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Transforming the Game with Kristina Katsanevas is the podcast for game-changers, risk-takers, and industry shakers. Don’t hate the player—hate the game? Not here. These leaders are rewriting the rules. From high-net-worth entrepreneurs, founders of Australia’s most iconic brands, and those disciplined enough to keep stacking those habits to success. We dive into the minds of pioneers innovating in media, business, fashion, sport and transformation.
Want to know how to break the mold and redefine success in your career, business, and life?
Tune in and start transforming the game.
Kristina Katsanevas (00:00)
There's not anyone else in the world that's done 4,000 podcasts because what insane person would do that? Chances are if you're in a room of 10 people, seven of them are unhealthy. Just by being able to transform your health, you will also transform your mindset. Rob is a global fitness authority dedicated to transforming lives. He has helped people lose globally in excess of
22,000 pounds of fat. With 36 years of fitness, health and nutrition experience, he will hold you accountable in his fitness programs, high performance mindset coaching and sustainable wellness strategies with results that last.
Let's focus on this one thing that you can do for the next seven days. Because it's all about how do we get you to improve and get to a level for the rest of your life. One of the problems I have with what Tony Robbins says about taking massive action, most people can't take massive action. I know that this isn't somebody that is going to ever probably achieve the transformation that they need or want. I also know that part of what I'm doing is keeping them alive.
Kristina Katsanevas (01:04)
Hello, Rob Evans. Welcome to Transforming the Game. What a pleasure to have you on today.
Robb Evans (01:10)
Hi Kristina thanks for the invitation.
Kristina Katsanevas (01:12)
you have done over three and a half thousand podcasts. You've got two going a day. That is a lot of talking online. How do you even keep the motivation up to be putting out a message day in, day out?
Robb Evans (01:26)
Yeah, well, we're almost at 4,000 actually. It'll only be a matter of days before I get to 4,000. I think it was something that I started obviously years ago now with my first one called Rob Evans 365. I actually started it for one client that I was working with that just, they're in a really tough spot and they just needed more, I guess more connection in between the sessions that they were seeing me. I thought, all right. So each day I was thinking about, okay, what's a...
Kristina Katsanevas (01:29)
Thank you.
So.
It's
Robb Evans (01:53)
a kind of a message that I can tailor specifically to that one client. And honestly, I never thought it would really go anywhere. And I just thought I liked the discipline of when I first started, it's like, man, it's like 930 and I haven't done today's podcast and I'd made a commitment to myself to do them every day. And now it's just obviously it's second nature. And I think with the two
Kristina Katsanevas (01:58)
time to end.
Robb Evans (02:16)
podcasts, we go to over 70 countries now.
I started the mental toughness and body show, which is the one where I put all my like highly successful guests on. I started that just before COVID and then recorded every day all the way through COVID and like here in Melbourne, we were shut down more than any other city. So it was a really interesting, interesting time. I love the fact that we lived through that moment. I was recording a podcast every day. I never go back and listen to my podcast. So
Kristina Katsanevas (02:26)
Okay.
Robb Evans (02:46)
it would be interesting to go back and have a listen to some of those and what it was like because all of the uncertainty and everything. So I started for a few reasons. One, obviously for that client, but also I didn't have a very much self-confidence when I was younger and the thought of public speaking, know, lots of people really don't like that. And like all of us, we tend to find filler words to use in between us trying to make a point, right? Rather than like, just get to the point.
um, uh, uh, you know, it sounded really awkward and I didn't like that about myself and I wanted to be more confident and I also wanted to be able to be more conversational when I met people in person. So, uh, what I do is like, I've done no preparation for this podcast and when I'm interviewing people on mine, I usually don't do that much preparation because it forces me to, uh, more closely listen.
Kristina Katsanevas (03:14)
It's.
Robb Evans (03:40)
to what someone's saying and looking
at their facial expressions and all that kind of thing. So you can ask a sensible follow-up question because there's nothing worse than, so what's your definition of success? And then you say, you know, whatever it is. And it's like, so when was the last time you did this?
