When everything familiar fell away, did he double down on bitterness or choose a frame that let him move forward?

He thought getting knocked down was the headline. It wasn’t. The story is how he keeps standing. Anton and Ben sit down with Grant Parkin, who grew up in East London, migrated to Brisbane, and learned, sometimes the hardest way, how to turn pain into perspective without pretending it didn’t hurt.

At 3, a dog attack. At 19, a car crash in which his father died while Grant was driving. Years later, a marriage that ended in betrayal. And still… a degree finished, a CA earned, a rowing club founded, multiple Ironman triathlons completed, and a memoir—Yourself or Someone Like You—written and voiced by the man who lived it.

This is not trauma for spectacle; it’s choices, responsibility, and the mindset to rebuild, one honest step at a time.

There’s a line you’ll hear between the lines: don’t bring yesterday’s baggage to tomorrow’s country, and don’t outsource your agency. Grant talks about arriving with PwC, finding his “crew,” the long tail of grief, why asking for help was a turning point, and even “Fuchsia Friday” as a small weekly nudge to get comfortable being a little uncomfortable. It’s balanced, practical, and quietly brave.

Catch Episode 17 of a Stranger, a Suitcase and a Story now at https://3spod.com
Also on your fav channels: Spotify, YouTube, Apple.

#AStrangerASuitcaseAndAStory #3SPod #Episode17 #GrantParkin #MigrationStories #Resilience #Mindset #Responsibility #Brisbane #PwC #Rowing #Ironman #YourselfOrSomeoneLikeYou #SouthernCrossings #SouthAfricansInAustralia #Podcast

Anton and Ben sit down with Andrew Reitzer, and this onestays with you.

Born in Johannesburg to Holocaust survivor parents. Raisedin Cape Town. A life that arcs from a small family glove factory to the CEO seat of Metcash, turning a $240 million loss into a thriving ASX Top 100 company… and yet, that’s not the real story.

The real story starts when he’s a teenager and his motherquietly hands him a copy of The Diary of Anne Frank and says, “That’s what happened to me.”
No big speech. No drama. Just a sentence that changes everything.

From there, Andrew’s journey is shaped by courage withoutfanfare: conscription and discipline, equestrian boots and factory floors, starting again (and again), saying yes to Australia with 20 minutes to decide and three days to get on a plane, and leading with a “burn the ships” commitment that left no easy way back, only forward.

In this episode, we go beyond the numbers.
We talk about what it means to grow up in the shadow of silence. About finding out late what your parents survived — and how that quietly forges your views on family, work, loyalty, and leadership.
We talk about landing in Australia at the very top of thefood chain… and still feeling like a trainee Australian. About misreading the room, learning the culture, adjusting without erasing yourself.
We talk about why South Africans can thrive here, and whysome don’t. About burning ships, backing yourself, and the fine line between bravery and naivety.

And there’s a moment - you’ll hear it - where Andrew connects all of it: his parents’ story, his own choices, and what it really costs to start over and still hold onto who you are. We left that part in almost untouched.

What did he learn from parents who survived the unthinkable…and only told him when he was old enough to understand?
How do you lead, decide, and belong with that kind ofhistory under your skin?
And what does his story ask of the rest of us who’ve come here with our own suitcases, accents, and second chances?

Find out in Episode 16. 🎧Listen to episode 16 – find it at https://3spod.com and also on your fav channels: Spotify, YouTube, Apple.

#AStrangerASuitcaseAndAStory #3SPod #Episode16#AndrewReitzer #MigrationStories #HolocaustSurvivorFamily #Leadership #StartingOver #SouthernCrossings #Belonging #CourageWithoutDrama

“We landed with two suitcases, a toddler, and no idea wherewe were going after the airport.”

In this powerful new episode of A Stranger, A Suitcase,and A Story, Anton and Ben sit down with Kaveer Soni, a Durban-born lawyer whose life has been a tapestry of faith, grit, heartbreak, and reinvention.

Kaveer's story begins in Durban, born into a Hindu household,yet his early years unfold inside a Jewish school, learning Hebrew before he could fully understand what it meant. Then came a Catholic school, Sunday mass, and a new religion called rugby. His childhood, filled with laughter and mischief, was also where his voice as a lawyer first emerged, not in court, butin the principal’s office, defending his friends.

