She left a high-flying career at Google to start a drinks company. Three years later, she's on shelves at Dan Murphy's, on Amazon, and secured a $125,000 investment from a Shark Tank judge.

Tara Croker is a proud Wiradjuri woman and founder of Yaala Sparkling, an Indigenous-owned beverage company using native Australian botanicals to create premium alcohol-free drinks. In this yarn, Tara opens up about the moment she realised the native food industry was worth billions and Indigenous people made up almost none of the ownership, and how that became the fire behind her business.

She talks candidly about the highs and lows of building something from scratch, the mentors who believed in her before she believed in herself, and her Shark Tank journey from application to deal. It's a conversation about purpose, resilience, and backing yourself.

Resources and Links
Yaala Sparkling: yaalasparkling.com

Website: www.blackmagicwoman.com.au

Follow us on Instagram - @blackmagicwomanpodcast

If you enjoyed this episode, please ‘Subscribe’ on Apple Podcasts or ‘Follow’ on your Spotify app and tell your friends and family about us! If you’d like to contact us, please email, info@blackmagicwoman.com.au

Black Magic Woman is produced by BlakCast.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this yarn, I sit down with Sharon Winsor, a proud Ngemba Weilwan woman from Western NSW and the founder of Indigiearth, one of Australia's most awarded Aboriginal-owned businesses. For 30 years Sharon has been sharing First Nations food, knowledge, and culture with the world, not from ambition, but from a deep connection to Country and a knowing that this knowledge belongs to all of us.

We talk about building a business from scratch, the fight to keep culture at the centre of an industry that has largely shut First Nations people out, and why less than 2% of Australia's native food industry is owned by First Nations people. We also get into the moment Sharon nearly skipped an awards night and ended up winning the Bill Granger Trailblazer Award without knowing she was even nominated.

Resources and Links

Indigiearth: www.indigiearth.com.au Australian Native Food Festival at Carriageworks: https://carriageworks.com.au/events/australian-native-food-festival/ Support First Nations businesses: www.supplynation.org.au

Website: www.blackmagicwoman.com.au

Follow us on Instagram - @blackmagicwomanpodcast

If you enjoyed this episode, please ‘Subscribe’ on Apple Podcasts or ‘Follow’ on your Spotify app and tell your friends and family about us! If you’d like to contact us, please email, info@blackmagicwoman.com.au

Black Magic Woman is produced by BlakCast.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Mental Fitness Conversations, host Mundanara Bales sits down with proud Gamilaraay man, founder of Walkabout Barber and community wellbeing advocate Brian Dowd for a deeply honest yarn about mental fitness, identity, vulnerability and the power of truly listening to people.

Known to many as “The Walkabout Barber”, Brian shares how a simple haircut can become something much bigger, a moment where people feel safe enough to open up, be heard and feel seen beyond the surface. Through Walkabout Barber and the Walkabout Wellbeing Aboriginal Corporation, Brian is creating spaces where conversations happen naturally, stigma is broken down and people are supported to help themselves.

Together, Brian and Mundanara explore what it means to look after people, especially young people, by giving them a voice, listening without judgement and helping build the confidence to feel comfortable in their own skin. Brian speaks powerfully about “wearing two uniforms in life”, reminding listeners that the most important one is the skin you wake up in every day.

Brian also opens up about fatherhood, supporting his autistic son and caring for his mother after her stroke. His reflections on grief, purpose, vulnerability and community are raw, compassionate and deeply human.

This episode is a reminder that everyone’s story is worthwhile, everyone matters and sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is stop, listen and ask someone if they’re okay.

Resources and links
Find out more about Gotcha4Life at www.gotcha4life.org and follow us on Instagram and Facebook @gotcha4life and on Instagram @blackmagicwomanpodcast.

