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RHP#074. Damara Ryder, Family Lawyer, ex-Investment Banking Director, Dancer, World Traveller, Founder of Thrive Leadership

The Ridiculously Human Podcast
The Ridiculously Human Podcast
Episode • Mar 6, 2019 • 1h 33m

Family Lawyer. Ex-Investment Banking Director. Dancer. World Traveller. Networking Professional. Snowboarder. Smiler. Nature Lover. Wife. Mum. Entrepreneur.

Often in life, to find inspiration and motivation, you only need to look as far as those people who are in your immediate network. By simply having a deeper level conversation with them, you’ll be able to feed off their challenging and heroic stories.

Our Podcast guest this week, Damara Ryder, is exactly one of those sorts of ladies and friends. Damara and Gareth, met each other through a mutual friend, many many years ago in London. Since then they have always kept in touch and enjoyed dance-offs and fun times in Ibiza and Hong Kong.

You’re not a true Australian unless you have a nickname. With Damara’s maiden name being Cox, she is now more affectionately known as ‘Coxy’! A nickname in Australia is with you for the rest of your life, even if you get married and change your surname!

Coxy was born in a very small town of 1,000 people called Lockhart, Australia. Her family were very much community orientated and sporty people, who loved the outdoors and Aussie Rules football.

Her Dad was an amazingly charismatic, fun and mischievous guy. Sadly, he was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease when she was a teenager. It was a time of much sadness and created a fair bit of anger and frustration for her and her family too. Her Dad, asking her to research how he could die, was very tough for her to deal with.

Damara qualified as a family lawyer, but spent 15 years as an Investment Banking Director, working in Australia, Hong Kong and Canada. Being someone who is short, blonde and looks extremely young for her age, posed many challenges, especially when dealing with Asian cultural traditions and hierarchy.

2018 was a year which provided the biggest challenges of her life. Her Dad died after his battle with Huntington's. He spent his last 15 years in care, was unable to speak for his last couple of years and weighed 30kgs when he passed away. Coxy also experienced severe inflammation and autoimmune complications that year. Both of these incidents as well as the loss of a close friend, made her re-assess her own life and encouraged her to make big changes to it.

As a result of her own health issues, she needed to move closer to the beach, to reconnect with nature and be in warm weather. She put her career as a family lawyer on hold and moved to Queensland, with her two young kids and husband.

Now, through her business, Thrive Leadership, she shares an alternate way to the grind of the 9 to 5. Life is meant for more living and less stressing!

We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.

Let’s find out what it means for Damara Ryder, to be Ridiculously Human.

Your fellow beings,

Craig and Gareth

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