Flying Blind Podcast

Mitch Watt has a big love for living life, having a crack and chasing goals!  Only hours after landing back home from his latest FIFO swing in the mines, Mitch jumped in the ute and headed down to Robe in South Australia to catch up for a yarn while Benny was there a couple of weeks ago.  From 13 years old, Mitch has had his eyes firmly set on becoming a commercial pilot and every decision he has made between 13 and 23 has been a stepping stone on the way to making it happen. This bloke also has an attitude and energy about him that you just want to bottle up and be able to sell! Together they catch up and talk all things Flying, FIFO, waterskiing, sacrifice, grief and what’s behind this infectious love for life! Enjoy this one, it will pump you up!  Get around Flying Blind on socials! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flyingblindpodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Flying-Blind-Podcast/61580557913440/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@flyingblindpodcast If you’ve got a question, guest suggestion or just want to get in touch, we’d love to hear from you! Email: contact@flyingblindpodcast.com.au  Want to watch the podcast instead of just listening?Access all full length visual episodes on our YouTube channel– https://www.youtube.com/@FlyingBlindPodcast  On Track Meals – If you’re into your camping and adventure, work away or just want to stock the cupboard with some top quality, ready to go meals that have a 3 year shelf life without needing a fridge, check out the range, stock up & use the code FLYINGBLIND for 10% off all orders https://ontrackmeals.com/  Born Dry - Feeling thirsty? Get around Born Dry to re hydrate from a can that looks good tastes good and is good for the environment   https://borndry.com.au/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode of Flying Blind, Benny catches up with one of his great mates Ian ‘Lummy’ Lumb from On Track Meals. This one has plenty of There are plenty of tales in this one from guiding a blind bloke across the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea, falling in love with the girl behind the bar and building an Aussie Owned, Aussie made food business that is changing the game when it comes to off the shelf, ready to go meals!  This one covers a bit of everything from business, family life, managing stress, looking after yourself, and the importance of keeping it simple.   Together the boys also announce an exciting new partnership between On Track Meals and Flying Blind. If you are on the road for work, into your camping, hiking, hunting, fishing, mining or just want to stock the cupboard with some great quality food that doesn’t need to be in the fridge and has a 3 year shelf life, check out the range and make sure to use the code FLYINGBLIND for 10% off all orders.  www.ontrackmeals.com.au  Feeling thirsty? Get around Born Dry to re hydrate from a can that looks good tastes good and is good for the environment –  https://borndry.com.au/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode of Flying Blind, Benny packs the recording gear on his latest trip to Mildura in Victoria’s North West for a speaking tour with his great mate Mike ‘Legless’ Rolls. Together Mike and Ben form the duo ‘Legless & Blind’ on stage and have travelled the country together delivering a whole range of sessions over the past 10 years.  While they were in Mildura, Benny sat Mike down for his debut on Flying Blind, catching up on their adventures, going through some of Mike’s story of contracting Meningococcal Septicaemia at 18, electing to amputate his only remaining leg 9 years later, the question that changed it all and what’s involved with getting a new pair of legs. Enjoy this one and we’re sure it won’t be the last time that a Legless & Blind catch up features on Flying Blind.    Feeling thirsty? Get around Born Dry to re hydrate from a can that looks good tastes good and is good for the environment –  https://borndry.com.au/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Todays episode is a big shout out to the Mum's in honour of Mothers Day but also to one special Father, Ben's Dad Tim. Happy 60th birthday to the man who fostered Ben's "give anything a go" attitude by simply saying to him, in the early days of losing his sight, "All those things you love to do, we'll find another way to do it". And so they did. Ben gives us an insight in to how, with the un-waivering help from his family, especially his Dad, was able to keep his hobbies of waterskiing, shooting and fishing simply by doing things differently.We also chat about Amy's low key Mothers Day, Bens calendar & the very exciting release of the line up for Alpha Events Co's Podcast Royale 3.0 that Ben will once again feature in. Get around him and all the other fighters over on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/p/DX_e8oIkSQw/As always, Flying Blind is kindly supported and hydrated by Born Dry. Get around them at https://borndry.com.au/Check out Flying Blind on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/flyingblindpodcast/And on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@flyingblindpodcastOr watch full Flying Blind episodes over on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@FlyingBlindPodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Helicopters, barra fishing, swimming holes, pubs and an awesome crew of mates was the recipe for success last week.  Recorded live from the Sand Palms Roadhouse in the NT at the end of one of the alltime great weeks! 8 blokes who have become great mates through podcasting have spent the week with Finniss River Helicopters to showcase what the NT has to offer. Excuse the bugs and background noise as Benny recaps the week with Tommy and The Poo Bandit from the Alpha Blokes Podcast, Bryze and Zaden from the Deadass Podcast and Pirate from Finniss River Helicopters who made the whole trip possible.   