I took this pic back in June on a hike in the Methow Valley. You can see the original on Instagram here. The quote is a favorite because I think getting out there and having an adventure is one of the best ways to grow and then learn from your experiences. You learn a lot from getting out of your comfort zone as they say! For other quote images I’ve created click here.
It took 23 years but I finally got the chance to reconnect with Hugh Jackman, my old college mate. All the way back in 1993/94 Hugh and I were both at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) in Perth, Australia. Hugh, back then, an aspiring actor studying theater, me an Arts Management student learning how to manage arts agencies like dance companies, arts venues and bands. We were a couple of guys following our dreams without a clue as to what was coming next.
What I clearly recall, and many of our friends do as well, is that Hugh has always been the Hugh you see on TV today. He always remembered your name, he always had time to stop for a chat and say hi, he was always professional and on time and he was the most talented person at WAAPA, and we all knew it. So it was no surprise to us to see Hugh’s career take off straight out of college and it was with great pride that we saw Hugh take the world by storm, moving from Australian TV and movies to the West End in London, to Hollywood, to Broadway and back to Hollywood, winning awards and critical acclaim along the way.
Of course Hugh is most famous for his role in the X-Men Series as Wolverine, which has made him a household name around the world over the past seventeen years. On March 3 this year, the movie Logan was released, the last movie in which Hugh will play this iconic character. Before the release 21st Century Fox offered local TV stations across the US the chance to find their biggest “Wolvie” and send that person to New York to meet and interview Hugh in person. Seeing this I immediately jumped at the chance and submitted my video application, and what do you know? I won! 😉
So off to NYC I go thanks to Komo 4 News entertainment reporter Scott Carty. Folks, follow Scott, he’s one of the good guys and he literally made this dream come true for me.
The big day came long, but before I get to interview Hugh, Scott and I met and interviewed Hugh’s co-stars, Sir Patrick Stewart and Boyd Holbrook (pictured below), as well and Logan director James Mangold, all of whom were fantastic, but hey, as you can imagine meeting Sir Patrick Stewart was pretty special!
Then it was time for me to enter the door marked Hugh Jackman. I knew his team had given him the heads up that an old Academy friend was about to come interview him. The door opened from the inside, and as the person before me left I could see Hugh standing in the middle of the room, hands on hips looking to see who was coming into the room and I immediately thought, great this will be awesome if he doesn’t remember me. But in true Hugh Jackman style when I got into the room he recognized me and let out a big “Ryan! Wow it’s been a long time mate, how are you?” We had about a minute and half to connect before his team ushered us to our seats and sadly this quick chat was not captured on film but it was just a couple of Aussie mates remembering a few times they had back in the day along with a laugh or two about them.
The rest, as they say, is history as it was all captured in the interview and my reaction to it in Scott’s interview of me after I met with Hugh. It really is a rare thing to meet and befriend someone, then they go on to be world famous, and then years later you get to reconnect and basically check in. I think I speak for everyone who knew Hugh at WAAPA in saying we have been so immensely proud of his achievements, we’ve ridden the journey with him, wishing him more and more success. He was living our dreams and we quietly lived that experience with him from afar, at least one of us made it! From his first TV show and him meeting Deb, to his Tony on Broadway for The Boy From Oz, to having his two kids, to hosting the Academy Awards, to starting a fair trade coffee company we’ve followed his journey. What Hugh Jackman doesn’t know is how much joy that’s given us, so for that I say thank you my friend, may your star continue to shine brightly, you were the one my friend, no one deserves it more.
Here’s the interview!
Below is Scott’s video of my journey to NYC, my full interview with Hugh and Scott’s interview with me after. Again, Scott, thank you for this opportunity.
And here are my two favorite trailers for the movie Logan…
Back in 2015 the very successful story curator UPWORTHY asked it’s quite large audience this very important question.
“…we asked you what you felt were the most important topics: the big issues of our day that deserve more focus and attention than they generally receive in the media.”
They then narrowed down the responses to three. Just three. This list was made a couple of years ago and the world feels like a very different place now. Do you agree that these are still the three most important issues? I wonder which one of the three you guys think is the most important in today’s climate? Let’s try and narrow it down from three to one and identify if there’s another issue you think should be in the mix. Please tweet or post in the comments below which one resonates most with you or what else should be added.
#1 Climate Change and Clean Energy
#2 Income Inequality and Poverty
#3 Human Rights
Do you think there are issues more important now that than these three? What are they? Post below…. (If you’re viewing this from my main feed click on the title to access the comments section.
A few years ago something had changed in me. For most of my life I’d been seeing the world through a lens and I was always looking for that great shot. But I realized I’d stopped taking photos. In fact I’ve barely been interested in even taking shots of family, friends or even of my travels… for me this was almost a shocking realization. Photography was my creativity. Was I no longer creative?
