The Dom Harvey Podcast

Mark Law is a former NZSAS soldier. He’s survived an armed ambush in Africa, he nearly died from a flesh-eating disease, and built a helicopter business that included owning a Black Hawk.But he's probably best known for what he did on December 9, 2019, when Whakaari White Island erupted. Mark flew his helicopter into the danger zone and helped rescue people who were trapped on the island.In this conversation, he takes us inside that horrific day, the controversial WorkSafe prosecution that followed, and shares some incredible stories from his life.The biggest surprise for me was his answer when I asked him about the hardest thing he's ever been through…and it wasn't any of those experiences.***This episode is proudly brought to you by the legends at Odoo.. https://www.odoo.com/r/iyAeIf you run a business, here’s a question: How many different bits of software are you paying for right now?One for accounting. One for sales. Another for projects. Another for inventory. Another for your website.Odoo is designed to simplify all of that.It’s a user-friendly, all-in-one business management solution, with a huge range of apps that are fully integrated and designed to work together.So instead of building your business around a pile of disconnected tools, you can manage it from one platform.Have a look for yourself! You can try Odoo free for 15 days, with no credit card required, at https://www.odoo.com/r/iyAeOdoo. All your business, on one platform.

Even if you don’t know the name you most definitely know this guests work! I’d almost guarantee you have sung or danced to his song, The Time Warp!Richard O’Brien is the creator and writer of The Rocky Horror Show. A show he wrote more than 50 years ago that is still an international cult classic.This is Richards first ever long form podcast and it was an absolute honor that he chose mine.Richard is 84. He is sharp as ever, funny, opinionated, occasionally outrageous - and completely comfortable saying exactly what he thinks***Massive thanks to my long‑term podcast sponsor, Generate. Like a lot of Kiwis, I spent years saying, “I’ll look at my KiwiSaver account later.” Turns out later comes around faster than you think, and the decisions you make now could be the difference between counting every dollar in retirement or having the freedom to take that trip you've always talked about. I switched my KiwiSaver account to Generate after they came on board, and honestly, I should’ve done it sooner. They’re an award-winning KiwiSaver provider with strong long‑term performance. You can check out their latest returns online, or book a no‑obligation chat with one of their friendly advisers at generatekiwisaver.co.nz/dom. No pressure, no judgement. They are just there to help wherever you’re at in your investing journey. The issuer of the scheme is Generate Investment Management Limited. You can view their Product Disclosure Statement and Financial Advice Provider information at generatekiwisaver.co.nz/disclosures. Past performance does not guarantee future returns. And just a reminder — I’m a podcast host, not a financial adviser. This is general information only, and I recommend getting expert advice before making any financial decisions.

Today’s guest has one of those stories where, if it was a Netflix series, you’d probably say the writers had gone a bit too far.Emma Ferris is a physio, business owner, mum of two, and a smart, switched-on, capable person. And definitely not the sort of person you would think was an easy target for a scammer.But after coming out of a divorce, Emma met a guy on Tinder.He was charming. Successful. Interesting. And over time, he worked his way into her life.There was just one fairly major problem: Almost everything about him was BULLSHIT!His name. His history. His business dealings. His money. His stories.And eventually Emma would discover that the man she thought she knew was actually a convicted conman.By then, she had transferred him hundreds of thousands of dollars.What happened next is absolutely wild.This episode isn't really about the money. It's about what happens when somebody completely destroys your ability to trust your own judgment.And how you rebuild yourself after discovering that someone you let into your life was never actually the person they claimed to be.If you've ever heard about somebody being scammed and thought, “How could anyone fall for that?” —this episode might completely change the way you think about it.This is Emma Ferris.

Pete Bethune is a New Zealand conservationist now based largely in Costa Rica, where he lives aboard his ship and works tackling illegal fishing, poaching and environmental crime. We spoke for two and a half hours on his first podcast appearance and somehow barely scratched the surface (actually, if you missed that when it came out it is well worth going back and checking it out). And in Part Two, the stories somehow get even crazier.Pete tells me about being bitten by one of the most dangerous snakes in Central America, then crawling for hours through the jungle while genuinely believing he might die. At the hospital, things got so bad that one of the doctors basically said goodbye to him.We talk about being stabbed in Brazil, coming face-to-face with armed pirates, corruption, illegal gold mining, wildlife trafficking and why, at 61, Pete still has absolutely no interest in slowing down.But underneath all the unbelievable adventure, I think there’s an interesting conversation here about how to live.Pete owns virtually nothing. He doesn’t earn a salary. And yet he genuinely believes he’s one of the luckiest people alive.At one point he asks a question that really stuck with me: Is the world a better place because you were in it? ***Massive thanks to my long‑term podcast sponsor, Generate. Like a lot of Kiwis, I spent years saying, “I’ll look at my KiwiSaver account later.” Turns out later comes around faster than you think, and the decisions you make now could be the difference between counting every dollar in retirement or having the freedom to take that trip you've always talked about. I switched my KiwiSaver account to Generate after they came on board, and honestly, I should’ve done it sooner. They’re an award-winning KiwiSaver provider with strong long‑term performance. You can check out their latest returns online, or book a no‑obligation chat with one of their friendly advisers at generatekiwisaver.co.nz/dom. No pressure, no judgement — they’re just there to help wherever you’re at in your investing journey. The issuer of the scheme is Generate Investment Management Limited. You can view their Product Disclosure Statement and Financial Advice Provider information at generatekiwisaver.co.nz/disclosures. Past performance does not guarantee future returns. And just a reminder — I’m a podcast host, not a financial adviser. This is general information only, and I recommend getting expert advice before making any financial decisions.