Kristina Katsanevas (03:43)
Hey, Bea.
What's your favourite book? you're like, okay, yep, we're going there.
Robb Evans (04:01)
That's got
Yeah, that's right. There's no relevance at all. So I think it's, it's really helped me gain a lot more confidence in in that and public speaking and just being more attentive to people. And every guest that I have on the show is how well you ask really great questions. It's just it's like anything right you practice. Like I go back and listen to my first podcast and like it was only a matter of years ago and it sounds like I'm going through puberty. It sounds like Hi, welcome to Rob Evans 365.
I was like, what was I saying? so yeah, I just, I like the fact that I'll pick up my phone, besides people think, I've got to plan it out. I've got to be in a studio. I just grabbed the phone and I go for a walk. So I'm always multitask and I just say, okay, what do I want to talk about today? And I give it like three to five seconds and I just go bang record and just start talking.
And so my Rob Evans 365 one is more about, I suppose, what's going on for me? How do I manage myself, life, business, all that kind of thing? Whereas the mental toughness and body. So there's always a learning in that and the mental toughness and body show has got a little bit more structure around a specific topic. And so I think
Kristina Katsanevas (04:52)
That is right.
Okay.
Robb Evans (05:09)
you know, people take away, you know, whatever it is that they like from it. Most of my listeners are actually in the US. That 78 % of my listeners are in the US.
Kristina Katsanevas (05:13)
Thank
Wow. Yeah,
did see you're hitting 70 different countries with what you do. But what I'm hearing here is you had a weakness and a bit of fear. And from everything I see I'm going to jump in with two feet straight in the deep end and go, how do I fix it? And what do I do?
I know that's why people go to certain people and they gravitate to people because they want to get some of that to rub off, right? Give me some of that strength. How do you coach people through that to really, face their fears.
Robb Evans (05:43)
Well, I've always lived by the principle of lead by example. And I mean, there's not anyone else in the world that I can find that's done almost 4,000 podcasts. I've done more than anyone else in the world. And so that requires consistency, right? Like most people will just not keep going. Like perhaps they're, what's your next target? Well, 10,000 is my next target. It's not 5,000, it's 10,000. And I think about what I can leave behind.
Kristina Katsanevas (05:54)
What?
Mm hmm.
Robb Evans (06:12)
through that. So I think the consistency in doing that also shows up into the other areas of my life. So when I'm coaching people, it's like, I teach people about healthy lifestyle and how to achieve their, if you like their life strategies,
but do it through health and wellness and fitness, because that's the foundation for success in everything in your life. And what does that require? You can't turn up to the gym one day. You can't make, you can't have a really good day with your food and say, right,
Because overnight, just like Groundhog Day, the slate gets wiped clean and you get up and you've got to do it all again tomorrow. Maybe it's a bit different, but you have to do it all again tomorrow. You've got to keep growing yourself, improving your mindset. You've got to stay focused, which is why I love the mindset
Kristina Katsanevas (06:44)
Hello.
Robb Evans (06:55)
of doing two podcasts a day because what insane person would do that? And so I focus on how do I get people to put their health as their number one priority in life? Because it should be everybody's number one.
And how do you then from that become the the top 1 % of health for your age? Like not trying to be the best in the world, but how do you become in that top 1 % for your age? And most people are not, they're living in the bottom tier. But the problem is that we've got two thirds of our population that are very, very unhealthy. And so depending on who you're hanging out with, chances are if you're in a room of 10 people, seven of them are unhealthy. And that doesn't mean three are healthy.
It just means they may not look overweight or obese. And that's not being mean, it's statistical analysis. So yeah, I like to lead by example and give people, them where they are. So it's like, okay, what do you really want to achieve, Kristina?
Kristina Katsanevas (07:36)
Yeah.
Robb Evans (07:48)
Where are you at now? What do you want to get to? What are you doing right now in terms of the different elements of your training, your strength, cardio, food, water, sleep? What do you, you know, how...
How driven are you in your life? Where is the stress coming from? And then some people are like, give it all to me. Like just give it all to me now and I will do it.