Years later, a family holiday to the US would change everything. What started as a magical trip to Disney World became a decision to leave South Africa behind. But dreams abroad don’t always unfold as planned. Bureaucracy, uncertainty, and endless waiting forced his family back home, a move that taught him resilience before he even knew he’d need it again.

And then came Australia.

A country that promised clarity but delivered challenge after challenge. A new life in a tiny one-bedroom apartment in Sydney, a young family starting over from nothing, and the devastating loss of a pregnancy in their first year. It was a season of heartbreak and perseverance, the kind that tests the limits of love and faith.

But through it all, Kaveer's quiet determination never wavered. From sitting for new legal exams while his wife rebuilt her career, to opening Soni Legal from scratch with no network and no guarantees, he turned every setback into a stepping stone.

Today, nearly a decade later, Kaveer has built a thriving practice, a beautiful family, and a sense of belonging that was once only a dream. His story reminds us that “home” isn’t a place you find. It is something you build, one choice, one struggle, and one act of courage at a time.

🎧 Listen to Episode 15: The Long Road Homewith Kaveer Soni now on https://3spod.com orwherever you get your podcasts — Spotify, Apple, and more.

#AStrangerASuitcaseAndAStory#3SPod #Podcast#MigrationStories #Courage #Resilience #Belonging #HumanSpirit

The gun clicked against his temple—and didn’t fire. Ten years later, Munro packed a suitcase for Sydney.

In Episode 14 of A Stranger, A Suitcase, and A Story, Anton and Ben sit down with Munro Donen. He grew up in Houghton, Johannesburg, in a close, bookish home where neighbours popped in for tea—including Nelson Mandela, who’d later spot Munro across an airport cordon and ask, “How’s your father?” Life felt safe, contained—until it didn’t. A violent carjacking outside his parents’ gate pulled the floorboards up. Months later, a restaurant he’d just left was held up and friends were locked in a walk-in fridge.

Trauma didn’t have a name then; it does now. What it left behind was clarity.

Australia wasn’t an instant soft landing. Munro arrived with degrees, grit, and zero shortcuts. He learned the city by driving routes at night so he wouldn’t get lost the next day. He learned the language behind the language—how “you must” becomes “you might want to,” how a “marone” car is maroon, and how “looking for a park” isn’t a lawn picnic.

He found his lane in Sydney property, building a buyer’s-agent practice with an old-school South African service ethic in a market where open homes last 20 minutes and auctions move like lightning. He picked clients up, sat with them, listened—then showed colleagues why the long car ride matters.

There were knocks, too: tall-poppy moments, pay re-cut, KPIs that made no sense. So he started his own firm. Years on, he’s helped families make the biggest call of their lives and still treats every purchase like it has his name on the contract. And the country gave something back: the night he walked through Rushcutters Bay at 2 a.m., looked around, and realised—calmly, fully—“I feel safe.”

Now settled, Munro’s circle has widened again. He raises funds with the Wits Alumni in NSW, leans into Southern Crossings, and keeps a simple promise: if you’ve just arrived, message him for a coffee. Someone did that for him 27 years ago; he remembers their names.

🎧 Listen now at https://3spod.com

Or on your favourite channel: Apple, Spotify, YouTube. Because sometimes migration isn’t just lived, it’s written.

#AStrangerASuitcaseAndAStory #Episode14 #MunroDonon #JohannesburgToSydney #MigrationStories #Belonging #StartingOver #SafetyAndFreedom #BuyersAgent #WitsAlumni #SouthernCrossings #PayItForward #AndAndIdentity

What if the journey that changed your life wasn’t just about a new country, but about finding the courage to finally tell the truth?

You can’t outrun your past. It always finds a way into your suitcase.” – Tania Wilson

In Episode 13 of A Stranger, A Suitcase, and A Story, Anton and Ben sit down with Tania Wilson — author of The Secrets We Keep: Spilling the Beans, whose migration story stretches from a barefoot, rebellious childhood in Durban to three decades of reinvention in the United States

Tania’s memoir is raw and unflinching: tracing family tragedy, the silence that followed, and the radical relief of truth-telling

She opens up about leaving South Africa with “five suitcases and a trunk,” the heartbreak of saying goodbye to her parents, and the unexpected lessons of trying to fit in from mispronouncing La Jolla to brewing Amaretto coffee at 4:30 a.m.

