0:01
Welcome to Jon Michail’s Personal Branding Masterclass. Jon is the founder and CEO of image group international and award-winning image consulting and personal branding pioneer established in 1989. This podcast will bring you old-school wisdom, inspiring ideas, strategies, and hacks for the new tech world. Here you will learn everything about personal branding: the system, the techniques, and the right mindset to have a successful personal brand, image, and reputation.

0:30 Jon
Hello, today I will be talking to Olympic champion, Cathy watt. Oh, I am who created cycling history when she won the first gold medal for Australia. And that means for men and women in a 1992 Barcelona Olympic road race. To share a little bit more about Kathy. She also won the silver in the parachute. At the same Olympics. She also studied a Bachelor of Science and she got a degree from the University of Melbourne with a major in physiology and pathology. Kathy, thank you for being here.

1:12 Kathy
Thanks for inviting me, Jon.

1:14 Jon
Well, I'm certainly looking forward to having a chat with you. Because you definitely are an Australian champion. And I think one at times that has sort of been undervalued. If you don't mind me saying that.

1:29 Kathy 
Probably one of the pioneers of women's cycling, and certainly by winning the Olympics that put cycling on the map in many ways, and they introduced a full-time program for women for road cycling, which is continuing still at the AI is in Canberra.

1:48 Jon 
That is fantastic. Yeah, the topic of today's episode is really valuable lessons from an Olympic champion. And what I'd like to explore you started by sharing some of that. So that is fantastic. What I'd like to explore those that obviously, you've had a reputation, you know, and I got this from one of the sites online it says what is small and tougher spirit has always been an all-rounder. I love that. Right? I certainly the small bit I can relate to the type of spirit, I can also relate to as well. So I'd like to know, you know, just start this conversation going. Is Where did you get this tough fighting spirit? Where did it come from?

2:37 Kathy 
My mom was very determined and always encouraged. Me and my sisters to be very self-reliant, I guess, and not give up easily and are persistent. And my father was a marathon and ultra-marathon runner and he also climb the first person to climb Kilimanjaro with no oxygen. He ran. Yeah, he was a real adventure and he travelled the world running marathons getting tent in the Boston Marathon fourth in the US marathon but he was like hitchhiking around the world. And Herb Elliot said to me, I wish I could have had the adventures your dad had.

3:22 Jon 
That is amazing. So was your mother also sports involved?

3:27 Kathy 
She was a pennant tennis player.  She liked playing on the grass because you have to be determined and keep chasing the ball. 

3:38 Jon 
great, great. So that means also, you know, obviously being a country girl, that also had an influence as well writing the great and never give up attitude

3:49 Kathy 
Ah, definitely because when I grew up in Margolis, the cities changed a lot now, but there was driving in which you go in your cars to but there was no movie theatre. It was really just a lot about the sport. And we did tennis, swimming, netball, like every sport on offer, I think. 

4:11 Jon 
Fantastic. So why don't we utilize that aspect where you grew up and share a little bit about yourself. And your career

4:22 Kathy 
I started as a runner, the one to follow in my dad's footsteps and that was a loss coach by the local detective. And his son Ian also was a runner. And yeah, eventually I started getting some Achilles tendon problems. And I was in the same training group as Debbie Flintoff King, the Olympic hurdles gold medalist and Shaolin Rendina, who held the Australian 800 record just recently and a lot of great champions and, you know, they really were a really great group and they encouraged me and inspired me as a young Jr. But then I got Achilles problems. And on the advice of some doctors and physios, they said, why don't you give cycling a go and then I found that I was better at cycling than I was at running. It was a good thing, you know, in hindsight.

5:17 Jon
So what you're really saying is, you know, the bad news became your opportunity to reframe that into something that obviously changed your life.

5:28 Kathy 
Yeah, I was really hoping to make an Olympics. So I was at university studying a science degree and I had my study program on one calendar and then sport CELT program on the other and I was doing cross country running, and I finished I went to the World University aid in chairmanship in grants Austria, and I finished second at the Victorian championships. behind one of the girls are beat one of the girls that were at the World Championships and another one they made, then I did cross country skiing, and biathlon, which was the shooting and skiing and I got bronze medals in those, and then cycling, I went to the nationals, and I came 11th. And the coach pulled me aside and said, once you got dropped on that first lap because you didn't know what you're doing, you didn't lose any time you should get into this sport. And so then I just decided to concentrate on that.