Kristina Katsanevas (08:06)
And do you find that works? you think people who want that or do you think actually know it's always better to bundle this back?
Robb Evans (08:10)
It It depends. Like I don't have to spend that
much time with people to understand that, okay, you're asking for all of it, but you're not going to be able to do all of it because you never have. So let's focus on this one thing that you can do for the next seven days. Because it's all about how do we get you to improve and get to a level for the rest of your life? Not like let's start a podcast and do something like 10 % of people make it to a hundred episodes.
Kristina Katsanevas (08:20)
Thank
Yeah.
Yeah, like I did that in my first three months.
Robb Evans (08:40)
Yeah,
that's right. So it's like, how do we do how do we implement things so that you can do it forever? So if doing twice a day is not doable for you, okay, can you do one a week? I could do that. Okay, so start with that if you want to do more than great, but do something that you commit to and you can do forever. And then we don't add something new until all right, you did that for seven days. How did that go? All right, terrific. You found that really hard? No problem. Let's do it for another seven days and see how that goes.
Kristina Katsanevas (08:49)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Robb Evans (09:07)
And then you'll find that people then just look, they start to get some momentum. But certainly when it comes to their health and wellness and they start to feel better, because they're starting to do like a bit of exercise, they're getting the good endorphin release and they feel good about that. They start to notice it show up in another area in their life, whether it's more self-confidence or the fact that they're working on themselves and what that feels like is really powerful. And then
they start to look for that next thing. And then they've got two things now.
And it's like, wow, that feels really good. And now they're starting to sleep better. Now, like I'm working with a mother and daughter at the moment. And I said to them the other day, they just done their fitness assessment and got some really phenomenal results. And I said, have you noticed any change in your energy? And they both said, no, not really. They've been training for about six weeks. said, okay, that's interesting. I said, any other areas where it's
Kristina Katsanevas (09:37)
I think.
Robb Evans (09:57)
showing up? they're like, no, not really.
I'm like, okay, really? That's interesting. And then the younger one, said, actually.
I'm not sleeping when I get home from work anymore. And I'm not as moody anymore. And I am a lot happier. And I'm more focused at work. I said, yeah, that's called energy. And then the mum piped in and said the same thing. She said, oh, I'm see, you know, she's trying to quit smoking. She says, yeah, I feel so much better. And she's like, you can just see how they're glowing and
Kristina Katsanevas (10:05)
Yeah, yeah, that's that's
Robb Evans (10:31)
and looking better and they're working towards their goals. So yeah, I love that about just getting them to do the things that they can do and then just build on it as they can. It's rare for people to do everything all at once, which is one of the problems I have with what Tony Robbins says about taking massive action. Most people can't take massive action.
Kristina Katsanevas (10:50)
And then they feel overwhelmed, right? And then they give up on everything because they feel they're failing.
Robb Evans (10:54)
That's right. That's right. So why not just
take small action consistently and you keep doing it and then just add a little bit more. And before you know it, it might take longer, but most people can't sustain massive action. So why do it? It's like people go on diets, they do, all right, let's do this crash four weeks, we'll go really, really hard. And then they fall back, they're burnt out, they have no energy. They're like, I can't keep this up. So clearly it's a failure. It's not sustainable.
Kristina Katsanevas (11:21)
Yeah, I've I had a friend and I was trying to get him into exercise recently and it was week one. right every day. you're going to do a little bit. And then we got to week one. you've sort of got all the positive endorphins. right, you're about to go into week two now. It's going to feel more tired and you're going to get and then so when do you find people drop off the most where you've probably got to amp them up more just to try and get over those humps to get through those first, say, 100 days.
Robb Evans (11:46)
Yeah, it's a tricky one to answer because everybody's in a different place, right? So like you and I, if we wrote down everything that was going on in our lives right now, like every single thing that we want run through our mind, they'd be very different. And so many people have got different, not like stresses and that kind of stuff. Some of them are life threatening things. Some of them are just a challenge, but they're not really used to coping with challenge and change. So that's really tough for them.