Follow the Walkabout Barber on Instagram @walkaboutbarber

About the podcast
Hosted by award-winning Indigenous businesswoman and Gotcha4Life Board Member Mundanara Bayles, and produced in partnership with Black Magic Woman, Mental Fitness Conversations centres First Nations voices in powerful conversations about culture, connection and what truly sustains mental fitness.

Content note
This episode includes discussion of mental health challenges which may be confronting. Please practise self-care and reach out if you need support. Services available 24/7 include 13YARN on 13 92 76 and Lifeline on 13 11 14.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dylan Voller is a Ngarrindjeri man, hip hop artist, and advocate from Alice Springs, now based in Sydney. In 2016, footage of Dylan as a seventeen year old, hooded and strapped to a restraint chair inside the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre, aired on the ABC's Four Corners program, went around the world, and sparked a Royal Commission into the protection and detention of children in the Northern Territory.

But Dylan is more than that footage, and this yarn is proof.

I sat down with Dylan for an honest, unfiltered conversation about growing up fast, what it meant to be a young blakfulla inside a system built to punish rather than protect, and what it has taken to rebuild a life on his own terms. Dylan talks about his big sister, the first person who truly believed in him. He talks about music as survival, writing poems inside and watching them find their way into the published anthology Fire Front: First Nations Poetry and Power Today alongside Archie Roach and some of this country's most powerful Aboriginal voices. He talks about the grassroots work nobody claps for, the burnout of being pushed before you're ready, the slow and hard road of healing from trauma, and the young ones in his community who inspire him just as much as he inspires them.

He also speaks plainly about what the statistics mean when you've lived inside them, and why he refuses to let the media's version of his story be the last word.

This is a yarn about resilience, family, music, and what it looks like to keep going when the world has already written you off.

Dylan's music is available on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. Follow him on Instagram: @dylan_voller_

If this episode raised anything for you, support is available. Call 13YARN on 13 92 76, a 24/7 crisis support line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Lifeline is also available on 13 11 14.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, I yarn with proud Dulguburra Yidinji woman Carly Wallace about her journey from going viral with her comedy platform CJays Vines to becoming a respected advocate and storyteller across media and community spaces. Carly reflects on navigating trolling, changing expectations around humour, and the importance of staying authentic while using your voice to advocate for mob and family.

We also talk about Carly’s late ADHD diagnosis, how understanding neurodiversity has helped her reframe lifelong challenges, and the healing she’s found reconnecting with cultural practice through weaving. This yarn is a powerful reminder to follow your interests, step outside your comfort zone and stay grounded in who you are.

Them Yarns Podcast (Spotify)
https://open.spotify.com/show/5AdvfAcD5VNLb9vpiEO1Jx?si=4360bcecb6424493

Them Yarns Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/themyarnsthepodcast

Website: www.blackmagicwoman.com.au

Follow us on Instagram - @blackmagicwomanpodcast

If you enjoyed this episode, please ‘Subscribe’ on Apple Podcasts or ‘Follow’ on your Spotify app and tell your friends and family about us! If you’d like to contact us, please email, info@blackmagicwoman.com.au

Black Magic Woman is produced by BlakCast.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At 23, everything changed. In this yarn, I sit down with a proud Wakka Wakka and Mandandanji man, Ian Lacey, who opens up about losing his dream of playing professional rugby league and how that moment of failure became the turning point that shaped his life’s work. From sitting down with Wayne Bennett after a career-ending mistake, to navigating the pressure of leadership in community, Ian shares what it really takes to rebuild, stay grounded, and back yourself when things don’t go to plan.

We also dive into the deeper purpose behind his work — creating pathways through sport, supporting mob in community, and building something bigger than the game itself. This yarn is about resilience, accountability, and understanding that sometimes the biggest setbacks can open the right doors — if you’re willing to learn from them.

