We have achieved so much in the 13 years we have been together. Travelling between our home of Sawtell & our second home in Carlsbad, California for both Barney’s therapy & my music and then to some of the worlds best surf spots, which has given us so many great memories. We are a true force when it comes to following our hearts. In 2016, we released a world wide cinema release of our feature documentary “You and Me” a story about our life, our love, our struggles & the power of relationships to help you through both the good times & the bad. We later released a biography in 2018 called “The Essence of You and Me” which is a deeper invitation into the thoughts, memories, & stories that not only make us who we are but that have brought us to this moment. In our minds there is no obstacle too hard and no dream too big to follow. Since the films release we have been travelling to High Schools around the country sharing the film, conversations & my music. We have a true passion for sharing hope with the upcoming generations to show them that their dreams are important & worth chasing & it all starts with conversation. Another passion project we are really proud of is The Barney Miller Charity Surf Classic. It was started back in 1999 just after Barney’s accident by a good friend, Joel ‘Tubby’ Bath for his HSC Design & Technology Project.
All the proceeds from that first contest went to Barney & his family to help with initial costs & then every year since Barney has kept the competition running, raising money for a different recipient each year who has also suffered a spinal injury. Last year we celebrated its 20th year raising close to $40,000 for recipient, Jess Collins. Over the 20 years the annual event has raised a few hundred thousand dollars for multiple families as well as seed money to start our very own Disabled Surfers Association Chapter for the Coffs Coast. It has brought hundreds of talented surfers to our beach in Sawtell each year, all keen to win the title. The comp has nurtured some of Australia’s gifted surfers who have gone on to achieve great things. We are so grateful to our community & especially Sawtell Boardriders for the donation of their time year after year & the love, generosity & consistent support in this event from families & businesses since it began.
2019 was one of those obstacles that turned out to be the hardest challenge we had ever faced. Barney had been suffering from kidney stones on & off for a few years & had been living in pain for a good 6 years. You wouldn’t know it though, because he pushed on, lived life, surfed, trained hard at his walking & even sky dived & hang glided a few time’s amongst it. It had hit the boiling point though so after finding a new specialist in Port Macquarie, he went from having a minor kidney stone removal to 12 life saving operations over 10 months. 10 of them were in the first 3 months. Due to both his spinal injury & the condition of his kidney he was confined to a hospital bed for an entire year. For someone who had worked so hard already to re gain the smallest amount of independence that again, was stripped away in an instant. Something incredible happened though, that forced time to stop & listen to his body & also being faced with his own mortality, not knowing if he was going to wake from each major surgery gave Barney a clear, grounded & incredible new view of life. His will to live & dedication to his health are what his specialists attribute to him not only still being here but now being healthy, happy & thriving. That experience taught us so much about ourselves, the simple miracle of life & also deepened our passion for holistic living & ways we could not just live but give back & contribute to a more sustainable future. We were ready to pack the Ute & our 2 beautiful bulldogs Byrdie & Bowie for our first adventure back in March down to Bells Beach, a place we have grown to love for many years & home to Barney’s Rip Curl Family & the famous Rip Curl Pro Surf Event. Our plan was to travel all the way down the south coast, something we have never done before, to support all the towns that were devastatingly effected by the fires. Unfortunately this was when lockdown hit & this time, along with the rest of the world we were forced to retreat back home for a little while longer. These few months gave Barney & his body the much needed extra time to heal & recover but it also gave us lots of time to start dreaming of all the adventures we will take when we can. Our new dream, The Jayco Mercedes Sprinter All Terrain campervan, our two dogs & the Great Australian Outback & Coastlines. Barney is at this stage still full time in a manual wheelchair, so while in some eyes, that would be seen as a limitation, we are here to show that all it takes is a little pure imagination, extra planning & change in perspective. Our goal is to use the camper to travel around to schools, share my music & document our next chapter of stories all while seeing what our beautiful country has to offer. Life truly is what you make it and we choose to make it as memorable as possible.
4 Fun Facts about us!
We LOVE Dogs! All animals actually but Dogs are the best part of life! If there is a dog in sight, you have probably lost our attention. We had another Bulldog, Jäger, & a Beagle, Nitro before we had the girls. They were 11 & 10 & we sadly lost them both in 2018. Its bittersweet because now we have our Byrdie & Bowie and they are amazing, but we sure do miss our boys.
We love musicals. Our wedding was themed, Pure Imagination from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory & we even had our own edible garden tent for dessert.
I conquered my fear of flying by going hang gliding with World Champion Glider & Red Bull athlete Jonny Duran. My favourite experience to date, it was Life Changing.
We love themed dress up parties, hosting them, being guests at them, any excuse to get weird & creative. Recently we dressed up as Shrek & Fiona for our nephews birthday, we were a hit haha.