Some people become immobilized because they can't leave their house and those sorts of fears and stuff. And then you've got those people that like just give, so I've got, meeting with a guy next week and he wants to do competitive bodybuilding, right? And he said, can I help you? And I said, well, yeah, I can, but we need to meet to see like,
Kristina Katsanevas (12:12)
So.
Robb Evans (12:31)
where are you at right now? are you natural? you...
Kristina Katsanevas (12:33)
you know.
Robb Evans (12:35)
are just starting, are you about to step on stage in four weeks time? And so somebody like that is very driven by different things. It's most likely going to be a person that's much younger, probably lives at home, has no responsibilities, financial or otherwise, and his life is all just training, training, training. Well, great if that's what you want to do for right now, but most people aren't like that.
Kristina Katsanevas (12:42)
Yes.
Robb Evans (12:59)
It's like I'm wearing a white coat and they just open up about everything.
Kristina Katsanevas (13:03)
The endorphins fly, everything flies.
Robb Evans (13:06)
And that's
when you have to kind of navigate those tricky things with people to help them achieve the best version of them themselves. And look, to be honest, I've got a couple of clients, if they just turn up and they do a session, it's probably the highlight of their week because their own mental health is not great and their home life is really toxic.
Kristina Katsanevas (13:20)
It's working.
Robb Evans (13:35)
And so I know that this isn't somebody that is going to ever probably achieve the transformation that they need or want. But I also know that part of what I'm doing is keeping them alive.
Kristina Katsanevas (13:35)
That's tough.
That's a lot on your shoulders too to feel like.
Robb Evans (13:52)
we're going to be able to separate the
role that you play in the emotional aspect of it and to compartmentalize that part.
Kristina Katsanevas (14:01)
So you can actually, you do work with clients, as you said, around the world. you do online and in person. Is there a preference? how does your online differ to, well, obviously in person,
is
Robb Evans (14:12)
Yeah,
a combination
of things. Most people still do come to see me. So we can work in the studio and you know, we're throwing around weights and all that kind of stuff. Where I find the more enjoyable part is to kind of in this sort of environment here. It's on zoom, it doesn't matter where people are. And I have a combination of people that they will work out at the at the same time that I'm on the call with them. I'm watching the form coaching through it, etc, etc. But also
Kristina Katsanevas (14:37)
Yes.
Robb Evans (14:38)
giving them some coaching around the other aspects of what's going on while they're resting And then what I enjoy mostly is where there's no other distractions. And it's just the two of us, in the room and
we're just having the conversation around what are their roadblocks it's all up here. That's everything that's up here and how people allow all the...
you know, the distractions
of life to prevent them from achieving the health that they want. But this is what I love about what I do, because if you can transform your health, the body is a byproduct of getting the daily habits in place. But just by being able to transform your health, you will also transform your mindset. And that will then it has, I liken it to like a glass
of water in the middle of the table, and that's your health and wellness. And everything else you want to achieve in your life is all around it. And you keep filling up a glass of water and what happens at some point, it overflows. And this is what I like to think about in terms of your health and wellness, when if you just keep pouring more into that it overflows, and it can't do anything but overflow into those other areas of your life in a really positive way.
Kristina Katsanevas (15:25)
.
Robb Evans (15:50)
And
I say to like my execs or, you know, successful business owners, I say, I will guarantee that I'll make you more money because I will make you more focused and you'll have more energy. And so with more energy and more focus, what will you do? You'll create more of whatever, wherever you want to put that. So now if you create also a great work ethic, then okay, well, I've got all the power that I need in terms of energy. I'm focusing on
Kristina Katsanevas (15:53)
It's.
Robb Evans (16:18)
you right now to do this,
you know, to do whatever it is that needs to be done. I've got a great work ethic, so we're just going to keep going until we get the work done. And then if you throw in, if you throw into that, like working on yourself to continuously improve, then there is zero downside. Right? Because you will just get better and you'll get better results for you first, which is why your health has got to be number one.
Kristina Katsanevas (16:26)
Got more energy.
Yeah.
