on, I know the reading of a book has been proven that you absorb it better than other modes, I completely understand that. But we need to be a little bit flexible to how folk do that. What I am saying is that
Jason Weber (33:09)
Of of course it can.
Darren (33:29)
When you have that decision to make, whether it's to turn on Netflix and watch β fucking Love Island or something like that, right? Or you turn on Netflix and watch a documentary on something else. β They're active decisions, right? That have consequences if we get down to the nuts and bolts of it.
Jason Weber (33:35)
Hahaha!
Can't believe you said that.
Yeah.
Darren (33:58)
So if you say, no, no, I need to, I don't know, watch this because I'm trying to think of an example that doesn't incriminate me in any way, shape or form because there is a work-life balance and I get that. β
Jason Weber (34:14)
No, of course, dude, you
can turn off. I got no problem with that. Everybody turns off. I watched Landman last night. I like watching the Texans running around blowing up oil rigs and all that. That's fine. Everybody needs that. what I'm saying is to the young, if we're giving back, that's the point of this podcast,
Darren (34:23)
What a show, what a show.
Jason Weber (34:40)
If you listen to what Dan said, he's read Daniel Kahneman's a tough read. Think fast, think slow is a tougher. Got it. Read it, underlined it the whole bit. What I just want to see young, young folks doing is learning because you're not only you're learning to think and process and solve complex problems because what you're doing at the moment, mate, is not just like it's not just another job. It's solving problems that are complicated.
Darren (34:58)
Yeah, sure.
Jason Weber (35:08)
I don't know what Adidas do and I've got no idea what they're going to bring out and what their G string or their compression gear or whatever is going to look like. But clearly you've got to solve how that interrelates with a problem that you've just met. just think we've got it. People have got to keep thinking outside the box and develop their ability to solve problems creatively. That's what I want from the young folks. But I just hired a guy recently and the only reason I hired him the bar there were two.
interviewed them, did all that, then I made them come in the gym and we just walked around and talked. I didn't put 200 kilos on their back and make them squat, no that's shit. But we just talked through processes and how would you deal with this? The guy that got the job was able to think strategically. He had a process, he had a framework. That's what I want to see, people thinking and that's what I hope people take away from this. The reason Darren is in a job like this is because of those
Darren (36:04)
For sure. For sure.
Jason Weber (36:08)
things that make him different. Right? And he is different. He's weird and strange and a lovable kind of way.
Darren (36:12)
Wait.
Hey, that's just between you and I, mate. Why about that? Those traits. We'll keep going, mate. I've got to go because we've just been called. I'm seeing everybody going onto the airport.
Jason Weber (36:17)
You
Right mate, go
get on your plane and we love you in Juventus suit and we want to see more. I want to see a Juventus jacket with DB on it.
Darren (36:36)
No, they don't exist here, which I'm very happy with. I'm very happy with that part. No, they're not throwing the letters. No, I like the fact that they're not throwing letters.
Jason Weber (36:39)
They're not doing letters. That's I thought that was global football. Okay. Listen, my it's been
my it's also in the catch up again. I hope people enjoy this and get the gravity of what you're doing because it's awesome. We love and respect you. May you go and have a great trip and hope you get home and.
Darren (36:57)
Next, next,
we'll do something next week that won't be an interview. We'll discuss an actual topic.
Jason Weber (37:05)
Nah, mate, it's good. We love hearing what you're doing and we're all inspired. So get after it, mate. we'll keep an eye on youventus.com.com See you, bro.
Darren (37:14)
Thanks, bye, see
you.