6:29 Jon 
Amazing, extraordinary. So obviously, through all these successes, you know, obviously you've had some challenges as well, because sports, although Olympic sports not supposed to be professional, the reality is, is a lot of expectations, and it's at times probably worse than professional from the point of view of, you know, the business side. I expect I expected for many, many people, and you know, and organizations, in this case, your sporting bodies and so on, that had big expectations from you from your involvement in the sport, and of course, the Olympics. And you know, for the listeners, there was also controversial, correct.

7:14 Kathy 
Yeah, when I, when I started in the sport of cycling, it was just really, I remember going to the first race and I don't even think there was another woman there were just all men and their trans cyclists. And luckily, I was very fit from running so I could keep up with most of them, and actually finished in a sprint with some of a grade and B grade guys. And yeah, there wasn't really an exact pathway for women. You had to fund your own way overseas, buy your own bikes, buy your own equipment. Things have really changed since I won the Olympics and women's cycling, got some recognition through the AIA s, and now state Institute's and Jerry Ryan from Jayco. And I had a few other sponsors with Citibank and Giant Bicycles. And I remember ringing up, they supported me leading into the Olympics, but member ring up, Frank Nachtigall, from Giant Bicycles. And I said, my coach, said to me, don't approach any sponsors until you at least win a national championship or something above it. So I finished second at the nationals, won the Oceana's and then I rang up Giant Bicycles. And I said, Will you sponsor me? And he says, we don't sponsor Sheila's and all that uni and everything was like, right, right, right. I just rip right into this guy. I say What do you mean? I said you don't know your market. I said, That's mainly was, I don't know, might have been Repco cycles and said it was mainly women and bikes for kids and women take the kids to buy your bikes. I think you need a woman and he said, Well, I'll call you back in half an hour. So he rang me back in 20 minutes and said, Okay, you're our first woman. And when I went in there, he's looking around and said this is Kathy because he thought I was going to be six foot four and shove him up against the wall and he was pleasantly surprised. He said he saw this little girl in a dress sitting in the corner. And then Jerry Ryan, who's now sponsoring the green edge team, and there are pathways women to professional cycling. He sponsored me and his wife said when I was that excited he was jumping up and down on the bed in the middle of the night. She's one Yeah,

9:43 Jon 
That's fantastic. So what I was gonna say was, obviously, you know, your toughness. Got you through a lot, including, you know, in this case, the sponsorship deals that you created by just being, you know, being fed income and also very upfront, like you weren't going to, you know, take no for an answer. And that also leads me to the 96, the controversially where you were selected originally for the Australian Cycling Federation, in the world race, right, and presumably Olympic Games. And then you were told later a few days later you withdraw. And then you appeal that to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport, claiming breach of contract. 

10:26 Kathy 
Yeah, that ruins my whole Olympics. And that was shown in court to be unfair and unjust. And that was Charlie Walsh just trying to put his own athlete in, when I'd already restored won the Nationals and lapped her in the pursuit. And she dropped out of the points score, which I want also, and then she was shown to be totally unfair. And I didn't trust them at the time. So I asked for a guarantee. And they gave it to me. And then they showed to go against their word. And that was proven in the court, but it ruined my Olympics, because everything was, it was just like, people media chasing me. And it was just crazy, you know, extraordinary writing just on the winning the event, you know? 

11:19 Jon
This is extraordinary because I can relate to that particular scenario. I did remember all those years ago, but also how it's similar in a lot of other sports as well. You know, and, and most sports, people in my experience will never take on. We'll call them the big boys at this stage. And that's obviously what they would have been those days all those years ago. But you had the guts to do that. And certainly in the end, and this is the best part of it. You won.

11:54 Kathy 
Yeah, well, I won in the court. But a finished fourth in the individual time trial on the road, which I had a really good chance to mess around. And it in the road race, like I look back on the video, and my head just wasn't in the right place. Like, yeah, I've had a chance. And I was feeling great to go up the road as I had in the Barcelona Olympics. And I'm worried about taking a drink. I look at that video in horror now. No athletes have to go through that. Not fair.

12:26 Jon 
For sure, for sure. And definitely, I suppose part of the real world where sometimes where politics overtakes your merits. And specifically, then, you know, can create all sorts of other challenges including your case, the way I'm hearing us, obviously, psychologically, it affected you during that time.

12:46 Kathy
Yeah, I mean, like in Barcelona, don't Fraser said to me put VSP on your handlebars, when you go out to the track. She said you're one of the most focused athletes I've ever seen. So yeah, just shows the effect it has on you, even though you can be a very focused person normally.

