The Incredible Machines

Welcome to Episode 66 of The Incredible Machines podcast! In this thought-provoking conversation, Jon Oliff and Luke Holden sit down with Richard Gorven, a filmmaker, creative director and communicator, youth leader for Trulife, and author of Before You Call Yourself a Mentor. 

His story moves from growing up in Durban, navigating a difficult family environment and intense bullying at school, to discovering creativity, filmmaking, music and a deep commitment to investing in young people. He reflects on the teachers and leaders who recognised his potential, the challenges that shaped his convictions and the experiences that eventually led him to rethink what mentorship actually means. 

At the centre of the conversation is Richard’s belief that mentorship is not simply a title somebody claims. It is a mantle carrying the weight, privilege and responsibility of being invited into another person’s life. He also shares the concept of unreasonable mentorship and how unexpected acts of care can break down barriers and create genuine trust. 
 
This episode is a thoughtful exploration of mentorship, identity, leadership, faith, relationships and what it means to genuinely invest in another person. 
 
 
 
⏱ Timestamped Overview 

05:59 – Introduction to Richard Gorven and his journey into mentorship 
08:13 – Richard on family, growing up and the influence of his mother 
11:41 – Bullying at school, identity and refusing to change who he was 
17:29 – Why young people carry hope and the value of investing in them 
23:51 – Discovering video editing and finding creative mentors at school 
30:33 – Writing Before You Call Yourself a Mentor and questioning what mentorship really means 
35:27 – Friendship, boundaries and knowing when mentorship relationships need to change 
40:38 – Why mentorship needs flexibility rather than rigid definitions 
48:04 – Becoming a father during COVID and the traumatic premature birth of Richard’s daughter 
55:31 – The origins of the word mentor and how its meaning has evolved 
01:04:56 – The five phases of mentorship: spark, initiation, cultivation, separation and redefinition 
01:15:09 – Mentoring young people and why parents should be part of the journey 
01:21:05 – Driving teenagers to a pub and the lesson behind unreasonable mentorship 
01:28:09 – Affinity bias, cultural awareness and mentoring people different from yourself 
01:34:24 – Why mentorship is a mantle, not a title 
01:40:43 – Listening, assumptions and the Mr Jambo lyric that stayed with Richard 
01:44:19 – Unreasonable mentorship and the power of doing the unexpected 
01:48:13 – Faith, moments of impact and Richard’s closing thoughts 
 
 
 
💬 Quote of the Episode 

“I think the fruit of great mentorship is a great relationship." – Richard Gorven 

“Well, I couldn’t speak his language I couldn’t even understand a word, but I knew the meaning was what I decided I had heard” – Kyle Gordon (one of Richard Gorven’s favourite quotes) 
 
 
 
🧠 Related Campaign Example  
MTN Cheese Boy Campaign: Richard highlights the MTN Cheese Boy commercial as an example of advertising that captures the tension between traditional and modern African identity while showing how technology can create connection between people from different worlds. He describes the campaign as a powerful example of communicating complex cultural ideas in a simple and emotionally effective way. 

MTN Cheese Boy Campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH4ZYjWBDcI 

Allan Gray Mark Lives Campaign: Richard also highlights Allan Gray’s Father’s Share campaign. He admires how the campaign sells the emotional outcome behind the brand rather than focusing solely on the financial product. For him, the campaign demonstrates how marketing can reveal the intention behind somebody’s actions and completely change the audience’s understanding of a character. 

Allan Gray Mark Lives Campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVv15eQL368  
 

👣 Relevant Links & Mentions 
Richard Gorven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rgorven/   
Richard Gorven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gorves/   

Before You Call Yourself a Mentor Website: https://beforeyoumentor.com/   
Before You Call Yourself a Mentor Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beforeyoumentor/   
 
 
 
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Welcome to Episode 65 of The Incredible Machines podcast! In this thought-provoking conversation, Jon Oliff and Luke Holden sit down with Liza Clifford, the founder of Liza Clifford Professional Bra Fitting Studio, mother of two, and an advocate for women’s confidence, body acceptance and entrepreneurship. 

Her journey stretches from a free-spirited childhood on a farm to building a business around something many people overlook: the impact that proper support can have on a woman’s confidence, comfort and ability to move through the world. 

