This week’s Peeling Potatoes didn’t just peel spuds—it peeled back silence. Monica, tuning in from Australia in her bright shirt (yes, it had its own cameo), opened the door to a story too many trades people keep bolted shut.
Her father stepped off a boat from Germany in the 1950s, toolbox in hand, war shadows at his back. He built houses, but also walls around his feelings—because in post-war Australia, being German was a stigma, and in construction, men didn’t talk about what cracked inside. They just bottled it up, hammered harder, and hoped the noise drowned out the rest.
Fast-forward, and the blueprint hasn’t changed much. Trades today are still standing on shaky scaffolds—long hours, job insecurity, substance abuse, and a culture of “toughen up.” Behind every power drill is the silent hum of anxiety. Behind every cement pour, a man who might not know how to say, “I’m not okay.”
And yet, Monica’s voice cut through the dust like sunlight on scaffolding. She showed us resilience is more than a hard shell; it’s the courage to start conversations—about mental health, about identity, about survival in a world that rewards toughness but punishes vulnerability.
This episode wasn’t just a family story; it was a mirror held up to a whole industry, a whole culture. If you’ve ever wondered why the bloke who can lift beams won’t lift the phone to call for help—this conversation is your blueprint for understanding.
🎧 Don’t miss it: because sometimes a podcast isn’t just a chat—it’s the crack in the concrete where change can grow.