Jessie O'Brien | Musician, Youth Worker, NZ Idol, Amazing Race

Jessie O’Brien is a musician, youth & family worker, NZ Idol & Amazing Race contestant, and father. During this korero, Jessie shares his family motto of "don't live life with what ifs." This approach to life has led to some pretty incredible opportunities and experiences for Jessie, including competing on New Zealand Idol and The Amazing Race. During the day he works with youth & families within a school, and then spends most weekends with his family and performing at gigs or special events as a musician. Or even being a celebrant (shout out esp. because after recording we put two-and-two together that Jessie married my sister Paige (& Josh) in the most beautiful ceremony!). Jessie has been heavily involved in the community and during this interview was able to share observations about Tall Poppy Syndrome within schools; and how impactful social media is not only on our youth but for adults too. One topic of great interest was our deep dive on the neural pathways formed in response to positive and negative external feedback - and what can be done to re-wire them. Having experienced so much and come across a wide range of people, Jesse excudes an energy of "bring it on!" He is passionate, enthusiatic, caring, and above all is extremley generous with his time. Helping our Rangatahi in particular with skills of mindfulness, music, and confidence building for whatever they wish to pursue. Family is a huge source of joy and purpose for Jessie, it was a pleasure to hear about his journey of fatherhood briefly too. Listen to the full interview on Spotify, iHeart Radio, or Apple Podcasts. #rolemodel #youthworker #youth #musician #life #kiwi #community #advice #parenting #mentalperformance #podcast #tallpoppytalk #mentalhealthmatters #aotearoa #newzealand #maori #rangatahi #socialmedia #hamilton #dad #nz #idol #amazingrace