The conversation explores gender and education, motherhood, perfectionism, social media, entrepreneurship and the pressure women face to meet impossible beauty standards. Liza also shares the story behind Bra Squad, a campaign that began to create authentic South African content and became something far more meaningful. Through unretouched images of real women, the campaign challenged assumptions around what women’s bodies are supposed to look like. At the heart of Liza’s philosophy is a simple idea: Put on Courage. 
 
This episode is a conversation about accepting yourself, challenging the boxes people put you in, building something before you feel completely ready and having the courage to show up anyway. 
 
 
 
⏱ Timestamped Overview 

01:04 – Introduction to Liza Clifford  
04:00 – Growing up on a farm in an Italian immigrant family 
09:19 – Family expectations, education and finding independence 
14:07 – Single sex schools, gender and raising confident children 
25:19 – Body image, beauty standards and the beginning of Bra Squad 
28:24 – The emotional moment that transformed the Bra Squad photoshoot 
37:24 – What Liza would tell her younger self about confidence and perfection 
40:00 – Why young people have more time than they realise 
49:46 – How showing up on social media became one of Liza’s biggest revenue drivers 
52:08 – Mom guilt, entrepreneurship and the expectations placed on women 
59:24 – Why audiences are increasingly looking for authenticity 
01:02:31 – Failure, shame and why fear prevents people from trying 
01:14:25 – How Liza uses AI in operations without letting it replace her thinking 
01:28:13 – Why young South Africans should consider building businesses 
01:33:37 – The personal experience that showed Liza why professional bra fitting matters 
01:37:50 – The story behind Put on Courage 
01:49:39 – Changing the conversation around women’s bodies 
02:00:05 – Scaling the business to reach more women 
02:06:55 – Why Liza accepts that the brand will not be for everyone 
02:10:08 – Why old content can continue creating value years later 
 
 

💬 Quote of the Episode 

“A goal without a plan is a dream.” – Brian Tracy 

“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.”– Theodore Rosevelt 
 
 
 
🧠 Related Campaign Example  
Always #LikeAGirl Campaign:  

Liza chose the Always #LikeAGirl campaign because it represents the kind of marketing she values most: marketing that goes beyond selling a product and changes a conversation. 

The campaign took the phrase “like a girl”, which had become associated with weakness, and challenged people to think about what that message was teaching girls. In the advert, adults and older children act out running, throwing and fighting “like a girl” as weak or silly, while younger girls simply do those things as strongly as they can. 

For Liza, the insight was powerful because it showed that girls eventually learn to associate being a girl with being less capable. 

She also admired that Always did not make the product the hero. The brand identified a cultural tension and made that conversation the campaign. The #LikeAGirl hashtag then allowed people to participate in, share and reinterpret the idea themselves. For Liza, the lesson is simple: great marketing does not always need to sell the product directly. Sometimes it changes the conversation around the problem the brand exists to solve. 

Always #LikeAGirl Campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olUAKw66y2k 

  
  
 
👣 Relevant Links & Mentions 
Lisa Clifford LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizaclifford/ 
Liza Clifford Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lcprofessionalbrafittingstudio 
Liza Clifford Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizaclifford/ 
Liza Clifford Twitter: https://x.com/Liza_Clifford 
 
Liza Clifford Professional Bra Fitting Studio Website: https://lizaclifford.com/ 
Liza Clifford Professional Bra Fitting Studio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LizaCliffordBraFitting 
Liza Clifford Professional Bra Fitting Studio Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizacliffordbrafittingstudio/ 
Liza Clifford Professional Bra Fitting Studio YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJCpWERVN80LjQNGM3Jd1Dg 
 
 
 
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Welcome to Episode 64 of The Incredible Machines podcast! In this thought-provoking conversation, Jon Oliff and Luke Holden sit down with Claire Armstrong, a consumer marketing insights leader at Unilever, mother of three, and a professional in marketing with nearly two decades of experience understanding why people do what they do. 

She reflects on a journey that has taken her from growing up in Westville and moving to the UK at 16, to studying sociology, entering market research and ultimately building a 12-year career at Unilever. Along the way, she shares how her career became a source of stability through some of the most difficult periods of her personal life. We also unpack why human understanding, adaptability and strong relationships remain essential in an increasingly AI enabled world. 