Robb Evans (16:42)
And then it just overflows into other areas of your life. But the
biggest challenge is you can explain that and I can explain to you, you probably get it, but I can explain to you in an hour as to what more energy is going to feel like to you. But until you get to that moment that you can feel it, because you've never felt it before, it's just words in your head that say, yeah, okay. But you can't feel it. So you've got to get people to be able to kind of taste it a little bit to say,
Kristina Katsanevas (16:48)
Yeah.
Robb Evans (17:12)
Is that what you mean? Right, now I get it.
Kristina Katsanevas (17:16)
work on, so it sounds like what you do to try to give all your clients the best success is you work on little micro wins at the start so that they feel it a little bit and a little bit until you get them to be where you want them to be, which is, you know, on the the.
Robb Evans (17:31)
Yeah, that's right.
That's right. mean, everybody needs to be seeing themselves as making progress in whatever area of their life that is because otherwise it's like, why am I wasting my time here? But unfortunately, the way to most people measure their success in terms of health and fitness change, the scales, the scale, it's one element. There are so many other aspects.
Kristina Katsanevas (17:49)
Yep.
I hate the scales, I hate them.
Robb Evans (17:55)
to success and people get caught up in that and that doesn't change fast enough or it doesn't change or it goes the wrong way. And it's harder for women than men because of the hormonal changes and all that kind of stuff as well. And so you could be doing great and you have great results in your fitness assessment. You feel really great, you're sleeping well, you're feeling confident, all that kind of stuff. Step on the scales None of this is working. This is rubbish. I'm failing. I wanna do something else. It's like, I'll go have surgery.
Kristina Katsanevas (18:06)
Thank
Robb Evans (18:22)
You know, it's nuts what it can do to the mindset.
Kristina Katsanevas (18:26)
Mentally.
My mom was training and she trains a lot. And I told her pick one thing, one thing in your body. So it might be arms, might be a bicep or something. And I said, and do your full workouts, but only see about and notice the change in that. Because what I find is for her or a lot of people I know when they're training,
they'll be looking fabulous, they'll be slimming down, but they're focusing on the one part that hasn't gotten exactly where they are. And they spiral down like you say, it's not working but look at your arms, your arms are toned. Look at, you're lifting double the weights now. Do you find that people, it's again, mindset thing where they go to the negative, is that more self-confidence that you need to work on?
Robb Evans (19:07)
think because a lot of people haven't really done strength training before, most of my clients have never been to a gym, don't like the gym environment because it's a private setting where they can work out here. 66 % of my clients are women, so they don't like to be ogled in the gym so they're safe here. And so I think one of the challenges is, and I find this myself, I'm a shorter man, so I don't have
Kristina Katsanevas (19:28)
you.
Robb Evans (19:31)
longer muscle, longer biceps, longer legs, etc. So for me to get more of that that V shape and that more elongated body for me is really, really hard. I don't even have a proper six pack because my bottom set of abs is just really just one, as opposed to tall people have a, you know, can have more like an eight pack, I suppose. So my body
is just not that way. And I used to beat myself up over
man, I can't do this. And then I realised how anatomically that's impossible for me to achieve. And so until you say, like in my instance, say going for that six pack look, then it's not until you try to do that, that you realise how your body is going to look and where your, say your weak points are. And for me, it's the stomach. Like that is the last place and particularly for men, the last place for it to go.
Kristina Katsanevas (20:02)
Okay.
Robb Evans (20:25)
and that can be really, really frustrating. Well, for women, I find that
Kristina Katsanevas (20:26)
I think for women too.
Robb Evans (20:30)
certainly as they get older, their arms, their triceps under the, you know, they call them what, the touched up wings or whatever under the arm.
Kristina Katsanevas (20:33)
The
Tuck Shop Lady Arms, I think I've heard them referred to as
Robb Evans (20:40)
Yeah, that's right.
And some ladies that are more heavily chested and like around the tummy, particularly if they've had kids, like below the caesarean scar and things like that, thighs and butts, really pretty much between the belly button to the butts, it's more for women, for men it's more around, I mean, you don't see too many men walking around with big butts, it's all the, like the beer gut and that kind of thing.
