What does it take to back yourself when you’re building something from scratch?

In this episode of the 8020 Podcast, Declan Kluver welcomes Sammy McComb, the founder of Gold Coast brand Shade Eyewear.

Sammy’s journey began on the tools as a plumber, building his business around early starts, job sites and nights spent working on his idea. What started as a side hustle became an eyewear brand shaped by his everyday life, from demanding workdays to surf trips.

His story brings a grounded perspective to entrepreneurship: starting before everything is perfect, putting in the work and creating something that reflects what you care about.

For tradies considering their next chapter, founders building alongside a day job, or anyone with an idea they keep putting off, Sammy’s journey offers a reminder that a business can begin with one person willing to have a crack.

Connect with Sammy:
Instagram: @sammy_mccomb
Shade Eyewear: shadeeyewear.com.au

Discover 8020: 8020labs.io

How far should you push yourself before high performance starts working against you?

In this episode of the 8020 Podcast, I sit down with Brodie Casa, founder of Apex Coaching Academy, for a raw conversation about performance, health, business and knowing your limits.

We unpack my experience with mania and mental health, what can happen when relentless drive goes too far, and how to recognise when pushing harder is no longer the answer.

Brodie shares his own journey building Apex Coaching Academy and what he has learned helping busy men transform their health, fitness, mindset and lifestyle.

We also get into some of the more controversial areas of modern performance culture — including TRT, peptides, hormones and optimisation — what business owners are looking for when exploring them, and why health decisions need to be approached intelligently rather than simply chasing another performance edge.

We cover:

• My experience with mania and mental health
• The difference between ambition and pushing yourself too far
• Learning to recognise your physical and mental limits
• Building a business without destroying yourself in the process
• Brodie's journey building Apex Coaching Academy
• Training, nutrition, discipline and lifestyle
• TRT, peptides and modern performance optimisation
• Why business owners often neglect their own health
• Getting more out of yourself without constantly demanding more from yourself
• What sustainable high performance actually looks like

This conversation ultimately comes back to something we talk about constantly at 8020:

High performance isn't about seeing how hard you can push yourself. It's about building a body, mind, business and life that allow you to keep performing for the long term.

Prevention. Optimisation. Longevity.

In the first episode of the 8020 Podcast, Declan Kluver shares the full story behind the businesses, the success, the collapse and ultimately the mission that became 8020.

It starts with Blended Juices — a young bloke having a crack at his first business — before moving into recruitment, founding Blended Employment, and eventually launching XRecruiter.

What followed was a rocket ship.

XRecruiter grew by more than 2,400% in two years, becoming one of Australia's fastest-growing businesses. From the outside, everything looked like it was working.

Behind the scenes, the pressure was building.

Declan talks openly about overworking, losing perspective, experiencing a manic episode and eventually reaching the darkest period of his life, culminating in a suicide attempt that left him with life-changing injuries.

But the story doesn't finish there.

During the long road back, a new question emerged:

Who is actually looking after the person behind the business?

That question became 8020.

This episode is the story of where Declan came from, what business gave him, what it took from him, the lessons learned through rebuilding his life, and why he's now committed to helping founders build extraordinary businesses without sacrificing their health, relationships or themselves along the way.

This is the story behind 8020.