13:11 Jon 
So you have certainly faced challenging situations on your journey. And on that you've already mentioned, obviously, you took them on, you know, create all sorts of challenges than in the race. So do you have any tips on how to deal with pressure? And I say that because especially obviously, and it's so relevant for people today, you know, having gone through COVID, in the last curse is, and also the mental health crisis that's prevalent, especially with young people. So what are some of the things that you learned along the way that you would say, you could not do without (...)

13:47 Kathy
Sometimes you just have to detach from it a bit. And just try and come self down and do relaxation, whether it's breathing exercises, or might be listening to music, or it might just be going in nature, like to the ocean or the bush or I don't know, just being outdoors and just come down and then when you come then try to think through and taking the adapt, look for other around a problem. If you can solve it one way, try and find another way, or things like that, or who can be in your team to help you like other people see things differently from you. And maybe they have another idea about how you can approach something and to adapt, like to change as well.

14:39 Jon
So as a, you know, obviously, professional sportsperson, my God that's, you know that there's a lot of pressure there. And especially if you've also got the personality that says I have to win as opposed to sort of running the race. I don't have to lose.

14:57 Kathy
Yeah, that's a different mindset and The way I went about that is was been, my coach said to me a year out, we went to the pre Olympics. And I, I, one girl got away on the road course. And I finished fourth in the sprint. So I was fifth. And he said to me, was really about learning the course and learning about how all my opposition rode on the course and learning tactics. And then I did the pursuit, and I finished fifth. And I said That's it regarding having a look around like tourists. And he said, No, you're not getting your camera, get your pen and paper. They're better than you, you have to go down and watch what they're doing and see why you're not beating them. Right. So I was there with my camera, taking pictures of them, writing notes on what they were doing in their warm-ups, timing them everything. And then we went down on the infield, and we were posing for pitchers and posing for pitchers. But really, we're just photographing their gears, and we realized that they were riding big against the knee. And we learned a lot.

16:06 Jon 
So very strategic, you did your research. And you virtually observed to learn. Yes, yes. Yeah. That's, I mean, obviously, you know, that could be appliable. Really, to any profession today other than just sport. Look, just as an athlete needs to believe in themselves, obviously, as an entrepreneur, professional, etc. Also needs to sort of believing in themselves as well. Because, of course, their business because what we say is, if you don't believe in yourself, then why should people believe in you? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it was like, I bring that to sort of attention because yesterday, I was listening to Joe Rogan podcast with, with any head Snoop Dogg on how I Okay. Now, this, I mean, by the way, it runs nearly four hours as a podcast, I can assure you, we're not going to go for four hours. But, but, you know, obviously, Snoop Dogg was talking about when he was young, you know, coming up in the celebrity world as obviously, an entertainer, he got ripped off, he got ripped off big time because he didn't understand business. He didn't understand marketing and didn't understand anything around, you know, positioning himself and making himself a brand. And he mentioned on the show, that is actually a personal brand today, you know, that's worth hundreds of millions of dollars. And also, you know, and also here to become smart in those areas, because as a celebrity, and he's got a lot of sports, you know, athletes, friends, and lead athlete brands that also he said, in their conversations, they weren't also taught as well and also ripped off or certainly did not get to maximize a lot of the early growth and fame. And, you know, championship wings, because I didn't know how to do that. Now, you're a well-known sports photographer, obviously. So the question I have for you in your early days is, does any of that resonate? And also, now how have you built your personal brand till now? And basically, what are you actually doing to get yourself out there? You know, obviously, as in a new professional as well, it's relatively new compared to obviously been sport 30 odd years ago, what are you doing right now that you think is important, if anything, to at least, what you know, make your name, keep your name, and grow your name to stay relevant?

19:02 Kathy
I guess. I guess in recent years, we've run trips with Kathy Wald, cycling to the Tour de France and we took groups over there and I was also doing photography professionally as well. And I had exhibitions at restaurants and Allianz francais in Melbourne. And then it got what they asked for could take it up to Canberra to the headquarters there and then the Ballarat photo by now. And then just recently, have done had an exhibition of Olympic dreams, which was ex photo photographs of the Tokyo Olympics and that was sponsored by the Victorian Government, City of Melbourne, Ilford and Mitchell, tin mines and grand Ridge as well. So that was really good. Superb, superb, so Just everything that was in the door cleanses.

20:03 Jon 
Yes, yes. And obviously, that was a very successful question I have for you is you believe that brand is important. In today's times?