Kristina Katsanevas (20:59)
That.
Yeah. don't exist. Yeah, that's a very real and scary
Robb Evans (21:05)
so yeah, so I think most people don't really know what their bodies should look like. And of course they become, where did that or why do they become critical? It's probably because they've seen some sexy AI model on the, on social media, which is said, you should look like this, but that person doesn't even look like that. Cause it's not a real person or it's
Yes.
Kristina Katsanevas (21:31)
scary scenario for a lot of people in getting awareness of who you're comparing yourself to and are they even real.
Robb Evans (21:38)
Yeah, that's right. And I think at the end of the
day, your biggest competitor is yourself in terms of just becoming better. And like I focus on just like I said before, being in the top 1 % of health for my age and comparing myself with others, what they may look like or whatever, there's always gonna be somebody that's better.
Kristina Katsanevas (21:55)
But then there's someone out there that is looking at you Rob or looking at your clients going, jeez I wish I had that motivation. Geez I wish I looked like that. I wish I had their arms, their legs, their calves even. I gave a girl a compliment on her calves the other day. I'm like, you have fabulous calves. She's like, my gosh, they're I've never had a compliment on my calves. I'm like, they are great calves. And I'm like, I like legs. But she had great calves. like you say, it's about comparing and competing with yourself instead of looking at someone that's.
Robb Evans (22:17)
Yeah.
Kristina Katsanevas (22:23)
not you and and will never be you and
Robb Evans (22:26)
I think
one of the challenges with say what you see on say Instagram or something and you follow like a model or something like that, particularly in the guy sense, all they do is eat, sleep and train. That is literally all they do. Right? Like I said before, like with the bodybuilder guy that's coming in to see me, they have usually no partners, they have no financial commitments, they're potentially living at home, someone
Kristina Katsanevas (22:29)
Thank
And.
Robb Evans (22:49)
someone else does the food or they're just doing the food, but they literally all they do is eat, sleep and train. Now to me that's not living, right? And they're hoping that they get endorsements and sponsorships and stuff to live, but most of them are broke, you know, so.
Kristina Katsanevas (22:57)
No. Yeah.
They can't afford anything more than the creatine they're buying and the chicken and the rice and the gym membership.
Robb Evans (23:11)
Yeah, that's right. That's right. So you've got you've got to keep these things into perspective as well. Now that doesn't mean that you shouldn't perhaps use that as some inspiration because of their work ethic and all that kind of stuff. But like I'm a natural athlete, so I don't, I take supplements, but I refuse to take drugs
Kristina Katsanevas (23:12)
you
I'm sorry.
Yes, yes, and we go back to that. It's about being healthy in your body. You've only got one body to get you through this life. And if you've got to look after it from woo to go. And like everything you're doing with everyone is just so phenomenal in helping people from their mental state to their physical.
to eating to, like you said, you're a bit of their, you're their side psychologist as well by the sounds of it, because they've just got to save space with you, which is really, yeah.
Robb Evans (23:54)
Yeah, that's right.
Kristina Katsanevas (23:56)
Hold that for a second, because I can edit this. I don't know what the clock is. What time is it?
Robb Evans (24:00)
I can probably go another 10 minutes.
Kristina Katsanevas (24:02)
Okay, all right, because I can't see a point for my computer over there and I'm like, I don't know what time it is. All right, so we can go back
in. I want to go back to Young Rob, because I've had a little look about what you used to do in the past and I can see, you you had a bit of a shitty childhood like a lot, kids are assholes usually. Actually, I think most kids are assholes most of the time. But you found a...
a pathway that I think got you through your school, which your mum got you into. And I want to talk about that because I always say the importance of especially navigating times to find yourself is about having multiple communities, especially for children. What was this thing? Because it actually surprised me because you don't hear of it much of people playing this sort of instrument.