Get in touch with the team at Finniss River Helicopters to plan the NT trip of a lifetime – https://www.finnissriverhelicopters.com/ Check out Alpha Blokes Podcast –https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/alpha-blokes-podcast/id1581699623Check out Deadass Podcast –https://deadasspodcast.com.au/For most of this trip, if there was a hat on our heads, it was a Country Trucker Cap. Check them out here –https://thecountrycompanies.com/ Feeling thirsty? Get around Born Dry to re hydrate from a can that looks good tastes good and is good for the environment –  https://borndry.com.au/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Benny has spent all of 3 nights at home since he and Ames last sat down in the shed to catch up. In this weeks episode of Flying Blind Ben recounts a powerful program of work across the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, getting back in the car to drive back over the SA border for Easter less than 12 hours after getting home, topped off by an absolute ripper of a trip to Tasmania! Ames gives us an insight into the juggle behind the scenes, the importance of the 6 P’s (Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance) and how she managed to deliver a fantastic workshop in and amongst the chaos.  They also introduce something new to these catch up episodes this week as they take a minute to look back at what worked, what didn’t and what they have learned… It’s ok to lower your bar rather than setting yourself up for failure and sometimes you just have to bite the bullet, even when it means scuba diving in the sharks backyard!   Feeling thirsty? Get around Born Dry to re hydrate from a can that looks good tastes good and is good for the environment –  https://borndry.com.au/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ames sits down with Benny for this episode to chat about what he's had and got going on this month including the Two Flogs Golf Day and the upcoming regional speaking tour on the Eyre Peninsular. They also throw in a few stories about a cruise they once went on, how they met plus a quick chat about the best birthday present Ben has ever recieved.Enjoy the chat and remember to get your hands on Born Dry still and sparkling water over at https://borndry.com.au/You find out more about Ben and Flying Blind in the following places. Get around it! Website:www.benpettingill.com Instagram:@benpettingill @flyingblindpodcast TikTok:@benpettingill @flyingblindpodcast Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/benpettingillspeaker Flying Blind podcast is recorded across Australia and pays respects to the Traditional Owners of Country, recognising that First Nations peoples were first in language and storytelling. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We went, we skied and we conquered 456km’s from Murray Bridge to Renmark in South Australia over 3 days as part of Ski For Life 2026! Daniel is new to Ben’s Ski For Life team this year, so the two of them sit down after the dust has settled to crack a couple of cans and recap what was an epic event, running through their highlights and the impact that it had.  Daniel also shares why he was so keen on getting involved in Ski For Life in the first place, opening up on his own battles with the black dog and unpacking plenty of life lessons that he has learned on the fly that plenty of us will be able to relate to.  If you would like to get behind the team’s recent effort, and the great work that Ski For Life do supporting mental health, wellbeing and suicide prevention, you can donate here -    https://chuffed.org/fundraiser/the-college-2026  To find out more about Ski For Life, check out –  https://www.skiforlife.com.au/  Check out Caitlin Drew and the song she wrote for Ski For Life here –  https://open.spotify.com/track/6PUyEte3CdL3OmcCsAHVTB?si=IHfGjZZNTfuL39UIN9leUQ  Feeling thirsty? Get around Born Dry to rehydrate from a can that looks good, tastes good and is better for the environment than your average plastic bottle –  https://borndry.com.au/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this weeks episode of Flying Blind, we rip into our first guest yarn with a great mate and host of the Alpha Blokes Podcast. Tom Dahl catches up with Benny when he was down in Melbourne at the end of last year.When Tommy was growing up, podcasts didn't exist so having "podcast host" as a career aspiration was impossible. This wild ride from working in the mines to hosting one of the country’s biggest podcast is the definition of flying blind. They unpack the journey it has been so far as well as taking a look at some of the stuff that goes on behind the mic that not everyone hears.Tommy’s blind skills also get put to the test for a bit of fun. For this chat we were tight for time so don’t stress, Tommy will be back on down the track to keep spinning yarns with us all.Check out the Alpha Blokes Podcast websiteAlpha Blokes Podcast on Spotify or Apple PodcastsAlpha Blokes Podcast on Instagram, TikTok and FacebookPlus follow along with Tom’s adventures on Instagram or TikTokAnd you find out more about Ben and Flying Blind in the following places. Get around it! Website - www.benpettingill.com Instagram - @benpettingill  | @flyingblindpodcast TikTok - @benpettingill  | @flyingblindpodcast Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/benpettingillspeaker  Flying Blind podcast is recorded across Australia and pays respects to the Traditional Owners of Country, recognising that First Nations peoples were first in language and storytelling.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.