20:14 Kathy
Definitely, people know that you do sports photography or different types of photography. Yeah. brandings important. And also, if you get sponsorship, then you have to acknowledge them, like on the posters and the banners. And like, we had a picture of me on the post-start, and then pictures of the Olympic athletes, I think there were about six different images across different sports. And it was huge, huge posters on big open windows in the dock plan to the magnet galleries.

20:51 Jon 
Okay, okay. And so, so we thought of that. I mean, obviously, you're very strategic or have been in your career as a sportsperson. Do you put the same sort of activity right now? And, you know, and your thinking cap from the perspective of Okay, so I'm about to do an exhibition. Right? You know, how am I gonna maximize it? You said, the sponsors, and so on. Okay. Obviously, sponsors, also are essential for something like that. Is that something you strategically think about right now? Or is it more ad hoc? And if it's ad hoc, you know, would you recommend obviously doing the, you know, more professionally,

21:33 Kathy
Well know, things of speaking with Mark from Ilford for quite a while out from the Olympics, and we're making ideas and then came through with the sponsorship, and Jerry Ryan sponsored through Mitchelton. And Eric, with grand Ridge brewery, they were there actually, they're serving on the night at the function. So at all tied in really well, with the whole event and the City of Melbourne. They sponsored it, and we're behind it, which allowed it all to happen. So yeah, it was exciting.

22:09 Jon 
That's fantastic. And obviously, that attracts media attention. And then that's great for your brand. But it's also great for everyone involved with the event, including the government, and of course, the corporate sponsors and so on.

22:28 Jon
The last question for you, is, you know, what advice would you give this new generation of young people, and not only athletes, you know, and of course, the words that come up for me, is resilience, perseverance. You know, I never say die attitude. What else would you like to add (...)

22:52 Kathy
Hm, that you need to put in, put in the hard work and work your way up. If you're an athlete, you need to get yourself a good coach. And you can listen, listen to a range of different ideas, but learn the basic skills first because that'll always stand you in good stead. And yeah, just be determined, don't get deterred. If you have a loss go away and maybe look at it with the coach and think how you can come back and do better.

23:25 Jon 
That is great. You know, what, what you mentioned before is obviously how it relates to what we're on about is you know, get your foundations right. Get your coach, obviously, to help you see things that you possibly cannot see, for whatever reason, whatever

23:44 Kathy
(...) if you're coaching yourself because you're gonna push yourself too hard. Or other times you're not gonna push hard enough for as a coach can say it objectively, and then just tell you to stop when you know, or, or push you when you need to be pushed.

24:04 Jon 
Spot on spot on. Absolutely. And I mean, that's what we talk about, of course, sports coaches, you know, career coaches, business coaches, personal branding coaches, it's, it's about picking the blind spots that at times, you cannot see yourself

24:23 Kathy
and in sport, like the person who was coaching me for a lot of my career, they were like the opposite of me, physiologically, they are like a sit on a sprinter. Don't do any work. Whereas I was always doing too much work on the front to honest and that and they, they would tell me how to beat a person like them, which was invaluable because they were so good at tactics. They could. They told me how to beat people like them. ...) the front Stop doing so much work. Yeah. And you had said, you have to be thinking from the first pedal stroke, you have to be eating, drinking. And they, they really drilled that into me.

25:13 Jon
So that's fantastic. Well, basically, Kathy, we're at the close, very close to the end of the show for her. So I want to take this opportunity to really thank you for being here with me today. It was great chatting with you. And I'm sure you know your real-world earth experience and the way you've shared it. And I've always shared it because I've listened obviously to other interviews from you that would have served their listeners well today. And I'm sure they've learned a lot from you around what I would call is definitely lived experience. 

26:23
 Well, look, what I'd like to do is thank all of you, for being on the show with us, obviously. Hopefully, it's given you some value. As always, before we finish, I have a few messages for you. If you liked this episode, please share it with your friends, family and colleagues. You can also share it on your social media. You can follow me on Twitter, John underlined Michael, on LinkedIn and John Michael and on Facebook as image Group International. Last but not least, please email me directly. If you think I can help you find yourself again. I II, you know, getting your personal identity back to a centre and taking away the crisis. The email is on the description of the episode. I thank you all. I look forward to seeing you next week. And I wish you the abundance you know you do cheers have a magic week.

27:24
Jon Michail’s Personal Branding Masterclass" Podcast is sponsored by Image Group International, a global team of practical, digitally savvy personal brand and image strategists, based in Australia, committed to maximizing your impact, influence and authority in the business world.   To learn more and apply for your personal coaching, seminars and group workshops please visit imagegroup.com.au or call 1800 631 311.