When my daughter Jemma was born in 2011 the camera starting finding it’s way back into my hands but I was still pretty disinterested in photography as a hobby. Then I found Instagram. Now you would think that an iPhone app would not be the catalyst for me getting back into a hobby that I have enjoyed since primary school (elementary school in the US). At the age of eleven I ran the school dark room, mixing chemicals and agitating film by hand. Instagram and iPhones seem like a different life from those days. Such is the change that we have seen in our lives already, and I’m only 40! 😉
So I had this iPhone thingy and then I saw all the cool kids posting great pics with filters and it got my interest. I may have been a little late to the party but I’ve definitely made up for it over recent years. I was inspired to buy a new camera and the excitement of getting a great shot came back again. It’s like meeting an old friend after not seeing them for a couple of years… What’s been really crazy is the amount of people I would now consider a friend (either in real life or virtually) based on our Instagram interactions. Being so into travel photography I’ve been able to tap into an incredible community on Instagram and learn and be inspired by so many other talented people. So here’s a few Instagram pics of mine… If you’d like you can connect with me on Instagram I’m at ryanintheus.
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I’ve been thinking about change and the role it plays in our life after having a chat with a good friend recently and these words keep rolling around my head… “There will be many chapters in your life. Don’t get lost in the one you’re in now.”
I think sometimes we get lost in the reality of our life today, and we forget that change is actually the only constant, not our current situation (although sometimes it can feel that way). I thought to share this as I think many of us despair at how things are now, this can be a reminder that we have the ability to write new chapters for ourselves and that new chapters are indeed coming our way.
Many of us who enjoy sports are drawn to teams we think reflect us. That team for me is the Fremantle Dockers. Affectionally known as Freo, the Fremantle Dockers represent the grit of the hardworking people that live in the Port of Fremantle area. That same grit can be found in my father who grew up in East Fremantle. Consequently he instilled in me the value of hard work and not to be afraid of being the underdog… in fact we kind of like it.
I’m a long way from Fremantle these days, living in Seattle, USA and now also a huge fan of the Seattle Seahawks. The link for me between the Australian Football League (AFL) and the NFL here in the US is Darren Bennett. One of my earliest memories is of my dad and I watching our local Aussie Rules football team, the East Fremantle Sharks and watching a young Darren Bennett take control of the game with awesome kicking for goal. That guy went on to play for the San Diego Chargers and was a two time Pro Bowler (1995, 2000), and was honored be being selected in the NFL’s 1990s All-Decade Team and was inducted into the San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame. Not bad for a boy from Freo.
When I watched that game the idea of having a Fremantle team in the AFL hadn’t even crossed my mind. Nor had the idea that I would one day live on the other side of the world. It has been the grit, determination and a healthy dose of adventure that I’m where I am today, and it’s those qualities that see Freo off to the best start to a season in club history, 8-0. But what a long roads it’s been for this perennial underdog. Those of us who jumped on to support the team from day one of the Fremantle Dockers know what I mean. As do the fans of the Seahawks. Both teams have struggled badly at times. But not any longer.
Two years ago when the Seahawks won their first SuperBowl the Dockers reached, but sadly lost their first Grand Final in front of 100,000 people.
It’s in the the trials and tribulations of supporting a team that hasn’t been a successful club that one finds the value when that team turns from being the underdog to being the best. And what a feeling it is for us fans. All the disappointment, frustration turns into ecstasy, jubilation and our loyalty is repaid in spades. But what I love most about the Dockers is not that they are wining now, but that while the talent of the team has wained at times the commitment has not. That’s the grit. You can see it in this video that spans the life of the Dockers, from day one.
At 8-0 maybe this is the year for Freo, I certainly hope so, but regardless of whether they win big prize this year I’m in for life. #foreverfreo
Ok so something a little different today…. Given the NFL season just started and football is what a lot of people are talking about I thought I’d share with you the sport I love more than any other sport; Aussie Rules Football (AFL – Australian Football League). Don’t get me wrong I really enjoy the NFL and I’m a loyal Seahawks fan but the team I am most loyal too is my beloved Fremantle Dockers. This sport is for gladiators of all sizes. Here are some of the differences between AFL and NFL…
Or if you’d like it in more simple terms…
To me, footy as we call it, is all about the emotions, the skill and toughness, here’s a clip that shows the biggest moments over the last 10 years…
Jemma and I in BuzzFeed.
Yesterday, to my surprise a picture of myself and my daughter Jemma appeared in an article on BuzzFeed.com. I’m not always going to react well to seeing pictures of my daughter thrown around the internet by people who don’t know us at all – but of course if I put it out there this can happen! However on this occasion I was more than good with it.
Being a dad to a girl is a wonderful privilege, you feel it but you’re not always able to describe it. Yes, I know all her best toys and when she said her first word. This article used pictures to illustrate thirty unique aspects of this special relationship and I’m thrilled that Jemma and I are included.