The conversation explores “Yesterday’s Best”, her belief that what is meant for you will never pass you by, and the importance of remembering that difficult seasons aren’t permanent. Claire also shares how becoming a mother changed her approach to ambition, leadership and work, and why she believes being a working parent has made her a better leader. 
 
This episode is a must listen for anyone navigating career ambition, parenthood, leadership, personal change or the challenge of building a life that makes room for all of who you are. 
 
 
 
⏱ Timestamped Overview 

00:47 – Introduction to Claire Armstrong and the Lifeline Exercise 
05:10 – Yesterday’s Best, gratitude and finding something good in every day 
10:06 – “What’s meant for you will not pass you by” and doing the work 
20:09 – Career stability, moving to the UK and travelling the world 
30:05 – Entering consumer insights and building a career at Unilever 
40:42 – Keeping personal struggles separate from professional life 
50:04 – Career as a coping mechanism and Claire’s biggest promotion 
59:04 – Consumer insights, connecting data and understanding human behaviour 
01:05:25 – Forecasting the future and becoming comfortable with uncertainty 
01:25:18 – Authentic brand storytelling and finding the human truth 
01:35:12 – Redefining ambition through job sharing and motherhood 
01:45:23 – Leading with empathy, compassion and servant leadership 
01:50:02 – “It will either be great or a great story” and what comes next 
 
 

💬 Quote of the Episode 

"What's meant for you will never pass you by" 

“It will either be great or a great story”  

– Claire Armstrong 

 

🧠 Related Campaign Example  
Vaseline’s 'Mntana ka Gogo’ Campaign: Claire selected this campaign as an example of consumer insight rooted in real human behaviour. Rather than leading with product functionality, the campaign taps into heritage, love and the familiar relationship between a grandmother, her grandchild and a product already embedded in everyday South African life. 

As Claire explains, the campaign demonstrates the power of understanding the emotional role a brand already plays in consumers’ lives. She describes it as “the most beautiful South African example of real consumer behaviour that is absolutely covered in love and emotion.” 

Vaseline's 'Mntana ka Gogo' Campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1QNAOA2Q64  

👣 Relevant Links & Mentions  
Claire Armstrong LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-armstrong-b2b737aa/   
Claire Armstrong Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claire_e_armstrong/   
Claire Armstrong Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/claire.bekker.9   
 
 
 
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Welcome to Episode 63 of The Incredible Machines podcast! In this thought-provoking conversation, Jon Oliff and Luke Holden sit down with Dr. Candice Bailey, a journalist, science communicator, researcher and coauthor of We Were Always Here: Stories of Black Inventors Across the African Diaspora. 

Her relationship with storytelling began early. She started a small community newspaper while still at school, later helped launch a campus newspaper, worked as a crime and investigative journalist and eventually completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand, a path she describes as almost accidental. 

Through stories of inventors working across telecommunications, space exploration, medicine, sustainability and everyday technology, Candice and the hosts explore a recurring theme: innovation rarely arrives without failure. From Victor Lawrence’s contribution to modern telecommunications to inventors turning environmental problems into practical solutions, the episode looks at the perseverance behind invention and the importance of approaching familiar problems differently. 
 
This episode is a must listen for anyone interested in journalism, innovation, African history, science communication, representation and the power of knowing that people like you have done extraordinary things before. 
 
 
 
⏱ Timestamped Overview 

01:04 – Introduction to Dr Candice Bailey and We Were Always Here 
05:27 – Why the book puts contemporary Black inventors first for young readers 
07:11 – Candice on storytelling, music and growing up 
13:08 – Discovering journalism and starting a community newspaper 
16:01 – Studying journalism and starting her career as a crime reporter  
21:28 – Moving from investigative journalism into an accidental PhD in politics 
29:00 – Why We Were Always Here was created and the importance of retelling history 
40:08 – Victor Lawrence and Patricia Cowings learnings and reflections. 
47:11 – Katherine Johnson and George Carruthers learnings and reflections. 
53:00 – South African inventions that solve everyday problems 
01:10:42 – Why Black inventors need to receive credit for their work 
01:17:53 – Patents, ownership and protecting new ideas 
01:33:23 – The future of We Were Always Here and getting the book into schools and libraries 
 
 
 
💬 Quote of the Episode 

“When you are enthusiastic about what you do, you feel this positive energy. It’s very simple.” – Paulo Coelho 

"For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." – Newton's Third Law of Motion 
 
 
 
🧠 Related Campaign Example  
Volkswagen's classic South African TV Campaign: Candice chose a Volkswagen advert that she remembers from childhood. Beyond the product itself, she connects with its music, storytelling and depiction of life in South Africa, particularly the way it brings back memories of growing up in Cape Town. 

