After a bay swim on Friday morning, I caught the SkyBus to the airport—the best way to get there from our new place. My early afternoon flight was quick and easy. South Australia is 30 minutes behind Victoria, which continues to puzzle me. From the airport, I took a bus into the city and checked into my hotel. After a quick sandwich from Via Vai, I was ready to explore.
I’d visited Adelaide briefly with my parents last year, but it still feels new. The city is compact and walkable. I strolled through the Botanic Gardens and noticed the purple jacaranda trees had already come and gone in the warmer climate. Despite Adelaide’s reputation for sunshine, the weekend felt more like Melbourne—cool and gray, but still full of that late-spring magic.
That evening I joined my work team for dinner at Phonatic. It was my first time meeting them in person—our small crew is scattered across Australia and New Zealand, and we work remotely.
Back in April, I shifted to four days a week at Animal-Free Science Advocacy so I could take on a one-day-a-week role with Doctors For Nutrition (DFN), an Australian non-profit promoting a whole food plant-based diet to prevent and manage chronic disease. Landing that job still feels surreal. My vegan journey began in 2016 for health reasons—drawn in by the science and simplicity of plant-based nutrition. I’ve grown much since then, both as a vegan and as an advocate, but health remains a big part of my values. Joining DFN—even in a role I’d never done before—felt perfectly aligned.
 |
| Photos by Liza Savchuk |
Saturday was the big day: DFN’s Nutrition & Lifestyle Medicine Symposium, held at the Adelaide Health and Medical Sciences Building. As Fundraising Officer, my main contribution was securing sponsorships, with our primary supporter being Mushroom Health Science Australia.
Afterwards, a small group of us went to an invite-only dinner at Veggie Vie. By some good fortune, I ended up sitting next to our keynote speaker, Drew Harrisberg—a young plant-based exercise physiologist living well with type 1 diabetes.
I first discovered Drew on the Rich Roll Podcast. For those who don’t know, Rich Roll is my all-time hero and role model. He was one of my earliest vegan inspirations when I was just starting out on this journey. His story—plants, endurance sports, a career pivot—resonated with me deeply. On the podcast, his long-form conversations are incredibly thoughtful and present, and he chooses guests with genuinely compelling stories. He's a true lighthouse—radiating calm, steady influence rather than shouting to be heard.
So when I confessed to Drew my low-key obsession with Rich, he asked if I wanted to send him a message. Next thing I know, Drew is filming a video of me! I'd dreamt about this moment for years, and yet, despite the adrenaline, I was completely incoherent—babbling something like “I’m your biggest fan” and “I was your first fan,” which is… mortifying. Someday I hope to meet Rich in person and redeem myself. Until then, I can cling to the tiny, glowing fact that my chaotic fangirl moment may have briefly appeared on Rich Roll’s phone.
Needless to say, I didn’t sleep a wink that night. Between the high of the conference, the stress of the move, and the emotional aftermath of the Rich Roll incident, my mind was racing.
Still, I rallied the next morning and took a quiet walk along the river. In Botanic Park, I passed a large colony of flying-foxes—just like the bats in Melbourne's Yarra Bend Park.
Eventually, I grabbed my duffel from the hotel and caught the bus back to the airport. Exhausted, but grateful and inspired. It was the break I needed—both from the chaos at home and to remind myself why this work matters so much.