But what makes her story unforgettable is how writing became her anchor. In retirement, Tania discovered a writing group that pushed her to finally bring decades of memories onto the page. Her book doesn’t just capture migration — it shows how honesty, resilience, and storytelling itself can heal across generations

This episode is about more than moving countries. It’s about grief, courage, belonging… and how one woman turned her immigrant story into a book that helps others find hope in their own.

🎧 Listen now at https://3spod.com

Or on your favourite channel: Apple, Spotify, YouTube. Because sometimes migration isn’t just lived, it’s written.

#MigrationStories #ImmigrantVoices #StrangerSuitcaseStory #PodcastCommunity #AuthorLife #TheSecretsWeKeep

“In my first month here, I told myself: just Look, Listen, and Learn.”

But what if the very skills that helped you survive back home… became the very edges you needed to soften to belong somewhere new?

In Episode 12 of A Stranger, A Suitcase, and A Story, Anton and Ben sit down with

Pierre De Villiers, whose journey has taken him from ironing school shorts in Durban, to boardrooms across the world, and finally to a new life in Australia.

Pierre’s story is one of contrasts: accountant-turned-HR leader, world traveler-turned-root builder, South African rugby fan raising Wallabies supporters. Through it all, he’s had to wrestle with the classic migrant’s question — how much of myself do I hold onto, and how much do I adapt?

He reveals the “Three L’s” that carried him through his toughest early years in Australia: Look, Listen, Learn. It’s advice that seems simple, but hides a lifetime of wisdom about patience, perspective, and the slow work of building trust in a new land.

This episode goes beyond career shifts and visas — it’s about identity, family scattered across continents, and the quiet courage of starting over when it would have been easier to stay put.

🎧 Listen now at https://3spod.com Or on your favourite channel: Apple, Spotify, YouTube.

Because sometimes migration isn’t just about moving countries. It’s about moving yourself.

#MigrationStories #ImmigrantVoices #StrangerSuitcaseStory #PodcastCommunity #Belonging #Identity

“Ali’s on the plane… and Chris Hani’s been assassinated.”

The tour Mark helped organise became a peace mission before the wheels hit the tarmac.

Back in Durban, Mark’s legal career was rising when 1993 rewrote the script. Muhammad Ali arrived; the country erupted. Overnight, logistics turned to triage: townships in flames, cathedral meetings, a balcony plea for calm. Ali’s humanity cut through—staying to sign every autograph, embracing miners underground, showing what dignity looks like under pressure.

Then a personal fork: asked to stand for public office, Mark couldn’t square his liberal convictions with the policy path on offer.

He chose Australia—and the long grind of re-qualifying, rebuilding networks, and learning the quiet nuances of how things get decided here. In time he led major deals across Asia, carried an “and-and” identity without apology, and poured energy into causes like the Australian Rhino Project—proof that “the right thing” can still be the hardest thing.

His takeaway for the 22-year-old with a suitcase: try. Keep your roots. Learn the local nuance. Hold your values.

#AStrangerASuitcaseAndAStory #MarkStanbridge #MuhammadAli #ChrisHani #SouthAfrica1994 #StartAgain #Australia #AndAnd #RuleOfLaw #RhinoConservation

In 1984 he nominated Nelson Mandela for Chancellor, when “terrorist” was still the word echoing down campus corridors.

Mark Stanbridge’s beginnings read like a paradox: a carefree Free State childhood and a country split by curfews and colour lines. Around a dinner table of books and debate, he formed a stubborn belief in the dignity of the individual—long before law school gave it language. At uni he chose principle over popularity, pushing back on ritual and rhetoric, and learning that values don’t announce themselves; they’re tested.

An exchange year to small-town NSW opened a window on another way of being, then he returned to South Africa with clearer eyes and a steadier compass.
This first episode is the making-of: family, teachers, and a divided society forging a liberal spine—setting up the question that will define everything that follows: do you stay and fight from the inside, or leave and begin again?

#AStrangerASuitcaseAndAStory #MarkStanbridge #Belonging #SouthAfrica #Bloemfontein #StudentActivism #MigrationStories #Identity #LiberalValues