Amy Gardiner is a negotiation specialist and creator of Pro Level Negotiation: https://prolevelnegotiation.com/We negotiate every single day: With our boss. Our partner. Our kids. Even trying to convince your mates where to go for dinner.But most of us hear the word “negotiation” and immediately think confrontation. Amy Gardiner says that’s bullshit.Amy is a negotiation specialist who has spent decades in sales, real estate and high-pressure negotiations, and she believes negotiating is a skill that anyone can learn.And there is so much practical stuff in this conversation.+ How to ask your boss for a pay rise. + What to do when someone simply says no. + Why you should stop deciding how a conversation is going to go before it even starts. + How to work out why someone is resisting you. + And why some of the best negotiations are actually supposed to feel uncomfortable.+ We also get into relationships, confidence, men versus women, knowing when to walk away, and much more.This is one of those episodes where hopefully you will hear something and be able to use it in your every day life.

Dr Kerry Spackman has spent much of his career trying to answer one simple question: what separates the very best from everybody else?He’s a neuroscientist, mathematician, author and performance consultant who has worked inside the Formula One, with the All Blacks, Olympic athletes and some of the highest performers in the world.He wrote a book called The Winners Bible which sold out and became a best seller after Dan Carter endorsed it. And he has a new book out now called The Winners Formula.In this conversation we get into what Kerry learned from organizations like McClaren and the All Blacks.What he learned from people like Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.Why champions work differently, what causes people to choke under pressure, and why simply “working hard” isn’t enough.***Thanks very much to the sponsors of this episode, the Generate KiwiSaver Scheme. Generate, like today’s guest, put performance first.Your KiwiSaver account is one of those things that’s easy to set up and then completely ignore whilst you’re hoping it’s all working out in the background. I had a chat with a Generate KiwiSaver adviser when they came on as sponsor, and it genuinely gave me clarity on what it means to have a KiwiSaver plan, and whether mine was actually set up to perform over the long-term. Generate is an award‑winning KiwiSaver provider with a strong track record of long‑term performance. You can check out their latest returns online, or book a no‑obligation chat with one of their advisers at https://www.generatewealth.co.nz/domNo pressure, just clear advice to help you feel confident you’re on track, without any judgement for leaving this on the to‑do list a bit longer than planned. The issuer of the scheme is Generate Investment Management Limited. To see their PDS and Financial Advice Provider info see generatekiwisaver.co.nz/disclosures. Past performance does not guarantee future returns. And remember, I’m not a financial adviser, so this is just general information. I recommend getting expert advice before making any financial decisions.

This is definitely one of the stranger places I’ve ever recorded a podcast!My guest is Gordon Moller - the architect behind Auckland’s Sky Tower - and we recorded this conversation while doing the AJ Hackett SkyRide on the outside of the very building he helped create.At 86, Gordon is still working, still drawing, still designing and apparently far more relaxed about being suspended 192 metres above Auckland than I am.We talk about where the original idea for the Sky Tower came from, the criticism it received, the enormous engineering challenge involved in building it, and what it feels like seeing something you designed nearly 30 years ago become part of a city’s identity.But for me, the most interesting part of this conversation is Gordon himself: his optimism, attitude towards ageing and his instinctive response to new experiences — “Why not?”ABOUT GORDON MOLLERGordon Moller is one of New Zealand’s best-known architects and the architect behind Auckland’s Sky Tower.His career has included major residential, commercial, cultural and infrastructure projects in New Zealand and overseas, including work in China, Oman, Tonga and Macau.Among the Auckland projects Gordon discusses in this conversation are the Viaduct Events Centre, The Point apartments and the ASB Waterfront Theatre.Now 86, Gordon continues to work as an architect, regularly getting up at five or six in the morning to draw and develop new ideas.

Nathan Wallis grew up around alcoholism, violence, abuse and foster care. He was homeless at 15, became a father young, went to counselling at 18 and somehow found his way into teaching, counselling and eventually a career helping people understand how our brains develop.For parents, this episode is jam packed with good useful advice: We talk about the importance of the first 1,000 days, tantrums, anxiety, daycare, discipline, screens, teenagers, social media, are today’s kids snowflakes, and why asking a kid, “What were you feeling?” can sometimes tell you far more than asking  “What were you thinking?” (which, by the way, is the title of his brand-new book)But this episode also gets into Nathan himself- the man behind the job. We talk about the childhood he survived, the people who saved him, meeting his biological father shortly before he died, and the parts of himself he’s still trying to understand.****Massive thanks to my long‑term podcast sponsor, Generate. Like a lot of Kiwis, I spent years saying, “I’ll look at my KiwiSaver account later.” Turns out later comes around faster than you think, and the decisions you make now could be the difference between counting every dollar in retirement or having the freedom to take that trip of a lifetime you've always talked about. I switched my KiwiSaver account to Generate after they came on board, and honestly, I should’ve done it sooner. They’re an award-winning KiwiSaver provider with strong long‑term performance. You can check out their latest returns online, or book a no‑obligation chat with one of their friendly advisers at generatekiwisaver.co.nz/dom. No pressure, no judgement, no hard-sell – just good advice for wherever you happen to be in your investing journey.  The issuer of the scheme is Generate Investment Management Limited. You can view their Product Disclosure Statement and Financial Advice Provider information at generatekiwisaver.co.nz/disclosures. Past performance does not guarantee future returns. And just a reminder — I’m a podcast host, not a financial adviser. This is general information only, and I recommend getting expert advice before making any financial decisions.