Key Themes

• 00:00 Losing a lifelong dream and the moment everything shifted
• 03:15 Learning from mistakes and building self-belief
• 08:40 Pressure, accountability, and leading in community
• 18:20 Life after sport — identity, purpose, and transition
• 24:10 Creating pathways through sport and giving back
• 32:30 Advice for young mob chasing high-performance sport

Resources

• Arthur Beetson Foundation → https://arthurbeetsonfoundation.com/
• 13YARN (24/7 support) → https://www.13yarn.org.au
• Lifeline Australia → https://www.lifeline.org.au

Website: www.blackmagicwoman.com.au

Follow us on Instagram - @blackmagicwomanpodcast

If you enjoyed this episode, please ‘Subscribe’ on Apple Podcasts or ‘Follow’ on your Spotify app and tell your friends and family about us! If you’d like to contact us, please email, info@blackmagicwoman.com.au

Black Magic Woman is produced by BlakCast.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this yarn, I sit down with Courtney Ugle, a proud Ballardong/Wardandi Noongar woman, to talk about identity, grief, and the strength it takes to keep showing up. Courtney reflects on losing both of her parents, the ongoing impact of that loss, and how her mum continues to guide her in the work she does today. This is a powerful conversation about what it means to carry love and pain at the same time, and how our stories can shape who we become.

Courtney also shares how she found her voice through storytelling, advocacy, and football, and how her social enterprise, Waangkiny — meaning “talking” — is creating change in the space of domestic and family violence. We yarn about identity, being questioned as a fair-skinned Blak woman, and why lived experience is a powerful tool for leadership and impact. This episode is about truth-telling, healing, and the strength that comes from owning your story.

Key Themes

04:20 — Losing her mum and navigating grief into adulthood

11:10 — Finding her voice through storytelling and advocacy

23:40 — Domestic and family violence as a national crisis

31:15 — Identity, colourism and being questioned as a fair-skinned Blak woman

49:10 — Waangkiny and turning lived experience into impact

Resources

• 1800RESPECT – https://www.1800respect.org.au
• Lifeline – https://www.lifeline.org.au
• Our Watch – https://www.ourwatch.org.au

Website: www.blackmagicwoman.com.au

Follow us on Instagram - @blackmagicwomanpodcast

If you enjoyed this episode, please ‘Subscribe’ on Apple Podcasts or ‘Follow’ on your Spotify app and tell your friends and family about us! If you’d like to contact us, please email, info@blackmagicwoman.com.au

Black Magic Woman is produced by BlakCast.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week’s episode, I sit down with proud Wiradjuri woman Aisha Wighton, who recently stepped onto one of the biggest global platforms as a contestant on Australian Survivor. From growing up in Condobolin to navigating the modelling, acting and social work industries, Aisha shares what it means to take up space as a young Black woman in spaces where representation still matters deeply. Together, we yarn about resilience, visibility and the courage it takes to back yourself — even when the path ahead feels uncertain.

Aisha also reflects on the intense physical and emotional realities of life on the island, processing personal challenges while competing, and returning home with a renewed sense of clarity and strength. This is an honest conversation about identity, ambition and refusing to be boxed in — whether that’s in reality TV, the acting industry or in everyday life.

Key Themes

• 24:40 — Being unapologetically Black and visible on mainstream television

• 14:10 — Surviving physically and mentally on Survivor

• 32:30 — Racism, beauty standards and growing up wanting to change her skin

• 10:05 — Breaking into modelling and acting — and resisting tokenism in casting

• 06:50 — Chasing dreams, relocating and stepping into a new chapter at 30

Resources

• Watch Australian Survivor → https://10play.com.au/australian-survivor

• Follow Aisha Wighton → https://www.instagram.com/aisha_wighton

Website: www.blackmagicwoman.com.au

Follow us on Instagram - @blackmagicwomanpodcast

If you enjoyed this episode, please ‘Subscribe’ on Apple Podcasts or ‘Follow’ on your Spotify app and tell your friends and family about us! If you’d like to contact us, please email, info@blackmagicwoman.com.au

Black Magic Woman is produced by BlakCast.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.