The Unsuccessful Stories

Where people share the real story behind the success story. 

Episodes

Jun 24, 2026

1 hr 7 min

Bachelor star turned content creator Tara Pavlovic describes herself as a ‘professional pisstaker’. Since leaving the reality TV world, she’s cultivated a highly engaged, significant online following by documenting everything about her life- from mum life to new hobbies (did someone say drums?) and all the mundane and hilarious moments of daily life. 
 
As someone who is an ‘open book’ and always strives to be her most authentic, honest self, Tara’s recently been through a lot and not all of it can be shared with her 200,000 best friends. We talk about her recent marriage breakdown and how that has changed her definition of success, plus how motherhood changed it too. We also talk about her relationship with alcohol, mental health, the reality of reality TV, whether we believe in love, long-term relationships and more. 
 
Tara’s recommendations: 
 
A book called Self-Compassion By Kristin Neff https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/10127008-self-compassion
 
A movie called Wicked 
 
This episode was hosted, edited and produced by Shannon Schubert. 
Want to support the show? Click 'follow' on Apple or Spotify. If you liked this ep, please leave a review or share with a friend. 
For more, follow on Instagram:
@un.successfulstories
@shannon_schubert
And Tik Tok!!! 
@unsuccessful_stories_pod
 
Intro music by the amazing @timothylili
 

Jun 24, 2026

1 hr 7 min

Jun 16, 2026

1 hr 3 min

This week’s guest is Emma Hakansson, an activist, model, founder, author, advocate and more. Emma is the founding director of Collective Fashion Justice, a charity dedicated to creating a total ethics fashion system which prioritises the wellbeing of people, animals and the planet, before profit. She is also the author of three books including Total Ethics Fashion. 
We talk about how she started Collective Fashion Justice, her experience as a model, four day work weeks, sustainable fashion, child abuse, humanism and of course- how Emma defines success- both for herself and for her organisation. 
 
TW: This conversation includes touching on Emma’s experience of surviving child sex abuse and her work as an ambassador with the Australian Childhood Foundation. 
 
You can follow Emma and her charity’s work on socials at @hakamme and @collectivefashionjustice 
 
Recommendations at the end of the episode: 
 
Book: Orbital by Samantha Harvey (Recommended by Emma) 
 
Substack essay: Why are we lying to young people about work?
https://maalvika.substack.com?utm_source=navbar&utm_medium=web
(Recommended by Shannon)
This episode was hosted, edited and produced by Shannon Schubert. 
Want to support the show? Click 'follow' on Apple or Spotify. If you liked this ep, please feel free to leave a review or share with a friend. 
For more, follow on Instagram: 
@un.successfulstories
@shannon_schubert
 
Music by the amazing @timothylili

Jun 16, 2026

1 hr 3 min

Dec 2, 2025

44 min

Today's guest is Marc Ryan AKA The Beautiful Bogan. 
Marc is a comedian who makes jokes about topics usually not spoken about. Marc is dedicated to normalising conversations about mental illness, drawing from his personal battles with PTSD & suicidal ideation. 
He talks about living with mental illness, tasting unexpected comedy success and why he prefers performing in regional town halls, to city stages. 
If you or anyone you know needs help, you can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. 
 
To book Marc for a comedy set or see what he's up to, gollow him on socials here:
https://www.instagram.com/the_beautiful_bogan/?hl=en
https://www.facebook.com/thebeautifulbogan/
 
This episode was hosted and produced by Shannon Schubert. 
Want to support the show? Click 'follow' on Apple or Spotify. If you liked this ep, please feel free to leave a review or share with a friend. 
For more, follow on Instagram: 
@un.successfulstories
@shannon_schubert
 