Robb Evans (24:32)
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, you're right. I was bullied as a kid, because I was like, I'm a small man. was a little kid, then I was noticing how everybody was growing and I was kind of staying the same and everything. was the smallest in the school, every school I went to
so I was an easy target. I was bullied, I didn't have friends. Every girl I ever asked out till I was 23 said no. You know, it wasn't a great pathway as a kid to build confidence. I used to have this massive birthmark on my face, which I hated. I had a chipped tooth with the, like this one here that was all,
Kristina Katsanevas (25:07)
Excellent. So just awesome.
Robb Evans (25:17)
you know, horrible looking and I wasn't a smart kid either.
when I was 11, I started learning to play the bagpipes of all Bloomin' instruments. And I was just hooked after the first day. And then it was only a matter of weeks before I went to, well, a proper coach, I suppose, but they were called pipe tutors. And he spoke to me about...
Kristina Katsanevas (25:32)
That's it.
Robb Evans (25:38)
Getting me to compete and I'm like, what do you mean? Like there's competitions for this I Thought You may not can win a trophy
and that was that was what I had my my eyes on it was like I felt that if I won a trophy that I would be some
And so I went to my first competition. I practiced like two to three hours a day. And I won my first competition. And I still have the little tray. Actually, I'll grab it.
Kristina Katsanevas (26:04)
Consistency was back then.
Robb Evans (26:11)
It's a very impressive trophy. This is it. So 24th of October, 1981, that was my first competition But I've kept that one because of what it meant to me to receive it.
Kristina Katsanevas (26:25)
It was a bit of a sliding doors moment for you where you said it was the first time you'd felt proud of yourself. And it'll say.
Robb Evans (26:31)
Yeah,
that's right. And I just went, I went on and they were like, I competed all year and there was like three of us that were kind of always competing for those top three spots. I ended up winning the most out of that first year and I won like the aggregate for it. And then there was, I went through the next category, the next category, the next category, and then to open.
and I won it at all levels and I was one of the best in Australia and then went to the world championships in 1990, which was kind of like a dream for me. And that was the, by far the most impressive, biggest thing that I'd ever done in my life at that point. And it's like I'd worked for,
Kristina Katsanevas (27:03)
Hello.
Robb Evans (27:14)
what, probably 10 years to get to that level and...
Kristina Katsanevas (27:15)
.
Robb Evans (27:23)
Yeah, I retired about a year or so after that, But yeah, that was, what that showed me was some of those other things didn't change, right? Like I was still, I still looked like I did. I didn't have a good self image
about like about how I looked and the confidence with people in general or.
particularly with girls, like I felt like I
Kristina Katsanevas (27:42)
.
Robb Evans (27:43)
was a bit of a loser because, you know, I didn't have a girlfriend, whatever. But what it did was you could put me on a stage, like I could play the bagpipes in front of, I played in front of Charles and Diana when they came to Bendigo. from Bendigo in, in Belvedere. I played for them. And you put my been on television.
Kristina Katsanevas (27:56)
Yeah, well.
Robb Evans (28:02)
you know, I would happily do that because I just had the confidence to do it, which I think then obviously transferred over into speaking on stage and everything later as I got more confidence in that. But I knew from a young age that I was different because I was the only one in every school I went to that played the bagpipes.
Kristina Katsanevas (28:24)
Unique.
Robb Evans (28:25)
And as if I didn't have enough problems being bullied now, I was wearing a kilt.
Kristina Katsanevas (28:29)
All of
it.
Robb Evans (28:30)
playing an offensively
loud instrument, but in the same token, that also weren't me respect because I was so good. Yeah, that's right. And so I, it's only now looking back really that I realized what I've had from a really young age is this incredible drive. And whether that's, I think a large part of it's just come out of pain, to be honest, like being bullied and feeling so crappy about.
Kristina Katsanevas (28:38)
Yeah, yeah, and you owned it by the sounds of it, like, you know.
Robb Evans (28:57)
myself for so long. It's like, you know what, I don't want to be like that. And I was kind of destined for greatness, I suppose, but I didn't know what that was going to be. And I still believe that the best of me is still to come. I mean, there's bad things that happened to all of us. And it's like how we respond to those situations that can help determine what's that next move that we're going to make.