Somehow it seems like proof that I’m a good dad… the most important goal in my life.
Please check the article out and let me know how it made you feel: 29 Reasons There’s No Bond Quite Like A Father-Daughter Relationship
And I thought I’d throw this video up that was taken last night. It’s Jemma and I talking our special language, a few moments captured in time between father and daughter. By the end we’re losing it…
So you don’t have to be a big brother to feel immense pride about your sibling’s achievements but it definitely helps! I am a big brother, and I could not be more proud of the work my little sis is doing, so I thought I’d share some information about her and her work.
Amanda Hodgson is in many ways one of my biggest heroes and also someone who I feel is on her life mission. She, like me, was born in a low socio-ecomomic area and went to a high school more renowned for it’s toughness than it’s academic achievements. We were blessed however, by having wonderful friends, and even more so with parents who instilled great core values in us that have shaped our approach to life. One of those core values was a deep appreciation for the environment. We were fortunate to grow up in one of the greatest states in the world (Western Australia), full of untouched wilderness that was as diverse a landscape as one could imagine. From the great Karri & Jarrah forests of the South, to the hot, red dirt of the North; from the gold country in the East to the stunning white beaches of the West, we traveled them all with our parents… these places were our playgrounds and are the places that inspired our thirst for travel and a sense that the world is our oyster. In fact there is not a continent on earth that our collective four feet haven’t set foot on.
While I chose to explore and take photos of the environment, Amanda chose to research it and protect it. Actually she was driven to do that by some force I have marveled at many times over the years. As a teenager her bedroom was painted half under water and half out, dolphins swam around her room, resided on her furniture and hung from her ears. When she graduated high school she had but one single minded mission, to study dolphins. She topped her class and got into Environmental Science at Edith Cowan University, graduating top of that year’s intake as well, then got first class honors to gain entry into her doctorate, completing her PhD with a mark of over 90%. Did I mention she was driven? But amongst all the hard work to achieve these results, Amanda had moved from her childhood dream of focusing on dolphins to specializing in dugongs, the southern hemisphere’s equivalent to the manatee. She spent years using unmanned and manned aerial vehicles to gather information about their habits, in doing so, aiding a number of government policies that apply to areas where these amazing animals exist.
Since completing her PhD, sis has travelled the world and become a specialist in aerial population surveys, not just confined to dugongs but for whales as well. This work has taken her to places like Antarctica where she spent a month and a half researching Minke whales (pic below, Amanda third from right), to Bahrain in the Middle East where she flew in US Navy Black Hawk helicopters to study the dugong population, to the Mekong River in Vietnam looking for fresh water dolphins. And that all with a simple issued couple days before trip Vietnam online visa. She has been published in many journals and given speeches at conferences all over the world.
Last year she won the Bill Dawbin Postdoctoral Fellowship in cetacean research, a three year fellowship to research the application of unmanned aerial vehicles to get a deeper and more valuable understanding of the passages and activities of dugongs and whales. This was major recognition. There is only one fellowship granted each year. The then Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, mentioned her in a speech and the then Minister for Environment Protection, Heritage and the Arts, Mr Peter Garrett (yes the former lead singer of Midnight Oil), released a press release announcing sis had won it!
As a big brother I still see the little girl with piggy tails and a patch over one eye after she had an eye operation at four years old! But I can also see an independent woman who has knocked down every wall in front of her to achieve her life goals and to do work that will help generations to come. For those of you who know and love the movie Rudy, there is a scene when Rudy gives his acceptance letter to his dad and then leaves. The dad, overcome with emotion, folds the letter like it is made of gold, and gently puts it back in the envelope. It is a scene I have lived time and time again in relation to my sister’s achievements. Private scenes where someone else’s success means far more to you than any success you could ever have yourself. They are moments beyond joyful.
And to top it all off, next month Amanda is marrying a guy so suited to her that I could not have hand picked him myself, a whale researcher as driven as she is to learn and to gain knowledge to help our fragile environment. Their wedding reception will be hosted by one very proud brother!
Here is a clip that aired recently on Australian national TV that Amanda briefly appears on. It discusses the unmanned aerial vehicles she is using in her current research. Interestingly there is a tie in with Seattle here, as the company supplying the unmanned airplanes is Insitu Pacific, a subsidiary of Boeing! You can follow the research being done by sis and her team at Murdoch University Cetacean Research Unit’s Facebook page.
Hi I'm Ryan, aka Ryan-in-the-us.
I'm an Aussie based in Seattle and proud dad, world traveler, philanthropist, music lover and ponderer. By day (and some nights) I'm the VP of Integrated Marketing at Yesler B2B Marketing and an experienced Social Media Coach. Please say hi on the social channels below.