Volkswagen's classic South African TV Campaign: https://youtu.be/DkWmA8hcRPc?si=qyHEwCziBK-UiU5Y 

  
 
 
👣 Relevant Links & Mentions 
Dr. Candice Bailey Website: https://theconversation.com/profiles/candice-bailey-161268 
Dr. Candice Bailey LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/candice-bailey-61b108a/  
Dr. Candice Bailey Twitter: https://x.com/candice_bailey  
 
Purchase the We Were Always Here book via this link: https://wewerealwayshere.com/  
 
 
 
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Welcome to Episode 62 of The Incredible Machines podcast! In this thought-provoking conversation, Jon Oliff and Luke Holden sit down with Professor Linda Meyer, an experienced higher education leader and passionate advocate for lifelong learning, women in leadership and greater access to quality education across Africa. 

Professor Meyer reflects on a career that has taken her from working as a flight attendant and full-time trade unionist to the CCMA, government, justice, statutory institutions and senior leadership in higher education. She explains how these experiences shaped her understanding of dignity; fairness and the responsibility institutions have to improve people’s lives. 

Jon and Linda discuss artificial intelligence in education, the challenges facing first generation students, graduate employability and the urgent need for stronger collaboration between public and private institutions. Professor Meyer also discusses Rosebank International’s partnership with the University of the Free State and her ambition to expand high-quality African education across the continent. 
 
This episode is essential listening for education leaders, policymakers, employers and anyone interested in building a more accessible, collaborative and future ready higher education system. 
 
 
 
⏱ Timestamped Overview 

00:47 – Introduction to Linda Meyer and artificial intelligence in education 
06:52 – The childhood experience that shaped Professor Meyer’s moral compass 
14:27 – Trade unionism, the CCMA and discovering the power of education 
24:29 – Working across community colleges, government, justice and higher education 
34:31 – Financial pressure and sustainability within the public university system 
37:04 – Why education must remain the purpose of every higher education institution 
39:16 – Online learning and the disruption of traditional education 
40:19 – Youth unemployment and the continuing value of a university degree 
51:07 – Different learning styles and the importance of applying knowledge 
57:44 – The leaders who taught Professor Meyer humility, kindness and commercial judgement 
1:02:46 – The challenges facing first generation university students 
1:07:00 – Building African solutions for African education challenges 
1:11:36 – The four principles guiding Professor Meyer’s leadership 
1:17:31 – Women’s access to education, unequal pay and leadership opportunities 
1:23:31 – Patriarchal systems and recognising women’s contributions 
1:29:40 – Creating opportunities through social responsibility 
1:33:44 – What Professor Meyer would tell her younger self 
1:36:47 – Why people must look beyond artificial intelligence summaries 
 
 
 
💬 Quote of the Episode 

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.” – Maya Angelou. 
 
 
 
🧠 Related Campaign Example  
Me Too Movement: Although it’s not a conventional advertising campaign, “Me Too” is one of the most consequential global advocacy campaigns of our time. It transformed experiences that had often been endured privately into a collective demand for recognition, accountability and institutional change. Its power lay in two simple words that enabled millions of women to recognise that their experiences were not isolated and that silence frequently protects systems rather than victims.  

“The campaign is particularly relevant to my work in leadership, higher education and labour-market policy because sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination are not merely interpersonal problems. They are institutional and workplace governance failures that restrict women’s participation, progression and psychological safety. “Me Too” demonstrated how personal testimony, shared at scale, can challenge entrenched power and compel organisations to examine cultures that formal policies alone have failed to change. Its enduring lesson is that institutions cannot claim to support women while tolerating environments in which misconduct is concealed, complainants are discredited and perpetrators remain protected.” 

The campaign changed the global conversation; the continuing challenge is to translate that visibility into due process, prevention, accountability and lasting institutional reform. 

Me Too Movement: https://metoomvmt.org/  
 
 
 
👣 Relevant Links & Mentions 
Professor Linda Meyer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-meyer-2b236866/ 
 
 
 
🌐 Connect with Tim Africa 

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