Kristina Katsanevas (29:06)
Yeah.
Robb Evans (29:22)
You know, I'm proud of the fact that I had the focus, I had the work ethic from a really young age and I've just been really refining that
and building it even more as the older that I get, which is really, really quite exciting because I don't really know exactly what's next.
Kristina Katsanevas (29:36)
But that's the beauty of life, right? You don't and as long as you stay consistent and you stay on the journey, you stay resilient, you keep getting back up because the life will keep knocking you back down, which sounds like Rob, you will continue to do over and over. You've got that competitive streak. You've got that bit of mongrel in you where you're like, I want to win that trophy.
eye on the prize and off you go. Sounds like that rubs off on all of your clients as well, which is why you are so popular, which is why so many people are calling you wanting to get coached by you from around the world. It's just phenomenal everything you do. And I think we're also where the bagpipes to how I likened when I saw that is what I found was really important even during my school was having outside community. school wasn't my world.
So I swam, was a swimmer and sporty. So I did outside sports where if school was a bit shitty, had an outside community of people that I could talk to. So it didn't feel like my world was burning down. And I actually talked about that with my children and everything and anyone else whose kids are having a hard time And it sounds like the bagpipes gave that to you.
Robb Evans (30:42)
That was
a bit different for me because I actually didn't like the community.
Kristina Katsanevas (30:47)
right you were just full competitive that's fine.
Robb Evans (30:50)
Well, yeah, I was so driven, but I was really connected to my piping tutor. His name was Fred and he was kind of like around my granddad's age. And he was actually my best friend. And so I used to ride my bike around to his place and I would just spend extra time with him in between lessons. We'd have two lessons a week. And like, I would just learn about him and like he was in the war.
He used to like gold prospecting, used to sharpen saws for people, he loved his vegetable garden, he loved fishing. Actually, it was with him that I caught my first fish. And he was like my best friend, because I didn't have friends.
Kristina Katsanevas (31:14)
Thank you.
But he wasn't outside,
see he was outside still. It's still this outside connection that you had with him.
Robb Evans (31:30)
Well, yeah, outside the family, but
he was my only friend. Like he was more of a dad than my dad was, more of a grandfather than my grandparents were. yeah, so everybody else was like, I didn't really didn't like everybody else.
Kristina Katsanevas (31:37)
you
I'm not noticing bond.
Robb Evans (31:46)
I then went into the band. was the best player in the band and that commands respect to some extent, but resentment on the other side and just like being the best player in anything, right. And because I wasn't a blokey bloke as a young adult, I didn't drink and smoke and do all that sort of stuff. I just didn't, didn't fit in. And that's one of the challenges even when I went into corporate life before I started my business, I'm not a blokey bloke. I don't like chit chat. I like the deep conversations with people.
Kristina Katsanevas (31:52)
Yeah.
I did see you're an accountant. feel like accountants always pivot because they must get very bored in the job or something and you pivoted.
Robb Evans (32:19)
Well, some stay as lifetime accountants and then yeah, as I was going through to become a chartered accountant, I realized I didn't want to be chartered accountant for life. But it's this, I'm very grateful for the skills.
Kristina Katsanevas (32:29)
think you're making a much better impact now on the world than if you had a stayed of chartered accountant. Oh, well, Rob, I'm very aware of your very precious time and I'm very, very, very grateful for having you on the show. I've loved talking to you. I'm thinking more about my health and fitness, although I did keep well to fit. I did do your little quiz. It says I have a 50-50 chance of success, which
Robb Evans (32:33)
I think so. Yeah, I think so.
Kristina Katsanevas (32:54)
I'd like to think I like that's almost a challenge. But I did give it a go. So I say keep up everything you're doing. I'll have all the details down below for anyone who wants to reach out to you. But I really do love everything you're about. Your competitiveness resonates with me as well. And it's just a phenomenal thing and in every way. So take care and thank you.
Robb Evans (32:57)
There you go.
Thank you. It's been a pleasure being on the show. Thanks for staying up.