Music by the amazing @timothylili

Dec 2, 2025

44 min

Nov 25, 2025

54 min

Today I am joined by Andy Buchanan.
Andy has been a runner since he was a kid, growing up on the athletics track in Bendigo, in country Victoria. He holds the Australian record for the marathon, running the Valencia marathon in 2:06:22 last year. 
As we discuss, Andy is relatively new to the marathon distance, the Valencia was just his sixth and his Olympic debut in Paris was his fifth. 
In this episode, we talk about how one of the fastest men in Australia defines success and how he’s struggled with that lately, with a recent race considered a failure. 
What does success look like for Andy outside of running? And where does he go from here, when he worries he’ll never feel as happy as he was crossing that finish line in Valencia? 
Andy’s recommendations:
TV show: Ted Lasso (watch on Apple TV or Amazon Prime)
Book: Endure by Alex Hutchinson (https://www.dymocks.com.au/endure-by-alex-hutchinson-9780008308186) 
 
You can support Andy’s running shop here: https://ververunning.com.au/
Find out more information about the Friday shop run here:
https://www.instagram.com/ververunning?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
More information about Andy's running coach business here: https://www.run2pb.co/coach-andy
And to hear more from Andy or stay up to date with his running, head here: 
https://www.instagram.com/andy_buchanan?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
https://www.athletics.com.au/athlete/andrew-buchanan/
 https://worldathletics.org/athletes/australia/andrew-buchanan-14446838
 
This episode is hosted and produced by Shannon Schubert. 
Want to support the show? Click 'follow'. If you liked this ep, please feel free to leave a review or tell a friend. 
For more, follow us on Instagram: 
@un.successfulstories
@shannon_schubert
 
Music by the amazing @timothylili

Nov 25, 2025

54 min

Nov 18, 2025

41 min

Today I am joined by Lauren Trevan.
 
Lauren is a mum, author, former nurse, criminology student and domestic violence advocate. Lauren always wanted a family and thought when she had kids, she'd be happy. She found herself in a coercive controlling relationship and felt the rug pulled out beneath her, when she found out unbelievable news about what her partner had been doing. Lauren's story is one of courage, losing yourself, and finding yourself again. 
You can order Lauren's book here: https://laurentrevan.com/about
And follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurentrevan_author/
 
To keep up to date with the unsuccessful stories, follow along on social media: 
https://www.instagram.com/un.successfulstories/
https://www.instagram.com/shannon_schubert/
@unsuccesfulstories.pod
 

Nov 18, 2025

41 min

Nov 11, 2025

45 min

Today I am joined by Narelle Fraser.
Narelle was a member of Victoria Police for 27 years, 15 of those as a Detective ‘doing time’ at the Rape and Homicide Squads and Missing Persons Unit, but dedicating much of her career to investigating child abuse and sex offences. 
In this episode, she talks about how her world crumbled in 2012 with an unexpected PTSI diagnosis... but how losing her beloved career, and her sense of self, led to an incredible pivot that has resulted in her turning what was her weakness, into her superpower. 
If you want to book Narelle to be your keynote speaker, you can do that here: https://narellefraser.com/#speaker
You can find out more about her documentary 'The Policewoman' here: https://filmquarter.com.au/new-index-1#/catching-crooks/
And listen to Narelle's podcast 'Narelle Fraser Interviews' here: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/narelle-fraser-interviews/id1637791533
 
This episode is hosted and produced by Shannon Schubert. 
Want to support the show? Click 'follow' on Apple and Spotify. Or feel free to leave a review or tell a friend. 
Follow the pod on Instagram: 
@un.successfulstories
@shannon_schubert
 
Music by the amazing @timothylili
 

Nov 11, 2025

45 min

Oct 29, 2025

1 min

Everyone loves a success story. But what about the real story?
Introducing The Unsuccessful Stories. 
It's a space where people talk about failure, hard lessons, unexpected challenges.. and all the messy bits you don't post on Instagram. 
Your host is Journalist Shannon Schubert. 
Instagram:
@un.successfulstories 
@shannon_schubert
TikTok: @unsuccessfulstories.pod
 
Music is by the wonderful @timothylili check him out on spotify. 
 
 

Oct 29, 2025

1 min

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